Press Release Archives - #648-96 Sloan Public Service Award

Archives of the Mayor's Press Office

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: December 11, 1996

Release #648-96

Contact: Colleen Roche (212) 788-2958 or Martin Barreto (212) 788-3256

MAYOR GIULIANI TAKES PART IN HONORING SEVEN EXTRAORDINARY CITY EMPLOYEES WITH THE FUND FOR THE CITY OF NEW YORK'S SLOAN PUBLIC SERVICE AWARD

Mayor Rudolph W . Giuliani today took part in the Fund for the City of New York's Sloan Public Service Awards ceremony honoring seven outstanding New York City employees for their extraordinary work performance and commitment to the public. In honoring the 1996 winners, the Fund for the City of New York is also acknowledging the contributions of the many thousands of dedicated public employees who run the City of New York.

Also taking part in the ceremony at Cooper Union were Mary McCormick, President of the Fund of the City of New York, Frederick A. O. Schwarz, Jr., Chairman of the Board for the Fund for the City of New York, Bishop Joseph Sullivan, Chairman of the Awards Selection Panel and Executive Vice President of the Board of Trustees of Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Brooklyn and Michael Teitlebaum, Program Officer of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.

"I am very proud to honor the exceptional dedication and commitment of some of our City's best employees. The recipients of this prestigious award are deservedly recognized for looking after the public interest with the highest standards of service," Mayor Giuliani said. "These seven City employees have demonstrated an ability to deliver extraordinary service, an outstanding responsiveness to the public's need and a commitment far beyond the call of duty -- all with an exceptional measure of compassion, energy, ingenuity and adaptability to a changing work force."

"At a time when the government of New York City has become more productive and more efficient than it has been in decades, it is especially important that we also recognize all those men and women who keep our government running smoothly and efficiently," added Mayor Giuliani.

Mary McCormick, President of the Fund for the City of New York, said, "These winners, who work for the City in many capacities, in fundamental ways are quite similar. They are extraordinarily responsive to the needs of New Yorkers and commited to getting the job done well, no matter what the constraints. These men and women embody what public service is."

The Fund for the City of New York is an independent private operating foundation and public charity established by the Ford Foundation in 1968. The Fund's mandate is to be responsive to the problems of New York City and to improve the performance of its government, nonprofit organizations and the quality of life of its citizens.

The Fund introduces innovative programs, technologies and methodologies, runs a broad array of programs, and acts as management consultant, computer and information technologist, program designer, banker, grant maker, neutral convener, broker and incubator of new projects.

The Fund has operated the Public Service Awards Program for 24 years and the Alfred P. Sloan foundation has helped support the program for the last 12 years. This year's seven award winners were chosen from more than 195,000 employees who work for the City of New York.

The following is a list of the 1996 award winners:

Ernest Batson, Department of Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Alcoholism Services, chief of the City's network of governmental and non-profit alcohol treatment programs, and the driving force behind the warning posters about alcohol's effects during pregnancy posted in restaurants, taverns and liquor stores.

Lawrence Berman, head of the Parking Bureau and an ingenious, consumer-focused problem-solver who consistently seeks to establish a fair balance between community concerns and his agency's revenue-generating responsibilities.

Jocelyn Jean-Philippe, who works evenings and weekends, sometimes in dangerous situations, to intervene anywhere in the city for children at imminent risk, as a caseworker for the Administration for Children Services.

-Kathleen A. Paolicelli, a real life "ER" nurse heroine at Elmhurst Hospital Center, who has transformed emergency room trauma care into a personalized, caring, efficient environment for patients and families.

Carol Russo, the principal of a South Bronx elementary school, whose pupils excel in reading and math and study opera, Shakespeare, the stock market and meteorology.

Stephen Vidal and Edwin Melendez, a public transit management and union team, who worked together on a program that is credited with dramatically reducing the number of accidents involving City buses.