FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 11, 2002 PR-188-02 www.nyc.gov |
MAYOR MICHAEL R. BLOOMBERG ANNOUNCES FORMATION OF NEW YORK CITY CHARTER
REVISION COMMISSION
Robert J. McGuire
to Chair 13-Member Commission
Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg today announced the formation of the New
York City Charter Revision Commission and appointed thirteen members
to the Commission, which will be chaired by former Police Commissioner
Robert J. McGuire. The Mayor has directed the members to review the
entire Charter to determine whether revision is needed. The Commission
will hold a series of public meetings and hearings in all five boroughs
and to issue a final report of its findings and recommendations. The
bipartisan Commission will decide by early September whether to propose
any amendments to New York City voters on Election Day, Tuesday, November
5th.
"New York City's citizens deserve an efficient government where its officials can be held accountable and where every individual has the opportunity to participate," Mayor Bloomberg said. "These thirteen individuals represent the very best of New York: independence, intelligence, and integrity. I am certain they will do an excellent job in evaluating whether civic improvements are needed, and if they are, in proposing amendments to the voters this November."
"The Mayor has assembled an outstanding group of New Yorkers representing the best the City has to offer," Mr. McGuire said. "I am honored to work with a group as dedicated, capable, and knowledgeable as this one and I promise to give my all to this very important endeavor."
The Charter Revision Commission members are:
Robert J. McGuire
At 41 years old, Mr. McGuire was the youngest Police Commissioner
in New York City history, a position he held from 1978 to 1983. Mr.
McGuire is currently Counsel to the law firm Morvillo, Abramowitz,
Grand, Iason, and Silberberg. He is President of the Police Athletic
League and a former President of Kroll Associates, Inc., an international
corporate investigations and security consulting firm. Mr. McGuire
is a graduate of Iona College and Saint John's University Law School.
He resides in Manhattan.
Herman Badillo
Mr. Badillo has an extensive career in public service, having served
the citizens of New York City as Commissioner of Housing Relocation
under Mayor Robert F. Wagner and subsequently as Bronx
Borough President. Mr. Badillo made history as the first Puerto Rican
Member of Congress and later as Deputy Mayor for Management under
Mayor Edward I. Koch. As Special Counsel for the Fiscal Oversight
of Education to Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani, Mr. Badillo was an outspoken
advocate of education reform. Governor George E. Pataki later appointed
him Chairman of the City University of New York Board of Trustees.
Mr. Badillo, a founding partner in the New York City law firm Fischbein,
Badillo, Wagner, Harding, is a graduate of City College and Brooklyn
Law School and a Certified Public Accountant.
Richard I.
Beattie
Mr. Beattie has a long record of public service on the City and national
level. In the 1980's, Mr. Beattie served on the New York City Board
of Education. During the administration of President Jimmy Carter,
he was General Counsel at the Department of Health, Education and
Welfare, and, as Director of the Transition and Counsel to the Secretary
of Education, he led the effort to organize the U.S. Department of
Education. Mr. Beattie is the Chairman of the Executive Committee
of Simpson, Thacher, and Bartlett, as well as Chairman of the Board
and founder of New Visions for Public Schools, a not-for-profit organization
that develops and implements programs to affect system-wide improvements
in public education in New York City. He is a graduate of Dartmouth
College and the University of Pennsylvania School of Law. He resides
in Manhattan.
Wellington
Z. Chen
Mr. Chen is Senior Vice President of TDC Development Corporation,
a design and building firm in Queens. He started his career with the
architectural firm I.M. Pei & Partners and later served as a Commissioner
of the New York City Board of Standards and Appeals. Mr. Chen was
also the first Chinese-American ever to serve on a Queens Community
Board (7) and held that position for 13 years. He is a Trustee of
City University of New York and serves on the Board of Directors of
the Flushing YMCA. He resides in Queens.
Jerry E. Garcia
Mr. Garcia is Vice President of Investor Services at J.P. Morgan Chase
& Co., where he manages a staff of over 200 professionals and
has global client management responsibilities. Mr. Garcia is a graduate
of the City University of New York and received an Executive MBA from
Columbia University. He resides in Brooklyn.
Patricia L.
Gatling
Ms. Gatling is Commissioner and Chair of the New York City Commission
on Human Rights. Prior to that, she was First Assistant District Attorney
in Kings County, where she was in charge of the Major Narcotics Investigations
Bureau, Community Relations Bureau, Legal Hiring, Inter-Agency Training,
and Governmental Affairs. She is also a former President of the National
Black Prosecutors Association. Ms. Gatling is a graduate of Johns
Hopkins University and the University of Maryland School of Law. She
resides in Manhattan.
Judah Gribetz
Mayor Bloomberg is the sixth New York City Mayor to call on Mr. Gribetz
for public service. Mayor Robert F. Wagner appointed him Buildings
Commissioner, and he later served as Regional Administrator of the
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development during President
Lyndon B. Johnson's administration. During Mayor John V. Lindsay's
administration, Mr. Gribetz was Impartial Chairman of the Conciliation
and Appeals Board. He was also Deputy Mayor for Governmental Relations
under Mayor Abraham D. Beame and Mayor Edward I. Koch appointed him
to the New York
City Charter Revision Commission. Mayor David N. Dinkins selected
him for the Distribution Committee of the New York City Community
Trust. In 1975, Governor Hugh L. Carey selected Mr. Gribetz as his
Counsel. From 1979 to 1989, he was a member of the State Law Revision
Commission of New York and served as President of the Jewish Community
Relations Council of New York from 1992 to 1995. Mr. Gribetz is a
lawyer with Bingham McCutchen, LLP. He resides in Queens.
Patricia M.
Hynes
Ms. Hynes served as law clerk to Joseph C. Zavatt, Chief Judge of
the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York,
and was an Assistant United States Attorney in the Southern District
from 1967 to 1982. Ms. Hynes is a lead trial lawyer at the firm Milberg,
Weiss, Bershad, Hynes, and Lerach, LLP. She has served on the Advisory
Committee to the Federal Judicial Code Revision Project, currently
chairs the Merit Selection Panel for Magistrate Judges for the Southern
District of New York, and has also served on the Commission on Government
Integrity. Ms. Hynes has been included in the list of "Best Lawyers
in America" since 1993 and has been included in the National
Law Journal's "Survey of The Fifty Most Influential Women Lawyers
in America." She received her law degree from Fordham Law School,
where she was a member of the Law Review. She resides in Manhattan.
Harry Kresky
Mr. Kresky is a lawyer specializing in election, employment, and criminal
law. He is Counsel to the New York County and State Independence Party.
Mr. Kresky is a graduate of Columbia Law School, where he served on
the Board of Editors of the Columbia Law Review. He has been in private
practice since 1972. He resides in Manhattan.
Loretta Lynch
From 1999 to 2001, Ms. Lynch served as U.S. Attorney for New York's
Eastern District. She is currently Chair of the Association of the
Bar of the City of New York's Criminal Law Committee. Ms. Lynch is
a Partner in the New York office of Hogan and Hartson, LLP, and a
member of the firm's Litigation Group. Ms. Lynch is a graduate of
Harvard College and Harvard Law School, where she was a member of
the Legal Aid Bureau and the Harvard Black Law Student Association.
She resides in Brooklyn.
Cecilia E.
Norat
Ms. Norat is Director of State Relations for the American International
Group, Inc. Prior to that, she served as Executive Director of the
New York State Insurance Fund. She has received numerous professional
awards including the Social Issues Award of the Public Employee Federation
of the AFL-CIO. In 2000, Business Insurance selected her as one of
the 100 women leaders in the insurance industry. Ms. Norat is a graduate
of Fordham University and Fordham Law School. She resides in Manhattan.
Marlene Springer
Dr. Springer is the President of the College of Staten Island of the
City University of New York. Prior to her appointment, she was Vice
Chancellor for Academic Affairs at East Carolina University. A specialist
in nineteenth century British and American literature and women's
literature, Dr. Springer earned her Ph.D. in English Literature and
her M.A. in American Literature from Indiana University in Bloomington.
Dr. Springer is a member of the Board of Directors of the American
Council on Education and numerous other professional and civic organizations.
She resides in Staten Island.
Herbert Sturz
Mr. Sturz is a Trustee of the Open Society Institute, a member of
the Soros Foundations Network that supports an array of activities
dealing with educational, social, legal, and health care reform. He
is the Chairman of the After-School Corporation and served as Founding
Director of the Vera Institute of Justice. Mr. Sturz also served New
York City as Deputy Mayor for Criminal Justice and Chairman of the
New York City Planning Commission under Mayor Edward I. Koch. Mr.
Sturz received a B.A. from the University of Wisconsin and an M.A.
from Columbia University. He resides in Manhattan.
www.nyc.gov
Contact: |
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