New York Civic

Edward C. Sullivan

Edward C. Sullivan served in the New York State Assembly from 1977 to 2002.

Tuesday, May 14th, 2013

From time to time, we receive articles from talented writers which we think should be brought to our readers’ attention.

One of our most distinguished contributors is former Assemblyman Edward C. Sullivan, who represented the Upper West Side of Manhattan for 26 years. Here, Mr. Sullivan discusses various reform proposals for Albany to consider. With wit and insight, he evaluates each idea and makes his recommendation.

You may well have your own feelings about the suggestions below and many others which have been offered. We encourage you to join the discussion below and let your voice be heard.

Crossing The Line

Crime Wave in Legislature

Or Just Better Prosecutors?

Henry J. Stern

Henry J. Stern is the founder and president of New York Civic.

Friday, May 10th, 2013

Is there a crime wave among elected officials in New York State?

That is a question that can reasonably be asked in view of the current spate of indictments, trials and convictions of elected public officials, primarily state legislators. The increasing number of prosecutions, however, is not just today's news. In the last seven years, 32 state level officials have been the subject of criminal proceedings. The ratio of defendants to the entire population of the legislature is comparable to street criminality in some neighborhoods.

We ask: Why? Does the field of public service have a particular attraction for white collar criminals? Or do ordinary men and women, previously presumably honorable, succumb to temptation when substantial public funds are available for them to spend or allocate without their having to carry guns or commit crimes of violence?

Reasonable and Crazy

Edward C. Sullivan

Edward C. Sullivan served in the New York State Assembly from 1977 to 2002.

Wednesday, April 24th, 2013

The appearance of the new movie “42,” which tells the story of Jackie Robinson’s historic arrival in Major League Baseball, back in 1947, reminded me of a conversation I had with a friend in the 1980’s.

We were both Members of the New York State Assembly, I as a Democrat, he as a Republican. Despite our disagreement on many public issues, we were good friends. I asked him, on this occasion if he had read “The Boys Of Summer,” which I considered an excellent book. It was about the Brooklyn Dodgers of the 1940’s and 50’s, written by Roger Kahn, a sports reporter who had covered the exploits of the Dodgers back in the day.

My friend said he had not read the book, so I recounted one of the stories told in the book, that I thought he would find interesting.

The Audacity of Dopes

Six Sought GOP Ballot Line

By Bribes to County Leaders

Henry J. Stern

Henry J. Stern is the founder and president of New York Civic.

Wednesday, April 10th, 2013

The frustrated plot to seize political power is a staple of both history and fiction. From Guy Fawkes's gun powder plot in London in 1605 through the party switches and seizure of power in the New York State Senate in 2009, politicians have sought to improve the outcomes of elections through various means.

Just when we thought it was safe to go back in the waters of full contact politics, two new scandals have emerged, one based on an audacious plot to steal the mayoralty in 2013.

The plotters, six highly placed public and party officials, are alleged to have entered into a conspiracy to grant one of their number permission to enter the Republican primary in September. If he won then and in the November general election, City Hall would be in the hands of a band of lowlifes, a situation that reached its depth during the reign of Boss Tweed in 1870.

Edward I. Koch (1924 - 2013)

Ed Koch, Three-Term Mayor,

Reflected New York's Spirit

And Captured Its Affection

Henry J. Stern

Henry J. Stern is the founder and president of New York Civic.

Monday, March 11th, 2013

Mayor Koch left us last month at the age of 88 after a long and productive life. He served twelve years (1978 – 1989) as the 105^th Mayor of the City of New York, bringing the city from the brink of bankruptcy to fiscal stability. During his tenure New York reversed a significant population decline since the 1970s, when hundreds of thousands of people fled the persistently increasing crime rate and deficit financing. After falling more than ten percent in that decade, the city’s population made a turn-around in the 1980s that has continued since.

Ed Koch first came to public attention in the early 1960s, during three races against Carmine DeSapio for the unpaid position of Democratic District Leader in Greenwich Village. DeSapio was at the time the most powerful Democrat in New York State. He exercised great influence over the selection of personnel in city government and the decisions they made in contested cases of the awarding of city contracts for goods and services and the appointment and reappointment of judges law secretaries and other judicial officers.