Julie Menin

Julie Menin (born 1967) is an American attorney, civil servant, non-profit executive, professor, and small business owner.[1][2] In January 2019, She was appointed Director of the Census for NYC and Executive Assistant Corporation Counsel for Strategic Advocacy. Previously, she had worked as the Commissioner of the New York City Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment and Commissioner of New York City's Department of Consumer Affairs.

Julie Menin
Menin in 2016
Director of the Census for NYC and Executive Assistant Corporation Counsel for Strategic Advocacy
Assumed office
January 2019
Appointed byBill de Blasio
Personal details
Born
Julie Jacobs

1967 (age 53–54)
NationalityAmerican
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse(s)Bruce Menin
ResidenceNew York City, New York, USA
Alma materColumbia University
Northwestern University School of Law
ProfessionFormer small business owner, regulatory attorney, non-profit executive director
Websitejuliemenin.com

Early life and education

Menin is the daughter of Agnes and Dr. Robert Jacobs.[3] Her mother was a painter and her father was a radiologist.[3] Menin earned a B.A. magna cum laude from Columbia University and received her J.D. from Northwestern University School of Law.[4][5]

Career

Menin began her career in 1992 as a regulatory attorney at Wiley, Rein & Fielding in Washington D.C., where she represented clients in matters involving the full range of federal and state enforcement agencies.[4] She later became Senior Regulatory Attorney at Colgate-Palmolive in New York City, where she played a lead role in numerous agency cases involving the Department of Justice, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Federal Trade Commission, and also litigated disputes in state and federal courts.[6] In 1999, she opened and operated Vine, a restaurant, market, and catering operation in lower Manhattan, which had more than 75 employees.[6]

Nonprofit founder and president

Following 9/11, Menin founded and was the president of the nonprofit Wall Street Rising, a leading catalyst in the recovery of the downtown neighborhood.[6] She helped small businesses access grants, insurance, and other monetary aid; grew the organization to 30,000 members; and created a variety of programs, including the Retail Attraction Program, which helped more than 600 small businesses stay in lower Manhattan.[6]

Under her leadership, the organization launched the "Music Downtown" and "Art Downtown" series, which provided cultural and entertainment amenities to local residents in an effort to revitalize Lower Manhattan.[7] Menin worked with artists including Mikhail Baryshnikov on these programs.[2]

Chairperson for Manhattan Community Board 1

Beginning in 2005, Menin served as Chairperson for Manhattan Community Board 1, where she was unanimously elected for three consecutive terms totaling seven years, and was widely recognized for her role in revitalizing lower Manhattan following the upheaval of 9/11.[6]

As chair of CB1, Menin worked on numerous land use and zoning issues, led a successful campaign to build New York City's first "green" school and other initiatives to revitalize Lower Manhattan.[8] Menin has been recognized for her "solution-based" approach to controversial issues in the wake of 9/11 and as chair of CB1.[9]

She successfully pushed to move the trial of 9-11 mastermind Khalid Sheik Mohammed out of Lower Manhattan, while maintaining the importance of a federal trial.[10][11] resulting in the Obama Administration backing out of New York City [12]

On May 25, 2010, Menin presided over the Community Board's historic 29-1 vote in favor of a proposed Islamic cultural center and mosque, preserving the fundamental principle of freedom of religion and used a solution driven approach to urge the interfaith center (where all different religions can worship) be part of the plans.[13][14]

She advocated for the construction of a performing arts space as a part of the redevelopment of Ground Zero.[15]

In 2011, Menin spearheaded efforts to balance the rights of Occupy Wall Street protesters with quality-of-life concerns of residents.[16] This position was praised in a New York Times editorial as a "good approach."[17][18]

Candidate for borough president

Menin ran in the Democratic primary for Manhattan Borough President in September 2013, but finished fourth behind New York City Council Members Gale Brewer, Jessica Lappin and Robert Jackson.[19]

In 2017, Menin agreed to a $201,000 settlement with the New York City Campaign Finance Board in exchange for the CFB dropping its claim to $62,361 in fines related to her campaign finance practices and $208,657.72 in repayment of public matching funds.[20]

Commissioner of DCA

Under Menin's leadership, the New York City Department of Consumer Affairs has launched initiatives to protect consumers from fraud, scams, and predatory conduct, and expanded the Agency's role in areas such as financial empowerment and investigative legal enforcement.[21][22][23] DCA has increased its consumer restitution by 72 percent over the prior year, returning money to consumers who have been victims of fraud, scams and predatory conduct.[24]

Menin expanded DCA's Office of Financial Empowerment (OFE), a program dedicated to helping New Yorkers with low incomes achieve greater financial stability.[25][26]

Menin conducted DCA's first study of gender pricing disparities between goods sold in New York City, and published a report, "From Cradle to Cane: The Cost of Being a Female Consumer."[27][28] Through a comparison of nearly 800 products with clear male and female versions from more than 90 brands sold online and in stores at two dozen New York City stores, the study found that, on average, products for women cost seven percent more than similar products for men and women's products were priced higher 42 percent of the time.[29]

Commissioner of the Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment

In February 2016, Menin was appointed Commissioner of The Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment, an agency which comprises the Office of Film, Theatre and Broadcasting and NYC Media.[30][31] The Office of Film, Theatre and Broadcasting serves as a one-stop shop for the entertainment industry, a sector that contributes nearly $9 billion to the City of New York's economy and employs over 130,000 New Yorkers. NYC Media is responsible for managing and programming all of the media assets for the City of New York, which includes a television broadcast network reaching over 18 million people, a radio station and four local cable stations. The agency has seen record growth in both film projects and television series produced in the city.[32] She negotiated the deal to bring the Grammy Awards back to New York after a 15 year absence, resulting in a $200 million benefit to New York City.[33]

With Menin's appointment, Mayor Bill de Blasio expanded the Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment to encompass the full scope of the industry, including music, advertising, publishing, digital media and real estate as it relates to the creation of creative content.[34] Menin's portfolio encompasses over 385,000 jobs in New York, more than the financial and insurance sectors combined.[35]

In 2016, the office launched a five-part initiative to support women both behind and in-front of the camera in film and television and in theater, the first of its kind for a U.S. city.[36][37] That same year, Menin launched Made in NY Writers Room, a diversity initiative that awards fellowships and mentorship opportunities to traditionally under-represented television writers, and #NominateNYC, a campaign to increase diversity among the voting members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.[38][39] In an effort to reduce the significant carbon footprint of the film and television industry, Menin created NYC Film Green, an environmental initiative that promotes and recognizes sustainable practices on the sets of film and television productions.[40]

Director of the Census for NYC and Executive Assistant Corporation Counsel for Strategic Advocacy

In January 2019, Menin was announced as Director of the Census for NYC and Executive Assistant Corporation Counsel for Strategic Advocacy by Mayor Bill de Blasio.[41] Menin is responsible for organizing New York City's efforts to have every resident to participate in the upcoming 2020 Census. Menin successfully fought the Trump administration's unlawful attempt to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census.[42]

Columbia

Menin is an adjunct professor at the School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University.[43] She also serves on the board of trustees of Columbia University.[44]


Personal life

In 1999, she married Bruce Menin in a Jewish ceremony at the Metropolitan Club.[3] She resides in Manhattan with her husband and three children.[6]

References
  1. "Julie Menin Has Wall Street Rising". Wall Street Journal.
  2. "Julie Menin Has Wall Street Rising". New York Sun.
  3. "Weddings – Bruce Menin and Julie Jacobs". New York Times. February 14, 1999. Retrieved June 5, 2018.
  4. "Commissioner Julie Menin". nyc.gov. Retrieved June 5, 2018.
  5. "JULIE JACOBS MENIN CC'89". Columbia College Alumni Association. Retrieved December 21, 2020.
  6. "Mayor de Blasio Appoints Julie Menin as Commissioner of Department of Consumer Affairs". The official website of the City of New York. 24 April 2014.
  7. "Luring people downtown, through song".
  8. Shapiro, Julie. "Spitzer, mayor back new school". Downtown Express.
  9. Editorial. "Making right decisions". The Villager.
  10. Chen, David W. "Panel Chief Raises $450,000 as She Eyes Manhattan Post".
  11. CLEHANE, DIANE (February 3, 2010). "Lunch: 'Heroine' Julie Menin Takes On Washington: "Move the 9/11 Trial!"". Mediabistro. Retrieved December 21, 2010.
  12. Shane, Scott (January 29, 2010). "U.S. Drops Plan for a 9/11 Trial in New York City". NY Times. Retrieved December 21, 2010.
  13. Dunning, Matt. "CB1 Backs Imam's Community Center, Silent on Mosque Near WTC". The Tribeca Trib. Archived from the original on 2010-08-06.
  14. CBS News. "NYC Panel Head: Add Interfaith Center to Mosque". CBSNews.com.
  15. "$150M in WTC found money: Use it now to build a performing arts center on the Deutsche Bank site".
  16. "Panel Chief Raises $450,000 as She Eyes Manhattan Post".
  17. "A Good Approach on Wall Street". New York Times. October 24, 2011. Retrieved November 4, 2011.
  18. "Making peace with Occupy Wall Street: Community board president says violence is no answer". New York Daily News. October 23, 2011. Retrieved November 4, 2011.
  19. "Councilwoman Brewer Wins Nomination for Manhattan Borough President". CBS. 11 September 2013.
  20. "De Blasio entertainment commissioner ponies up $200K to city Campaign Finance Board". Crain's New York. 14 December 2017.
  21. Silver-greenberg, Jessica (20 March 2015). "New York City Starts Car Loan Program to Curb Abusive Practices". The New York Times.
  22. "Here are the top 10 scams in NYC and how to avoid them". New York's PIX11 / WPIX-TV.
  23. Abrams, Rachel. "New York City Agency Subpoenas 2 Santander Auto Lenders". DealBook.
  24. "City Says Small Business Fines Have Been Cut in Half". DNAinfo New York. Archived from the original on 2016-01-30.
  25. "City's Expanded Tax Credit Campaign Pays off Big for New Yorkers". The official website of the City of New York. 15 April 2015.
  26. Cardwell, Diane (19 December 2006). "Bloomberg Plans New Office to Help New York's Poor". The New York Times.
  27. "From Cradle to Cane: The C st of Being a Female C nsumer" (PDF).
  28. "Julie Menin: New York City's gender tax". NY Daily News.
  29. "City Releases Gender Pricing Study -". The official website of the City of New York. 18 December 2015.
  30. "Julie Menin Named New York City Film Czar". Retrieved 10 May 2017.
  31. Flamm, Matthew. "City consumer affairs chief shifts to glam gig". Retrieved 10 May 2017.
  32. "Homeland, Quantico are among the seven TV shows that are new to New York". Crains New York. 7 February 2017.
  33. Morris, Chris (25 January 2018). "The Grammys Bring Star Power (and Dollars) to New York City This Week". Retrieved 15 October 2018.
  34. "Mayor de Blasio Appoints Julie Menin Commissioner of Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment". 2 February 2017. Retrieved 10 May 2017.
  35. "NYC Has Never Been Better for the Working Actor". Retrieved 10 May 2017.
  36. "New York City Starts $5 Million Fund for Women in Film and Theater". The New York Times. 29 September 2016.
  37. "New York City launches $5-million fund for women in film and theater, a first in the U.S." Los Angeles Times. 30 September 2016.
  38. "WGA East, New York City Agencies Launch Diversity Initiative for TV Writers". Variety. 8 September 2016.
  39. "New York City launches initiative to help diversify the Academy". Crains New York. 29 June 2016.
  40. "City launches a voluntary film and TV sustainability initiative". Crains New York. 18 October 2016.
  41. "Mayor de Blasio Announces Julie Menin as Director of the Census for NYC". The official website of the City of New York. 2 January 2019. Retrieved 2019-12-30.
  42. Barron, James (2019-01-20). "Two New Jobs, One Mission: Fighting the Trump Administration". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-12-31.
  43. "Commissioner Julie Menin". sipa.columbia.edu. Retrieved October 30, 2018.
  44. "The Trustees of Columbia University | Office of the Secretary of the University". secretary.columbia.edu. Retrieved 2019-12-30.
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