Ross Sandler

Four great New Yorkers were honored with Civic Fame Awards at the CityLaw Breakfast on May 26, 2016.  The Civic Fame Award recognizes persons who have made significant contributions to the civic life of New York City. In a happy and joyous ceremony, each awardee was individually presented with a specially created certificate bearing the striking image of the 25-foot-high, gilded figure of Civic Fame which stands on top of the Municipal Building.

The awardees were:

• Mark Davies who retired in 2015 after 22 years as executive director of the Conflicts of Interest Board. Davies created the annual conflicts of interest seminars co-sponsored by New York Law School for the past 20 years.

• Kay Crawford Murray who was the first general counsel of the Department of Juvenile Justice and who served in that position for 24 years. Murray was an early supporter of the Center for New York City Law.

• Frederick A.O. Schwarz Jr. who served as Corporation Counsel and as chair of the 1989 Charter Revision Commission that successfully reorganized the structure of New York City’s government. Schwarz published three important articles for the NYLS Law Review and has been a regular participant in Center for New York City Law symposia.

• Claire Shulman who served for 18 years as Queens Borough President and remains a major force in building the cultural and educational life of the City. Shulman spoke at one of the first CityLaw Breakfasts.

Preceding the awards Errol Louis, the capable host of NY1’s Inside City Hall, addressed the 200 attendees with a stirring talk on the importance of being active in civic life.  He noted that many tell him that they are unhappy with their political choices. The cure, he said, is to become active in politics and encourage others to do the same.

Also honored at the Breakfast were those who have contributed financially to the Center for New York City Law. Each contributor was listed in the Center’s Annual Report. The Civic Fame Breakfast itself was sponsored by the Greenburger Center for Social and Criminal Justice along with Founding Sponsors: Consolidated Edison, the law firm of Greenberg Traurig, and Verizon.

To view the presentation of awards and the talk by Errol Louis, go to CityLandnyc.org and enter Civic Fame in the search box.

Ross Sandler