New York Metropolitan Chapter ASPA NEWS

Hon. Bill Perkins, Deputy Majority Leader, New York City Council

Hon. Gale Brewer, Chair, Technology in Government Committee,

New York City Council

Moderator

Andrew White, Director, Kaplan Center for New York City Affairs, Milano Graduate School of Management and Urban Policy,

New School University

All are welcome to attend! Admission is free. Refreshments will be served.

May 6 - May 12 is Public Service Recognition Week (PSRW). The theme this year is Affirming Pride in Public Service. For more information on PSRW, visit the Public Employees Roundtable website at http://www.theroundtable.org.

This will be the 18th annual nationwide celebration of public service sponsored by the Public Employees Roundtable, a nonprofit educational coalition of 31 organizations. "The celebration in 2002 has special significance for all of us because it will honor public officials who gave their lives on September 11th, as well as those who made exceptional efforts to serve the needs of others", according to Board Chairman, Kirke Harper.

Past Chapter President Gregg Van Ryzin heads the Chapter Elections Committee. Joining Mr. Van Ryzin on the Committee are Steve Rolandi and Ray Joseph. Anyone wishing to make a nomination (including self-nomination) for a Council seat should e-mail Chapter President Bill Ciaccio at Wciaccio@NYCT.com. Mr. Ciaccio will then forward the final nominations to the Election Committee.

We will hold the Chapter Annual Awards Dinner on Wednesday, June 19, 2002 at SPQR (133 Mulberry Street, Manhattan). The Awards Committee has made the following selections:

Additional Awards are under review by the Committee.

By Daniel W. Williams

Baruch College

EthicsProfessor@Yahoo.com

Over the last few months the topic of government secrecy has been in the national news on several occasions. These include secrecy over immigrants detained following September 11, secrecy over investigation into anthrax, and secrecy over Vice President Cheney’s meetings with business executives over federal energy policy. Mayor Guiliani’s last minute actions before leaving office - such as effectively firing Parks Department Work Experience Program workers and revising the leases with baseball teams to give them more favorable terms - have also been called secret activities, although they did no remain secret for very long. His removal of his public papers to a private archive is under a cloud of secrecy. These events provoke public cynicism and distrust of government.

Public officials have preferred secrecy throughout the modern era and probably since time immemorial. Yet, in a sense this recent spate of controversial secrecy is surprising. Since the 1970s legislatures have passed a vast array of open government laws, generally aimed to force public action into the sunshine. Decades before, an official termed the experience of government service as work in a "fishbowl." Sunshine and fishbowl are not the environment in which we would expect so much secrecy.

Modern theorists suggest this fishbowl and sunshine experience leads the ordinary government manager to be overcautious, often failing to accomplish the very tasks for which s/he is appointed for fear of criticism or even prosecution over bold action.

It seems that ordinary government officials have been tied up in a morass of regulatory red tape aimed at open government, while the decisions we most care about - multi-million dollar corporate giveaways at the state or federal level, matters of civil liberty, or the risk of a modern plague - are still cloaked in a web of special considerations that exempt them from public observation.

This is a typical example of trying to force ethics through regulation rather than developing a culture of ethical behavior. Regulations catch too many people in too broad a sweep. Yet, they usually leave loopholes through which the most important matters still pass.

As new secrecy scandals provoke public outcry, legislative bodies are once again forced to take up the matter. A body of new law or regulation will force even more care on the part of ordinary administrators. At the root there is a confusion. The public sees little difference between the parts of government; that is, top decision makers are lumped into the same group as street level bureaucrats. Too often, top decision makers respond to outcries about their behavior by regulating low and middle ranking employees. The public is satisfied until there is another scandal. However, they come to think of regulation-bound administrators as incompetent. Meanwhile, the regulations miss their intended target, so the cycle recurs, reinforcing distrust of us all.

Two things are needed. First, those regulations that are needed should be narrowly crafted and targeted to the circumstances they correct, not broadly applied to government in general. Second, we must find ways to cultivate a culture of moral behavior and not merely rely on rules to make people good.

***************************************

TOPIC:

The horrendous events of September 11, 2001, are having continuing ramifications throughout our society. Identify some ways in which your concept of public service, and the image of the public servant, have changed both for the better as well as in any negative aspects.

Entries should be approximately 1000 words in length but should not exceed 1500 words. Entries must be typed, double-spaced. Each should have a separate cover page containing the following information: 1) the student’s complete name, home address, telephone number and grade; 2) the name of the sponsoring teacher, school address, and teacher’s telephone number.

DEADLINE: Entries should be submitted to the address below by April 30, 2002:

Peter M. Tinker

Personnel Management Specialist

VA Medical Center (05)

130 West Kingsbridge Road

Bronx, New York 10468

AWARDS: Winning students will be recognized and receive their prizes at the annual ASPA Awards Dinner in June of 2002.

For additional information, contact Mr. Tinker at:

Telephone: (718) 741-4593

FAX: (718) 741-4598

E-mail: peter.tinker@med.va.gov

***************************************

We are pleased to announce that this Newsletter received the Chapter/Section Newsletter Award (for Division IV Chapters) at the National ASPA Conference that was held in March 2002 in Phoenix, AZ. Chapter President Bill Ciaccio accepted the award on behalf of the Chapter. The NY Metro Chapter also received a $500 ASPA Strategic Plan Implementation Award.

Mr. Ciaccio accepted the Donald Stone Award for Outstanding Practitioner on behalf of Richard Schierer, former Commissioner of the New York City Office of Emergency Management. The Chapter plans to present this Award to Mr. Schierer during the Chapter Annual Awards Dinner on June 19, 2002.

The New York City Transit Authority Columbia Association will honor NY Metro Chapter ASPA Chapter President William Ciaccio (Senior Director, Program Support) and Rosemarie Chicala-O'Neil (Station Supervisor) as Italian Americans of the Year at their Annual Scholarship Dinner Dance on Friday, October 18, 2002.

The Dinner will be held at Micali Terrace (1521 86^th Street, Brooklyn). Cocktails will begin at 8:00PM followed by Dinner at 9:00PM. The Donation is $65.00 per person (RSVP by October 4, 2002). Checks should be made payable to: Columbia Association NYCTA. For ticket information, please contact the Committee Chairperson Paul Gallo at 646-252-3823 or Angela Pellicani at 718-694-4181.

The New York Metropolitan Chapter of the Conference of Minority Public Administrators (COMPA) and the Long Island University School of Business, Public Administration and Information Sciences are co-sponsoring a presentation on:

This presentation will be held at Long Island University, Health Science Building (HS), Room 119, One University Plaza, Brooklyn at 6:00PM - 8:00PM on Thursday, May 23, 2002.

The invited Guest Speakers are: Assemblyman Roger Green (Chair of NYS Black, Puerto Rican and Hispanic Legislative Caucus), Hon. Rev. Floyd Flake (Greater Allen Cathedral of New York), Hon. Eva Moskowitz (Chair, Education Committee, New York City Council), Professor Walter Stafford (Wagner Graduate School of Public Service, New York University), and the United Parents Associations of New York City, Inc.

COMPA is a Section of the American Society for Public Administration (ASPA).

RSVP by May 16, 2002 to Deborah Tyson, Event Chair, at 718-457-1974 or via e-mail at NYCOMPA@aol.com.

We welcome our newest members: Harold Daffin, Helen R. Desfosses, Charlie Finlay, Marisol Gonzalez, Roger Goodman, Barbara Hart, Andre K. Hendricks, Jehmal T. Hudson, Roz Lasker, Marina Mak, Bernadette F. McCulloch, Marceline A. McIntosh, Victoria Miranda, and Brendon D. Pooran.

Chapter Web Site

We encourage all Members to visit our Chapter web site at: http://www.homestead.com/mvjnymetroaspa/index.html. Members may also wish to visit the National ASPA web site at: http://www.aspanet.org.

If you received this Newsletter in the mail, then the Chapter may not have a valid e-mail address on record for you. Distributing the Chapter Newsletter via e-mail (as an MS-Word document file) saves paper and saves the Chapter postage and photocopying costs.

If you have an e-mail address to which we can send newsletters and other Chapter announcements, please send an e-mail message to Michael Jameson at mjame10644@aol.com.

Chapter Governing Board Meeting Minutes: The Minutes from the January 23, 2002 Chapter Governing Meeting were approved after emendation by Mr. Falterman.

National ASPA: Mr. Ciaccio announced that the Chapter had won the Second Place Award of $500 in the National ASPA Strategic Plan Implementation (SPI) Award. A certificate will be presented to the Chapter at the upcoming ASPA National Conference. Mr. Ciaccio said that Richard Scheirer will receive an award and special recognition by the National ASPA President at the National Conference. Mr. Ciaccio also said that the Chapter Newsletter will receive an award during the National Conference. Mr. Ciaccio said that the expected rebate from National ASPA is $1,652; Mr. Meyer will be submitting the Chapter's form for the Fiscal Year Ending 06/30/2001. Mr. Meyer said that the rebate last year was based upon 292 Primary Chapter Member plus 13 Secondary Chapter Members. The Chapter is in third place among all National ASPA Chapters in terms of membership; the Washington, DC and the Los Angeles Chapters both have larger membership rosters than the New York Chapter. Mr. Williams said that the ethics column that appeared in the 02/2002 issue of the Chapter Newsletter will be re-published in the Newsletter for the National ASPA Section on Ethics. Mr. Falterman said that an article by Mr. Ciaccio regarding Chapter program events will be published in PA Times; the article is entitled "New York Metro Chapter Still Stands Tall". [The article appears in the March 2002 issue of PA Times (Volume 25, Number 3), Page 22.]

Chapter Treasurer Report: Mr. Meyer said that the Chapter Fund Balance is $5,801.88, including the Scholarship Fund. Recent transactions include expenses for the December Program Event (Holiday Party) and the January Program Event at Baruch College, reimbursement to Mr. Jameson for Newsletter costs, and bank fees.

Civic Alliance for Downtown New York: Mr. Ciaccio made introductory comments and then Mr. Falterman discussed the February 25, 2002 Meeting of the Social, Economic, and Environmental Justice Committee of the Civic Alliance for Downtown New York. The meeting convened at 8:30AM. Two letters were presented for member organizations to sign-on. The first regards a Green Building Tax Credit. The letter is requesting NYC to get extra tax credits by keeping the city out from under a cap on total tax credits. The second letter regards a ferry landing on the West Side of Manhattan for high-speed commuter ferry service to Downtown Manhattan. Both letters are address to New York State Governor Pataki. Member organizations need to "opt-in" to become signatories of the letters; the deadline for response is March 1^st. Ms. Hubbard-Kamunanwire questioned the methodology being used in formulating policy positions for the Chapter; she said that it was being done piecemeal. Mr. Ciaccio saw a benefit to the Chapter membership in our supporting the objectives of the Civic Alliance. Mr. Falterman moved, upon Mr. Ciaccio's recommendation, for a vote on whether the Chapter should sign the letters. Mr. Williams asked (raising questions rather than objections) if there was any conflict with the Chapter taking a position on the issues in the letters in regards to both the tax-exempt status of ASPA and the Chapter Constitution. Mr. Falterman then withdrew his motion, stating that it should be tabled for further informal discussion. Mr. Williams suggested that we pursue Ms. Hubbard-Kamunanwire recommendation to involve the Chapter membership in policy decisions. We can use e-mail and the Chapter Newsletter to solicit participation; the letters can be e-mailed to the membership. It was then decided that each letter should be raised as a separate motion. A motion regarding the Green Building Tax Credit $25 Million Cap was brought to the floor for a vote; the vote on the motion failed to gain majority support. No Governing Board member wished to make a motion on the letter regarding ferry service. Comments will be solicited from the membership.

Chapter Program Events: Mr. Falterman spoke about the Chapter Program Event on Redistricting and Reapportionment in New York State -- 2002. He said that we had good attendance and a good mix of panelists. He thanked Ms. Gerard for preparing the flyer, Mr. Ciaccio and Mr. Meyer for administration and logistics, and Mr. Jameson for the turnaround time in getting out the newsletter with the event announcement flyer. Mr. Falterman is planning a program event on democratizing the New York City Council. The working title is "A New City Council in a New Era". Council Member Gale Brewer (who represents the Upper West Side) and Deputy Majority Leader Bill Perkins (who has the third leadership position on the City Council) are tentatively scheduled to participate in this forum. Mr. Meyer and Ms. Gerard will work with Mr. Falterman on developing this event; Mr. Meyer will try to get a Council Member from outside Manhattan to participate. Mr. Falterman will contact The New School and New York University about hosting this event. The event is tentatively planned for mid-April, 2002. Another proposed event is a Forum on the New York City Budget in May, 2002. Lynne Weikart (from the Baruch College School of Public Affairs) would be the moderator for this event discussing the city budget. Mr. Williams will work with Ms. Weikart on this event

Annual Awards Dinner: Mr. Ciaccio contacted Sal Anthony's S.P.Q.R. Restaurant and made a reservation for June 12, 2002 for the Chapter Annual Awards Dinner. The Chapter had offered a "New Horizons" Award to Mayor Bloomberg but he declined the Chapter's invitation to be the Guest Speaker. As an alternative Guest Speaker, Ms. Hubbard-Kamunanwire has contacted Senator Schumer's Office (she has a personal contact in that office). She will follow-up with her contact person about the invitation. Ms. Gerard suggested NYS Attorney-general Eliot Spitzer as a Guest Speaker, but this will not be pursued since he is running for re-election this year [and the Chapter avoids the appearance of any partisan political activity]. From the list compiled at the prior Chapter Governing Board Meeting, Senator Clinton is next on list after Senator Schumer. Mr. Falterman repeated the remaining Guest Speaker candidates from the prior meeting: Bill Thompson, Dennis Walcott, Gifford Miller, and Charles Rangel. Ms. Alexander suggested former Senator Moynihan and Mr. Meyer suggested NYC Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum. Ms. Hubbard-Kamunanwire suggested Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markovitz, who may draw dinner attendees from Brooklyn. Based on legislative schedule, attendance at a Dinner scheduled for a Wednesday night may be a problem for National figure. If a positive response is not received from Senator Schumer by March 11, 2002, the Dinner Committee will proceed to the next candidates on the list. It was decided that Ms. Gotbaum would be next, followed by Mr. Thompson and Mr. Miller. Scheduling the Dinner in June may present availability conflicts with the NYC Budget Process and Graduations. Since the June 12^th Date is in conflict with other Affairs, Mr. Ciaccio will re-schedule the reservation for Thursday, June 13, 2002. Mr. Williams suggested a "standalone" e-mailing of the Chapter Awards Nomination criteria. Ms. Hubbard-Kamunanwire mentioned the printing of the award certificates; it was suggested that costs could be reduced by looking for internet vendors for the printing of the plaques.

Chapter Elections: Mr. Ciaccio said that there will be three vacancies [amended to "four vacancies" at 04/11/2002 Governing Board Meeting] among the Council seats on the Chapter Governing Board. He said that Dawn Roberts has stated that she does not wish to seek re-election. The Council Seats now held by Ms. Alexander and Ms. Osborne are also up for re-election (since their terms end with the 2002 Program Year). Mr. Falterman said that, as an outreach to the membership community, he will be nominating Lynne Weikart (from the Baruch College School of Public Affairs). Mr. Ciaccio said that the Chapter Election Committee is comprised of Gregg Van Ryzin, Steve Rolandi, and Ray Joseph. He said that the Elections should be completed before the Chapter Annual Awards Dinner, which will also be the Chapter Annual Membership Meeting.

Miscellaneous: Mr. Falterman distributed information on Hearings scheduled by the New York State Legislative Task Force on Demographic Research and Reapportionment and pointed out the related web site. Mr. Williams said that undergraduates at Baruch College, CUNY were forming a Student Public Interest Group with a web site that they are interested in having affiliated with the NY Metro Chapter ASPA web site. Mr. Jameson said that he could post a link to the student's web site once the web site address is available. Mr. Williams also offered the listserv available at Baruch College for use for Chapter e-mail correspondence to the membership. Mr. Falterman encouraged prompt renewal of memberships since membership renewal is the "lifeblood" of the organization. Ms. Gerard requested that events sponsored by GAP (Government Affairs Professionals) be posted to the Chapter web site. Mr. Falterman requested that photos from Chapter Program Events be posted to the Chapter web site.

Chapter Governing Board Meeting: The next Chapter Governing Board Meeting was scheduled for 6:00PM on Thursday, April 11th, 2002 at MTA, 2 Broadway, New York City

The minutes from the February 28, 2002 Chapter Governing Board meeting were approved after it was noted that the number of upcoming vacancies among the Council seats on the Chapter Governing Board is four.

President’s Report: Mr. Ciaccio discussed the National ASPA Annual Conference held recently in Phoenix. Mr. Ciaccio accepted several awards on behalf of the Chapter including the Division 4 Chapter Newsletter Award which will be presented at the Chapter Annual Dinner, the Strategic Plan Implementation Award ($500), and the Donald Stone Award for Outstanding Practitioner which the Chapter plans to present at its Annual Dinner to Richard Schierer, former Commissioner of the New York City Office of Emergency Management. Mr. Ciaccio discussed potential strategies for increasing membership including development of a contest to encourage current members to draw in new ones. Ms. Roberts and Mr. Rolandi discussed the need to also concentrate on retaining existing members by focusing on professional development activities. Mr. Ciaccio discussed and distributed the Annual Report on the State of ASPA and the Centex Chapter Announcements and Activities flyer. Ms. Gerard discussed the women’s group functions she attends and related professional development and networking activities.

National Council: Mr. Rolandi announced that Cheryl Broome was elected ASPA Vice-President and discussed the ASPA Phoenix conference and future conferences planned in Washington DC (2003) and Portland, OR (2004) and the Conference Selection Committee criteria in selecting a host city for 2005 (Des Moines or Milwaukee). Mr. Rolandi announced that he would not seek National Office in the 2002-2003 election cycle as he recently became engaged and has accepted a job promotion.

Mr. Falterman discussed the Chapter May 6^th event – "The New City Council in a New Era" to be held at the New School University Wolff Conference Room 2^nd Floor. Guest speakers include Council Members Bill Perkins and Gale Brewer. The Moderator of the program is Andrew White, Director of the New School’s Kaplan Center for New York City Affairs. The program is being held in honor of public service recognition week. Mr. Falterman thanked Ms. Gerard and Mr. Meyer for their assistance. Mr. Falterman announced that a program was being developed in cooperation with Baruch College’s Lynne Weikart and Dan Williams on the New York City Budget. Mr. Falterman distributed literature on the Civic Alliance to Rebuild Downtown New York and the Regional Plan Association. The Governing Board voted to send Mr. Falterman and Ms. Gerard to the Regional Plan Association’s upcoming conference on Rebuilding Downtown New York. The Chapter paid the $75 registration fee for the 2 members.

Awards Committee: Mr. Meyer discussed the nominations received as of the April 1^st deadline and distributed a list of the nominees. The Awards committee is scheduled to meet on April 16^th to review the nominees and make recommendations to the Governing Board via email. Ms. Roberts and Mr. Joseph indicated that they knew of potential nominees. Mr. Ciaccio reported that the Annual Dinner was tentatively scheduled for June 19^th at Sal Anthony’s and that the Committee would meet on April 16^th to continue the planning efforts. NYC Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum is the confirmed Guest Speaker.

Treasurer’s Report: Mr. Meyer reported that the current Chapter fund balance is $5,682.63 (includes $1,000 for scholarship). The Chapter expects to receive the $500 from the Strategic Plan Implementation Award and its annual Chapter rebate soon.

Chapter Elections: Mr. Ciaccio discussed the Chapter Elections Committee comprised of the following members: Mr. Joseph, Mr. Van Ryzin, and Mr. Rolandi. Mr. Ciaccio asked officers to consider their future candidacy plans and to advise him soon as ballots are to be mailed and elections are to be held this spring. Mr. Ciaccio indicated that new and current officers would be sworn in at the Annual Dinner in June. Mr. Ciaccio also discussed a vacancy on the National Council and indicated that if there was any interest to please contact him as soon as possible.

Other Business: Mr. Joseph discussed the background of the scholarship fund and encouraged the Chapter to develop a program to administer it. An essay contest was proposed. Mr. Joseph reported on an upcoming COMPA event scheduled for May 23^rd at the LIU at 6 PM. The subject of the event is the dismantling of the NYC Board of Education and its impact on traditionally deprived communities. The panel of invited guests includes Council Member Eva Moskowitz, Rev. Floyd Flake, NYS Assemblyman Steven Sanders, and the BOE PTA President.

May 23, 2002: NY Metro Chapter COMPA and LIU School of Business, Public Administration and Information Sciences Present: Mayoral Control of the Board of Education: Will the Mayor's Proposed Form of Governance Really Solve the Problem? How Will Traditionally Deprived Communities Benefit From This Change in Governance? (Long Island University, Health Science Building (HS), Room 119, One University Plaza, Brooklyn) (6:00PM - 8:00PM) (RSVP to Deborah Tyson, Event Chair, by May 16, 2002 at 718-457-1974 or via e-mail at NYCOMPA@aol.com.

May 19 - 27, 2002: Cross-Cultural Research Exchange Between the U.S. and Spain Theme: Beyond Our Borders: Toward Global Dimensions of Civil Rights, Human Rights, Socio-Economic, Educational and Environmental Issues (Valladolid, Spain) (Contact: Mitchell Rice, 979-845-0966 or e-mail mrice@resi.tamu.edu.

http://www.homestead.com/mvjnymetroaspa/index.html

http://www.aspanet.org

The New York Metro Chapter of the

RSVP to Ed Falterman at (212) 642-9465 or email falterman1@aol.com

Long Island University

Assemblyman Roger Green, Chair of NYS Black, Puerto Rican and Hispanic Legislative Caucus

Hon. Rev. Floyd Flake, Greater Allen Cathedral of New York

Hon. Eva Moskowitz, Chair, Education Committee, New York City Council

Professor Walter Stafford, Wagner Graduate School of Public Service, New York University