A Career in Public Service
A lifelong New Yorker, Betsy Gotbaum said she had no intention of going into politics or public service. She learned Spanish and Portuguese, lived in Brazil and became a teacher.
Decades later, she can take credit for a wide-ranging and impressive list of accomplishments, including being one of just a handful of women who have held citywide office—in Gotbaums’ case, public advocate.
An early job, for instance, was serving as deputy director of the precinct receptionist program for the New York City Police Department. There, she implemented a program that staffed local police precincts with people, mostly women, who had been on public assistance. The goal was to provide employment to those who needed it and make the precinct headquarters more friendly and welcoming. This kind of innovation mixed with a genuine desire to help others marks Gotbaum’s time as a public servant. Read more
25 YEARS ON THE BENCH
WESTSIDER OF THE YEAR
Chief Judge Judith Kaye may be stepping down, but her mark on the state’s judicial system will likely endure for generations.
After 25 years on the New York State Court of Appeals, Kaye must retire at age 70, as state law mandates. An Upper West Sider originally from Monticello, N.Y., Kaye recently looked back on her long and historic time spent on the court during her last State of the Judiciary speech. She delivered her self-described “swan Read more
