New York, Tuesday, April 14, 2015 — Humphrey Crookendale, Dean of the MCNY School for Public Affairs and Administration invites you to the next session of “Urban Dialogues”, featuring Letitia James, Public Advocate for the City of New York.

Letitia James, Public Advocate for the City of New York is the first woman of color to hold a citywide position in our city’s history. In her first months in office, she successfully pushed forth proposals to bring Universal School Lunch and police body-worn cameras to New York City. In fall 2014, the office re-launched the city’s Worst Landlords Watchlist, expanding the list and adding significant technological upgrades.

As a member of the New York City Council, James introduced the Safe Housing Act, which became City law in 2007. This ground-breaking bill ensured that thousands of families in rental buildings receive prompt and full repairs to their apartments. This bill represented a $50 million investment in housing code reform and is a major victory for all New Yorkers living in substandard buildings. She is considered an early whistleblower of the Office of Payroll Administration’s CityTime contract, a payroll system that she criticized as being overly costly and difficult to manage in numerous committee hearings. Poor management of the project led to hundreds of thousands of dollars stolen by corrupt consultants. In 2012, her legislation addressing oversight of high-cost service contracts with the City of New York was passed into law.

As Chair to the Council’s Sanitation Committee, in 2010 James pushed-through a revolutionary recycling package that included expanding plastic recycling, a new clothing and textile recycling program, and improved public space recycling. This legislative package represented the first significant expansion of the City’s residential recycling program since it was created in 1989.

James is a graduate of CUNY’s Lehman College and Howard University Law School, and can be seen in the Atlantic Yards documentary, “Battle for Brooklyn”. She has worked with the New York State Legislature, and has served as a former public defender, New York State Assistant Attorney General, and New York City Council Member.

Letitia James will address the college’s community on Tuesday, April 14, from 6 p.m. to 7:50 p.m., in the conference center on the 11th floor.  Seating will be limited.  Please RSVP.

As noted on the college’s website, “Urban Dialogues” is a forum in which scholars, legislators, policy makers, students, and citizens exchange ideas and discuss issues and trends that affect New York City and other urban centers across the nation. Topics cover a spectrum of ideas, theories, and viewpoints that inform and/or influence urban policy.

CONTACT:  Tina Georgiou 646-648-0694 or tgeorgiou@mcny.edu

About Metropolitan College of New York

Audrey Cohen, educational visionary and activist, founded the Women’s Talent Corps in 1964. Through development and training for new professional positions, the Talent Corps created employment for thousands of people. It became The College for Human Services, later Audrey Cohen College, and today Metropolitan College of New York (MCNY). MCNY, now celebrating its 50th anniversary, continues the tradition of offering highly motivated learners an education that combines applied skills and professional knowledge to effect personal transformation and positive change in the workplace and community. MCNY is a not-for-profit, accredited, independent college. Full year-round offerings accelerate degree completion, and a unique approach to learning permits close integration of workplace activities and study. MCNY is conveniently located in Soho/Tribeca at 431 Canal Street, New York, NY 10013 and in the Bronx at 529 Courtlandt Ave Bronx, NY 10451.  For more information on MCNY, visit www.mcny.edu or call 800.33.THINK.