Julie Menin

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.[5] 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.[5]

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.[6] Menin worked with artists including Mikhail Baryshnikov on these programs.[2]

Beginning in 2005, Menin served as Chairperson for 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.[5]

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.[7] Menin has been recognized for her "solution-based" approach to controversial issues in the wake of 9/11 and as chair of CB1.[8]

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.[9][10] resulting in the Obama Administration backing out of New York City [11]

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.[12][13]

She advocated for the construction of a performing arts space as a part of the redevelopment of Ground Zero.[14]

In 2011, Menin spearheaded efforts to balance the rights of Occupy Wall Street protesters with quality-of-life concerns of residents.[15] This position was praised in a New York Times editorial as a "good approach."[16][17]

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.[18]

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.[19]

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.[20][21][22] 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.[23]

Menin expanded DCA's Office of Financial Empowerment (OFE), a program dedicated to helping New Yorkers with low incomes achieve greater financial stability.[24][25]

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."[26][27] 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.[28]

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.[29][30] 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.[31]. 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.[32]

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.[33] Menin's portfolio encompasses over 385,000 jobs in New York, more than the financial and insurance sectors combined.[34]

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.[35][36] 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.[37][38] 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.[39]

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.[40] 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.[41]

Menin is an adjunct professor at the School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University.[42] She also serves on the board of trustees of Columbia University.[43]