Vito Lopez
| Vito J. Lopez | |
|---|---|
| Member of the New York State Assembly from the 53rd district |
|
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office January 1985 |
|
| Preceded by | Victor Robles |
| Personal details | |
| Born | June 5, 1941 [1] Brooklyn[2] |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Joan Lopez (divorced)[3]
Angela Battaglia (girlfriend)[4] |
| Children | Gina Marie Lopez Summa, Stacey Anne Lopez Breves[5] |
| Alma mater | Yeshiva University (MSW) Long Island University (BS, Business Administration)[1] James Madison High School |
| Profession | Social Worker, Non-profit Program Manager, Politician |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
| Website | Assembly Website |
Vito Joseph Lopez (born 1941) is an American politician, member of the New York State Assembly, and chairman of the Democratic Party of Kings County.
Contents |
[edit] Personal life
Born in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn,[3] of an Italian-American family, his last name Lopez derives from his grandfather, whom is a Spanish native. Vito Lopez graduated from Brooklyn's James Madison High School, and received a BS in Business Administration from Long Island University (1964), and a Master of Social Work from Yeshiva University (1970).[1]
Lopez and his former wife, Joan, have two grown children. His long-time girlfriend, Angela Battaglia, is Director of Housing for Ridgewood Bushwick Senior Citizens Council, and a member of the New York City Planning Commission.
Lopez was diagnosed with leukemia in 1993,[3] and in 2010 was treated for a recurrence of cancer.[6]
[edit] Early career
Lopez began his career with the New York City Department of Social Services, at the Stanhope Street Senior Center in Bushwick, Brooklyn.[3][7] In 1973 Lopez founded Ridgewood Bushwick Senior Citizens Council (RBSCC), a non-profit organization to provide services to senior citizens in Bushwick, Brooklyn, Ridgewood, Queens, and surrounding neighborhoods.
[edit] Political career
Lopez is a member of the New York State Assembly, representing the 53rd District (which primarily comprises the Brooklyn neighborhoods of Bushwick and Williamsburg). First elected in 1984, he began his twelfth term as an Assembly member in January 2007.
Since 2006 Lopez has served as the Chairman of the Kings County Democratic Party, having replaced former chairman Clarence Norman Jr.
[edit] Expansion of Loft Law
Lopez was among the sponsors of a bill to expand the original 1982 Loft Law, "...which gave rights to illegal tenants and made their lofts subject to rent stabilization."[8] The 2009 Loft Law Amendment, which went into effect June 2010, expanded these protections to lofts in manufacturing areas of Williamsburg, Greenpoint, Bushwick, and Long Island City.[8][9]
[edit] Childhood Sexual Abuse Legislation
While Lopez has previously sponsored similar legislation, he has not supported a 2009 bill, the Child Victims Act,[10] sponsored by Assemblywoman Margaret Markey. This bill would open a one year window to allow older victims of prior childhood sexual abuse the ability to file civil actions against their abusers.
He has sponsored a competing bill that provides no window, but would change current law to allow lawsuits against public institutions without requiring a 90 day notice of claim. The New York Times reported on June 9, 2009 that in an effort to reach a compromise with Lopez's bill, Markey amended her bill to specifically include all public institutions through the waiver of the current 90 day notice of claim requirement, and also limited the window to victims aged 53 or younger.[11]
[edit] Stance on gay marriage
During an October 13, 2006 meeting with the Lambda Independent Democrats, a political club of gay Democrats in New York City, Lopez publicly declared his support for extending the right of civil marriage to same-sex couples for the first time in his political career. He also intimated that he would help to enact legislation that would recognize same-sex marriages, which the highest court in New York State had refused to recognize earlier that year.[12]
[edit] Investigations
According to multiple media account in September 2010, Lopez and the Ridgewood Bushwick Senior Citizens Council are the subject of several investigations, led by the US Attorney in Manhattan and in Brooklyn, and the New York City Department of Investigations.[13][14]
[edit] References
- ^ a b c Assembly Member Vito J. Lopez - Biography, Project Vote Smart, http://www.votesmart.org/bio.php?can_id=4346, retrieved 2010-09-27
- ^ Vito J. Lopez - Biography, New York State Assembly, http://assembly.state.ny.us/mem/?ad=053&sh=bio
- ^ a b c d Barnes, Julian E., The Two Faces of Bushwick; A Troubled Brooklyn Neighborhood Is Mending. But Its Leaders Are Feuding Over the Size of the Gains and What to Do Next., New York Times, http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E02E7D81F30F934A15751C0A9669C8B63
- ^ Goldstein, Joseph; Vincent, Isabel; Klein, Melissa, Vito Lopez's gal pal a baroness of Brooklyn housing, New York Post, http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/brooklyn/meet_dem_own_big_money_honey_LQIEOz2F37TEP5YApw1HBK, retrieved 2010-09-27
- ^ WEDDINGS/CELEBRATIONS; Stacey Lopez, Sean Breves, New York Times, 2003-08-03, http://www.nytimes.com/2003/08/03/style/weddings-celebrations-stacey-lopez-sean-breves.html
- ^ Seifman, David (2010-09-28), Vito boiling as city freezes $12M deals, New York Post, http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/brooklyn/vito_boiling_as_city_freezes_deals_qIUz17mQnALiRMOeArJ4KN
- ^ Life-long Community Organizer Remembers the Start of It All, Bushwick Observer, 2002-02, p. 4
- ^ a b Buckley, Cara (2010-07-25), That Cheap, Roomy Loft Can Now Be a Legal One, Too, New York Times, http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/26/nyregion/26loft.html
- ^ Expansion of the Loft Law, New York City Loft Board, http://www.nyc.gov/html/loft/html/home/expansion.shtml
- ^ "Bills". Assembly.state.ny.us. http://assembly.state.ny.us/leg/?bn=A02596. Retrieved 2011-01-04.
- ^ New York Times, June 4, 2009
- ^ "newyorkblade.com". newyorkblade.com. http://www.newyorkblade.com/2006/10-23/news/localnews/morelocal.cfm. Retrieved 2011-01-04.
- ^ Robbins, Tom (2010-09-23), Vito Lopez Can't Catch a Break: Three Investigations for a Man Battling the Big C, Village Voice, http://blogs.villagevoice.com/runninscared/archives/2010/09/vito_lopez_cant.php
- ^ Mr. Untouchable: Brooklyn Democratic boss Vito Lopez has city probers buffaloed, New York Daily News, September 17, 2010 [1]
[edit] External links
- 'Assemblyman Vito J. Lopez', Member page, New York State Assembly
- 'Vito's Brooklyn Comeback Party', The Politicker, The New York Obsever
- 'Bill Aims to Spur Housing for New York’s Poor', The New York Times
- 'Clarence Norman Successor Faces Questions', The New York Sun
- 'Brooklyn Democrat Vito Lopez emerges Assembly's top hog in handing out pork dollars'The New York Daily News
- 'Pfizer Offering Williamsburg Plant Site for Affordable Housing-So, Why's a State Assemblyman Trying to Seize It?'The New York Observer
- 'Democrats in Brooklyn: Vito Lopez Continues the Corruption'The Daily Gotham citing The New York Times, The New York Post, The New York Daily News, etc.
- Julian E. Barnes,"The Two Faces of Bushwick; A Troubled Brooklyn Neighborhood Is Mending. But Its Leaders Are Feuding Over the Size of the Gains and What to Do Next" NY Times Online, The New York Times, February 27, 2000
- David Freedlander, The Lion in Winter: Vito Lopez And The End Of County, City Hall, March 1, 2010
- Marwell, Nicole P., Bargaining for Brooklyn: community organizations in the entrepreneurial city, University of Chicago Press, 2007
| New York Assembly | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Victor Robles |
New York State Assembly, 53rd District 1985–present |
Incumbent |
