Stanley Michels Post Office Building

Floor Speech

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Mr. ESPAILLAT. Mr. Speaker, I thank Congresswoman Stacey Plaskett for yielding me time as well as Ranking Member Elijah Cummings and Trey Gowdy for their support in bringing this bill to the floor.

I have a special acknowledgement and thank you to Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, who introduced the Senate version of my bill which is before us today. I rise in strong support of S. 2692, to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 4558 Broadway in Manhattan as the Stanley Michels Post Office Building.

Stanley Michels was a great public servant. He was a loving family man and he was from my neighborhood of Washington Heights. He served on the New York City Council from 1978 to 2001, representing Council District 6, and always did so with distinction and with integrity.

As the chairman of the New York City Council's Committee on Environmental Protection from 1992 through 2001, Stanley was best known for his activism on environmental issues, particularly water quality, and also he was a strong advocate of tenants' rights.

He was a very strong supporter of New York City parks. They called him the King of the Parks in New York City and he injected millions of dollars into the park system across the City of New York, but, particularly, in northern Manhattan: Fort Tryon Park, Inwood Hill Park, Highbridge Park, Bennett Park, and Isham Park. All of these parks in the long, narrow neck of northern Manhattan received tremendous funding from Stanley Michels.

In many ways, Stanley was ahead of his time. In 1987, he was a prime sponsor of the Clean Indoor Air Act, which was New York City's first law regulating smoking in public places. He was also the visionary behind the Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Act of 1982, legislation that is still relevant today in New York City and New York State.

He played a significant role in expanding the city's recycling program and in advocating for a memorandum of understanding among the city, the State, and upstate communities to protect the city's watershed in the Catskill Mountains.

After years of public service and a long fight against cancer, Stanley passed away in 2008, but his legacy will not be forgotten. It is my honor to see a post office named in his honor.

Stanley Michels and his family poured their hearts into making New York City a better place for all of us to live in. This included: his wife, Molly Michels; his sister, Ellen Grant; his son, Jeffrey; and his two daughters, Karen and Shari Michels--who is now a New York City civil court judge--and three grandchildren.

Stanley Michels left a tremendous legacy and he made a difference. Naming this post office after Stanley Michels is a fitting tribute to honor his memory and all of his contributions to New York City.

Mr. Speaker, I am proud to have sponsored this bill, and I look forward to celebrating Stanley Michels' legacy next month.

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