NYC's 12-year club: Pols reflect on a dozen years in office as terms end

Mayor Michael Bloomberg always jokes about his inner countdown clock and the days he has left in his twelve-year run. However, he isn't the only New York City elected official leaving office on Dec. 31 after three terms.

There are 17 City Council members and borough presidents who have been on the job since 2002 and will have to vacate their offices due to term limits. Many of those leaders said they were honored to be re-elected for those terms and reflected about their tenure with amNewYork as they plan for the future.

City Council Speaker Christine Quinn

Quinn, 47, was elected to represent the 3rd district in Manhattan in 1999 in a special election following her predecessor Thomas Duane's election to the state senate. Two years later, she won her first full term and in 2006 became the first female and first openly gay speaker of the City Council.

Quinn said she felt honored to have inspired both women and LGBT New Yorkers who yearned for a major voice at the table and that she always prioritized the interests of all New Yorkers.

"You get up every day and do your job and don't think I'm the first this or that," she said.

Quinn said she's proud of improving the quality of life for her constituents by pushing for improved housing laws.

"In my time as speaker I wanted the city to be a greener place, where tenants have a better place," she said.

The speaker added that she was pleased to lead the Council at a time when the LGBT movement experienced a new renaissance throughout the nation.

Quinn wouldn't reveal her next political move.

She said she has no regrets about her time in office, even if she didn't get a chance to lead the city as mayor, and left a simple piece of advice for her successor: Work hard and have fun.

"The power of local government is tremendous. When people try to drive to a consensus, you can get amazing things done," she said.

City Councilman Peter Vallone Jr.

The second-generation councilman has represented Astoria since 2002. He's been the chair of the Council's Public Safety Committee. Vallone Jr., 52, said assuming that position right after 9/11 was daunting.

"I came into office after watching my father [Peter Vallone Sr.) make a difference in the neighborhood, thinking I was going to improve our parks, and schools and potholes and everything a public servant has to do. I never thought my first hearing would be an oversight for the massive anti-terror operation," he said.

In the end, Vallone said he is proud that the council and NYPD were able to bring crime down 35% during his tenure. The councilmansaid he will continue to be active in government and community issues but didn't have anything official lined up.

"I have no idea," he said when asked what his next job will be. "I'm considering my options."

Anyone looking to get updates on how Vallone's doing can check out his Facebook and Twitter accounts, which he promises will remain active. Vallone said he hopes his work will inspire more New Yorkers to be active in public service.

"When I was in 4th grade, I had no idea who our city councilman was and it was my own dad! The fact that kids know who I am means they will one day think about going into politics," he said.

City Councilwoman Gale Brewer

Brewer, who will assume the role of Manhattan Borough President, entered the Council in 2002 to represent the Upper West Side. The 62-year-old said she is especially proud of her work as the chair of the Committee on Governmental Operations.

Brewer said she has always ensured that she and her staff answered every call, e-mail and request that came through her office.

"You have to be extremely responsive. They know when you are responding, they hear what you say and read what you write," she said.

Brewer pushed and helped pass a law this year mandating that all of the city's public data go online. Several agencies, such as the health department and NYPD, have already begun creating interactive websites that share their data. More are on the way.

Brewer said she has some regrets. The housing crisis in particular took the Council by storm and she said she didn't have enough resources to help the thousands of New Yorkers who lost their homes and businesses.

"I wish we could have done more there. We just didn't see it coming," she said.

Brewer advised her successor, Helen Rosenthal, to continue that tradition of transparency.

"We always advocate for our constituents and do our best to listen to their needs," she said.

Borough President Marty Markowitz

Exiting a job that he's wanted since he was a teen is no easy task for Markowitz, but the 68-year-old said he's proud that his hometown borough has become the hot spot for new New Yorkers.

During Markowitz's 12-year tenure, the borough gained a cruise ship port, hundreds of new homes, a basketball team and even a starship captain, Sir Patrick Stewart.

"I promised Brooklyn would be celebrated around the country and around the world. I"m happy to say this happened," Markowitz said.

The borough president said his first goal when he assumed office was to make people aware that he was their advocate and that he could help turn their neighborhoods around. Markowitz said he was upset with many of the popular depictions of Brooklyn as either boring, crime ridden or old fashioned.

He said he welcomed the thousands of young professionals and families that have changed the shape of neighborhoods such as Williamsburg, Bushwick and Park Slope.

"They breathe life into our borough. That is a world of change," Markowitz said.

The borough president's tenure has been hit with some controversies, including his battle with Prospect Heights residents who protested the Atlantic Yards development plans. Markowitz acknowledged their concerns but said that the disagreements are all part of democracy.

"In my profession you have to take the stones thrown at you. You can't make everyone happy, but you try to make them happy," he said.

Markowitz said if it weren't for term limits, he'd remain in officeand that he was proud of his tenure overall.

"Overwhelmingly I've loved it. It doesn't mean it's not been bumpy. It has been. Everyone makes mistakes, but I've done my best with what I've got," he said.

Here's a look at the rest of the vacating three-term office-holders:

BRONX

G. Oliver Koppell
District 11 - Council Member - Democrat
Policy Program Working Group, Chair
Two of Koppell's many accomplishments while in office are the passing of the Rechargeable Battery Recycling Bill and the Fire Safety Bill.

Joel Rivera
District 15 - Council Member - Democrat
Rules, Privileges & Elections Committee, Chair
The youngest New York City elected official at the age of 22. As Chair of the Health Committee, he helped to ban trans fat and mandate calorie labeling in New York fast food restaurants.

BROOKLYN

Erik Martin Dilan
District 37 - Council Member - Democrat
Housing & Buildings Committee, Chair
A lifelong resident of the 37th district, Dilan has enhanced Brooklyn by allocating$4 million to completely renove Irving Square Park and over $10 million to rehabilitate other district parks. Furthermore, Dilan has recovered over$1 million per year to schools for computer labs, gym renovations, libraries, etc.

Lewis A. "Lew" Fidler
District 46 - Council Member - Democrat
Assistant Majority Leader
Youth Services, Chair
Fidler has worked to restored funding to the Summer Youth Employment Program and youth programs at several community centers.

Sara M. González
District 38 - Council Member - Democrat
Juvenile Justice, Chair
In response to recent sexual assaults in Brooklyn, Gonzalez joined forces with Speaker Quinn and The Center for Anti-Violence Education to offer Brooklynites free community self-defense training and has secured millions of dollars towards juvenile detention alternatives, in efforts to rehabilitate juveniles.

Michael Nelson
District 48 - Council Member - Democrat
Sanitation & Solid Waste Management; Waterfront, Chair (entered in 99)
Councils' Jewish Caucus, Chair
Nelson sponsored legislation that imposes strong penalties on engineers and architects who incorrectly self-certify building plans, which violate Zoning and Building Codes and co-sponsored legislation that reduces rent for low-income seniors and disabled persons.

Domenic M. Recchia
District 47 - Council Member - Democrat
Finance, Chair
As Chair of Finance, Recchia has led the City Council in successfully passing an on-time annual New York City budget, managing and negotiating the $69 billion dollars required to run this city.

Albert Vann
District 36 - Council Member - Democrat
Community Development, Chair
Born and raised in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood, Vann led the 1981 U.S. Supreme Court fight that prevented the racial gerrymandering of the New York City Council. In protecting our children, Vann sponsored local law 83 (2009), which raises the penalty for toy manufacturers and retailers selling imitation firearms to between $1,000-$5,000 for the first offense and between $3,000-$8,000 for each subsequent offense.

MANHATTAN

Robert Jackson
District 7 - Council Member - Democrat
Education, Chair
The Council's Black, Latino & Asian Caucus, Co-Chair
Jackson fought diligently to improve New York City's education system by sponsoring Resolution 1349 (2012), asking state legislatures to amend the DREAM Act to include Caribbean DREAMers, international children legally brought here by their parents that were recruited to New York by the U.S. government.

QUEENS

Leroy Comrie, Jr.
District 27 - Council Member - Democrat
Land Use, Chair
Deputy Majority Leader
The Queens Delegation, Chair
Comrie has secured over $2 million for improvements of the Queens Hospital Center, over $30 million to build Public School 273, over $2 million for the construction of the Cambria Heights Library young adult center as well as over $15 million for the renovation and creation of multiple city playgrounds.

James F. Gennaro
District 24 - Council Member - Democrat
Housing and Buildings, Chair
Gennaro spearheaded the efforts in passing Local Law 250-A, which raises the tobacco purchasing age from eighteen to twenty-one and establishes the electronic cigarette purchasing age to twenty-one and sponsored NYC Resolution 1850-A, which calls on the state to ban the drilling for natural gas within the New York City watershed.

Helen Marshall
Queens Borough President
The first African American and second woman to hold the post of highest-ranking elected official in a borough with a population of more than 2.2 million residents, Marshall has been a tenacious advocate for public libraries.

STATEN ISLAND

James Oddo
District 50 - Council Member - Republican
Minority Leader
A native Staten-Islander, Oddo has sponsored important legislation including local law 63 (2010) requiring notification prior to tree planting, local law 20 (2005) requiring the placement of automated external defibrillators at certain public places and local law 102 (2005) increasing civil penalties for damaging houses of religious worship or religious articles therein.

(Jennifer Ross)