- Andrew Stein
Andrew Stein (born Andrew J. Finkelstein in
1945 ) was the last President of theNew York City Council . He was a longtime political leader inNew York .Stein's father is
Jerry Finkelstein , a multi-millionaire retiredpublisher (of the "New York Law Journal ", among other publications). Andrew Stein chose to shorten his name.Stein was elected to the
New York State Assembly in 1968 and served in that office for nine years. He was well known for his series of public hearings into the management practices of nursing homes in the state.In 1977, Stein was elected as the
Borough President ofManhattan , defeatingNew York City Clerk David N. Dinkins in the primary. Stein defeated Dinkins in the 1981 primary for the borough presidency. He was the Democratic nominee for Congress in the "Silk Stocking District" on Manhattan's East Side in 1984, but was defeated by incumbent Republican "Bill"S. William Green . Stein declined a race for a third term as borough president in 1985 to run for City Council President.As City Council President, Stein served as the presiding officer of the City Council, was acting mayor in the absence or disability of Mayor
Edward I. Koch , was a voting member of the Board of Estimate, and handled constituent and policy issues. Stein derived most of his power from his seat on theNew York City Board of Estimate . He was reelected City Council President in 1989.A decision by the
United States Supreme Court that declared the Board of Estimate unconstitutionally took away this seat from Stein. A rewriting of the city charter called for the City Council Presidency to be abolished and the office of Public Advocate to be created, and to handle the role of presiding officer of the City Council and first in line of succession to the mayor. The change in duties would occur when Stein's term expired onJanuary 1 1994 .In 1993, Stein announced he would challenge Mayor Dinkins, in the primary. Despite his reputation as a liberal, Stein had tried to get the endorsement of the Republican and Conservative parties, but was unsuccessful. Stein later dropped out before the primary and briefly considered a bid for Public Advocate against City Consumer Affairs Commissioner
Mark J. Green , City CouncilwomanSusan Alter , and State Sen.David Paterson . Stein then withdrew from the race after a few weeks.Stein retired from the City Council Presidency and from public life in the city. Since leaving office, he has pursued private business as a partner in Arapaho Partners, LLC, a business consulting firm based in
New York City .Personal life
Stein was married twice; he married his second wife, Lynn Forester, a lawyer, in 1983. The couple divorced in 1993 and have two sons, Ben and Jake. Forrester is presently married to the British financier
Evelyn Robert de Rothschild .According to a report in theNew York Post on 10 October 2007, Stein had begun dating the conservative writerAnn Coulter . When asked about the relationship, Stein told the paper, "She's attacked a lot of my friends, but what can I say, opposites attract!" On 7 January 2008, however, Stein told theNew York Post that the relationship was over, citing irreconcilable differences. [http://www.nypost.com/seven/01072008/gossip/pagesix/over_already_676492.htm]
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