The Civic Alliance to Rebuild Downtown New York: Mr. Ciaccio introduces Paul Epstein (a former President of the NY Metro Chapter ASPA Chapter) who spoke about the work of the Civic Alliance. The Civic Alliance was convened by the Regional Plan Association (RPA) and the participants include universities and civic and community organizations in the Downtown Manhattan area. The APA and other professional associations are also participants. The Civic Alliance has formed a number of workgroups that will make presentations at the scheduled April 26, 2002 Assembly of the Regional Planning Association. Mr. Ciaccio said that NY Metro Chapter ASPA has been formally accepted as a participant in the Civic Alliance. Participation by ASPA members will be solicited both from among the Board Members (the purpose of today's presentation) and from the General membership. Mr. Falterman will be our representative at the Civic Alliance program scheduled for February 7, 2002. Mr. Rolandi suggested John Fava as one member who might be interested in becoming involved with the Civic Alliance. Mr. Epstein will forward materials regarding the Civic Alliance to Mr. Jameson for him to make available to the Chapter membership.

National ASPA: Mr. Ciaccio distributed copies of an Executive Director Evaluation for 2001 - 2002 and solicited comments from those who may have had experiences with Mary Hamilton (the National ASPA Executive Director). Mr. Rolandi spoke favorable of his past interaction with Ms. Hamilton. Mr. Ciaccio also distributed copies of the 2002 Strategic Plan Implementation Awards Program Checklist Application for SPI Award and solicited input for the submission for the Chapter. The SPI Award is a contest among ASPA Chapters which will grant cash prizes to the two Chapters with the highest scores. Mr. Ciaccio said that the Chapter will receive a Newsletter Award [Division IV Chapter Newsletter Award] at the upcoming National Conference. Richard Scheirer, Director of the NYC Office of Emergency Management, will be receiving the Donald Stone Award for Government Administrator at the Annual Conference. Among the attendees, Mr. Ciaccio, Mr. Justice, and Mr. Rolandi said that they planned to attend the National Conference while Ms. Hubbard-Kamunanwire and Mr. Falterman said that they are considering attending the Conference. Mr. Rolandi said that Cheryl Broom had won the election for National ASPA Vice President by a sizable margin. He said that Ms. Broom expressed her gratitude to the Chapter and its members for their support. Ms. Broom will be sworn in as ASPA President at the 2004 National ASPA Conference. Mr. Justice lost his bid for District 1 Council Representative by just three votes. Mr. Falterman issued a reminder about membership renewals, stating that renewals were the lifeblood of any organization. He also noted that David Lowry, in the PAL, had presented the NY Metro Chapter's Oath of Office as a model for other Chapters.

Chapter Program Events: Mr. Ciaccio commented that the Holiday Party was a good Chapter Event with a high turnout and a good speech (by NYC Council Member-Elect Gail Brewer). Mr. Falterman spoke about an upcoming Chapter program Event on Re-Districting. Based upon the 2000 U.S. Census, New York State in losing two Congressional seats. New York State Senate and Assembly districts are also being reviewed. The New York State Legislature districting plan is expected by February 2002 while the Congressional re-districting plan is not expected until May 2002. Re-districting for Kings County and Bronx County is subject to review by a court-appointed special master under the Voting Rights Act. Lynn Weikart (Baruch College School of Public Affairs) will be the moderator for the Forum scheduled for February 7, 2002 at 6:00PM to 8:00PM in the Oak Room at the Baruch College School of Public Affairs. The Honorable Deborah Glick (Member, New York State Assembly) is a scheduled panelist and others are being invited. Mr. Falterman expects to have an announcement flyer ready by the middle of next week. Mr. Falterman also announced that the next Ed Koch Lecture at Baruch College, an event co-sponsored by the Chapter, will be held on Wednesday, February 6, 2002 (6:00PM - 8:00PM). Mr. Falterman requested Mr. Rolandi to provide the ASPA Banner for both scheduled events. Mr. Ciaccio would like to schedule another Program Event for March or April 2002. One possibility that he suggested was a tour of a transit facility. He had thus far been unsuccessful in contacting Michael Massiah of the Port Authority regarding a tour of AirTrain. Mr. Justice suggested a presentation on the LaGuardia Archives; he will contact the professor who is the curator for the Archives. Mr. Rolandi said that a joint Program Event for the NY Metro Chapter and the Northern NJ Chapter had been previously discussed. Mr. Justice said that the Milano School (at The New School) might be a convenient venue for such a joint program event since it is close to PATH train stations. Mr. Falterman suggested a "mix and greet" social event and said that the mixer at the Holiday Party was good as was the presentation on the Fresh Democracy Council by Council Member (then Council Member-Elect) Gail Brewer. Ms. Hubbard-Kamunanwire suggested a program on democratizing the City Council. Mr. Ciaccio said that he may be able to arrange a theater outing with discount tickets from TKTS as a social event.

Annual Awards Dinner: Mr. Rolandi said that he had done the preliminaries for inviting Mayor Bloomberg as the Guest Speaker. Any such invitation needs to be routed through several of the Mayor's aides and advisors for their endorsement. Attendance by the Mayor, if the invitation is accepted, would still not be a sure thing since something might come up. Mr. Rolandi said that a deputy mayor may be substituted if the Mayor becomes unavailable after accepting the invitation. Mr. Ciaccio said that we can set the date of the Annual Awards Dinner based upon the availability of the Mayor. A draft letter of invitation to the mayor will be prepared by next week; Mr. Rolandi expects that the Mayor's Office will reply within a month. The Chapter will need to get a larger restaurant room if the Mayor will be the Guest Speaker, since attendance would then be expected to be 200+ people. A hotel facility or one of the larger rooms in Chinatown or Little Italy were suggested. To support the recovery of downtown Manhattan, the Chapter will seek a facility below Houston Street. Mr. Ciaccio suggested the restaurant SPQR, which has the largest dining room in Little Italy. Mr. Justice suggested giving the Mayor an Award for his outstanding support of professionalism in public service. Mr. Falterman suggested that we may wish to recognize the Mayor's efforts at a policy of inclusion. If the mayor is not available, Mr. Ciaccio suggested that we next extend invitations to Senator Schumer and Senator Clinton. Mr. Falterman suggested NYC Deputy Mayor Dennis Walcott (who is also the Mayor's Special Policy Advisor on Education) and NYC Comptroller Bill Thompson as possible Guest Speakers. Richard Scheirer, Director of the NYC Office of Emergency Management, is another possibility; he could be asked to speak about the response of the NYC Transit Authority to 9-11 -- this topic is expected to result in increased attendance. The Annual Awards Dinner Committee members are Mr. Rolandi, Ms. Hubbard-Kamunanwire, Mr. Falterman, and Mr. Meyer. (Mr. Justice offered to help the committee with "tasks".) The Awards Committee will be Mr. Ciaccio and the members of the Annual Awards Dinner Committee. Mr. Ciaccio requested that the Call for Nominations be published in the Newsletter. Mr. Jameson said that he believes the award criteria are still posted on the Chapter Web Site from last year. Ms. Hubbard-Kamunanwire suggested that award categories be reviewed and possibly reduced in number. Mr. Ciaccio decided to put out the Call for Nominations using the current categories and then make revisions based upon the responses. Mr. Falterman suggested that the Chapter Elections be completed before the Dinner so that the elected officers may be presented at the Dinner to highlight Chapter leadership.

Chapter Elections: Mr. Ciaccio will contact Gregg Van Ryzin (Immediate Past Chapter President) about chairing the Nominating Committee. He suggested Raymond Joseph and Steve Rolandi as members for the Nominating Committee.

High School Essay Contest: Mr. Tinker suggested the topic for this year's essay contest. The Governing Board approved the suggested topic. The topic is: Public Service: September 11th and Beyond -- The horrendous events of September 11, 2001, are having continuing ramifications throughout our society. Identify some ways in which your concept of public service, and the image of the public servant, have changed both for the better as well as in any negative aspects.

Chapter Newsletter: Mr. Jameson said that he plans to issue a Chapter Newsletter on or about February 1^st, 2002. He requested that all submissions for the newsletter be made before the weekend after next. Mr. Ciaccio said that he would submit a President's Column for the Newsletter.

Chapter Governing Board Meeting: The next Chapter Governing Board Meeting was scheduled for Thursday, February 28^th, 2002 at MTA, 2 Broadway, New York City

[The Meeting was convened at 5:49PM and adjourned at 7:02PM. The Meeting was held at the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, 2 Broadway, Fourth Floor, Conference Room 4.01. Governing Board Attendees: Ms. Alexander, Mr. Ciaccio, Mr. Falterman, Carolyn Hubbard-Kamunanwire, Mr. Jameson, Mr. Meyer, Ms. Osborne, and Mr. Tinker. Other Attendees: Paul Epstein, Jonathan Justice, and Stephen Rolandi. Minutes recorded by Mr. Jameson.]