Julie Menin - Advocacy and Community Work

Advocacy and Community Work

Menin became active in New York City politics when she founded and became president of Wall Street Rising, a non-profit organization created in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks to return "vibrancy and vitality" in Lower Manhattan. It is now the fastest growing neighborhood in New York City with tourism up 40% since 2008, and a growing commercial makeup as well.

In 2002, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg appointed Menin as a Redistricting Commissioner to help in redrawing the new boundaries of the NYC City Council.

In 2003, she was appointed to serve on the jury for the World Trade Center Site Memorial Competition.

She currently serves on several government and civic boards including the The World Trade Center Memorial Foundation, The Downtown Alliance, New York Downtown Hospital, The Eleanor Roosevelt Legacy Foundation, The Municipal Art Society, and The Women's Campaign Forum. She is a former board member of the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, Citizens Union, and Governors Island.

In November of 2007, Menin announced the Community Board's decision to build the first "green" school in New York City. CB 1 successfully advocated for a total of 3 new schools in Lower Manhattan during Menin's time as Chairperson.

On January 16, 2010, She wrote an op-ed for the New York Times arguing that the trial of 9-11 mastermind Khalid Sheik Mohammed should be moved out of Lower Manhattan. She led the charge to move the trial out of New York City, resulting in the Obama Administration backing out of New York City

On May 25, 2010, Menin presided over the Community Board's historic 29-1 vote in favor of a proposed Islamic cultural center and mosque, preserving the fundamental principle of freedom of religion and used a solution driven approach to urge the interfaith center (where all different religions can worship) be part of the plans.

On August 30, 2010, she wrote an op-ed for the New York Daily News suggesting that an interfaith, nondenominational center be built on two floors of the project. This would be modeled after the Pentagon Interfaith Chapel in order to bridge the divide.

She has been a frequent critic of the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation (on whose board she sits) and exposed that the agency was sitting on over $200 million. She battled Con Edison in 2010, who tried to lay claim to the $200 million of LMDC funding when Con Ed threatened to raise all New Yorkers rates by $50 if she did not back down. Menin then wrote the Public Service Commission demanding that they investigate Con Ed for illegally threatening to raise rates. She prevailed and the $200 million was allocated to Lower Manhattan as she had advocated.

In September 2011, Menin worked to negotiate what The New York Times dubbed "The Great Sukkah Controversy" where she worked to find an alternate private lot, instead of the public Duane Park for a sukkah to be built. The new space Menin searched and found to host the sukkah ensured that the separation of church and state was maintained. The Downtown Express praised this “as a solution was well thought-out.”

On October 26 2011, Menin led Community Board 1 to a 33-3 vote in favor of Occupy Wall Street's First Amendment right to protest, and opposed the use of force by the city of New York, and at the same time urged the city to address some of the quality of life issues for restaurants and small businesses adjacent to the site, saying "the two were not mutually exclusive." This approach was praised in a New York Times editorial as a "good approach."