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Mark Weprin
District 23 - Council Member - Democrat
Mark Weprin was elected to the New York City Council in 2010, as the
representative for District 23, covering Bayside Hills, Bellerose,
Douglaston, Floral Park, Fresh Meadows, Glen Oaks, Hollis, Hollis Hills,
Hollis Park Gardens, Holliswood, Little Neck, New Hyde Park, Oakland
Gardens, and Queens Village.
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Background Information
Mark S. Weprin was elected to the New York City Council on November
3, 2009. Prior to his election to the Council, Mark Weprin represented
the 24th Assembly District in the New York State Assembly for fifteen
years. He was elected to the Assembly in a special election in 1994 to
fill the seat left vacant by the death of his father, Assembly Speaker
Saul Weprin.
In the City Council, Mark Weprin is Chair of Zoning and Franchises;
he serves on the Land Use, Education, Economic Development, Oversight
& Investigations, and Technology Committees. During his tenure on
the City Council, he authored the Workplace Religious Freedom Act, which
strengthened the City’s Human Rights Law with respect to religious
practices in the workplace. For the 2010 census, Council Member Weprin
partnered with the United States Census Bureau, chairing a Complete
Count Committee. The committee worked to increase census participation
and to address the past undercounting of the Asian community.
As the representative of a community with a large population of
cooperative and condominium residents, Mr. Weprin is the founder of the
New York City Council Co-op and Condo Caucus. The caucus draws
attention to the unique challenges facing those who live in co-op and
condo housing units and advocates for equity in legal status for co-ops
and condos.
Mark Weprin is a leader for children and adults with special needs.
In the City Council, he is the lead proponent of the Autism Initiative,
which provides much-needed funding for autism services for children and
families. Through his efforts, the United States Tennis Association
(USTA) initiated a program of tennis instruction for autistic children.
He was also involved in supporting the National Autism Walkathon in New
York and was a creator of the New York Mets Annual Autism Awareness
Day. Mr. Weprin led the fight to save the Queens Children’s Psychiatric
Center and has advocated for the rights of the mentally ill.
While serving in the Assembly, Mark Weprin authored sixty-three laws
that improved life for all New Yorkers. He was Chair of the Small
Business Committee, and advocated for small business owners. During his
time in the Assembly, Mr. Weprin served on the Standing Committees of
Aging, Codes, Education, Insurance, Judiciary, and Ways and Means. He
was one of the state’s leading advocates for open government and the
public’s right to be informed of how its government works. Mr. Weprin
was an adjunct professor at Queens College for five years, teaching The
Legislative Process.
As a proud father of New York City public school students, Mark
Weprin deals with real issues in our public schools every day. He knows
what our children need to succeed in school. Mr. Weprin is an
outspoken critic of the extreme emphasis on standardized testing and the
overreliance on test preparation in City schools. He believes that
every City school should provide a supportive environment, a wide range
of engaging experiences, and access to the rich cultural offerings of
New York City. Mark Weprin has said that schools and teachers should
not be evaluated solely on the basis of standardized test scores.
Additionally, he has been combating the disturbing trend of
cyberbullying among our youth. Council Member Weprin wrote a law that
facilitates instruction on bias-related harassment.
Mark Weprin has received statewide acclaim for his work on behalf of
our seniors. He championed increased funding for the Supplemental
Nutrition Assistance Program, Social Adult Day Care, Elderly
Pharmaceutical Insurance Program, and Senior Citizen Rent Increase
Exemption Program. He also held hearings to increase awareness of
HIV/AIDS in the elderly population. Mark Weprin won the battle to get
the MTA to extend Access-A-Ride service into Nassau County.
On issues affecting our environment, Mr. Weprin has long been a
prominent supporter. He was the highest scoring New York State
Legislator in a survey by Environmental Advocates, a non-partisan group
that monitors the environmental voting records of New York lawmakers.
Before he was elected to public office, Mark Weprin was an associate
with the law firm of Shea & Gould in Manhattan, representing labor
unions and their members. Prior to attending law school, he worked in
the office of former New York City Mayor Edward I. Koch as a legislative
representative for the City of New York. Before joining the Koch
administration, Mark Weprin was an account executive in public relations
and marketing.
Mr. Weprin received his undergraduate degree in Communications from
the State University of New York at Albany, where he was selected to
give the student commencement address. He received his law degree from
Brooklyn Law School. Mark Weprin resides in Queens with his wife
Jennifer and their three children.
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