Michael G. DenDekker (born July 11, 1961) is an American politician and former assemblyman for the state of New York's 34th district, which included the neighborhoods of Woodside,

Jackson Heights Jackson Heights is a neighborhood in the northwestern part of the borough of Queens in New York City. Jackson Heights is neighbored by North Corona to the east, Elmhurst to the south, Woodside to the west, and today northern Astoria ( Ditm ...

, and

East Elmhurst East Elmhurst is a residential neighborhood in the northwest section of the New York City borough of Queens. It is bounded to the south by Jackson Heights and Corona, to the north and east by Bowery Bay, and to the west by Woodside and Ditmar ...

, all in the Borough and County of

Queens Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...

Education and career

DenDekker was born in Jackson Heights, attending Our Lady of Fatima Grammar School and Monsignor McClancy Memorial High School. He attended the

State University of New York at Farmingdale The State University of New York at Farmingdale (Farmingdale State College or SUNY Farmingdale) is a public college in East Farmingdale, New York, United States. It is part of the State University of New York. The college was chartered in 1912 as ...

, majoring in automotive technology. After college he worked as a banquet manager for a caterer and an account representative for

MetLife MetLife, Inc. is the Holding company, holding corporation for the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company (MLIC), better known as MetLife, and its affiliates. MetLife is among the largest global providers of insurance, Annuity (US financial produ ...

. He joined the

New York City Department of Sanitation The New York City Department of Sanitation (DSNY) is the department of the government of New York City responsible for garbage collection, recycling collection, street cleaning, and snow removal. The DSNY is the primary operator of the New York ...

in 1995, where he was promoted to supervisor in March 2001. Later that year he was assigned to the

New York City Office of Emergency Management New York City Emergency Management (NYCEM) (formerly the New York City Office of Emergency Management (OEM)) was formed in 1996 as part of the Mayor's Office under Rudolph W. Giuliani. By a vote of city residents in 2001 it became an independen ...

as a public information officer and in 2003 he also became a special projects coordinator. He retired from the Sanitation Department and his assignment at OEM in 2006, after which he was a facilities manager for the

New York City Council The New York City Council is the lawmaking body of New York City in the United States. It has 51 members from 51 council districts throughout the five boroughs. The council serves as a check against the mayor in a mayor-council government mod ...

. From 1998 to 2002, he worked as a part-time district representative for State Assembly member

Margaret Markey Margaret M. Markey (born November 4, 1941) is an American politician who formerly represented District 30 in the New York State Assembly, which is made up of Maspeth and Woodside, as well as portions of Middle Village, Astoria, Sunnyside and ...

. After longtime Assemblyman Ivan Lafayette decided not to run for reelection, DenDekker ran for the seat. He won uncontested

general election A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from By-election, by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. Gener ...

s in 2008 and 2010.

Legislative career

DenDekker attracted public attention with two bills he proposed in February 2011 that would have required all

bicycle A bicycle, also called a pedal cycle, bike, push-bike or cycle, is a human-powered transport, human-powered or motorized bicycle, motor-assisted, bicycle pedal, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, with two bicycle wheel, wheels attached to a ...

s in New York to be registered, inspected, and given

license plate A vehicle registration plate, also known as a number plate (British, Indian and Australian English), license plate (American English) or licence plate (Canadian English), is a metal or plastic plate attached to a motor vehicle or trailer for ...

s for a mandatory US $25 fee. DenDekker proposed the idea as an attempt to draw attention to bicyclists who violate existing state laws and to generate revenue for the state. After significant objections from his colleagues, constituents and local clerks, DenDekker withdrew the bill. In May 2010, DenDekker introduced a bill to develop a

cigarette butt A cigarette is a narrow cylinder containing a combustible material, typically tobacco, that is rolled into thin paper for smoking. The cigarette is ignited at one end, causing it to smolder; the resulting smoke is orally inhaled via the oppo ...

recycling program and require a minimum deposit of one cent per

cigarette A cigarette is a narrow cylinder containing a combustible material, typically tobacco, that is rolled into Rolling paper, thin paper for smoking. The cigarette is ignited at one end, causing it to smolder; the resulting smoke is orally inhale ...

. In 2020, he was defeated in the Democratic primary by

democratic socialist Democratic socialism is a left-wing economic and political philosophy that supports political democracy and some form of a socially owned economy, with a particular emphasis on economic democracy, workplace democracy, and workers' self-mana ...

opponent Jessica González-Rojas.

Personal life

DenDekker and his wife Angela have four children: Michael, Linda, Elizabeth, and Jason. His step-daughter, Elizabeth Delaney, died on March 11, 2012. He has three grandchildren Jasen, Vincent, and Justin. He occasionally works as an actor, has appeared in several movies and TV shows—including the first two seasons of

Elementary Elementary may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * ''Elementary'' (Cindy Morgan album), 2001 * ''Elementary'' (The End album), 2007 * ''Elementary'', a Melvin "Wah-Wah Watson" Ragin album, 1977 Other uses in arts, entertainment, an ...

, as a Detective—and is a member of the

Screen Actors Guild The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) was an American labor union which represented over 100,000 film and television principal and background performers worldwide. On March 30, 2012, the union leadership announced that the SAG membership voted to m ...

.MichaelDenDekker.com
official acting website

References

External links

New York State Assembly: Michael G. DenDekker
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dendekker, Michael 1961 births Living people Democratic Party members of the New York State Assembly People from Jackson Heights, Queens Farmingdale State College alumni New York City Emergency Management People from Elmhurst, Queens 21st-century members of the New York State Legislature