Gabriel Oliver Koppell (born December 15, 1940) is an American lawyer and politician from

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. A member of the Democratic Party, he is a former member of the New York City Council and the former

New York Attorney General The attorney general of New York is the chief legal officer of the U.S. state of New York and head of the Department of Law of the state government. The office has been in existence in some form since 1626, under the Dutch colonial government o ...

Biography

Koppell was born on December 15, 1940, in

. His parents, refugees from

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

, moved to

the Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

when Oliver was two years old. Koppell attended Bronx elementary schools, the

Bronx High School of Science The Bronx High School of Science, commonly called Bronx Science, is a public specialized high school in The Bronx in New York City. It is operated by the New York City Department of Education. Admission to Bronx Science involves passing the Sp ...

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher lea ...

and Harvard Law School, from which he graduated cum laude.Official Biography
/ref> While at Harvard College, he founded Let's Go Travel Guides. He is

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

. Koppell's first marriage ended in divorce. He is now married to Lorraine Coyle Koppell, an attorney who narrowly lost a race for the New York State Senate in 2000 to Guy Velella. He has three children, all of whom were raised in the Bronx and attended Bronx public schools, and five grandchildren. Koppell is active in the Benjamin Franklin Reform Democratic Club. He has been a resident of Fieldston in

New York State Assembly

Koppell was a member of the New York State Assembly from 1970 to 1994. On March 3, 1970, Koppell was elected as an Independent to the New York State Assembly, to fill the vacancy caused by the appointment of Benjamin Altman as New York City Commissioner of Rent and Housing Maintenance. While in the Assembly, he served as Chairman of the Judiciary Committee, and passed the New York bottle bill. Koppell was re-elected several times as a Democrat, and remained in the Assembly until 1993, sitting in the 178th, 179th, 180th, 181st, 182nd, 183rd, 184th, 185th, 186th, 187th, 188th,

189th 189th may refer to: *189th (Canadien-Français) Battalion, CEF, a unit in the Canadian Expeditionary Force during the First World War *189th Airlift Squadron, a unit of the Idaho Air National Guard that flies the C-130 Hercules *189th Airlift Wing, ...

and

190th New York State Legislature The 190th New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 6, 1993, to December 31, 1994, during the eleventh and twelfth years of Mario Cuomo's governorship, in Albany. Back ...

s In 1981, Koppell ran for Bronx Borough President, but was defeated in the Democratic primary by the incumbent, Stanley Simon.

New York Attorney General

On December 16, 1993, Koppell was elected by the

New York State Legislature The New York State Legislature consists of the two houses that act as the state legislature of the U.S. state of New York: The New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly. The Constitution of New York does not designate an officia ...

to fill the unexpired term of

Robert Abrams Robert Abrams (born July 4, 1938) is an American attorney and politician. He served as the attorney general of New York from 1979 to 1993 and was the Democratic nominee for the 1992 United States Senate election in New York. Early life and educ ...

. As attorney general, Koppell successfully brought a lawsuit to allow drivers under the age of 25 to obtain

rental car Renting, also known as hiring or letting, is an agreement where a payment is made for the temporary use of a good, service or property owned by another. A gross lease is when the tenant pays a flat rental amount and the landlord pays for a ...

s in the State of New York. Mr. Koppell initiated dozens of public interest lawsuits, collected over $100,000,000 for the state treasury, and negotiated the largest environmental settlement in the history of New York. In 1994, Koppell sought a full term as attorney general, but lost to Judge

Karen Burstein Karen S. Burstein (born July 20, 1942) is an American Democratic Party politician, attorney, civil servant, and former judge from the State of New York. She served in the New York State Senate, worked in the administration of Gov. Mario Cuomo, ...

in the Democratic Primary. He finished second, ahead of Brooklyn District Attorney Charles "Joe" Hynes and prosecutor Eliot Spitzer. In 1998, he again sought the Democratic nomination for attorney general. He finished third in the primary, behind Spitzer, who won, and State Senator

Catherine Abate Catherine M. Abate (December 8, 1947 – May 17, 2014) was a New York State Senator. She was also a former commissioner of New York City's Correction Department. Abate was of Italian ancestry. Her father was Joseph Abate, a longtime member ...

. Koppell finished ahead of Charles Davis, a former staffer for former Governor

Mario Cuomo Mario Matthew Cuomo (, ; June 15, 1932 – January 1, 2015) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 52nd governor of New York for three terms, from 1983 to 1994. A member of the Democratic Party, Cuomo previously served as ...

New York City Council

He served as a member of the New York City Council from

District 11 District 11 can refer to: *District 11 (Ho Chi Minh city), Vietnam *District 11 (Zürich), Switzerland * District 11, an electoral district of Malta * Colorado Springs School District 11, in Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States *District 11 ( ...

, covering the neighborhoods of Riverdale,

Kingsbridge Kingsbridge is a market town and tourist hub in the South Hams district of Devon, England, with a population of 6,116 at the 2011 census. Two electoral wards bear the name of ''Kingsbridge'' (East & North). Their combined population at the ab ...

, Woodlawn Heights, Van Cortlandt Village, Norwood, and Bedford Park. He was elected to the Council in 2001, and defeated Ari Hoffnung by a 3 to 1 margin in 2005. On September 15, 2009, Koppell defeated challenger, Tony Perez Casino winning 65% of the vote. Due to term limits, Koppell left the City Council on December 31, 2013.

2014 State Senate Run

In 2014, Koppell ran against incumbent State Senator

Jeffrey D. Klein Jeffrey David Klein (born July 10, 1960) is an American politician and a member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party. He represented the New York State Senate's New York's 34th State Senate district, 34th District, serving p ...

in the Democratic Party primary, and was defeated on a 60 to 40 margin. Koppell ran on the basis of disbanding the

Independent Democratic Conference The Independent Democratic Conference (IDC) was a group of members of the New York State Senate from the Democratic Party who were elected as Democrats but formed a coalition to give the Republicans the majority in the chamber, and attempted to ...

(a Democratic group of senators who caucused with Republicans), led by Klein."Koppell challenges Klein for senate seat," Riverdale Press. May 5, 201

/ref>

References

External links

Searchlight 2002-District 11
* ttps://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F60B16FE385C0C7B8EDDAC0894D0494D81&n=Top%2fReference%2fTimes%20Topics%2fPeople%2fK%2fKoppell%2c%20G%2e%20Oliver Primary Ahead in Attorney General Racebr>Koppell challenges Klein for senate seat
{{DEFAULTSORT:Koppell, Oliver Democratic Party members of the New York State Assembly New York State Attorneys General New York City Council members Jewish American state legislators in New York (state) Harvard College alumni Harvard Law School alumni 1940 births Living people Politicians from the Bronx The Bronx High School of Science alumni 21st-century American Jews