Karen Koslowitz was the Council member for the 29th district of the New York City Council. She is a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

. The district includes Forest Hills, Forest Park,

Kew Gardens Kew Gardens is a botanic garden in southwest London that houses the "largest and most diverse botanical and mycological collections in the world". Founded in 1840, from the exotic garden at Kew Park, its living collections include some of the ...

Rego Park Rego Park is a neighborhood in the borough of Queens in New York City. Rego Park is bordered to the north by Elmhurst and Corona, to the east and south by Forest Hills, and to the west by Middle Village. Rego Park's boundaries include Queens ...

, and Richmond Hill.

Life and career

Koslowitz's parents immigrated to the United States from Krakow,

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

, settling in the

Soundview Soundview is a neighborhood on the Clason Point peninsula, on the southern section of the borough of the Bronx in New York City. Its boundaries, starting from the north and moving clockwise, are the Cross-Bronx Expressway to the north, White Plai ...

section of The Bronx. She was raised in the Bronx, where she attended James Monroe High School. She has two daughters, Heidi and Marcia. Koslowitz began her career in the private sector, at Fischbach and Moore, Inc., electrical contractors. She entered public service as a Legislative Aide for Congressman

Gary Ackerman Gary Leonard Ackerman (born November 19, 1942) is an American retired politician and former U.S. Representative from New York, serving from 1983 to 2013. He is a member of the Democratic Party. On March 15, 2012, Ackerman announced that he wou ...

(D-NY), and subsequently for New York Council member Arthur Katzman. She then became the full-time Special Assistant and Queens Ombudsman to City Council President Andrew Stein. From 2002 to 2009, Koslowitz served as Deputy Borough President in the administration of Queens Borough President Helen Marshall. Among her main responsibilities was to oversee Constituent Services and the borough’s 14 Community Boards.

New York City Council

Koslowitz was elected to the New York City Council, representing the 29th district in

Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

. The district includes Forest Hills, Rego Park, Maspeth, Kew Gardens, and Richmond Hill. She held this position starting in 1991 when she succeeded Arthur Katzman in a special election. In 2001, Koslowitz stepped down because of term limits, remaining in government as an appointed Deputy Borough President for Queens. She returned to the City Council in 2009, winning in a five-person Democratic Primary with the backing of the local Democratic Party leadership. She was reelected in 2013 with 91 percent of the vote, defeating an independent candidate. She has since supported a controversial street redesign that has eliminated 198 parking spaces, stating "We only had one side parking for many, many years". This was in opposition to John Dereszewski, head of Community Board 6's Transportation Committee, who said that while he supports “90 percent of the things that are going to be done,” he couldn't back the proposal because of the loss of nearly 200 parking spaces.Board Endorses Queens Boulevard Redesign Despite Loss of 198 Parking Spaces, DNA.info, https://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20170511/forest-hills/queens-boulevard-redesign-department-of-transportation-bike-lanes-parking-spaces

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Koslowitz, Karen New York City Council members Living people Politicians from the Bronx People from Forest Hills, Queens Women New York City Council members 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians James Monroe High School (New York City) alumni New York (state) Democrats 1941 births