Christopher J. Mega (November 15, 1930 – October 30, 2011) was an American lawyer and politician from

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

Life

Mega was born on November 15, 1930, in Borough Park, Brooklyn,

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. He graduated from

Fort Hamilton High School Fort Hamilton High School (HS 490) is a public high school in Brooklyn, New York, USA, under the jurisdiction of the New York City Department of Education. Students in Bay Ridge, Sunset Park and Dyker Heights are zoned to Fort Hamilton HS. It i ...

St. Francis College , mottoeng = My God, My All , established = , type = Private college , chancellor = , president = Miguel Martinez-Saenz , provost = Jennifer Lancas ...

and

Brooklyn Law School Brooklyn Law School (BLS) is a private law school in New York City. Founded in 1901, it has approximately 1,100 students. Brooklyn Law School's faculty includes 60 full-time faculty, 15 emeriti faculty, and a number of adjunct faculty. Brookly ...

. He entered politics as a Republican. He was a member of the

New York State Assembly The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, with the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits. The Assem ...

from 1974 to 1978, sitting in the 180th, 181st and

182nd New York State Legislature The 182nd New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met in Albany from January 5, 1977, to December 31, 1978, during the third and fourth years of Hugh Carey's governorship. Background ...

s. He was a member of the

New York State Senate The New York State Senate is the upper house of the New York State Legislature; the New York State Assembly is its lower house. Its members are elected to two-year terms; there are no term limits. There are 63 seats in the Senate. Partisan com ...

from 1979 to 1982, sitting in the 183rd and

184th New York State Legislature The 184th New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 7, 1981, to December 31, 1982, during the seventh and eighth years of Hugh Carey's governorship, in Albany. Backgro ...

s. In November 1982, after re-apportionment, he ran for re-election in the 23rd District, but was defeated by Democrat Joseph G. Montalto. In November 1984, Mega again ran for the State Senate and managed to unseat Montalto. Mega was again a member of the State Senate from 1985 to 1993, sitting in the 186th, 187th, 188th, 189th 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. Over the years he mostly represented Bay Ridge in Brooklyn as well as

Staten Island Staten Island ( ) is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located in the city's southwest portion, the borough is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull an ...

's East Shore. Governor Mario Cuomo appointed Mega to the

New York Court of Claims The New York State Court of Claims is the court of the New York State Unified Court System which handles all claims against the State of New York and certain state agencies. Judges Judges of the Court of Claims are appointed by the Governor of New ...

in 1993 and in 1995 Governor George Pataki elevated him to chief judge of that court. He served in that capacity until 1998. In 1998, he ran again in the 23rd District for the State Senate, but was defeated by the incumbent Democrat Vincent J. Gentile. Mega was appointed in June 2000 to the

New York Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the State of New York is the trial-level court of general jurisdiction in the New York State Unified Court System. (Its Appellate Division is also the highest intermediate appellate court.) It is vested with unlimited civ ...

. He died on October 30, 2011, in

Saratoga Springs, New York Saratoga Springs is a city in Saratoga County, New York, United States. The population was 28,491 at the 2020 census. The name reflects the presence of mineral springs in the area, which has made Saratoga a popular resort destination for over 2 ...

."Hon. Christopher J. Mega"
at Burke Funeral Home

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mega, Christopher 1930 births 2011 deaths Brooklyn Law School alumni Republican Party members of the New York State Assembly Republican Party New York (state) state senators New York Supreme Court Justices Politicians from Brooklyn St. Francis College alumni Fort Hamilton High School alumni 20th-century American judges American people of Italian descent