Jessica S. Lappin (born April 25, 1975) is a New York City business leader and a former member of 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 the

5th district District 5, 5 District or 5th District may refer to: Europe * District 5 (Zürich) * District 5, Düsseldorf * V District, Turku * Districts of Malta#District 5, District 5, an electoral district of Malta * Districts of Malta#District 5 2, Distric ...

. In 2014, she became the president of the Alliance for Downtown New York, a

Business Improvement District A business improvement district (BID) is a defined area within whichever businesses elect to pay an additional fee (or assessment) in order to fund projects within the district's boundaries. A BID is not a tax, as taxes fund the government. BID f ...

Career

On February 3, 2014, Lappin was appointed as president at the Alliance for Downtown New York, the organization that manages the Downtown-Lower Manhattan Business Improvement District. Lappin also serves as the President of its sister organization, the Downtown-Lower Manhattan Association.

Political career

Lappin served two terms as a member of the

, representing Manhattan's fifth district, which includes the

Upper East Side The Upper East Side, sometimes abbreviated UES, is a neighborhood in the boroughs of New York City, borough of Manhattan in New York City. It is bounded approximately by 96th Street (Manhattan), 96th Street to the north, the East River to the e ...

, East Midtown, and Roosevelt Island. She previously worked as a senior adviser and District Chief of Staff to

Gifford Miller Alan Gifford Miller (born November 6, 1969) is the former Speaker of the New York City Council who represented the 5th district. Barred from seeking reelection due to term limits, the Democrat ran unsuccessfully in the Democratic primary fo ...

, the former

Speaker Speaker most commonly refers to: * Speaker, a person who produces speech * Loudspeaker, a device that produces sound ** Computer speakers Speaker, Speakers, or The Speaker may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * "Speaker" (song), by David ...

of the New York City Council and representative of Manhattan's fifth district. She also ran in the Democratic Primary for Manhattan Borough President in 2013 and finished in second place.

Personal life

Lappin, who is Jewish, was raised in Manhattan. She graduated from

Stuyvesant High School Stuyvesant High School ( ) is a co-ed, State school, public, college-preparatory, Specialized high schools in New York City, specialized high school in Manhattan, New York City. The school, commonly called "Stuy" ( ) by its students, faculty, a ...

and attended

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private Jesuit research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic higher education, Ca ...

, graduating

magna cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sout ...

. Lappin married Andrew Wuertele in 2003. The couple has two children.

References

External links

Jessica Lappin biography
, Alliance for Downtown New York {{DEFAULTSORT:Lappin, Jessica Living people Jewish American people in New York (state) politics Jewish American women in politics New York (state) Democrats Georgetown University alumni New York City Council members Stuyvesant High School alumni Women New York City Council members 21st-century American Jews 21st-century American women 1975 births