Mayor Bill de Blasio has appointed James Haddad to the Queens Borough Public Library Board of Trustees; while Dr. Lenore Gall was appointed to the board by Queens Borough President Melinda Katz.
Mayor Bill de Blasio and Queens Borough President Melinda Katz last Thursday announced their latest appointees to the Queens Borough Public Library Board of Trustees.
De Blasio selected long-time Forest Hills resident, attorney and civic activist James Haddad. Katz appointed Dr. Lenore Gall, a retired college administrator who most recently served as dean of students and academic services at the City University of New York’s College of Technology.
Haddad, a married father of four, is a member of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York, Forest Hills Civic Association, and New York Chapter of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee. Haddad also helped found the Kidz Care Junior Civic Association, and participated as a volunteer Little League coach with the Forest Hills Youth Athletic Association.
A graduate of Fordham Law School and Brown University, Haddad serves as a fellow for the Center of International Legal Studies and is an immediate past member of the New York City Bar Association’s Committee on Commercial Law and Uniform State Laws. Haddad has served as a volunteer with the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, New York County Lawyers Association, and continues to provide pro bono legal assistance in his neighborhood.
Gall, a resident of East Elmhurst, was previously appointed to the Library’s Board of Trustees in 2005 and served on it for nearly three years. She has also been active in a number of other local community organizations. Before she joined City Tech’s administration, Gall served as assistant to the vice president of academic affairs at the Fashion Institute of Technology; as assistant to the provost at Brooklyn College; and as director of career development for the Yale School of Organization and Management. She also has teaching experience at LaGuardia Community College and at the New York University School of Continuing Education.
The de Blasio administration and borough president’s office began naming replacements in recent weeks for the eight trustees that were ousted earlier this year after voting “no” on a resolution to force Library Chief Executive Officer Thomas Galante to take a leave of absence in the wake of several scathing published reports detailing his hefty six-figure salary and questionable spending practices.
The board in September approved a motion that placed Galante on indefinite paid administrative leave, effective immediately, pending the results of a full financial audit and criminal probes on the federal and city levels.
Bridget Quinn-Carey, the current executive vice president and chief operating officer of the Library, is serving as interim president and CEO.
By Michael V. Cusenza
