City Seeks To Add Marshals to Contingent

By REUVEN BLAU

The Bloomberg administration is looking to hire City Marshals to enforce Civil Court orders, the Department of Investigation has announced.

The latest recruitment effort comes after Governor Pataki recently signed a bill that allows retired cops, correction officers, and firefighters to work as City Marshals while still receiving their pensions.

'Got the Right Skills'

"The public was ill-served by the previous law, which, as a practical matter, removed from consideration a whole category of qualified applicants, including many minority candidates, with precisely the kinds of training, skills, judgment, and maturity needed in a City Marshal," said Steven M. Cohen, the Chairman of the Mayor's Committee on City Marshals.

City Marshals are not salaried city employees. They work as independent public officers who are appointed by the Mayor and earn fees, set by state law, for enforcing court orders. Those enforcement duties include: evictions, towing, seizures of utility meters, and money judgments. Their work, which must be carefully documented, is overseen by DOI.

To qualify, candidates must be U.S. citizens, New York City residents at the time of appointment, and at least 18 years old. They also must have a high school diploma or GED and have to pass a background check. In addition, appointees must demonstrate the ability to obtain a required bond, which is currently $100,000.

There are currently 39 City Marshals who carry out thousands of court orders each year, DOI said. Further information can be obtained at www.nyc.gov/marshals.