Mayor Makes Pay Pitch
7 New City Judges Sworn

By REUVEN BLAU

Mayor Bloomberg Jan. 14 swore in seven new judges and re-appointed 11 others, who he asserted were chosen and approved via a judicial process that is "beyond reproach and free of patronage or political favoritism."

The Chief-Leader/Katie Orlinsky NOT SOBER AS JUDGES: State Chief Judge Judith S. Kaye, second from left, and Deputy Chief Administrative Judge Judy Harris Kluger, (third from right), welcomed four of the seven new jurists sworn in by Mayor Bloomberg on Jan. 14. Those pictured are: Jeanette Ruiz, left, Elisa Koenderman, Robert Mandelbaum, and Marc Whiten.

The judges will serve in the city's Family, Criminal, and Civil Courts. The ceremony in the Surrogate's Courthouse lobby in lower Manhattan included the appointment of three new Criminal Court judges, one new Family Court judge, and three new Civil Court judges. The Mayor also reappointed two Family Court judges, eight Criminal Court judges, and one Civil Court judge.

Push for Judicial Hikes

He vowed to continue urging state lawmakers to enact long-overdue judicial pay raises to help the city attract more-qualified jurists, calling the matter an issue of "simple justice." The state's 1,300 judges have not received a pay hike or a cost-of-living adjustment in nine years.

"In the months ahead, we're also going to work hard to make sure that judges of this high caliber receive salaries commensurate with their abilities," he told the audience. "It's been nine long years since the state has increased salaries for judges. Let's not make it 10."

All of the appointments and re-appointments were initially proposed by the Mayor's Advisory Committee on the Judiciary. The committee nominates three candidates for each vacant judgeship, and the Mayor selected judges from among that group.

Monica Drinane, who was first appointed as an Interim Civil Court Judge in August 2004, was named to the Family Court.

The new Criminal Court Judges are: Anthony Ferrara, Elisa Koenderman, and Robert Mandelbaum.

The new Civil Court Judges are: Gilbert Hong, Jeanette Ruiz, and Marc Whiten.