MELINDA KATZ
28th Assembly District (Part of Queens County)
Albany office:
LOB 833, ALBANY 12248
518-455-4926
District Office:
98-08 METROPOLITAN AVE, FOREST HILLS 11375
718-263-5595
Elected to the New York State Assembly in 1994, Melinda Katz, a Democrat,
represents the 28th District in New York City, which includes Forest Hills,
Rego Park, and parts of Middle village and Glendale in the Borough of Queens.
She is a member of the Health, Judiciary, Children and Families, and Environmental
Conservation Committees; and was recently appointed Chair of the Subcommittee
on Urban Health.
In her first three years in the Assembly, Melinda Katz has already authored
twelve bills that are now New York State laws. She wrote the law requiring
HMO's to provide women direct access to gynecological care without forcing
them first to see a primary care physician. This law, the first in the nation,
is now being replicated by other states and is being introduced at the federal
level by New York Congresswoman Nita Lowey.
Melinda Katz also authored the law that helps prosecutors in cases of long-term,
repeated child abuse where the abuse is so protracted and pervasive that
the child cannot pinpoint the specific dates and times that, prior to the
Katz law, were necessary to win convictions. In addition, she has carried
several bills to increase penalties for various forms of domestic abuse
and she is recognized as one of the strongest pro-choice voices in the State
Legislature.
Melinda Katz is a product of New York City's public schools. She graduated
suma cum laude from the University of Massachusetts, and was named
a Commonwealth Scholar, and went on to get a law degree from the St. John's
University School of Law, where she was an author of the journal of Legal
Commentary. During law school, she interned for the Legal Aid Society, helping
poor tenants who faced eviction keep their homes. And she interned for the
U.S. Attorney's Organized Crime Unit (Southern District, New York) and for
U.S. District Court judge Michael Mukasey. After graduation, Melinda was
recruited by Weil, Gotshal & Manges, the second largest firm in New
York State, and was an Associate there for four years prior to running for
the Assembly.
Melinda Katz comes from a family steeped in civic involvement. Her father,
the late Maestro David Katz, founded the Queens Symphony Orchestra in 1953
and conducted it throughout his life. Her mother, the late Jeanne Dale Katz,
founded the Queens Council on the Arts.
In 1995, Melinda Katz was named by the New York Daily News as one
of one hundred up-and-coming young leaders for the 21st Century. She is
recognized as one of the Assembly's rising stars and one of the New York
State Democratic Party's next generation of women leaders.