A Career in Public Service

a lifelong new yorker, betsy gotbaum said she had no intention of going into politics or public service. she learned spanish and portuguese, lived in brazil and became a teacher.

decades later, she can take credit for a wide-ranging and impressive list of accomplishments, including being one of just a handful of women who have held citywide office-in gotbaums' case, public advocate.

an early job, for instance, was serving as deputy director of the precinct receptionist program for the new york city police department. there, she implemented a program that staffed local police precincts with people, mostly women, who had been on public assistance. the goal was to provide employment to those who needed it and make the precinct headquarters more friendly and welcoming. this kind of innovation mixed with a genuine desire to help others marks gotbaum's time as a public servant.

"i'm in a rare group in public life in that i don't consider myself a politician," says gotbaum, who's lived on the upper west side, near central park, for 14 years. "i don't need to have that power base."

she certainly has a base in victor gotbaum, her husband of 30-plus years and the former president of the city's municipal workers union, district council 37. the two connected, they told sister publication city hall news, after she chastised him about a poorly run campaign.

"i said, 'that kid's smart,'" victor recalled. "i ask her out for dinner, and that was it."

gotbaum has a daughter and three grandchildren, as well as four stepchildren and eight stepgrandchildren with her husband.

professionally, her life has been a mix of public- and private-sector work. gotbaum served as an education and women's issues point person under mayors john w. lindsay and abraham beame, worked for the new york city police department, ran an anti-violence program and has even been involved with venture capital.

in 1990, then-mayor david dinkins tapped her to be first female commissioner of the department of parks and recreation. gotbaum accepted, but was forced to work with a drastically reduced budget.

"although the budget cuts made it very, very hard, it was wonderful because i got to oversee all the parks and i was out and about all the time," she said.

to deal with the budget crunch, gotbaum established the city parks foundation, a nonprofit that raises money for park restoration projects. she fought to change city policy so that the gay men's health crisis and other organizations could hold fundraising events in central park. this led to the expansion of the aids walk, now one of the city's most popular annual events.

after her work as parks commissioner, gotbaum took on another daunting project: the new-york historical society, a proud institution that was in dire financial straits, its extensive library and archives closed to the public. gotbaum pulled the institution's finances back into shape and fixed up the building, turning the museum back into a must-see destination on central park west. when she resigned from her position as president to run for public advocate, the museum had a $33 million endowment. today, it remains a hugely beloved attraction.

gotbaum says she was moved to run for public office after spearheading a stark and memorable exhibit at the historical society, "without sanctuary," which covered the history of lynching in america.

"it was an extraordinary exhibition and i felt after that, what can i do?" she said.

gotbaum won the 2001 race handily, becoming only the third woman to win citywide elected office new york city history. she was re-elected in 2005.

as public advocate, she has focused on the same issues that have long mattered to her: standing up for the disenfranchised, whether it's victims of domestic violence, special education students or those who can't get enough to eat. many of her reforms started with a phone call from new yorkers who needed information, had trouble navigating government agencies or wanted to file a complaint.

when a 2003 reorganization at the department of education threatened resources for special education students, gotbaum stepped in.

"people were calling the office like crazy because they didn't understand," she said. "we forced the doe not only to provide and upgrade service for these kids, but we also got a summer program instituted for kids who hadn't gotten what they were supposed to get."

gotbaum also has a special interest in women's health and rights. she re-commissioned a report on domestic violence in the city, following up 10 years after a similar report was made under borough president ruth messinger. she also expanded the city's food stamp program by changing the application process, allowing more than 70,000 additional new yorkers to receive the benefit.

"it started when one man called and said he was denied food stamps," she said. "the program really benefits the whole city, because whenever you get a food stamp, you don't take it out of town, you spend it locally. it does stimulate the economy."

gotbaum also took a public stand against mayor michael bloomberg when he requested a term-limit extension in 2008. this was not because she believed in term limits, but because she felt it should be up for the public to decide, not the city council, who would benefit from the extension as well.

when the limits were nonetheless lifted, she decided to be true to her word and not run again.

meanwhile, the mayor's 2009 budget, presented in june, included a 40 percent cut to her office's resources, a move that many say was political retribution. budget cuts, gotbaum jokes, are a "theme that has followed me throughout my career."

when the next public advocate takes office in january, gotbaum will move on again. to what, she's not sure yet.

"but i can assure you," she said, "i'm not going away."