“Really it’s the experience, having been a person who’ve volunteered in the community for so many years and been extremely active and gotten things done,” Thompson said in a recent interview at his office in the Woolworth Building. “Between work and the community board, you’re always doing something, but it’s so much fun.”

Thompson grew up in Orange County and earned his undergraduate degree in city and regional planning from the University of Southern California. He moved east to attend Harvard’s Graduate School of Design, but switched over to the Kennedy School of Government after his first year. While a student in Boston, he was recruited by a program run byMayor Ed Koch to intern for the city one summer, working for the Human Resources Administration. When he graduated, he heeded the call of New York and moved back to work for the Department of General Services (now the Department of Citywide Administrative Services).

In 1990, Thompson moved to Estonia to work in development as the country transitioned out of the former Soviet Union, working with private developers and companies to create new businesses and help transition the communist system into capitalism.

“At the time, there was nobody else there,” Thompson said, describing how he served as a de facto cultural ambassador. “I was ‘The American.’ People would look at you like, do you have horns or things like that. There were still people there who thought Americans were evil.”

Gradually, over the course of six years, Thompson said people warmed up to him. He picked up Estonian and grew to love the country and felt like he had achieved what he went there to accomplish. When a friend called on him to work at his company, Thompson agreed, and he moved back to New York to work at Capalino and Company, where he’s now a senior vice president, helping clients navigate the complex arenas of government, fundraising and business.

“The Museum of Chinese in America was one of our clients. They had leased property in Chinatown and were creating a museum,” Thompson said, describing one of his favorite projects. “They needed help actually getting it done. They had to design, they needed more funding and they needed to be able to build it.” He worked to get the Museum through the numerous approval processes and find ways to get the money they needed.

His familiarity with such processes has also served Thompson well as chair of the Community Board.

“Being outside the city itself but in a quasi-public role, [you see] that a lot of it is just doing it and knowing who to call,” Thompson said. “Picking up the phone, calling to ask questions, just being persistent. People all want to help, they want to do the right thing.”

A good dose of politeness doesn’t hurt either, he noted. Thompson enforces rules of civil engagement at Board meetings, no matter how contentious the topic. One recent success for the Board has been tamping down the raucous pub crawls that plague the neighborhood on holidays like St. Patrick’s Day, which they accomplished by talking to local businesses and using reason rather than outrage to encourage bars to opt out of the giant events.

Thompson, like Garodnick, lives in Stuyvesant Town, and he hopes to focus on waterfront development as well as education and senior issues and quality-of-life concerns in his Council race. He’s starting his campaign with small events, getting to know more constituents, but said he feels confident that he’s already aware of the neighborhood’s biggest issues.

“I’ve always thought about doing it, but now I’m just at a point where I feel that I can contribute a lot,” Thompson said. “It’s what I’m doing as Community Board chair in a lot of ways—it’s the next step.”

Museum of Chinese in America Welcomes New Exec. Director

The Board of Trustees of the Museum of Chinese in America (MOCA) has announced the appointment of the accomplished program expert and East Asian scholar Helen Koh, who began working there in mid-April.

“We are looking forward to having Helen Koh lead our museum,” said Maya Lin, co-chair of MOCA’s board and designer of the museum. “After an extensive national search, it was very clear that her expertise and passion for Asian studies and her vision for inventive programs and creative audience-building strategies would inspire the board and staff as we enter the next phase of MOCA’s growth.”

On Apr. 25, MOCA’s newest exhibition, America through a Chinese Lens, will provide Koh an opportunity to share her vision of MOCA’s future. “I look forward to working with the trustees, staff and founders to create an exciting new chapter in MOCA’s development.” said Koh.

 Chinatown

Squadron Honored at Chinatown Cherry Blossom Festival

On Apr. 14, State Sen. Daniel Squadron was honored at the annual Chinatown Cherry Blossom Festival for his work to improve quality of life along the Bowery and throughout Confucius Plaza. Over the past several years, Squadron has led the efforts to bring more trees and green space to the Chinatown community, working with the Parks Department and the community on a number of initiatives, including the planting of 37 new trees in November 2010.

The Chinatown Cherry Blossom festival was organized by the Chinese Chamber of Commerce of New York, the Confucius Plaza Board and the Confucius Plaza Tenants Council as a promotion for cultural activities throughout Chinatown. Over the past several years, with Squadron’s help, Confucius Plaza has planted 70 cherry trees around the Bowery and Division Street.

Citywide

NYU Furman Center Issues a Fact Brief on Rent Stabilization

In advance of the U.S. Supreme Court’s announcement on whether it will hear the case of Harmon v. Kimmel, which challenges rent regulation laws in New York City, The Furman Center has issued a fact brief that details the number of rent-stabilized units in New York City and provides both demographic and socioeconomic data comparing the tenants in these units with tenants in market rate units.

“In Harmon v. Kimmel, petitioner James D. Harmon argues that rent stabilization is a violation of several provisions of the United States Constitution,” said Vicki Been, director of the Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy. “The case would have broad implications for New York City’s rental market, approximately 47 percent of which is subject to rent control or rent stabilization laws.”

The case of Harmon v. Kimmel challenges rent control and rent stabilization laws that have existed in NYC since the 1940s, which allow “more than 1 million city residents to pay artificially low rents,” according to WNYC. The Supreme Court can choose at any time between now and June to take the case, or to not hear it at all, which would leave the law in place.

60 Downtown Alliance Computers Donated to Local Nonprofits

After upgrading its computer network this past spring, the Downtown Alliance donated 60 of its previously owned computers to nine not-for-profit organizations in the major metropolitan area.

“Guided by David Rockefeller’s 50-year-old tradition of civic activism, our organization has a long history of collaboration and commitment to community,” said Elizabeth H. Berger, president of the Downtown Alliance. “We are excited to continue building on his vision with the donation of these computers.”

According to a press release, the Downtown Alliance staff sought not-for-profit organizations in need of additional computers, and these organizations accepted the donations.

Approximately four years old, each Intel HP Convertible “mini tower” computer was reformatted with Windows XP. Restored to their initial factory settings, the units also came with rewriteable DVD drives and keyboards.

The Downtown Alliance is an organization that strives to “make Lower Manhattan a wonderful place to live, work and play by creating a vibrant, multi-use neighborhood where businesses can prosper and the residential community can flourish,” according to its website.

1882 and 1943 will become as prominent of dates in American social justice history as 1776 and 1965.

Tiger Moms will go through menopause and give up on their daughters—who will in turn declare a victory.