Mayor appoints new judges, several with boro ties
BY BILL PARRY
Of the 46 judges Mayor
Bill de Blasio appointed or
reappointed in New York
City last week, a dozen of
them have ties to Queens,
including Family Court
Judge Elizabeth Fassler.
For the last 14 years,
Fassler served with
the Center for Family
Representation, where
she held several positions
including co-director of the
Queens County Practice.
The mayor appointed
five Criminal Court Judges
with roots in the borough
including Judge Edwin
Novillo who was with
the Legal Aid Society for
more than 14 years most
recently as Senior Staff
Attorney in Queens County;
Judge Michael Hartofilis
who served in the Queens
District Attorney’s Office
for eight years; Judge
Adam Perlmutter who was
a prosecutor at the Queens
DA’s Office; Judge Jeffrey
Rosenblueth who also served
Several of the judges appointed by Mayor Bill de Blasio have Queens connections.
in the Queens DA’s Office;
and Judge Beth Beller who
received her Juris Doctorate
degree from St. John’s
University School of Law.
Reappointments in the
Criminal Court includes Judge
Toko Serita who received her
Photo via Getty Images
law degree from CUNY Law
School, Queens College.
“An impartial justice
system is essential to building
a fairer city for all,” de Blasio
said. “The thirteen judges
I am appointing, and the
thirty-three I am welcoming
back, will represent the
people of our city with
fair and effective judicial
oversight of our courts.”
The mayor also appointed
several judges with Queens
ties to Civil Court including
Judge Michael Gaffey who
has been a criminal law
practitioner for 32 years,
most recently with Queens
Law Associates; Judge Wanda
Licitra who also practiced at
Queens Law Associates; and
Judge Quynda Santacroce
who started her career at the
Queens District Attorney’s
Office serving in several
bureaus including the Career
Criminal Major Crimes
Bureau. She subsequently
became a Principal Court
Attorney serving Queens
Criminal Court.
Reach reporter Bill
Parry by e-mail at bparry@
schnepsmedia.com or by
phone at (718) 260–4538.
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14 TIMESLEDGER, FEB. 8-14, 2019 TIMESLEDGER.COM
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