Julie Menin

Julie Menin is an American attorney, civil servant, non-profit executive, professor, and small business owner. In January 2019, She was appointed Director of the Census for NYC and Executive Assistant Corporation Counsel for Strategic Advocacy. Previously, she had worked as the Commissioner of the New York City Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment and Commissioner of New York City's Department of Consumer Affairs.

In January 2019, Menin was announced as Director of the Census for NYC and Executive Assistant Corporation Counsel for Strategic Advocacy by Mayor Bill de Blasio. Menin is responsible for organizing New York City's efforts to have every resident to participate in the upcoming 2020 Census. Menin successfully fought the Trump administration's unlawful attempt to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census.

In 2017, Menin agreed to a $201,000 settlement with the New York City Campaign Finance Board in exchange for the CFB dropping its claim to $62,361 in fines related to her campaign finance practices and $208,657.72 in repayment of public matching funds.

In February 2016, Menin was appointed Commissioner of The Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment, an agency which comprises the Office of Film, Theatre and Broadcasting and NYC Media. The Office of Film, Theatre and Broadcasting serves as a one-stop shop for the entertainment industry, a sector that contributes nearly $9 billion to the City of New York's economy and employs over 130,000 New Yorkers. NYC Media is responsible for managing and programming all of the media assets for the City of New York, which includes a television broadcast network reaching over 18 million people, a radio station and four local cable stations. The agency has seen record growth in both film projects and television series produced in the city.. She negotiated the deal to bring the Grammy Awards back to New York after a 15 year absence, resulting in a $200 million benefit to New York City.

In 2016, the office launched a five-part initiative to support women both behind and in-front of the camera in film and television and in theater, the first of its kind for a U.S. city. That same year, Menin launched Made in NY Writers Room, a diversity initiative that awards fellowships and mentorship opportunities to traditionally under-represented television writers, and #NominateNYC, a campaign to increase diversity among the voting members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. In an effort to reduce the significant carbon footprint of the film and television industry, Menin created NYC Film Green, an environmental initiative that promotes and recognizes sustainable practices on the sets of film and television productions.

Menin ran in the Democratic primary for Manhattan Borough President in September 2013, but finished fourth behind New York City Council Members Gale Brewer, Jessica Lappin and Robert Jackson.

In 2011, Menin spearheaded efforts to balance the rights of Occupy Wall Street protesters with quality-of-life concerns of residents. This position was praised in a New York Times editorial as a "good approach."

On May 25, 2010, Menin presided over the Community Board's historic 29-1 vote in favor of a proposed Islamic cultural center and mosque, preserving the fundamental principle of freedom of religion and used a solution driven approach to urge the interfaith center (where all different religions can worship) be part of the plans.

Beginning in 2005, Menin served as Chairperson for Community Board 1, where she was unanimously elected for three consecutive terms totaling seven years, and was widely recognized for her role in revitalizing lower Manhattan following the upheaval of 9/11.

In 1999, she married Bruce Menin in a Jewish ceremony at the Metropolitan Club. She resides in Manhattan with her husband and three children.

Menin began her career in 1992 as a regulatory attorney at Wiley, Rein & Fielding in Washington D.C., where she represented clients in matters involving the full range of federal and state enforcement agencies. She later became Senior Regulatory Attorney at Colgate-Palmolive in New York City, where she played a lead role in numerous agency cases involving the Department of Justice, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Federal Trade Commission, and also litigated disputes in state and federal courts. In 1999, she opened and operated Vine, a restaurant, market, and catering operation in lower Manhattan, which had more than 75 employees.