Andrew Stein

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Andrew Stein (born Andrew J. Finkelstein in 1945) was the last President of the New York City Council. He was a longtime political leader in New York.

Stein's father is Jerry Finkelstein, a multi-millionaire retired publisher (of the New York Law Journal, among other publications). Andrew Stein chose to shorten his name.

Stein was elected to the New York State Assembly in 1968 and served in that office for nine years. He was well known for his series of public hearings into the management practices of nursing homes in the state.

In 1977, Stein was elected as the Borough President of Manhattan, defeating New York City Clerk David N. Dinkins in the primary. Stein defeated Dinkins in the 1981 primary for the borough presidency. He was the Democratic nominee for Congress in the "Silk Stocking District" on Manhattan's East Side in 1984, but was defeated by incumbent Republican "Bill" S. William Green. Stein declined a race for a third term as borough president in 1985 to run for City Council President.

As City Council President, Stein served as the presiding officer of the City Council, was acting mayor in the absence or disability of Mayor Edward I. Koch, was a voting member of the Board of Estimate, and handled constituent and policy issues. Stein derived most of his power from his seat on the New York City Board of Estimate. He was reelected City Council President in 1989.

A decision by the United States Supreme Court that declared the Board of Estimate unconstitutional took away this seat from Stein. A rewriting of the city charter called for the City Council Presidency to be abolished and the office of Public Advocate to be created, and to handle the role of presiding officer of the City Council and first in line of succession to the mayor. The change in duties would occur when Stein's term expired on January 1, 1994.

In 1993, Stein announced he would challenge Mayor Dinkins, in the primary. Despite his reputation as a liberal, Stein had tried to get the endorsement of the Republican and Conservative parties, but was unsuccessful. Stein later dropped out before the primary and briefly considered a bid for Public Advocate against City Consumer Affairs Commissioner Mark J. Green, City Councilwoman Susan Alter, and State Sen. David Paterson. Stein then withdrew from the race after a few weeks.

Stein retired from the City Council Presidency and from public life in the city. Since leaving office, he has pursued private business as a partner in Arapaho Partners, LLC, a business consulting firm based in New York City.

[edit] Personal life

Stein was married twice; he married his second wife, Lynn Forester, a lawyer, in 1983. The couple divorced in 1993 and have two sons, Ben and Jake. Forrester is presently married to the British financier Evelyn Robert de Rothschild. According to a report in the New York Post on 10 October 2007, Stein had begun dating the conservative writer Ann Coulter. When asked about the relationship, Stein told the paper, "She's attacked a lot of my friends, but what can I say, opposites attract!" On 7 January 2008, however, Stein told the New York Post that the relationship was over, citing irreconcilable differences.[1]