| Jonathan L. Bing | |
|---|---|
| Member of the New York State Assembly from the 73rd district |
|
| In office 2003–2011 |
|
| Preceded by | John Ravitz |
| Succeeded by | Dan Quart |
| Personal details | |
| Political party | Democratic Party |
| Spouse(s) | Meredith Ballew |
| Children | one daughter |
| Residence | New York City, New York, United States |
| Alma mater | • University of Pennsylvania • New York University School of Law |
| Occupation | Attorney and politician |
Jonathan L. Bing is an American attorney and politician. As a member of the United States Democratic Party, he represented the 73rd Assembly District of the New York State Assembly.[1] His district comprises Manhattan's Upper East Side, East Midtown, Sutton Place and Turtle Bay.
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A resident of Manhattan's East Side for two decades, Bing was first elected to the New York State Assembly in November 2002 from the 73rd Assembly District in Manhattan. That district includes the Upper East Side, East Midtown, Sutton Place and Turtle Bay communities. Bing was re-elected in 2010, receiving two-thirds of the vote in a district that had been represented by a Republican Assembly member for twelve years prior to 2002.
During his nine years in the assembly, Bing wrote 85 pieces of legislation that passed the assembly, 35 of which were signed into law. During the 2010 session, Bing wrote ten bills that passed the assembly, five of which passed both houses of the legislature and were signed into law. His 2010 legislative successes included the law which provides for no-fault divorce in New York State, ending the state's notoriety as the only jurisdiction in the nation without this provision. Bing also wrote a law to allow cultural and higher education institutions more flexibility with their endowments, allowing them to preserve jobs and programs during difficult economic times. Bing wrote two laws in 2010 (Chapters 441 and 443) intended to reduce administrative burdens in the insurance and real estate brokerage industries. Bing's bill to authorize cameras in New York City's Select Bus Service lanes was included in the 2010–11 budget, and his legislation to create an arts education advisory panel for the New York City schools was voluntarily adopted by the New York City Department of Education.
Bing wrote a bill signed into law in August 2006 that expanded the statute of limitations for workers' compensation claims made by 9/11 rescue, recovery and clean-up workers, allowing hundreds to get benefits. In 2009, the governor signed into law Bing's bill to increase criminal and civil penalties against those who falsify construction records or illegally assist people with government licensing examinations as had been alleged with regard to two crane accidents that occurred on the East Side in 2008[2]. Bing's legislation to update the State library funding formula to use the most current census figures was adopted in the 2006–07 budget, providing New York City with an additional $1.5 million and its fair share of state funding for the first time in a decade.
Other laws written by Bing include a provision to prevent good-faith claims of abuse from being used against the claimant in child custody proceedings; the revision of laws dating back to 1892 that will allow for greater competition and lower rates in the life and property and casualty insurance industries[3]; the expansion of the types of institutions that can utilize cultural affairs bonds, legislation that requires state agencies to make application forms available on the Internet; and a measure to provide greater safeguards against registered sex offenders obtaining real estate licenses.
In the community, Bing and his staff have responded to hundreds of constituent concerns and thousands of pieces of correspondence during his tenure. He has held annual health fairs which provided free flu shots and health screenings for hundreds of neighborhood seniors, organized forums to address the concerns of women in business and mothers re-entering the workforce, and brought dozens of free dental screenings for children and mammograms for women to the East Side. Bing secured nearly $200 million in capital funding for East Side organizations including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Guggenheim Museum, the 92nd Street Y, Hunter College, the Jewish Museum, New York University Medical Center, Primary Stages and Marymount Manhattan College.
Bing received a 2009 honorary doctor of laws degree from the Laboratory Institute of Merchandising, the 2008 Hunter College Presidential Medal, a 2008 New York League of Conservation Voters Education Fund Eco-Star award, the 2007 NYU College of Nursing Health Policy and Legislation Award, the 2005 Vanderbilt YMCA's Champion of the Year Award, and recognition from the New York State United Way, New York University School of Law, Metropolitan New York Library Council, Sutton Area Community, Inc., East Midtown Association, New York City Parks Department, New York State Association of Realtors, American Association of University Women, New York Vision Rehabilitation Association, and 17th Precinct Community Council for his accomplishments in office.
Bing serves on the Assembly's Health; Housing; Insurance; Judiciary; Social Services; and Tourism, Parks, Arts & Sports Development Committees. He was appointed Chairman of the Assembly Committee on Oversight, Analysis and Investigation in February 2011, after previously serving as the chair of the Committee on Libraries and Education Technology, the Legislative Task Force on People with Disabilities and the Subcommittee on Mitchell-Lama Housing.
Bing has been mentioned as a possible candidate for New York's 14th congressional district.[4]
Prior to his 2002 election, Bing was a practicing attorney in Manhattan. After serving as law clerk to U.S. District Court Judge Bruce M. Van Sickle, Bing joined the law firm Torys LLP in 1996 as an attorney in its labor and employment practice group. He wrote the award-winning[5] legal article "Protecting the Mentally Retarded from Capital Punishment: State Efforts Since Penry and Recommendations for the Future" for the New York University Review of Law and Social Change. After September 11, Bing was chosen to organize over 250 attorneys as the New York Coordinator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency/American Bar Association's Disaster Legal Services program which provided free, comprehensive legal assistance to nearly a thousand New Yorkers affected by the terrorist attacks.
Bing is a third-generation East Sider whose family has lived in what is now the 73rd A.D. since 1960. He is a graduate of the New York University School of Law, the University of Pennsylvania, and the Horace Mann School. He lives in Turtle Bay with his wife, Meredith Ballew, the Director of Fund Development for the Vanderbilt YMCA, and their daughter.
| New York Assembly | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by John Ravitz |
New York State Assembly, 73rd District 2003–2011 |
Succeeded by Dan Quart |