[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 119 (Monday, July 16, 2018)]
[House]
[Page H6205]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





                  STANLEY MICHELS POST OFFICE BUILDING

  Mr. WALKER. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (S. 2692) to designate the facility of the United States Postal 
Service located at 4558 Broadway in New York, New York, as the 
``Stanley Michels Post Office Building''.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                                S. 2692

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. STANLEY MICHELS POST OFFICE BUILDING.

       (a) Designation.--The facility of the United States Postal 
     Service located at 4558 Broadway in New York, New York, shall 
     be known and designated as the ``Stanley Michels Post Office 
     Building''.
       (b) References.--Any reference in a law, map, regulation, 
     document, paper, or other record of the United States to the 
     facility referred to in subsection (a) shall be deemed to be 
     a reference to the ``Stanley Michels Post Office Building''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
North Carolina (Mr. Walker) and the gentlewoman from the Virgin Islands 
(Ms. Plaskett) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from North Carolina.


                             General Leave

  Mr. WALKER. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include 
extraneous material on the bill under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from North Carolina?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. WALKER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of S. 2692, a bill to name the 
post office at 4558 Broadway in New York, New York, after Stanley E. 
Michels.
  Stanley Michels was a lawyer and politician from Washington Heights 
who was a New York councilman from 1978 to 2001. He was active in 
environmental protection and public health, having sponsored New York 
City's first law regulating smoking in public places.
  Michels also sponsored one of the first city laws to prevent 
childhood lead poisoning, and he played a significant role in expanding 
the city's recycling program. Stanley Michels was a dedicated public 
servant.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve 
the balance of my time.
  Ms. PLASKETT. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to join my colleagues in consideration of 
S. 2692, to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service 
located at 4558 Broadway in New York as the Stanley Michels Post Office 
Building.
  I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from New York 
(Mr. Espaillat), to tell us more about Stanley E. Michels.
  Mr. ESPAILLAT. Mr. Speaker, I thank Congresswoman Stacey Plaskett for 
yielding me time as well as Ranking Member Elijah Cummings and Trey 
Gowdy for their support in bringing this bill to the floor.
  I have a special acknowledgement and thank you to Senator Kirsten 
Gillibrand, who introduced the Senate version of my bill which is 
before us today. I rise in strong support of S. 2692, to designate the 
facility of the United States Postal Service located at 4558 Broadway 
in Manhattan as the Stanley Michels Post Office Building.
  Stanley Michels was a great public servant. He was a loving family 
man and he was from my neighborhood of Washington Heights. He served on 
the New York City Council from 1978 to 2001, representing Council 
District 6, and always did so with distinction and with integrity.
  As the chairman of the New York City Council's Committee on 
Environmental Protection from 1992 through 2001, Stanley was best known 
for his activism on environmental issues, particularly water quality, 
and also he was a strong advocate of tenants' rights.
  He was a very strong supporter of New York City parks. They called 
him the King of the Parks in New York City and he injected millions of 
dollars into the park system across the City of New York, but, 
particularly, in northern Manhattan: Fort Tryon Park, Inwood Hill Park, 
Highbridge Park, Bennett Park, and Isham Park. All of these parks in 
the long, narrow neck of northern Manhattan received tremendous funding 
from Stanley Michels.
  In many ways, Stanley was ahead of his time. In 1987, he was a prime 
sponsor of the Clean Indoor Air Act, which was New York City's first 
law regulating smoking in public places. He was also the visionary 
behind the Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Act of 1982, legislation 
that is still relevant today in New York City and New York State.
  He played a significant role in expanding the city's recycling 
program and in advocating for a memorandum of understanding among the 
city, the State, and upstate communities to protect the city's 
watershed in the Catskill Mountains.
  After years of public service and a long fight against cancer, 
Stanley passed away in 2008, but his legacy will not be forgotten. It 
is my honor to see a post office named in his honor.
  Stanley Michels and his family poured their hearts into making New 
York City a better place for all of us to live in. This included: his 
wife, Molly Michels; his sister, Ellen Grant; his son, Jeffrey; and his 
two daughters, Karen and Shari Michels--who is now a New York City 
civil court judge--and three grandchildren.
  Stanley Michels left a tremendous legacy and he made a difference. 
Naming this post office after Stanley Michels is a fitting tribute to 
honor his memory and all of his contributions to New York City.
  Mr. Speaker, I am proud to have sponsored this bill, and I look 
forward to celebrating Stanley Michels' legacy next month.
  Ms. PLASKETT. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers at this time. I 
urge passage of S. 2692, and I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. WALKER. Mr. Speaker, I urge adoption of the bill, and I yield 
back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Walker) that the House suspend the 
rules and pass the bill, S. 2692.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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