[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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