[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 184 (Wednesday, October 20, 2021)]
[House]
[Pages H5693-H5694]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      JOSEPH R. LENTOL POST OFFICE

  Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend 
the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3419) to designate the facility of 
the United States Postal Service located at 66 Meserole Avenue in 
Brooklyn, New York, as the ``Joseph R. Lentol Post Office''.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 3419

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

     SECTION 1. JOSEPH R. LENTOL POST OFFICE.

       (a) Designation.--The facility of the United States Postal 
     Service located at 66 Meserole Avenue in Brooklyn, New York, 
     shall be known and designated as the ``Joseph R. Lentol Post 
     Office''.
       (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 ``Joseph R. Lentol Post Office''.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from

[[Page H5694]]

New York (Mrs. Carolyn B. Maloney) and the gentleman from Kansas (Mr. 
LaTurner) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from New York.


                             General Leave

  Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous 
consent that all Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and 
extend their remarks and include extraneous material on this measure.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentlewoman from New York?
  There was no objection.
  Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such 
time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 3419, to designate the 
facility of the United States Postal Service located at 66 Meserole 
Avenue, Brooklyn, New York, as the Joseph R. Lentol Post Office.
  Assembly Member Joseph R. Lentol represented the 50th Assembly 
District, comprised of the neighborhoods of Greenpoint, Williamsburg, 
Fort Greene, and parts of Clinton Hill, for 48 years.
  After graduating from law school and passing the New York State bar, 
Joe began his government career as an assistant district attorney in 
the Kings County district attorney's homicide division. In 1973, he was 
elected to the New York State Assembly, representing north Brooklyn.
  Joe was the third member of his family to serve in the New York State 
Assembly, as his father and grandfather had also been elected to the 
assembly. During decades in public service, Joe was a recognized 
champion of fair labor practices, criminal justice reform, and 
environmental protection.
  Because of his knowledge, experience, and negotiation skills, Joe was 
appointed to serve on various commissions, committees, and panels. He 
chaired the Committee on Criminal and Civil Codes, the New York City 
Community Action Board, the assembly Public Protection Budget 
Committee, the assembly Committee on Public Employees, the assembly 
Administrative Regulations Commission to create the State's open 
meetings laws, and the Committee on Governmental Employees, which 
oversees the State's pension and employee benefits, presiding over the 
State's divestiture of its pension fund's investments in South Africa 
as well as a multitude of bills strengthening organized labor. 
Additionally, he chaired the assembly's Committee on Governmental 
Operations, monitoring and overseeing the operations of State agencies 
and departments.
  For more than 20 years, as chair of the influential Codes Committee, 
which has jurisdiction over criminal justice, Joe was an advocate for 
and led efforts to modernize the State's criminal justice system.
  Recognized for his leadership in correcting a system that unfairly 
penalized youth, people of color, and the economically disadvantaged, 
Joe was largely responsible for getting important legislation enacted 
into law by working with six Governors, his Democratic colleagues, and, 
often, members of the Republican majority in the State senate.
  Joe championed the reform of the Rockefeller drug laws, which 
mandated harsh sentences for possession and sale of drugs and 
disproportionately targeted people of color.
  In addition, Joe fought to raise the age in criminal law when a child 
must be treated as an adult in the criminal justice system and for 
other major criminal justice reforms that overhauled the State's 
criminal discovery and bail laws and that guaranteed speedy trials.
  Joe was also a member of the Governor's Commission on Sentencing 
Reform, the New York State Temporary Commission on Voting Machine 
Equipment, and the New York State Court of Appeals Justice Task Force, 
and the New York State Comptrollers Investment Advisory Board.
  Currently, Joe serves on the board of the New York State Public 
Defender Association. Naming a post office for Representative Joseph R. 
Lentol is entirely appropriate given his distinguished political career 
and contributions to New York State and our country.
  Mr. Speaker, I encourage all of my colleagues to support this bill, 
and I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. LaTURNER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this bill to name a Brooklyn, New 
York, post office in honor of lifelong resident Joseph Lentol.
  Joseph Lentol is a former New York Assembly member who followed in 
the steps of his father and grandfather. He has been a strong advocate 
for criminal justice reform, serving on the Governor's Commission on 
Sentencing Reform, and is on the board of the New York State Public 
Defenders Association.
  Joseph serves as a role model to those in Brooklyn and beyond by 
interacting with and supporting his local community.
  Mr. Speaker, I support this bill, and I yield back the balance of my 
time.
  Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York. Mr. Speaker, I urge passage of 
H.R. 3419, and I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. Carolyn B. Maloney) that the House 
suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 3419.
  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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