PROGRAM

Marking International Anti-Corruption Day on December 9, Roosevelt House is pleased to present the 2024 McNickle Lecture on Integrity in Government featuring New York State Inspector General Lucy Lang. Discussing the vital importance of combatting government corruption both locally and nationally, Inspector General Lang will be joined in conversation by New York City Council Member Gale Brewer, who chairs the City Council’s Committee on Oversight and Investigations; and the Eleanor Roosevelt Distinguished Leader in Residence at Roosevelt House, former longtime Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, who previously served as the Chairwoman of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform. The discussion will be moderated by author, Roosevelt House Advisory Board member, and founder of the McNickle lecture, Chris McNickle.

This panel will explore the corrosive effect of government corruption and the leading role of oversight entities in the fight against it. In particular, the panel will consider successful case studies and best practices; the importance of transparency and accountability in government institutions; and the vital role the public can play in detecting and preventing corruption. As local and federal regulatory agencies are faced with political pressure and attempts to undermine their authority, please join us for an urgent discussion of the future of government oversight.

Hon. Gale Brewer is the City Council member representing the 6th District, which includes Hell’s Kitchen, Midtown, and the Upper West Side. She is also chair of the Committee on Oversight and Investigations, which has a far-reaching mandate to examine the mayoral administration, its policies, and delivery of city services. Under her leadership, the committee held oversight hearings on costs of the migrant crisis, responses to climate emergencies, proliferation of unlicensed cannabis shops, operational challenges in family court, and maintaining the municipal workforce. Previously, Brewer served as Manhattan Borough President.

Hon. Lucy Lang is an attorney, educator, lifelong New Yorker, and New York State’s 11th Inspector General. Lang brings her longstanding commitment to justice to overseeing the Office’s investigations into corruption, fraud, abuse, and misconduct in state government. Under her leadership, the Office of the Inspector General has implemented novel transparency initiatives, extensive public educational outreach, and the agency’s complete technological overhaul. Prior to her appointment as Inspector General, Lang served as the Director of the Institute for Innovation in Prosecution, a national criminal justice organization; and an Assistant District Attorney in Manhattan, where she investigated and prosecuted violent crimes including homicides, gun violence, and domestic abuse.

Hon. Carolyn B. Maloney, the Eleanor Roosevelt Distinguished Leader in Residence at Roosevelt House, represented the Upper East Side of Manhattan (and parts of Queens and Brooklyn) in the U.S. House of Representatives for 30 years. Maloney was the first woman to Chair the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, and the Joint Economic Committee. She authored and passed more than 81 landmark measures, including the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act, the Postal Service Reform Act, and the Credit CARD Act. She is also a former Chair and current Board Member of the ERA Coalition.

Chris McNickle is a Roosevelt House Advisory Board member and the author of To Be Mayor of New York: Ethnic Politics in the City; The Power of the Mayor: David Dinkins 1990-1993; Bloomberg: A Billionaire’s Ambition; and Passages: A Personal Journey. His articles and columns on finance, politics, and history have been published in scholarly journals as well as the New York Daily News, Crain’s New York Business, and the Financial Times. Since he founded The McNickle Lecture on Integrity in Government, its featured speakers have included former New York State Attorney General Robert Abrams and U.S. Senator Russ Feingold.


The 2024 McNickle Lecture on Integrity in Government featuring Inspector General Lucy Lang, Council Member Gale Brewer & Former Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney | Posted on December 11th, 2024 | Public Programs