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James Oddo

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James Oddo
Oddo in 2009
Commissioner of theNew York City Department of Buildings
Incumbent
Assumed office
April 27, 2023
MayorEric Adams
Preceded byEric Ulrich
15thBorough PresidentofStaten Island
In office
January 1, 2014 – December 31, 2021
Preceded byJames Molinaro
Succeeded byVito Fossella
Minority Leader of theNew York City Council
In office
January 1, 2002 – December 31, 2013
Preceded byThomas Ognibene
Succeeded byVincent Ignizio
Member of theNew York City Council
from the50thdistrict
In office
February 1, 1999 – December 31, 2013
Preceded byJohn Fusco
Succeeded bySteven Matteo
Personal details
Born
James Steven Oddo

(1966-01-12)January 12, 1966(age 58)
New York City,New York,U.S.
Political partyRepublican
SpouseKim Petersen (2014–present)
EducationFordham University(BA)
New York Law School(JD)
Signature
WebsiteOfficial website

James Steven Oddo(born January 12, 1966)[1]is an American attorney and politician who served as theBorough PresidentofStaten Islandfrom 2014 to 2021. Oddo had previously served as a member of theNew York City Council,representing the50th districtfrom 1999 to 2013. He is currently serving as the Commissioner for theNew York City Department of BuildingsunderMayor Eric Adams.[2]

Early life and education

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Oddo was born on Staten Island, the youngest of four sons to an Italian-American family of city employees.[3]He earned a Bachelor of Arts fromFordham University,and aJuris DoctorfromNew York Law School.[4]

Career

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He started in politics by working aschief of staffto then-councilmanJohn Fuscofor seven years and as Legal Counsel to the former Council Minority LeaderThomas Ognibene.

Oddo's career as a politician began in February 1999 when he won a special election to fill the seat vacated byJohn Fusco.[5]After the resignation ofTom Ognibene,he was elected Minority Leader of the City Council with the consent of the three other Republicans on the Council in 2002.

His district, the 50th, is located mainly onStaten Islandand encompasses theneighborhoodsofArrochar,Bulls Head,Castleton Corners,Concord,Dongan Hills,Emerson Hill,Fort Wadsworth,Grant City,Graniteville,Grasmere,Heartland Village,Isle of Meadows,Meiers Corners,Midland Beach,New Dorp,New Springville,Oakwood,Ocean Breeze,Old Town,Prall's Island,Richmondtown,South Beach,Todt Hill,Travis,Westerleigh,andWillowbrook;but also parts ofBensonhurst,Dyker HeightsandBath BeachinBrooklyn.

On October 20, 2010, he announced he would run for the office of Staten IslandBorough Presidentin 2013.[6]On November 5, 2013, he was elected to office with 48,168 votes (69%). He outran Democratic candidate Lou Liedy,Green Partycandidate Henry Bardel, andLibertarian Partycandidate Silas Johnson. His percentage of 69% was the highest ever for a non-incumbent winner of the office, beating the record set by Republican Robert Connor in 1965.[7]James Oddo was re elected Borough President on November 7, 2017, with 75.56% of the vote.[8]

In 2022, Oddo was named Chief of Staff to theNew York CityDeputy Mayor for Operations in the administration ofMayorEric Adams.[9]

Staten Island Bus Study

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Borough President Oddo championed theStaten Island Bus Studywhich has recommended major service changes to Staten Island express buses.[10]As a result of the study, express bus service to Staten Island was to be completely reorganized in August 2018. As part of the redesign, all of the existing bus routes would be discontinued and replaced with 21 new routes with a "SIM" prefix.[11][12]

Norwegian comedy show incident

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Councilman Oddo received widespread, negative attention[13]when a video of the councilman appeared onYouTubearound October 5, 2007.[14]In the video clip, Oddo is shown being interviewed by a film crew from theNorwegiancomedy showRikets røst(meaning "Voice of the Nation"), a show similar toThe Colbert Report.The comedians had gained entry to councilman Oddo's office by posing as TV journalists who wanted to get the view of aRepublicanon the upcomingU.S. presidential election.

Instead, the interviewer,Pia Haraldsen,played the role of an uninformed foreigner.[15]She asked howBarack Obamacould run for president, "as he is not a U.S. citizen" (when informed by Oddo that Obama is indeed an American, she wondered about that, given that she had read somewhere that he was "African-American" ) and asked ifSenator Clintoncould be president "afterthat embarrassing incident with the cigar?"On the aired clip, Haraldsen cannot refrain from smiling as Oddo starts swearing at and threatening the film crew. One of the film crew's cameras continues recording the incident, as Oddo, in a profanity-laced tirade, furiously tells them to get" the fuck "out of his office and threatens to physically harm the film crew. Oddo later apologized, stating the tirade was" inappropriate "but that the sentiment beneath it was entirely appropriate, despite threatening physical harm to the film crew.[16][17]

The incident was widely viewed as an embarrassing and inappropriate reaction by Oddo.[18]

Support of Congressman Fossella

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In 2008, Oddo supportedCongressmanVito Fossella,stating that he "knows what [Fossella's] core is about" and "He is my friend... and I stand with him during the good times and I stand with him during the difficult times. What he needs to do is what he did today: Say, 'I'm ready to be held accountable and apologize and I have to heal myself, heal my relationship with my friends and family, and heal my relationship with my community.'"[19]Fossella had been arrested fordriving under the influence,was living with one woman while being married to another woman, and had fathered a child with the other woman.[20]

2018 Surrogate Court election

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Oddo was widely believed to be running for surrogate court judge in 2018 despite running for election as Borough President in 2017.[21]When asked about a potential surrogate court judge candidacy, Oddo stated that he honestly did not know if he would serve a full second term; this statement led critics and his main opponent in the 2017 Borough President election,Tom Shcherbenko,to argue that he should not run for Borough President if he already had one foot out the door.[22]Oddo was re-elected Borough President in 2017.[23]Oddo ultimately chose not to run for Surrogate Court Judge.[24]

Views towards Muslims

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In 2010, whendevelopers planned to build a Muslim community center and mosque in Lower Manhattan,Oddo said he understood the outrage of families opposed to building a Muslim place of worship within a mile of theWorld Trade Center.[25]

Later that year, when a Catholic church planned to sell a convent to a group intending to use the building for a mosque, Oddo said that he would oppose the plan until the "responsible leadership of the Muslim community wholeheartedly, full-throatedly condemns the extremists of their religion."[26]

In 2005, Oddo said that police officers conducting random security searches on theNew York subway systemwas not enough. Instead, he wanted police officers to prioritize the searching of young Muslim men.[27][28]

References

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  1. ^Advance, Staten Island (November 1, 2009)."On the Issues: James Oddo".silive.
  2. ^"Mayor Adams Appoints Jimmy Oddo as Department of Buildings Commissioner, Molly Wasow Park as Department of Social Serivces Commissioner"(Press release).City of New York.27 April 2023.Retrieved2023-11-15.Mayor Adams [said] "Commissioner Oddo is an expert at building and running high-functioning teams, and he will bring the leadership the Department of Buildings needs to oversee our city's buildings and protect New Yorkers who work in construction and walk on our streets"
  3. ^Benanti, Carol Ann (October 31, 2019)."Mayor de Blasio and BP Oddo make a surprise visit to Bocelli Ristorante; share dinner Wednesday evening".silive.
  4. ^"Jimmy Oddo's midlife crisis | CSNY".Cityandstateny.com. 2018-04-23.Retrieved2020-01-21.
  5. ^"Grant City".Daily News(New York, New York). March 11, 1999. p. 50.
  6. ^Wrobleski, Tom (20 October 2010)."Oddo will run for Staten Island borough president in 2013".Staten Island Advance.RetrievedOctober 20,2010.
  7. ^Wrobleski, Tom (November 6, 2013)."Photos/video: Republican James Oddo rolls to historic Staten Island borough presidential win".silive.com.Staten Island Advance.RetrievedNovember 7,2013.
  8. ^Wrobleski, Tom (November 6, 2013)."Photos/video: Borough President James Oddo re elected by a large margin".silive.com.Staten Island Advance.RetrievedNovember 11,2017.
  9. ^Coltin, Jeff; McDonough, Annie; Dorn, Sara (February 22, 2022)."Who's who in Eric Adams' administration".City & State - New York.RetrievedMarch 1,2022.
  10. ^"Staten Island Express Bus Network Redesign".Nymta.civicconnect.com. 2019-08-19.Retrieved2020-01-21.
  11. ^Bascome, Thomas Erik (March 7, 2018)."MTA unveils new express bus routes expected to roll out in August".Staten Island Advance.RetrievedMarch 8,2018.
  12. ^Walker, Ameena (March 7, 2018)."MTA reveals redesigned Staten Island express bus routes".Curbed NY.RetrievedMarch 8,2018.
  13. ^Kuntzman, Gersh (2007-10-13)."Jimmy Oddo rules 'Rost´: Pol f-bombs the Norwegians".The Brooklyn Paper.Retrieved2008-10-08.
  14. ^YouTube: James Oddo interview- "Get the f*** out of my office"
  15. ^YouTube: Pia Haraldsen interview on Fox News- "I'm playing the role of a stupid, ignorant, blonde reporter."
  16. ^YouTube: James Oddo explanation,Silive.com
  17. ^"Oddo Apologizes For Curse-Word Laden Tirade".NY1.2007-10-09. Archived fromthe originalon 2009-06-24.Retrieved2009-01-03.
  18. ^NBC News[dead link]
  19. ^"Vito's blood-alcohol level twice the legal limit, Va. cops say".Staten Island Advance. May 2, 2008.
  20. ^ Staten Island's Fossella admits child from affair".silive.com.May 8, 2008.
  21. ^"BP James Oddo eyeing surrogate court bench in 2018".Staten Island Advance. 2017-02-09.
  22. ^"Issue by Issue: Oddo and Shcherbenko share their visions for Staten Island".Staten Island Advance. 2017-10-31.
  23. ^"Borough President James Oddo re-elected by a large margin".silive.2017-11-08.Retrieved2021-06-23.
  24. ^"BP James Oddo will not run for surrogate".silive.2018-02-27.Retrieved2021-06-23.
  25. ^Harrell, Jeff (May 25, 2010). "Some things are sacred".silive.com.
  26. ^Padnani, Amy(July 23, 2010). "No Midland Beach mosque -- convent sale canceled".silive.com.
  27. ^Oddo, James S. (August 21, 2005). "Target Muslims in City Bag Checks, Argues Lawmaker".Daily News(New York, New York). p. 33.
  28. ^Beveridge, Andy A. (August 24, 2005). "Can NYC Profile Young Muslim Males?"Gotham Gazette.
[edit]
Political offices
Preceded by Member of theNew York City Council
from the50thdistrict
1999–2013 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Minority Leader of theNew York City Council
2002–2013 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Borough PresidentofStaten Island
2014–2022 		Succeeded by
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