Kiernan Receives Fordham’s Louis J. Lefkowitz Award
May 4, 2023 – John B. Kiernan, Of Counsel in the Government Relations group was honored with Fordham Urban Law Journal Alumni Association’s Louis J. Lefkowitz Award for his helping found the Fordham Urban Law Journal back when he was a law student in 1970. The award was bestowed upon John by his alma mater at the Fordham Urban Law Journal Alumni Association’s annual dinner held April 26, 2023.
Some of the prior recipients of the Lefkowitz Award include:
- Judith S. Kaye – former Chief Judge of the New York State Court of Appeals, 1993-2008
- Raymond Kelly – former NYC Police Commissioner, 2002-2013
- Stanley Fink – former Speaker of the NYS Assembly, 1979-1986
- Cyrus Vance Jr. – former NYC District Attorney, 2010-2022
- Robert Morgenthau former NYC District Attorney, 1975-2009
- Matthew T. Crosson, former Chief Administrator of the NYS Unified Court System 1989-1993 and LIA President 1993-2010
The awards gala took place at the Aliz Hotel, 310 West 40th Street, New York, NY. The genesis of award dates back to 1970, when John as a young law school student who approached the law school leadership citing the then recent events unfolding (i.e., the Kent State Ohio riots and the NYC hard hat riot) and that there was a changing demographic in urban communities and that the law school would be wise to embrace a new type of publication focused on urban law issues and challenges. The law school ultimately saw merit in the idea and began publishing the Fordham Urban Law Journal in 1973, which today is the second most quoted law school publication source nationally – after the Harvard Law Review.
2023 was a milestone year, marking the 50th anniversary of the “journal” first printing and the school wanted to honor its student founders. The award was named in honor of one of the first published article authors…Louis J. Lefkowitz (former NYS Attorney General 1957-1978). Joining John were two other founding law school students, three others were unable to join in the ceremony for various reasons.
Also noteworthy is that May 4, 2023 marked the 41st anniversary of John being sworn in as Supervisor of the Town of North Hempstead, a post he held for eight years (1982-1990). Following his role as North Hempstead Town Supervisor, John held the post of Nassau County Parks Commissioner where he oversaw the formation and building of the Cradle of Aviation Museum and the Nassau County Aquatic Center (at Eisenhower Park), which hosted the 1998 Goodwill Games.
