Of the 46 judges Mayor Bill de Blasio appointed or reappointed in New York City last week, a dozen of them have ties to Queens, including Family Court Judge Elizabeth Fassler.
For the last 14 years, Fassler served with the Center for Family Representation, where she held several positions including Co-Director of the Queens County Practice.
The Mayor appointed five Criminal Court Judges with with roots in the borough including Judge Edwin Novillo who was with the Legal Aid Society for more than 14 years most recently as Senior Staff Attorney in Queens County; Judge Michael Hartofilis who served in the Queens District Attorney’s Office for eight years; Judge Adam Perlmutter who was a prosecutor at the Queens DA’s Office; Judge Jeffrey Rosenblueth who also served in the Queens DA’s Office; and Judge Beth Beller who received her Juris Doctorate degree from St. John’s University School of Law.
Reappointments in the Criminal Court includes Judge Toko Serita who received her law degree from CUNY Law School, Queens College.
“An impartial justice system is essential to building a fairer city for all,” de Blasio said. “The thirteen judges I am appointing, and the thirty-three I am welcoming back, will represent the people of our city with fair and effective judicial oversight of our courts.”
The Mayor also appointed several judges with Queens ties to Civil Court including Judge Michael Gaffey who has been a criminal law practitioner for 32 years, most recently with Queens Law Associates; Judge Wanda Licitra who also practiced at Queens Law Associates; and Judge Quynda Santacroce who started her career at the Queens District Attorney’s Office serving in several bureaus including the Career Criminal Major Crimes Bureau. She subsequently became a Principal Court Attorney serving Queens Criminal Court.
