She comes from a Jewish family with a long history of civic involvement. Her father,the late David Katz,was founder of the Queens Symphony Orchestra in 1953,and her mother,the late Jeanne Dale Katz,founded the Queens Council on the Arts.[4]
She was recruited by the law firm Weil,Gotshal &Manges,where she worked as an associate for several years before running for the New York State Assembly.[4] In 1995 the New York Daily News named her "one of the one hundred up-and-coming young leaders for the 21st Century."[4]
New York State Assembly
Katz served as a Member of the New York State Assembly from 1994 to 1999,representing Queens' 28th District,which included Forest Hills,Rego Park,and parts of Middle Village and Glendale.[5] During her tenure as an Assembly member,Katz drafted sixteen bills that became laws,including some crucial health care initiatives.[4] She wrote the law requiring HMOs to provide women direct access to gynecological care without forcing them to first see a primary care physician.[4] She also was the Chair of the subcommittee on Urban Health.[4] Additionally,she carried several bills to increase penalties for various forms of assault.[4]
Katz then became Director of Community Boards for the Office of the Queens Borough President from 1999 to 2002,[1] before winning a seat on the New York City Council,where she served from 2002 to 2009,[1] representing the 29th district,which included Forest Hills,Rego Park,Kew Gardens and parts of Maspeth,South Elmhurst and Richmond Hill.[7] Katz served as Chair of the Standing Committee on Land Use,which was responsible for approving rezoning measures for wide-ranging pockets of the city,including Williamsburg,Greenpoint and Jamaica.[8] As chair of the committee,Katz oversaw the rezoning of 6,000 city blocks,including the Greenpoint-Williamsburg rezoning in 2005.[9]
Private sector
Term-limited out of the Council in 2009,Katz worked at the Greenberg Traurig law firm,where she specialized in government affairs and land use.[10] In that position,she was paid to lobby for News Corporation.[11]
In December 2018, Katz announced her candidacy for Queens District Attorney.[16] In the Democratic primary, Katz faced Tiffany Cabán, a public defender who was endorsed by several progressive politicians, including Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Bernie Sanders.[17] The initial results of the Democratic primary on June 25, 2019, showed Cabán with a narrow 1.3 percent lead over Katz.[18][19][20] Katz performed particularly well in Assembly Districts 23–29, which comprise much of Southeast Queens.[21] On July 3, 2019, election officials said Katz pulled ahead in the final count and led Caban by a mere 20 votes, triggering a recount.[22] On July 29, 2019, the Board of Elections certified the results of the weeks-long recount, which resulted in Katz leading Caban by 60 votes and declaring victory. Caban said she would challenge the invalidation of over 100 ballots in court.[23] On August 6, 2019, Caban conceded the race.[24]
Katz was in a relationship with Curtis Sliwa, the founder of the Guardian Angels and later the 2021 Republican nominee for New York City mayor, and separated from him in 2014; they have two children together, conceived in vitro over the previous five years.[26][27] She is named in a court case involving Sliwa, accused by his ex-wife, Mary, of diverting money to Katz while still married to Mary, as part of a plan to build a "nest egg" with Katz prior to moving in with her.[28][29] On February 14, 2015, the New York Daily News reported that Katz and Sliwa had separated on Election Day 2014. Katz now lives with their children in Forest Hills.[citation needed]
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