By Ed Litvak
We’re a little belated with this one, but better late than never. Recently, community activist Mary Spink was honored as a “Woman of Distinction,” in a state ceremony recognizing outstanding women all over New York.
She received the award in Albany from State Senator Daniel Squadron. City Councilwoman Rosie Mendez and Community Board 3 District Manager Susan Stetzer were also on hand for the event.
Mary is executive director and development director of Lower East Side People’s Mutual Housing Association. She is also a member of Community Board 3. Serving on the land use committee and the committee that evaluates liquor licenses, she’s at the center of some of the neighborhood’s most contentious debates. In the past couple of years, Mary played a major role in the painstaking negotiations leading to a set of planning guidelines for the Seward Park redevelopment site.
Mary has pretty much done it all on the Lower East Side. After arriving in the city as a teenager, she owned and operated a dress shop, a newsstand and a hardware store. She’s been a cook, a record promoter, a brick layer, a dancer, a waitress, a plumber, an office manager, a superintendent and a property manager. She served as Director of Drug Prevention for Archdiocese of New York.
Mary served for nineteen years as Board or Committee Member of the LES Peoples Federal Credit Union (LESPFCU), fourteen years as Board Member of the National Federation of Community Development Credit Unions (NFCDCU), and for nine years as Board Member and Chair of the LES Girls Club (LESGC).
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