Donald Manes
| Donald Manes | |
|---|---|
| 16th Borough President of Queens | |
|
In office September 17, 1971 – January 28, 1986 |
|
| Preceded by | Sidney Leviss |
| Succeeded by | Claire Shulman |
| Member of the New York City Council from the 15th District | |
|
In office 1966–1971 |
|
| Preceded by | Julius Moskowitz |
| Succeeded by | Morton Povman |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
January 18, 1934 Brooklyn, New York |
| Died | March 13, 1986 (aged 52) |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Marlene Manes |
Donald R. Manes (January 18, 1934 – March 13, 1986) was a Democratic Party politician from New York City. He served as borough president of the New York City borough of Queens from 1971 until just before his suicide while under suspicion of corruption in 1986.
Elected at age 37, the Brooklyn-born Manes was the youngest borough president in Queens history. During his term, Manes turned his position from merely a ceremonial role into a more proactive political job.
He was re-elected four more times, and was a delegate to the 1980 Democratic National Convention.
Manes' popularity plummeted in late 1985, when he was criticized over two of his pet projects he wanted to build in Queens's largest public park, Flushing Meadows-Corona Park. One proposal was for a Grand Prix auto racetrack in the park, where the 1939 New York World's Fair and the 1964 New York World's Fair had been held. Local community leaders lamented the idea, which became the first major project of his that was opposed.
Also that year, Manes worked to build a domed football-baseball stadium in the park, but it was opposed by local businessmen in the Flushing area. When Queens couldn't secure a football franchise, the plan died.
One of the biggest controversies came in late 1985, when Manes wanted to wire the borough for cable television. Manes rejected a proposal by the Queens-based Orth-O-Vision company to place cable lines in the borough, and instead awarded contracts to mega-companies Warner Communications and Time-Life, as well as a cable firm owned by former Manhattan borough president Percy Sutton. Local communities were outraged by the fact he passed over a local firm for large national companies.
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