Remembering Brendan Sexton

BRENDAN SEXTON (right, with Gale Brewer) served five New York City Mayoral administrations, and through all of it kept a sparkle in his eyes. Photo courtesy of Gale Brewer.

From City Council Member Gale Brewer 

My friend Brendan Sexton died on November 12 at age 78. He served five New York City Mayoral administrations and through all of it kept a sparkle in his eyes. As the NYC Sanitation Commissioner from 1986–1990, he established the first recycling program in a major American city (and hired the first women ever as uniformed sanitation workers!). After leaving government, he headed the Times Square BID (back when cleaning up that area was still a heavy lift), served on the boards of the Municipal Art Society and the South Street Seaport Museum (among many others), and most recently consulted on sustainability and social responsibility for corporations. He was a gem, and I will miss him. Brendan was honored at memorial service on November 21st at Judson Memorial Church in the Village. 

BRENDON SEXTON WAS A KEY PLAYER in the creation of Hudson River Park, serving on the Board of the original Friends of the Hudson River Park. Photo courtesy of the Municipal Art Society. Photo credit: Karen Dalzell.

From Arthur Schwartz 

I always loved talking with Brendan. In the 1960s, as an NYU student, he was arrested for participating in civil rights demonstrations as a member of the Congress of Racial Equality. He was also a conscientious objector during the Vietnam War. I worked with him when he was President of the Municipal Arts Society from 1996-1998, where he was a key player in the creation of Hudson River Park, serving (with me) on the Board of the original Friends of Hudson River Park.

Brendan lived in the South Village and worked hard to extend the Historic District to his block. When it happened he blogged “Yay! My block is in there. If something weren’t done, this charming, rare surviving, small-scale piece of the old South Village (or North Little Italy, I guess) would go the way of the rest of the NYU campus that is replacing what we love down here. And yes, i own a building in this new district, and no, I did not mourn the lost opportunity to sell my place to some hotel developer (Kushner), or even to my alma mater, NYU. This is a great move by the LPC, and all thanks to the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation.”