Michael G. DenDekker (born July 11, 1961) is an American politician and former assemblyman for the state of New York's 34th district, which included the neighborhoods of

Woodside Woodside may refer to: Places and buildings Australia *Woodside, South Australia, a town *Woodside, Victoria, a town Canada *Woodside National Historic Site, the boyhood home of William Lyon Mackenzie King *Woodside, Nova Scotia, a neighborho ...

, Jackson Heights, and

East Elmhurst East Elmhurst is a residential neighborhood in the northwest section of the New York City borough of Queens. It is bounded to the south by Jackson Heights and Corona, to the north and east by Bowery Bay, and to the west by Woodside and Ditmars ...

, all in the Borough and County of

Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

Education and career

DenDekker was born in Jackson Heights, attending Our Lady of Fatima Grammar School and

Monsignor McClancy Memorial High School Monsignor McClancy Memorial High School is a co-educational Catholic high school located in the East Elmhurst neighborhood of Queens, New York. As of Fall 2012, the school started accepting young women. Founded by the Brothers of the Sacred Heart ...

. He attended the

State University of New York at Farmingdale The State University of New York at Farmingdale (Farmingdale State College or SUNY Farmingdale) is a public college in East Farmingdale, New York. It is part of the State University of New York. The college was chartered in 1912 as a school of ap ...

, majoring in automotive technology. After college he worked as a banquet manager for a caterer and an account representative for

MetLife MetLife, Inc. is the holding corporation for the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company (MLIC), better known as MetLife, and its affiliates. MetLife is among the largest global providers of insurance, annuities, and employee benefit programs, wi ...

. He joined the New York City Department of Sanitation in 1995, where he was promoted to supervisor in March 2001. Later that year he was assigned to the

New York City Office of Emergency Management New York City Emergency Management (NYCEM) (formerly the New York City Office of Emergency Management (OEM)) was originally formed in 1996 as part of the Mayor's Office under Rudolph W. Giuliani. By a vote of city residents in 2001 it became an i ...

as a public information officer and in 2003 he also became a special projects coordinator. He retired from the Sanitation Department and his assignment at OEM in 2006, after which he was a facilities manager for the

New York City Council The New York City Council is the lawmaking body of New York City. It has 51 members from 51 council districts throughout the five Borough (New York City), boroughs. The council serves as a check against the Mayor of New York City, mayor in a may ...

. From 1998 to 2002, he worked as a part-time district representative for State Assembly member Margaret Markey. After longtime Assemblyman

Ivan Lafayette Ivan C. Lafayette (July 28, 1930 – October 4, 2016) was an American politician who represented the 34th District in the New York State Assembly, which comprises portions of Jackson Heights, Corona, and Elmhurst. He served as Deputy Speaker o ...

decided not to run for reelection, DenDekker ran for the seat. He won uncontested

general election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

s in 2008 and 2010.

Legislative career

DenDekker attracted public attention with two bills he proposed in February 2011 that would have required all

bicycle A bicycle, also called a pedal cycle, bike or cycle, is a human-powered or motor-powered assisted, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, having two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A is called a cyclist, or bicyclist. Bic ...

s in New York to be registered, inspected, and given license plates for a mandatory US $25 fee. DenDekker proposed the idea as an attempt to draw attention to bicyclists who violate existing state laws and to generate revenue for the state. After significant objections from his colleagues, constituents and local clerks, DenDekker withdrew the bill. In May 2010, DenDekker introduced a bill to develop a

cigarette butt A cigarette is a narrow cylinder containing a combustible material, typically tobacco, that is rolled into thin paper for smoking. The cigarette is ignited at one end, causing it to smolder; the resulting smoke is orally inhaled via the opp ...

recycling program and require a minimum deposit of one cent per

cigarette A cigarette is a narrow cylinder containing a combustible material, typically tobacco, that is rolled into thin paper for smoking. The cigarette is ignited at one end, causing it to smolder; the resulting smoke is orally inhaled via the opp ...

. In 2020, he was defeated in the Democratic primary by

democratic socialist Democratic socialism is a left-wing political philosophy that supports political democracy and some form of a socially owned economy, with a particular emphasis on economic democracy, workplace democracy, and workers' self-management within a ...

opponent

Jessica González-Rojas Jessica González-Rojas (born May 19, 1976) is an American activist, politician, and academic. A Democrat, she is the New York State Assemblymember for the 34th District, having been elected in 2020 after defeating incumbent Michael DenDekker in t ...

Personal life

DenDekker and his wife Angela have four children: Michael, Linda, Elizabeth, and Jason. His step-daughter, Elizabeth Delaney, died on March 11, 2012. He has three grandchildren Jasen, Vincent, and Justin. He occasionally works as an actor, has appeared in several movies and TV shows—including the first two seasons of Elementary, as a Detective—and is a member of the

Screen Actors Guild The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) was an American labor union which represented over 100,000 film and television principal and background performers worldwide. On March 30, 2012, the union leadership announced that the SAG membership voted to m ...

.MichaelDenDekker.com
official acting website

References

External links

New York State Assembly: Michael G. DenDekker
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dendekker, Michael 1961 births Living people Democratic Party members of the New York State Assembly People from Jackson Heights, Queens Farmingdale State College alumni 21st-century American politicians New York City Emergency Management People from Elmhurst, Queens