Ryan Scott Karben is an American attorney and former politician from the state of
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
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* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
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* '' ...
. A
Democrat
Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to:
Politics
*A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people.
*A member of a Democratic Party:
**Democratic Party (United States) (D)
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, Karben represented the state's 95th Assembly District from 2003 to 2006.
Education and family
Karben was born in the borough of
the Bronx
The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...
on September 29, 1974. In 1979, his family moved to
Spring Valley, New York
Spring Valley is a village in the towns of Ramapo and Clarkstown in Rockland County, New York, United States. It is located north of Chestnut Ridge, east of Airmont and Monsey, south of Hillcrest, and west of Nanuet. The population was 33, ...
. Karben was a student at the
Frisch School
The Frisch School, also known as Yeshivat Frisch , is a coeducational, Modern Orthodox, yeshiva high school located in Paramus, in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It was founded in 1972 by Rabbi Menachem Meier and Alfred Frisch ...
in
Paramus, New Jersey
Paramus ( Waggoner, Walter H ''The New York Times'', February 16, 1966. Accessed October 16, 2018. "Paramus – pronounced puh-RAHM-us, with the accent on the second syllable – may have taken its name from 'perremus' or 'perymus,' Indian for ...
. He attended
Yeshiva University
Yeshiva University is a private Orthodox Jewish university with four campuses in New York City."About YU on the Yeshiva Universit ...
as a Max Stern Distinguished Scholar and graduated magna cum laude in 1996 with a B.A. in English. He then attended the
Columbia Law School
Columbia Law School (Columbia Law or CLS) is the law school of Columbia University, a private Ivy League university in New York City. Columbia Law is widely regarded as one of the most prestigious law schools in the world and has always ranked i ...
as a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar, graduating in 1999.
Karben married Lauren C. Bekritsky, his high school sweetheart, in June 1996. The Karbens have three daughters. Karben is an Orthodox Jew.
Assembly career
In 1995, Karben lost his initial bid to become county legislator at the age of 21 when he finished fourth in a race for three open positions. In his concession speech at the Holiday Inn in
Suffern, New York
Suffern is a village that was incorporated in 1796 in the town of Ramapo in Rockland County, New York. Suffern is located 31 miles northwest of Manhattan. As of the 2010 census, Suffern's population was 10,723.Ramapo in the
Rockland County
Rockland County is the southernmost county on the west side of the Hudson River in the U.S. state of New York. It is part of the New York metropolitan area. It is about from the Bronx at their closest points. The county's population, as of th ...
Legislature. He was the youngest county lawmaker in the State of New York at that time. Karben was selected as majority leader of the Rockland County Legislature in 2001–2002.
In November 2002, Karben was elected to the
New York State Assembly
The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, with the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits.
The Assem ...
in Albany to represent the 95th district, which includes the Town of Orangetown and parts of the Town of Ramapo in
Rockland County
Rockland County is the southernmost county on the west side of the Hudson River in the U.S. state of New York. It is part of the New York metropolitan area. It is about from the Bronx at their closest points. The county's population, as of th ...
. Karben served on the Energy Committee and led an investigation of
Consolidated Edison
Consolidated Edison, Inc., commonly known as Con Edison (stylized as conEdison) or ConEd, is one of the largest investor-owned energy companies in the United States, with approximately $12 billion in annual revenues as of 2017, and over $62 b ...
in 2004. Karben also pushed for tougher sex-offender tracking laws and environmental cleanups at several Rockland County sites.
Karben was involved in a fundraising controversy involving
Charles Kushner
Charles Kushner (born May 16, 1954) is an American real estate developer, former federal inmate, and disbarred former attorney. He founded Kushner Companies in 1985.
In 2005, he was convicted of illegal campaign contributions, tax evasion, and ...
, a New Jersey developer who served a prison sentence for hiring prostitutes in an attempt to influence potential witnesses in a
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
investigation. Kushner had contributed over $40,000 to Karben's campaign, and Karben contributed $2,500 to charity after revelations about Kushner surfaced.
Resignation
On May 18, 2006, Karben unexpectedly announced his resignation from the Assembly "amid what sources said were allegations of improper sexual approaches to young male Assembly interns." Karben had reportedly been the subject of an internal investigation into alleged sexual advances toward staffers. According to ''The New York Times'', sources stated that he had brought three staffers to his Albany residence and watched pornography with them; Karben allegedly stepped down to avoid facing a formal investigation. No formal complaints against Karben were ever filed. Karben's statement regarding his resignation made no reference to the alleged internal inquiry.
Subsequently, Karben left his position as a partner in the Spring Valley law firm of Kurtzman, Matera, Scuderi, Gurock, and Karben.
Post-Assembly career
Following his resignation, Karben started his own law firm, the Law Office of Ryan Karben, based at his home in Monsey. In September 2007, Karben was named Managing Director of Fleishman-Hillard Government Relations, a national political consulting and lobbying firm. Karben also held the position of Village Attorney of
Spring Valley, New York
Spring Valley is a village in the towns of Ramapo and Clarkstown in Rockland County, New York, United States. It is located north of Chestnut Ridge, east of Airmont and Monsey, south of Hillcrest, and west of Nanuet. The population was 33, ...
, but was fired by the village mayor in 2010 for dereliction of duty.