Dan Garodnick is the President and CEO of the Riverside Park Conservancy, a not-for profit organization advocating for a six mile park on Manhattan's West Side. As a 12-year Member of the New York City Council Dan Garodnick was known as one of New York's most independent voices and effective legislators. The City Council unanimously passed his bill that will relieve more than 2,700 small businesses in Manhattan from paying the onerous commercial rent tax. He was also the lead negotiator in crafting a plan that will deliver nearly a billion dollars to improve subways and public spaces in Midtown over the next 20 years, through the East Midtown and Vanderbilt Corridor rezonings. Dan is a fierce tenant advocate and, in 2015, negotiated the largest affordable housing preservation deal in New York City’s history -- 5,000 middle class housing units in Stuyvesant Town-Peter Cooper Village. A lawyer with a background in civil rights, he has represented same sex couples seeking marriage equality, low wage workers seeking a living wage, and businesses seeking fair funding for city schools as part of the Campaign for Fiscal Equity. Dan lives with his wife Zoe, and two young sons, in Manhattan.