DRAFT
When Mario Cuomo lost his re-election bid for governor in 1994, Mark Grossman was in his sixth year serving as the Governor’s Long Island Regional Director — his point-person in the state’s largest suburban community. While most people encouraged Mark to stay in public service, he saw it, instead, as the opportunity to forge a new career path . . . one that he longed to take.
“When you get that government paycheck every-other-week with top-of-the-line benefits, it’s hard to put it all aside and take the risk of starting a business,” he said. “So, the disappointing results of the ’94 campaign became the catalyst I needed to go out do what I always dreamed of doing — starting my own public relations firm.”
So with a cell phone, fax machine, and a computer in a spare bedroom in his East Patchogue home, Mark launched Grossman Strategies, a government and public relations firm aimed at . . . well . . . anyone would hire him.
Fortunately for Mark, he came away from his position with Governor Cuomo with strong credentials and a reputation of integrity with leaders in private industry, organized labor, members of the press, government, and not-for-profits. He had a powerful Rolodex filled with personal contacts in the highest echelons in government and the media. And within two short months of Election Day, Mark had networked enough income to replace his previous government salary, and then some.
Some of his early clients included New York Institute of Technology, where Mark received his Masters degree back in 1983 and where he subsequently served as an adjunct faculty member in their Communication Arts Department. Mark helped NYIT promote several national educational partnerships, scoring a front page feature in Education Week, the go-to trade journal for higher education.
Grossman Strategies was retained by the Suffolk County Village Officials Association to help promote the organization which represented the 31 incorporated villages in the county. Mark was later tapped as the group’s Executive Director, transitioning it from a mostly fraternal, social organization, to one that actively advocated for issues and legislation important to local governments.
Long Island-based Publishers Clearing House quickly hired Grossman Strategies to lead what would become a successful effort to forestall an effort by the state legislature to impose a sales tax on mailed marketing materials.
And several not-for-profits in healthcare and education joined the Grossman Strategies client roster early-on because they knew that Mark was not only a very able promoter, but equally as important, a true believer in their causes.
The firm quickly outgrew that spare bedroom and when their first child was born in 1996, they renovated their basement to accommodate Mark and his two employees. Three years and dozens of new clients later, the firm moved first to a 1,000 square feet office suite in Holtsville in 1999, and four years later to 2,000 square feet of Class A office space at the Airport Corporate Center in Bohemia.
By this time Grossman Strategies had 7 employees, strategic partnerships with photographers, printers, web designers, and graphic artists, and an impressive roster of corporate and institutional clients. One such client was Duke Energy, where the firm, led by Mark, managed Long Island and New York government and public relations for the proposed Islander East Pipeline project. The firm’s services were also retained by several wireless carriers such as Sprint PCS, AT&T/Cingular, and T-Mobile to help troubleshoot government and community obstacles to establishing cell sites.
Their reputation for providing solid, “no-bull” public relations and government relations turned them into a real Long Island “go to” firm when national companies were looking to reach into the Nassau-Suffolk market. Firms such as the Amerada Hess Corporation, Home Depot, Air South, and Pathmark Corporation all sought the services of Grossman Strategies for help communicating with, and navigating, the complex and often fragmented landscape of Long Island.
But learning how to navigate the Long Island community wasn’t instilled at birth. Mark was born in The Bronx, educated in the New York City Public Schools, and went on to major in Film Making at School of Visual Arts in Manhattan. It was there that he and two other aspiring TV/video professionals collaborated in the production of a weekly television program called “Downtown Local,” a talk show produced in the late ‘70s that touched on progressive, topical issues and personalities of the day. Mark arranged to have living folk legend Pete Seeger on as a guest, where he sang inspirational classics and discussed with schoolchildren the perils of pollution in the Hudson River. Another program featured Woodstock icon Richie Havens, who discussed efforts to save the dieing whale population. And Marjorie Guthrie, widow of folk legend Woody Guthrie, appeared on the show to discuss Huntington’s disease, the neurological illness that killed her husband.
It’s important to note that Mark and his two friends, Steve and Anthony – all three not yet 20-years-old at the time – produced, directed, and PAID FOR the production of these shows every week for more than a year, earning them a front page feature story in TV World, a magazine that, at the time, was a New York City-based competitor to TV Guide.
After earning his Bachelors of Fine Arts at School of Visual Arts, a small, proprietary college in Manhattan, Mark was offered a fellowship at New York Institute of Technology in Old Westbury. That meant a move from the Bronx to Long Island, something he never regretted. In 1983, he earned his Master of the Arts in Communication Arts and was hired a year later by NYIT to help launch “LI News Tonight,” a student-run daily television news program that recently celebrated its 25th anniversary. Mark was “LI News Tonight’s” first production manager and served as mentor to dozens of aspiring news photographers and reporters, many who serve prominently in the television news industry today.
Mark later went on to work for Norelco Business System in Woodbury, one of the world leaders in dictation equipment, a now obsolete technology. There, Mark managed a multi-million dollar national advertising budget and did a complete overhaul of the collateral material used by salespeople in the field. Mark also produced the company’s first video training tape, which was mass marketed to high-end users of their products.
When Dimension Cable Services in Riverhead, then owned by the Times-Mirror Corporation (which also owned Newsday at that time), was looking for someone to launch their public access channel, they recruited Mark for the job. He literally built their studio from scratch, developing and producing a myriad of television programs by forging collaborations with a number of East End-based organizations. For example, he worked with the Long Island Farm Bureau on an agriculture program. He worked with the East End Arts Council on a program that showcased the region’s creative resources. And he partnered with Eastern Long Island Executives – then one of Paul Townsend’s Long Island Business News associations – to tape and broadcast key guest speakers. His efforts to bring high-quality, community-based television programs to the East End won him respect and praise by community leaders, and led to his receiving an award in 1987 by the Suffolk County Motion Picture & Television Commission (details below).
When Dimension’s Customer Service Manager position became available, Times-Mirror management asked Mark to step in. Though it was outside of his expected “creative” career path, Mark saw the opportunity to develop his management skills. As Dimension’s Customer Service Manager, he was in the number-three spot, and oversaw a staff of some 20 customer service representatives who served 40,000 subscribers in Suffolk’s eastern towns.
It was also a time when desktop computer technology was just emerging in the workplace and Mark took advantage of this new high-tech new tool to develop Microsoft Excel spreadsheets that, in collaboration with the company’s computerized phone system, measured various customer service metrics such as hold time, call time, call flow throughout the day, along with other measurements. It allowed Mark to implement new efficiencies in the operation — adjusting staffing, and adjusting processes, to better meet customer demand. He also introduced computerized cash registers – innovative and high-tech in the year 1987 – that more quickly and accurately reconciled the day’s transactions, improving cash management, as well as providing detailed information about walk-in customer activity.
During those years, Mark’s interest in local politics grew. He became active in the Brookhaven Town Democratic Committee, running for Town Clerk in 1985. He lost the election that year along with the rest of the Democratic ticket, but he garnered more votes than expected for a first-time candidate. The political pundits attribute this success, in large part, to Mark’s hard work walking door-to-door, and his strategic use of the media to capture voters’ attention on the often mundane issues of the Town Clerk’s office – issues that more often than not, go unnoticed. For example, his research indicated that the Town Clerk’s office was issuing carnival permits prior to the rides being inspected by the Fire Marshal, a violation of law. Mark raised this concern in the wake of several roller coaster accidents that made headlines the year before, quickly capturing public attention.
Mark’s strong showing in 1985 earned him the nomination for a Town Council seat the following year, 1986, to fill the unexpired term of a town board member who was elected County Sheriff. That year, Mark ran against John LaMura – who would go on to become Town Supervisor – in a four-way race where the Conservative and Right-to-Life parties (who typically cross-endorsed the Republicans) ran their own candidates. Mark’s theme asked voters to elect him as the “Watchdog Councilman,” since, if elected, he would be the only Democrat on the all-Republican board. Though enormously outspent by the GOP, Mark’s campaign made strategic use of radio and cable television – along with throngs of dedicated volunteers – to keep the race competitive until the end. The final result was 49 percent for LaMura; 43 percent for Mark, and balance went to the Conservative and Right-to-Life candidates. It was the first time in decades that a Brookhaven Town Republican had been held to less than 50 percent of the vote. In fact, the good government group, Common Cause, did a post-election analysis indicating that Mark had been outspent some twenty-to-one – $160,000 to $8,000. At that time, they said, it was the most money ever spent on a single town board candidacy anywhere in the nation.
Mark ran again for Town Council that next year on a ticket that included Brian X. Foley, who would go onto be elected to the county legislature, Brookhaven Town Supervisor, and state senator.
In 1988, Mark’s early support for then Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis’ presidential bid helped secure him a spot as a delegate to the Democratic National Convention in Atlanta. Mark was Dukakis’ Suffolk County campaign manager and went on to become a regional campaign coordinator in the general election where he got to work with Democratic leadership from throughout New York State.
A spate of local Democratic wins that year provided new opportunities and Mark left Dimension Cable Services in 1988 to work in Suffolk County government, first for then presiding officer Sondra Bachety and later for County Executive Patrick Halpin.
After a year of county government service, he was recruited to join the staff of Governor Mario Cuomo as his regional representative in Suffolk County. It was there that Mark established his own political identity, serving as the Governor’s local eyes and ears. He attended meetings on Governor’s behalf, reported results, and recommended actions. Mark organized logistics, conducted advance work for events and prepared briefings for the Governor, Mrs. Cuomo, Lt. Governor Stan Lundine, and Secretary of State Gail Shaffer. He also served as regional ombudsman for area constituents, helping hundreds of people caught in government’s bureaucratic web find solutions to their problems. Mark also served as the Governor’s liaison with business, labor, and civic groups, as well as his regional media contact and spokesperson.
While his post-Cuomo years running Grossman Strategies were rewarding and lucrative, Mark still had the yearning to return to public service, and that calling came in December of 2005. Brian X. Foley, a veteran county legislator who is now a state senator, had just won a hard-fought race for Town Supervisor and Democrats had also wrested majority control of the town board for the first time in more than 40 years. Brian was looking for a strong management team that could help clean up a town fraught with mismanagement and political scandal, and he asked Mark to join as one of his deputies, an offer he couldn’t refuse.
As Special Assistant to the Supervisor for Intergovernmental Relations, Mark served as the supervisor’s key liaison to other levels of government, organized labor, the business community, the arts, and education. Mark helped develop town-wide policy as well as its $185 million annual operating and capital budgets. Because of Mark’s political savvy and strong professional reputation, Mark represented the supervisor on many boards and commissions. He served as the supervisor’s liaison to, and oversaw operations of, several key departments including Waste Management, Public Safety, Housing & Community Development, Assessor, Town Clerk, and Economic Development. He managed franchise relations with Cablevision, Verizon FiOS’ pending entry into the market, as well as intergovernmental relationships with utilities and energy companies.
Mark returned to state service in May, 2008 as the Commissioner’s Long Island Regional Representative for the New York State Department of Labor, a position he was appointed to by Governor David Paterson. In that role he oversees programs run by more than 200 state workers and serves as the department’s liaison with organized labor, social and human service agencies, the education community, regional planning and development organizations, local government, as well as state agencies and state legislators. Mark serves as a member of Long Island’s three Workforce Investment Boards (WIBs), where he is working to develop new and innovative regional partnerships to achieve the department’s goals and policy initiatives.
He also leads the effort on Long Island to manage the implementation of the workforce elements of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), also known as the Economic Stimulus Plan. He also leads a Long Island team developing programs for green jobs training to prepare workers for careers in energy efficiency and renewable energy industries.
While Mark thoroughly enjoys his current position, he still says that his best job was his first job. In 1973, when he was 16 years old, he sold hot dogs at Yankee Stadium. There are many stories from that season which could fill several pages, but suffice to say, it was the next best thing to being a batboy.
Mentoring/Community Involvement
Mark Grossman has a long history of community involvement on Long Island.
He was twice elected to the South Country School District board of education which serves the very diverse communities of the greater Bellport area. During his five years of service, he was a strong voice for the poor and minority populations of the district, which historically have not had representation on the school board. He was also the board’s designated representative to the Brookhaven Town Empire Zone Administration Board – the governing body of the town’s Empire Zone.
Mark served on the board of the Suffolk affiliate of Literacy Volunteers of America, and was the board president for several years in the early ‘90s. The organization – which helps combat adult illiteracy – is now called Literacy Suffolk; Mark continues to serve on the organization’s advisory board.
Mark was recently elected to the advisory board of the Suffolk County affiliate of Dress for Success, an organization whose mission is to help women from disadvantaged populations achieve economic independence by providing professional attire, a network of support, and career development tools. It’s a very good fit considering Mark’s “day job” with the state Department of Labor.
Mark has also been active in his local temple, serving as a religious school teacher at the Mastic Beach Hebrew Center, a small, Reform congregation that serves southern Brookhaven. Mark also developed the temple’s website and serves as its webmaster.
Mark is also active in the greater East Patchogue community, where he has lived for more than 25 years. He served as Neighborhood Watch Coordinator for the South Country Shores Civic Association and remains active in the group monitoring local legislation that impacts quality-of-life issues for the greater community.
Other past affiliations: Mark served as a member of the Suffolk County Motion Picture & TV Commission. He served as an advisory board member of Friends of LIMSAT (Long Island Museum of Science and Technology), often volunteering to help the late Art Rosoff to network with government leaders to further the cause of establishing a hands-on science museum for children on Long Island. Mark also served on student orientation committees when he was an adjunct faculty member at NYIT, helping new students navigate their way into a higher education learning environment.
Like many community leaders, Mark has received a number of awards and honors. They include: the Long Island Association’s Small Business of the Year in 2003, awarded to Grossman Strategies; A 2000 “Telly” Awards for his production of an educational video for the Women’s Health Partnership of Suffolk County; several awards by the New York State School Public Relations Association and the National School Public Relations Association for educational promotional materials; a 1995 “Pollie” award for a political radio spot presented by the American Association of Political Consultants; a 1st Place win in 1987 in the Marketing category by the Suffolk County Motion Picture & Television Commission; a Community Service Award that same year by the Social Security Administration for his work establishing the East End’s first state-of-the-art, community-based local cable programming operation at Times-Mirror Cable TV, also known as Dimension Cable Services, based in Riverhead. That was before Cablevision gobbled up all the franchises on Long Island.
But of all the awards and recognitions, probably the one that is most characteristic of Mark’s work is a small plaque on his wall dated December 3, 1994 from the Portuguese-American Association of Suffolk. It reads, “In recognition and appreciation of your outstanding assistance to our club and community.” But what did Mark do? Very simply, he listened…he learned…and he quietly found a simple solution to a chronic problem.
It happened when he was working for Governor Cuomo as his Long Island Regional Director. Mark was approached by members of the Portuguese community in Farmingville about the lack of access to books and reference materials in the Portuguese language, and the dearth of books on Portuguese culture. They said that the school district – Sachem – had little to offer the children of these Portuguese families for them learn about their history and culture.
Mark, at the time, served as president of Literacy Suffolk, which was based at the Suffolk Cooperative Library System (SCLS) in Bellport. He discovered that SCLS had a number of Portuguese books and other reference materials in storage. Working with the Sachem Public Library, Mark helped arrange to get those materials out of storage and onto the shelves in a special new section in the library. And the Portuguese community was very grateful.