KAPPA NEWS: LAW AND SOCIAL JUSTICE
protecting voting rights, judicial diver- sity and preservation of HBCU’s. The NBA and its members will continue to lobby congress and continue to program town hall meetings and symposiums to achieve its social justice goals. Journal: Can you talk about your rela- tionship with the General Counsel of the NBA? Judd: My relationship with Lamont Bai- ley (LB) is built upon trust and respect, not just on a professional level, but also personal. I know he has my back and he knows I have his. LB is an excellent lawyer, who I have always admired and tried to emulate. One thing I can say about LB is that he knows his stuff and is very thorough. Journal: What led you to become Charter Members of the Queens (NY) Alumni Chapter? Journal: Talk about what the circum- stances were in the area in 1990. Judd: Likeminded brothers, who wanted to do more in our communities in a proactive manner. In the late 1980s in NYC, there were two well to do, es- teemed alumni chapters that harnessed great Brothers in the Bond, such as the late Jonathan Hicks. However, during that time, some of us younger Brothers, who were a little bit more radical during that time, possessed a deep fire in us to serve our communities in a different, yet proactive manner. I fondly remember our organizational meetings we used to have in restaurants, brothers' homes, including my Grandmother’s house in Brooklyn. We all felt like we were doing something big and noble. We agreed that all petitioner signers had to be life members or subscribing life members, which we all did. I owe this strategy to securing my life membership pin and gold card. Out of this labor of love for our communities and Kappa, Queens (NY) Alumni Chapter was born, which to this very day is doing terrific and honorable work for the community and for Kappa.
Bailey Served as General Counsel of the NBA Under Judd Now as Member at Large, is a part of the 2017-2018 Leadership Team
Jamaica, There were three major depart- ment stores, Macy’s, Gertz and May’s and a major newspaper (Long Island Press) was headquartered and pub- lished in Jamaica. Due to white flight and suburbanization in the late 1960’s, Jamaica went into serious decline and some would say in certain areas became blighted. All of the department stores closed, the law office and title compa- nies left. Greater Jamaica Development Corporation, a nonprofit, was created in 1967 to help stabilize and revitalize downtown Jamaica." "We work with government, businesses and the community and primarily see ourselves as facilitators. We started by getting government to invest/reinvest in Jamaica and lobbied for the placement of a four year college to be located in Jamaica (York College). We then encour- aged City, State and the Federal govern- ment to locate some of their agency staff in Jamaica. The federal government then built a 110-story building which brought 2,700 Social Security Administration employees to Jamaica. Next came the FDA Northeast Regional Laboratory. Based on the investments by govern- ment, the private sector is now investing as well. Today, a $225,000,000 mixed use development project which will house 580 apartments and 50,000 sq./ft. of retail space is being developed by BRP Companies, which is owned by Mer- edith Marshall (Chi 1984) and Jeffrey Flournoy (Chi 1985) and a 26 story 225 unit Hilton Garden Inn is being devel- oped. Big box retailers have expressed an interest and we expect to have one or two within the next three years." Through the efforts of government, the private sector and the community our over 40 year goal is being achieved.
Lamont R. Bailey, Esq., of Bailey & Bailey, LLC, became the first New York- based lawyer to be appointed General Counsel of the National Bar Association in their prestigious 91-year history, officials said. He is Managing Partner of the respected Queens-based Law Firm of Bailey & Bailey with roots dating back to 1949 starting with his late father, Attorney Lawrence R. Bailey, Sr. Bailey was a very involved student. He is a Life Member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. and a Charter Member of the Queens (NY) Alumni Chapter. From the time he was a little boy, he knew he wanted to be a lawyer. "My dad, Lawrence R. Bailey, Sr., (Xi 1937), never encouraged me to be a lawyer but I guess he was a natural role model for me. I have an engineer’s mind and graduated from Brooklyn Technical High School but despite this, always knew that I wanted to be a lawyer." Brother Bailey has a focus on real estate born out of circumstance. "Jamaica, New York was the County Seat. Up until the 1960’s a good major- ity of the lawyers and title companies had their offices located in downtown
168 | FALL 2017 THE JOURNAL
Publishing achievement for more than 100 years
Made with FlippingBook Online newsletter