Paul's Bio | Paul's Resume Paul's Bio Born in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, Paul Wein has remained a resident of his hometown and plans to reside there for life. After graduating from Public School 193 and Cunningham Junior High School, Paul attended Sheepshead Bay High School and pursued a career in Law. During his law studies, Paul and some of his fellow students were selected to travel to London, England to study the British Legal System. Realizing that law was not his calling, Paul began to study broadcasting and, in 1988, began an internship at WPLJ, a popular New York radio station. His work at the radio station during his internship earned him the Board of Education Certificate of Achievement Award for the exploration of a career and the development of personal potential as well as the Sheepshead Bay High School English Achievement Award for excellence in the Communication Arts. Upon graduation of Sheepshead Bay High School, he attended Kingsborough Community College where he continued to study radio broadcasting and quickly became a newscaster on WKRB, the college's radio station. Taking a liking to news, he decided to pursue journalism instead of radio broadcasting and became a free-lance reporter after graduating Kingsborough. Paul vigorously attended many press conferences and political functions, and thoroughly covered then Mayoral Candidate Rudolph Giuliani's campaign. Upon his election, Mayor Giuliani thanked Paul for his efforts by making the various interviews Paul conducted with the Mayor Official City Property. In the fall of 1994, Paul got his first newspaper job, becoming a contributing reporter with The Brooklyn Skyline. There, he investigated and covered many vital issues pertaining to the different communities of Brooklyn. Paul began attending many local community meetings and quickly made friends among the many political and community leaders. His articles were read by many and were often commented on in the "Letters To The Editor" column. While at The Brooklyn Skyline, Paul was asked to write for The Hall, a new political paper that was starting in Manhattan. Paul's feature stories on political functions held by both Democrats and Republicans were well received by all who read them and attended the various events he wrote about. In June of 1995, Paul left The Brooklyn Skyline to become the Editor of The Marketeer. While there, Paul handled a myriad of responsibilities ranging from writing articles, to handling various contests, to overseeing the production of the paper itself. Paul gave Mayor Giuliani the opportunity to write a weekly column for The Marketeer, which was welcomed by its readers. Shortly after starting with The Marketeer, Paul began to write a series of articles on the history of Brooklyn. The series received a great deal of acclaim throughout the borough. Due to the response he received from the series, Paul compiled the weekly series into a pullout section with a written introduction by then Brooklyn Borough President Howard Golden. Shortly after the compilation edition of The History of Brooklyn was published, Paul received numerous letters of recognition about his series from many elected officials including Mayor Giuliani and President Clinton. In June of 1996, Paul left The Marketeer to become a Legislative Aide to City Councilman Howard Lasher. This new step forward allowed Paul to take his law, broadcasting and journalism experience all the way to City Hall. While working for Councilman Howard Lasher, Paul was asked to become Editor-in-Chief of The Brooklyn Baron, a brand-new newspaper which was set to publish its first issue in December of 1996. Paul wholeheartedly accepted the job, and in doing so, became the youngest Editor-in-Chief in the State of New York. Due to his effort, leadership and development of The Brooklyn Baron, Paul received an enormous amount of recognition from his peers and the community-at-large. He was the recipient of proclamations from the Council, the Senate and the Assembly for his work as the Baron's Editor-in-Chief. Paul was also asked to teach journalism to the students of Mark Twain Intermediate School for the Gifted and Talented as well as John Dewey High School. But the accomplishment he is most proud of is the development of his column entitled, A Penny For My Thoughts which is about his life, as he puts it, "growing up Brooklyn." The column became quite popular with the Baron's readers and Paul received many letters each week praising that week's installment. In October of 1997, Paul was approached by the Publisher of The Brooklyn Daily Eagle and asked to come on board as its Assistant Publisher. He accepted the job, bringing with him his many contacts as well as his A Penny For My Thoughts column. Paul's first experience at a daily newspaper would be cut short due to an unexpected illness, which forced him to leave the paper and recuperate at home. After recuperating from his illness, Paul was eager to return to the world of journalism. So when The Marketeer asked Paul to rejoin the staff, he accepted and became Editor once again. This allowed Paul to work at a slower pace and recuperate while still writing. The true culmination of Paul's hard work came in January of 1999 when he was appointed Press Secretary for the New York City Department of Buildings. As Press Secretary, Paul's years of hard work, endurance and determination have earned him a prosperous career as a member of the Giuliani Administration. In addition to writing and working for the Department of Buildings, Paul still involved himself in his first love - broadcasting. In 1999, he became the host of Ring Fever, a weekly television show about professional wrestling. Each week, Paul presented to his viewers a weekly half hour of the goings-on in the world of professional wrestling. The show featured Paul's interviews with wrestling superstars, appearances by wrestlers at local events, and interviews with the fans of wrestling. In September of 1999, Paul was hired by Comedy Central as the Moderator of the South Park On-line Booster Club. As Moderator, Paul answered the show's fan e-mail from all over the world and posted a daily digest containing the best e-mails of the day. In August of 2001, Paul was offered a job as Director of Public Affairs for the New York City Taxi & Limousine Commission, and was set to begin his new position on October 1, 2001. That job - along with the rest of his life - was put on hold on the morning of September 11, 2001. Following the tragedy, Paul was deployed to the Mayor's Office of Emergency Management, where he worked as a Public Information Officer, assisting the OEM Commissioner with such high-level public events as President Bush's first visit to Ground Zero following the September 11th atrocity - and crucial emergency operations such as the tragic crash of American Airlines Flight 587. His job at OEM earned him the September 11th Unit Citation in recognition of service towards the citizens of the City of New York during and following the World Trade Center disaster, and the OEM/American Airlines Certificate of Commendation for excellent service to the citizens of the City of New York during interagency communications and coordination operations associated with the crash of American Airlines Flight 587. Following his time at OEM, Paul authored a book entitled, I've Seen The Lights Go Out On Broadway: A Firsthand Account of the Tragic Events of September 11, 2001. The book quickly earned high praise and was Paul's catalyst following all that he saw that tragic Tuesday and the months that followed. In January of 2002, Paul began his tenure at the Taxi & Limousine Commission, and was quickly promoted to Executive Director only four months after taking the job. He proudly served at the TLC until April 2004, while occasionally returning to OEM at times of high level incidents, such as the one-year anniversary of 9/11, and the Blackout of 2003. Paul served at the TLC until he decided to leave City service and pursue a career in the private sector. In August of 2004, Paul was hired as Director of Marketing for Fillmore Real Estate, Brooklyn's largest real estate company, with 21 offices and 500 agents. In addition, Paul is the Publisher of The Pulse, the official newspaper for the Brooklyn Board of REALTORS. In his spare time, Paul continues to write his, "A Penny For My Thoughts" column, and moderate the South Park Digest. He currently resides in Marine Park, Brooklyn with his cat, Beavis. Back to the Top Paul Wein EXPERIENCE August 2004 - Present FILLMORE REAL ESTATE Director of Marketing *Create and implement new company-wide marketing campaign. *Represent company at real estate expos and trade shows. *Storyboard company television and radio commercials. *Design agent- and office-centric marketing materials. *Teach marketing and graphic design courses to agents and managers. *Ensure that all company advertisements are consistent. *Liaison between printer and agents and managers. *Chairperson of Fillmore Marketing Committee. January 2002 - April 2004 NEW YORK CITY TAXI AND LIMOUSINE COMMISSION (TLC) Executive Director of Public Affairs *Member of Executive Staff and Cabinet of TLC. *Draft bi-weekly Agency Operations Report for Mayor of New York City. *Supervise and delegate responsibilities to Public Affairs staff. *Plan, organize and coordinate agency press conferences. *Design quarterly newsletters, brochures and agency handouts. *Answer media inquiries from local, national and international media. *Create briefing report for Commissioner for interviews and press conferences. *Write press releases, industry notices, media advisories and Commissionerıs columns. *Responsible for content on TLC website, www.nyc.gov/taxi. *Liaison between TLC and other city, state and national press offices. *Attend meetings and press events with TLC Commissioner. *Official agency photographer. *On call 24 hours a day as Agency spokesperson. September 2001 - December 2001 MAYOR'S OFFICE OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT (OEM) Pubic Information Officer Worked in OEM Command Center following September 11th tragedy. *Answered inquiries from worldwide media regarding events of 9/11. *Escorted press pools to and from events with Mayor and dignitaries both at Ground Zero and at OEM Command Center. *Faxed early morning daily press packet to home of OEM Commissioner. *Did extensive research to gather information on WTC and 9/11 for press inquiries. *Assisted in coordinating press coverage logistics for major post 9/11 events (First Presidential visit to Ground Zero, lighting of "Towers of Light", etc.). *On call 24 hours a day/seven days a week during times of highest alert. January 1999 - September 2001 NEW YORK CITY DEPARTMENT OF BUILDINGS (DOB) Press Secretary *Fielded media inquiries and responded to press as official Department spokesperson. *Researched and compiled Department records and statistics for media. *Created agency quarterly newsletter as well as agency brochures. *Prepared a weekly press packet of newspaper clippings pertaining to the DOB. *Answered constituent questions via telephone, U.S. mail, and e-mail. *Assisted with creation and maintenance of DOB website. *Was on call 24 hours a day/seven days a week as Department media contact. *Drafted letters, statements and speeches for DOB Commissioner. *Visited accident sites and took evidence photographs. February 1998 - November 1998 NEWPORT MEDIA (Circulation-2,000,000) Weekly newspaper distributed in Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan, Staten Island and New Jersey. Editor, News Department *Was responsible for paper's editorial content. *Wrote Merchant Spotlights for sales reps as part of advertising campaign. *Created contests and promotions. *Represented paper at festivals and street fairs. *Maintained weekly community bulletin board for each local edition. October 1997 - January 1998 THE BROOKLYN DAILY EAGLE (Circulation-15,000) Daily paper distributed in Brooklyn. Assistant Publisher *Decided content and placement of material in paper. *Developed more practical, cost-cutting methods for production of newspaper. *Delegated assignments to both staff reporters and photographers. *Developed extensive database of contacts for newspaper. *Wrote articles, which included stories and an editorial column. *Designed and oversaw newspaper contests and promotions. October 1996 - October 1997 THE BROOKLYN BARON (Circulation-145,000) Weekly paper distributed in Brooklyn. Editor-In-Chief *Oversaw various aspects of newspaper from inception to finished product. *Responsible for editorial content of paper. *Delegated assignments to staff reporters and photographers. *Served as representative for newspaper at events. *Wrote approximately ten articles per issue which included front page stories, general news, a restaurant review column, and a weekly editorial. *Liaison between offices of elected officials and newspaper for weekly columns. *Handled reader inquiries personally and over the telephone. *Designed and oversaw newspaper contests and promotions. *Laid out stories and promotions using Adobe PageMaker program. June 1996 - October 1996 OFFICE OF CITY COUNCILMAN HOWARD LASHER Legislative Aide *Traveled with Councilman to appointments. *Coordinated appointments and scheduled appearances. *Wrote press releases. *Liaison between media and Councilman. *Handled constituent complaints for Councilman. *Represented Councilman at meetings, special events, etc. June 1995 - June 1996 MARKETEER PUBLICATIONS (Circulation-565,000) Weekly paper distributed in Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan and Staten Island. Editor, News Department *Was responsible for all editorial from feature stories to weekly columns. *Wrote articles that included news stories and "advertorials". *Represented paper at community meetings, special events, etc. *Coordinated event and convention appearances. *Designed contests and promotions relating to paper. *Prepared stories for print using Adobe PageMaker program. March 1995 - May 1995 THE HALL (Circulation-75,000) Weekly newspaper geared toward a political audience Contributing Writer *Wrote several stories per issue pertaining to local and national politics. *Represented newspaper at area functions. *Interviewed subjects from local politicians to corporate figures. October 1994 - June 1995 THE BROOKLYN SKYLINE (Circulation-155,500) Weekly newspaper distributed in Brooklyn. Contributing Reporter *Wrote several hard news and community interest stories for each issue, many of which appeared on the front page. *Personally interviewed a variety of subjects from various mediums such as politics, sports, and entertainment. *Frequently attended local community meetings and press conferences. September 1989 - June 1992 WKRB FM RADIO Kingsborough Community College On-Air News/Sportscaster *Reported news, current events and sports several times a week. *Wrote and paraphrased on-air material. September 1988 - December 1988 WPLJ FM RADIO Promotion Assistant/Intern *Assisted Promotions Department in designing, marketing, and executing on-air and off-air station contests. *Coordinated off-air station promotions and personality appearances. *Liaison between Music Director and celebrity guests. *Maintained a comprehensive and up-to-date record of contest winners which were entered into a database program used for direct mail campaigns. EDUCATION Graduated June 1992 KINGSBOROUGH COMMUNITY COLLEGE *Received A.A.S. Degree in Broadcast Technology and Management with a minor in speech. *Staff member at college radio station, WKRB-FM. Graduated June 1989 SHEEPSHEAD BAY HIGH SCHOOL *Member of Law Studies Educational Options Program. *Was one of a selected group of students chosen to participate in a trip to London, England to study the British Legal System. *Writer and photographer for school yearbook, Topaz '89. *Volunteer in Dean's office and attendance office. AWARDS December 2001 September 11th Unit Citation in recognition of service towards the citizens of the City of New York during and following the World Trade Center disaster. November 2001 OEM/American Airlines Certificate of Commendation for excellent service to the citizens of the City of New York during interagency communications and coordination operations associated with the crash of American Airlines Flight #587. July 1997 Proclamation From State Assemblyman Jules Polonetsky for being the youngest editor-in-chief in the State of New York. June 1997 John Dewey High School Service Award for outstanding service as an adjunct faculty member. April 1997 Proclamation by City Councilman Anthony David Weiner for outstanding service and leadership as editor-in-chief of The Brooklyn Baron. February 1997 Proclamation By State Senator Carl Kruger in recognition of appointment as editor-in-chief of The Brooklyn Baron. October 1996 Kiwanis International Certificate Of Appointment in recognition of outstanding community service as editor of The Communicator. June 1989 Board of Education Certificate of Achievement for the exploration of a career and the development of personal potential. June 1989 Sheepshead Bay High School English Achievement Award for excellence in the Communication Arts. SPECIAL SKILLS Well versed in coordinating and executing public relations outreach plans. Extensive media contacts in radio, television and print media. Ability to draft press releases, speeches, media advisories, etc. Thorough knowledge of Adobe PageMaker and Photoshop programs. OTHER INTERESTS Author of I've Seen The Lights Go Out On Broadway; A firsthand account of the tragic events of September 11, 2001 (ISBN# 0-9724234-0-0). Host of Ring Fever, a weekly television show about professional wrestling. Lifetime Member of Strathmore's Who's Who, an organization of individuals who have demonstrated leadership and achievement in their occupation, Industry, or profession. Moderator of South Park daily on-line Booster Club for Comedy Central. Columnist on personal website, www.paulwein.com. References Available Upon Request Back to the Top