Horace Mann - Summer 2016 - 37

photos by Jasmin Ortiz Alumni Journal HM Alumni Association Award for Distinguished Achievement Committee member Bill Nightingale '49, The Hon. Justice Milton A. Tingling '71, and Committee members Ephram Lustgarten '96 and Mickey Littmann '52 '96, a committee of members of the Alumni Council researched the accomplishments of many of our fellow alumni and, over the course of several meetings, came to the happy selection of Judge Tingling." Greeting Justice Tingling and thanking him and the attendees for participating in this special event Horace Mann Head of School Dr. Tom Kelly used one of Judge Tingling's most famous rulings to describe the students at Horace Mann School today. In March 2013, in his New York State Supreme Court role Justice Tingling opposed then Mayor Mike Bloomberg's proposed ban on the sale of soft drinks in cups over 16 ounces, calling these limits "arbitrary and capricious" since they applied unequally to different kinds of businesses. The proposed soda ban and related ruling became known as the "Big Gulp" case. Raising a large soda cup, Dr. Kelly told the audience that, just as Justice Milton A. Tingling Class of 1971 The Honorable Milton A. Tingling was born in New York City and grew up in Harlem and Washington Heights. He is a second generation judge and attorney, and is part of three generations of family lawyers. His father, Milton F. Tingling, was an attorney with a private general law practice on 125th Street in Manhattan, and was elected to the New York City Civil Court in 1982. His mother, Eunice Tingling, received a Master of Arts in Teaching degree from Columbia University in 1950 and was a New York City public school teacher at PS 125 and PS 36. The Tinglings' family life centered around education, community activity, and church. Justice Tingling attended public school in Harlem in the 1960's, going first to PS 192 from kindergarten through third grade, and then to a gifted program at PS 129. He attended high school at Horace Mann School and was a member of the Class of 1971. Justice Milton A. Tingling '71, a founder of the Union as a student at HM, enjoyed meeting current and recent Union members and their HM faculty advisors. Judge Tingling has made bold decisions, HM students embrace a "Big Gulp" approach to life in pursuing their studies, co-curricular, service and athletic activities. Coming to the podium to accept the award Justice Tingling first spoke about his Horace Mann School education, noting that his parents gave him self-confidence, but HM gave him confidence to pursue his greatest goals. He then saluted all the parents who decided to invest in their children by providing them with a Horace Mann School education. And, then more specifically, he referred to the sacrifices his parents, Judge Martin F. Tingling and teacher Eunice Tingling, made to provide him and his brother Steven Tingling '74 the best education possible. To rousing applause Justice Tingling concluded: "I dedicate this award to them." $ Justice Tingling then matriculated at Brown University, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in American History. He later received his Juris Doctorate, cum laude, from the North Carolina Central University School of Law in Durham, North Carolina. Justice Tingling was admitted to practice before the New York State Courts, First Department, in 1983. He was elected to the Civil Court, City of New York, in 1996 from the 7th Municipal District, which includes Columbia University, West Harlem, and Washington Heights, and was assigned to and served in both the criminal and civil courts. In November 2000, he was elected to the Supreme Court, State of New York, from New York County. He received national media attention for his decisions that banned a statewide policy of shackling youths during transfer from juvenile facilities to family court, and his decision that found Mayor Bloomberg's so-called "soda ban" unconstitutional. On November 4, 2014, Justice Tingling was re-elected to a second 14-year term as Justice of the Supreme Court. On January 1, 2015, he accepted an appointment to become the County Clerk of New York County, Commissioner of Jurors and Clerk of Supreme Court, Civil and Criminal Divisions. By accepting this appointment, Justice Tingling became the first Black County Clerk in the history of New York State. $ Horace Mann Magazine Summer 2016 37

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Horace Mann - Summer 2016