Heart of the City

Hon. Alfred C. Cerullo III, Esq. '83NDC, '86L makes no secret of the fact that his heart lies across the Upper New York Bay. A resident of Staten Island, he makes the hour and a half trek by car each work day from his home to his office in midtown Manhattan. The rigors of such a commute might be daunting for some – especially given that he lives moments from the ferry and could easily take it into the city - but for Cerullo, the trip comes with the territory as he divides himself between the two areas that hold his esteem. “I love Staten Island and I love Manhattan,” he says, smiling. “As a Staten Islander working in midtown Manhattan, the downside is the Gowanus.”

His affection for New York City is evident in the many years of service he has given. Cerullo, who is affectionately known as “Fred,” has over the course of his career served as an elected and an appointed official, as well as a board member for several non-profit organizations. Today, he is the president and chief executive officer of the Grand Central Partnership (GCP) and a commissioner of the New York City Planning Commission.  A not-for-profit corporation, the GCP develops and administers programs and services in one of nearly 60 business improvement districts in New York City under contract with the New York City Department of Small Business Services. The Grand Central Business Improvement District was founded in the mid 1980s and is one of the largest business improvement districts in the United States, comprising 76 million square feet of commercial space in a 70-block area whose irregular borders reach from 35th Street to 54th Street and from Second Avenue to Fifth Avenue. Midtown Manhattan property owners and businesses created the GCP during a period of physical and economic deterioration in the area.

To answer the call, the GCP developed a comprehensive plan to specifically revitalize the neighborhood surrounding Grand Central Terminal, which included an ambitious capital improvement program, privately managed sanitation, maintenance and public safety operations, business assistance initiatives, a broad tourism and visitor services program and a social services component. Heading up an organization that has responsibility for such a well known portion of New York City is a heady responsibility and Cerullo takes it very seriously. Not only does the area have some of the most recognizable real estate in the city — places like the Met Life building, Grand Central Terminal, the Chrysler Building and St. Bartholomew’s Church — but millions of people flow through it every day. Yet, even with the flagship retail stores and the throngs of commuters, the success of Grand Central is as much about the Mom and Pop establishments as it is about the Fortune 500 companies, Cerullo says. “We are a community that balances all of this big and famous with small, hardworking business people,” he says. “We have these big corporations, yet we are a neighborhood that also thrives on its tiny restaurants and boutiques. There is a very wonderful blend of life that occurs right in the middle of Manhattan.”

The commitment, generosity and selflessness of the property owners, business people and residents of the Grand Central neighborhood make it a very unique place, Cerullo says. He takes pride in the role the GCP has played in the transformation of Grand Central from a place where people just came to work, to an area that has a thriving residential community on the periphery and a round the clock lifestyle rarely seen in commercial districts.

A post such as the one he now holds was unimaginable for a young Cerullo who was born in the Bensonhurst section of Brooklyn and moved to Staten Island with his family when he was two years old. Educated in the public school system, he initially desired to attend college out of state and nurtured dreams of matriculating in the balmy climate of California.  But his parents wanted him closer and St. John’s Staten Island campus seemed the ideal location. “The school had a great reputation,” he says. “St. John’s was a wonderful opportunity for me to go to school and still be at home.” Ironically, given that he would go on to hold public office, Cerullo switched his major to English and American Studies after he discovered he didn’t enjoy political science.

Education was much valued in the Cerullo home where his parents, Alfred C. Cerullo Jr. and Elizabeth Russo Cerullo, instilled a love of learning in their three offspring. Fred Cerullo drew inspiration from his mother, who enrolled in college at the age of 33 at a time when older students were a rarity. “She decided she wanted to be a teacher,” Cerullo recalls.  “She started college when the three of us were in grammar school and I remember me at the age of 10 really admiring her for going back to school. “His mother went on to teach sociology as an adjunct at St. John’s and it was during his time as a first year student at the School of Law that she became ill and passed away. He now reflects that being able to commute as an undergraduate turned out to be a blessing as it allowed him to maintain a closeness to his parents who found themselves getting to know professors and students at the University as their son became actively involved in campus life. “My family became part of the St. John’s family,” says Cerullo, whose younger brother, Scott ('92NDC) is also a graduate. “At my mother’s funeral, many of the priests from St. John’s concelebrated the Mass. For me, St. John’s was the perfect choice educationally, personally and for my family.”

He maintained that University connection in his second year of law school by serving a judicial internship for Hon. Vito Titone '56L, '84HON. Following graduation from the School of Law, he began his career as counsel to the minority leader for then City Council member Susan Molinari. Four years later he won his first of four consecutive elections to the New York City Council where he represented the South Shore and portions of the Mid-Island communities of Staten Island while also holding the position of Minority Leader of the Council. In 1993, Cerullo served on Rudolph Giuliani’s Mayoral Transition Team and was later appointed New York City consumer affairs commissioner where he served for two years. In 1995 while still at Consumer Affairs, then Mayor Giuliani chose him to also be the City’s finance commissioner, making Cerullo commissioner of both agencies for six months. During his tenure at Finance, Cerullo took leave from the City administration to become deputy campaign manager for Giuliani’s successful 1997 reelection before returning to work for the city, where he remained until being tapped to lead the GCP two years later.

With all of his accomplishments, Cerullo still proudly wears his St. John’s undergraduate class ring and marks his years as a student as some of his finest.  “I made the best friends that I have to this day at St. John’s,” he now says. “That was true for both undergrad and law school.  It gave me the opportunity to develop life long friends.” One of those friends is fraternity brother Larry Falcone '85CBA. The pair met while pledging Sigma Chi Upsilon and Falcone says he considers Cerullo, who in 1983 was awarded the President’s Medal and in 1996 the Pietas Medal from the University, a true brother. “He is probably the most honest and sincere person I know,” Falcone says. “He loves St. John’s and that’s how he is in that when he belongs to something he puts one hundred and ten percent into it.” Peter Kalikow, chairman of the GCP, says Cerullo brings that same level of commitment to his job. “He is superb in what he is doing,” Kalikow says. “He has done an absolutely spectacular job.”

With his dedication to GCP Cerullo doesn’t have much spare time, but what time he does have he devotes to his other passions — acting and philanthropy. He is a member of the Screen Actor’s Guild and has appeared in several daytime dramas, theater productions and made for television and cable movies. He has also served as vice president of the Staten Island September 11th Fund and on the board of directors of the Baruch College School of Public Affairs Advisory Board, the International Downtown Association and various community-based and charitable organizations. He and his GCP staff volunteer with a homeless services provider with whom they contract as part of the GCP social services commitment and proceeds from GCP’s “Grand Gourmet” event, where participants get to taste the delicacies from some of the best restaurants in the Grand Central area, go to aid those in need. Being of service is what Fred Cerullo loves to do and he sees no need to slow down now. “It’s a great feeling,” he says. “It’s a continuation of the values I learned at St. John’s.”