“Today, we said goodbye to Dr. John Flateau. As a professor and Chair of the Department of Public Administration at Medgar Evers College, he was central to my education and professional growth, as he was to so many others. His legacy reaches far beyond the classroom, through both his own work and that of his students.

Dr. Flateau helped break barriers as Chief of Staff to New York’s first Black Mayor David Dinkins, promoted a more inclusive economy as Chief Diversity Officer for the Empire State Development Corporation, and supported countless young New Yorkers as a youth worker and Chairman of the Board of Trustees for Brooklyn Community School Board 16.

I am fortunate to have studied under Dr. Flateau’s tutelage and am proud to call him a friend. I extend my deepest condolences to all who loved him and hope they may take comfort as I do in the knowledge of the profound impact he had on the world. He will be deeply missed.”