Luis Mendez Bio

I was born in Auadilla Puerto Rico and for my first 7 years lived on a small farm outside this small coastal city. I moved with my mom and older sister to Brooklyn and spent the next 12 years in New York City.  I  graduated from the New York Institute for the Blind, now known as the New York Institute for Special Education, in 1971.  

In many ways my childhood was very typical of kids growing up in New York City in the sixties. By the time I was 12 I was traveling around the city by myself and as a teen I spent many summer weekends with friends either at the beach, or at the ballpark watching the Mets usually losing to just about every other team; accept in 1969 when the Mirical Mets upset the baseball world by winning the World Series. I recall going to about 15 games that season.

I attended college in Syracuse and got my first summer job and full-time job in Syracuse. 

After working for almost 3 years  for the Onondaga County Mental Health Association putting together community mental health education programs,  I returned to Syracuse University  law school in 1979 and graduated in 1982.  I also received a master’s in public administration from the Maxwell School.

I married my wife, Mary Lou, later in 1982. We have 2 daughters and 2 grandchildren.

I practiced law for 36 years. The first 7 years as a lawyer I worked for Legal Services specializing in housing and public benefits law.  I then worked for the Onondaga County Law Department where I spent a year practicing family law.  After that I focused on Environmental, Public Contracting and Procurement issues although I was often asked to assist with other legal projects and civil litigation.

I have been fortunate to have had an intellectually stimulating career.  Much of my work for Onondaga County involved complex environmental matters and dealing with issues of sustainable development.

My legal work as a Deputy and then Senior County Attorney, focused on environmental law. This involved advising on legal issues related to environmental impact reviews for large scale public projects under the New York State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) and handling complex litigation and negotiations with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, The United States Environmental Protection Agency, and the Federal Department of Justice and New York Attorney General.   The work required conducting and managing, environmental and associated public works construction litigation and engaging in negotiations related to the cleanup of Onondaga Lake and its surroundings.   An example of this work was the negotiation of an expedited site remediation and preconstruction agreement leading to the development of the Saint Joseph’s Health Amphitheater.   

One of my more rewarding volunteer efforts was serving as Chair of the Executive Board for the New York State Commission for the Blind.  In that work we produced several reports detailing the problems facing blind New Yorkers and recommending approaches to address these needs.

I also served on the Centro Consumer Advisory Board for 2 years.  In that role we worked successfully to address significant service issues adversely impacting both paratransit and fix route riders with disabilities.

Now I am the Director of the NFB-NEWSLINE NY program.  Newsline provides access, free of charge, to over 500 newspapers, magazines, and other information of interest to people who can’t access print due to a disability. This access is provided using a variety of audio and/or braille formats which can be accessed by subscribers regardless of facility with technology. My role as Director has focused on assuring the financial stability of the program and developing training and other information to promote the program and assure that our subscribers have the information, they need to get the most out of the program’s extensive and growing content.