Pace lets meter run out on ex-TLC boss
Former Democratic City Councilman and Taxi & Limousine Commission Chairman David Yassky is being ousted as dean of the Pace University Law School for several reasons — including his attempt to get back into politics last year.
Two Pace professors told the New York Law Journal that Yassky was forced to resign effective at the end of this semester in late June after officials at the White Plains school learned he had lost the faculty’s support.
“There was a lack of trust and a lack of confidence in Dean Yassky,” one professor told the paper.
“There was a lot of dishonesty and a lot of hiding the ball.”
Another Pace professor told The Post that Yassky, who taught classes including “Municipal Law and Metropolitan Government” was “hated by the students.”
“The kids said he was condescending and had no patience with them,” the professor said. “He got terrible, terrible reviews from the students.”
In September, it was revealed that Yassky was seeking to fill the state Senate seat vacated by Daniel Squadron, who abruptly resigned in protest over the rampant corruption and “cynical political deals” infesting state government.
The Above the Law Web site reported that Pace students were “furious” when video of Yassky touting himself at a Democratic candidates forum was posted on YouTube.
“I guess Mr. Yassky doesn’t think that Pace Law School deserves his full-time attention, or that anyone might care that all the time he spends making the case that he should be picked for the vacant seat by party bosses is time he could spend on improving things at the Law School,” read an e-mail from an Above the Law tipster.
Yassky later sent e-mails to the faculty and student body saying he would not be getting the nod from county leaders. They picked Manhattan Assemblyman Brian Kavanagh, who was elected in November.
Yassky, who makes $10,000 a month as a consultant and Albany lobbyist for the Lyft ride-hailing system, also made enemies at Pace by slashing faculty pay by 10 percent and cutting positions shortly after his February 2014 hiring.
On Sunday, Yassky told The Post that he “decided not to seek reappointment,” but added, “It’s hard to cut 20 percent of a budget and have everyone be happy at the end of the day.”
In an interview with the Law Journal, Yassky ducked questions about whether he was stepping down voluntarily but admitted that “for the next phase, it would be good to have someone who doesn’t have all the baggage.”