WASHINGTON HEIGHTS — Don’t let the bow ties fool you.
For Shah Ally, a family law attorney and the new chairman of Community Board 12, the fashion accessory is part of a branding technique he created to represent clients from low-income backgrounds.
"A client wants me to stand out, in appearance and substance," said the Guyana-born, Bronx-bred Washington Heights resident. “I started thinking, 'How do I stand out?' And I said, ‘I’m going to wear a bow tie.’”
The ties, which he's been donning every day for the past seven years, have been effective in turning some heads. Plus, they look good, he said.
Ally, 39, who launched his private practice in 2007 and also currently teaches a graduate course in family law at LIU-Brooklyn, has been involved with the community board since 2012, serving as chairman of both the public safety and licensing committees. He’s also currently chairman of the local nonprofit Community Association of Progressive Dominicans (ACDP).
It's this experience of running his own firm, working with local nonprofits and serving on the community board that Ally said he’s bringing to his inaugural term starting next month.
“I’m going to do a big outreach effort,” he said, noting this will include fact-finding, meeting with locals and simply making the board more visible to residents. “I’m going to go to every member of the community, and I want to know what matters.”
Ally earned the majority of his fellow board members' votes for the post after former chairman George Fernandez Jr. reached his term limit.
A challenging childhood in the South Bronx helped define Ally's future.
He grew up in a small, one-bedroom apartment with six siblings, "know[ing] what it means to have a mother struggle to pay rent,” he said. Although he went on to attend Taft High School and City College, he said it was his time in law school at Hofstra University that defined how he would approach the work he did in the community.
“I was embarrassed to say where I was from at first,” Ally said, “but then I realized this is what makes you you.”
His father passed away when he was 13, and his mother worked as a home attendant to help support his family.
“I don’t have to sit back and think about how it feels to work hard or struggle to pay rent,” he said of what makes him a good fit for the leadership role. “I know what it feels like.”
The other officers joining Ally in new positions are familiar faces in the community.
Former treasurer Pamela Palanque-North is now first vice chairwoman, while former first vice chairman Obie Bing is now second vice chairman. Fernandez Jr. took on the treasurer role, while the head of the parks and cultural affairs committees, Liz Ritter, is now secretary. Former secretary Betty Lehman is now serving as assistant secretary.
