Henry Stern was the commissioner of the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation for almost 15 years. […] One of his idiosyncrasies was giving agency employees and many others an individual “park name,” which was to be used in communication by radio or email. Julius Spiegel, a long-time Brooklyn borough commissioner, was called “Mirror,” his last name translated from German. Stern conferred upon himself the name “Starquest.” Commissioner Stern also directed the departmen...
