NYC DOE Spokeswoman Margie Feinberg Dies at 59

Margie Feinberg

http://abcnews.go.com/topics/news/education/new-york-city-department-of-education.htm

Margie Feinberg, longtime spokeswoman for Dept. of Education, dies of breast cancer at 59

BY BEN CHAPMAN , 

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS, June 5, 2015

 
Margie Feinberg, the longtime spokeswoman for the Department of Education, died Thursday
night of breast cancer at 59.

The native New Yorker said in a prewritten obituary that her best memories were from her years working at the New York Post from 1981-90.

“She covered the transit beat and often remarked she covered anything that moves — cars, buses, subway, ferries, commuter trains,” wrote Feinberg.

City Schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña called her an institution and a co-worker who was fiercely protective of staff and students.

Services will held be at noon on Monday at Riverside Memorial Chapel.
 

Remembering Marge Feinberg, spokeswoman known for being protective of principals

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Longtime Department of Education spokeswoman Marge Feinberg, known for being the go-to for principals facing media scrutiny, has died, city officials confirmed Friday.

Feinberg was an education department institution, serving as a deputy press secretary since 1999. Known as Margie, she fielded questions about school health, safety, and busing — topics that often left her responding to many of the press corps’ toughest stories. She was also the one principals turned to when reporters requested access to a school building, turning “ask Margie” into something of a catchphrase in city schools.

“It is with such a heavy heart I share that we lost a dear friend, Margie Feinberg, whom I have had the privilege of calling a valued colleague for more than a decade,” Chancellor Carmen Fariña said in a statement.

Feinberg retired last October. In Fariña’s newsletter to principals that month, she noted that Feinberg worked to coordinate the efforts of principals and department staff members on September 11 and during Hurricane Sandy. (She also recalled Feinberg responding to media inquiries about a peacock on the lam from a Queens high school.)

“When I was a principal, I remember calling Margie at 11 p.m. before my name was going to hit the papers in a story that I feared would be less than complimentary,” Fariña said. “I was frantic, but Margie calmly walked me through what I needed to do and say, and the next day went smoothly.

“I know that many of you depended on Margie as much as I did and today the entire DOE mourns her loss.”

Noah Lansner, principal of Brooklyn Preparatory High School, recalled talking to her after a television news crew walked through his school building unannounced in a story about school security lapses. It was a negative story that Feinberg helped them navigate, he said.

“She was always very warm and very thoughtful with us in a variety of situations,” he said.