Richard Schwartz (politician)

Richard Schwartz (born c. 1959) is an American politician who has worked with former New York City Mayors Rudy Giuliani, Ed Koch and David Dinkins as well as Henry Stern during his tenure as New York City Parks Commissioner and while he was a member of the New York City Council. During the 1980s, he contributed to the New York City Parks restoration. He also worked for the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research, a conservative think tank. Schwartz authored the Work Experience Program, a welfare reform program. Schwartz founded Opportunity America, a job matching service for welfare recipients, one day after leaving public service in 1997.