John Tkazyik
Biography
 At the age of 21, John C.
Tkazyik (Tie Zic) became the youngest elected member of the City of
Poughkeepsie Common Council in 2001. He was reelected to the Council
in 2003 and 2005. Tkazyik ran for mayor in November 2007. He took
office as the City of Poughkeepsie’s second youngest mayor on
January 1, 2008.
During his first term on the Common Council, Tkazyik worked
vigorously to re-establish Neighborhood Block Associations in his
ward and to revitalize once blighted neighborhoods. He was appointed
by then-Mayor Colette Lafuente to serve as liaison and board
secretary to the Poughkeepsie Housing Authority.
Tkazyik has served as Vice Chairman of the City Council and Minority
Leader. He was a member of the Finance Committee and the Economic
and Physical Planning/Development Committee.
He assists the Marist College Campus/ Community Coalition, an entity
charged with resolving issues concerning college students living off
campus in residential neighborhoods, and is currently a board member
of the Dutchess County Economic Development Zone and the City of
Poughkeepsie Industrial Development Agency.
Through the years he has also been instrumental in securing a number
of neighborhood and park improvements, and upgrades at the Dr.
Martin Luther King Gardens. He spearheaded the effort to increase
parking spaces on Garden, Thompson, Conklin, Mill and Smith Streets;
to reconstruct the Mansion Street Bridge, improve lighting and add
additional benches in Earline Patrice Park. He successfully fought
to create a full day care center for residents of the MLK Gardens,
add fencing to increase child safety and video cameras to help
reduce crime and vandalism.
 Long active in both church and community organizations in
Poughkeepsie, Tkazyik is a congregant at Our Lady of Mount Carmel
Church, where he once served as the sacristan. He is a member of and
the former president of the Parish Pastoral Council. Tkazyik has
served as a member of the Catharine Street Community Center, Hudson
River Housing Boards of Directors, Dutchess County Criminal Justice
Council, and is active in a number of clubs and organizations,
including the Italian Center, Poughkeepsie Elks Lodge, Knights of
Columbus, and the Dutchess Community College Alumni Association.
A graduate of St. Peter’s School and Our Lady of Lourdes High
School, John earned an Associate in Arts degree from Dutchess
Community College, and a B.A. degree in Psychology/ Special
Education from Marist College. He is employed as a manager in the
family owned restaurant, Andy’s Place in the City of Poughkeepsie.
He was born on May 5, 1979 and is the son of Andrew and Frances
Filoia Tkazyik of Poughkeepsie, NY.
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