Robert Ratanski
Clerk of the Court
Kings County Family Court
283 Adams Street
Brooklyn, NY 11201

Re: Josenh Valez

Dear Mr. Ratanski:

New York City's Family Courts take it on the chin on a regular basis: overcrowding and bureaucratic chaos prevail, while service, and often the human touch, go wanting in the "human service industry". As a practitioner in these courts for over two decades, I consider myself an expert on these issues.

Last week, however, Joseph Valez on the Record Room staff, assisted me so pleasantly and professionally that I feel it is appropriate to draw it to your attention. Last week Mr. Valez, who I know for many years and has always been an upbeat personality in the Brooklyn Family Court, obtained an archived file I needed for a trial in another county. I made this request of him less than 24 hours in advance of my court date. Not only did he expedite the normal time period needed to retrieve an archived court file, he understood exactly which orders I needed and had copies of them certified and waiting for me when I came to pick them up. His response to my heartfelt thanks was that "he was just doing his job".

I have, many times, seen Joe assist others at the window of the Record Room. Joe consistently addresses each person's problem kindly and efficiently. He provides information, sometimes difficult for a lay person to fathom., decoding the legalese and procedures. All of your staff are pros and the functioning of your Record Room is superior to that in the other Family Courts in the city. Yes, one must take a number, but when it 's your turn, one is courteously served. Joe Valez exemplifies this tradition of service.

Very truly yours,

Andrea P.

Ms. Nancy Valentin-Rivera
Kings County Family Court
283 Adams Street
Brooklyn, NY 11201

Dear Ms. Nancy:

Congratulations on being awarded Employee of the Month for the second quarter of 2003. Here in Family Court, we value those employees whose hard work and integrity assist the court as a whole to function smoothly. Without people such as yourself, the everyday routine of the court would most assuredly suffer. As you well know, the matters that come before the court are of such a serious nature that a smoothly running operation is imperative in order for the _court to give fttll consideration to dispensing justice.

So often, it is the people who solve the routine everyday work problems, who are there day in and day out, who are the doers and not the complainers, in short, those who most deserve our thanks who remain unidentified.

In order to correct this, the Employee ofthe Month program was developed to give us the opportunity to show appreciation for your talents and hard work and to say thank you to you, for we do indeed appreciate it.

A copy of this letter will go into your file, and your picture and a brief article, attached, will appear in the next issue of the NYC Fcmily Court Chronicle. Again, thank you and keep up the good work.

Very truly yours,

Joseph L.

Dear Mr. Williams:

I would just like to inform you that 2 weeks ago that I called to get information regarding modification and appealing my current order or judgement. Not only was I bounced around from extention to extention, but I was told that there was no appeals or modification paperwork. I finally spoke to a rep that was understanding & took her time to explain to me the process for this petition. After my encounter with this rep it tell me feeling confident about my chances of modification. I would like to commend this person on professionalism as well as customer services skills. It is one thing to know your job, but quite another to be able to convey that info. you better believe if a have any info that needs to be addressed, for petition or not I'm calling this person. Helen Levine, she made me feel the system is out to help me.

Thank you

Theadore M.

Robert Ratanski
Clerk of Court
Kings County Family Court
263 Adams St., Room 414
Brooklyn, NY 11201

Re: Letter of Commendation for Mr. Arthur Hnat, Asst. Deputy Chief Clerk

Dear Mr. Ratanski:

I would like to congratulate you on the excellent service of your Assistant Deputy Chief Clerk Arthur Hnat. Recently1 had the pleasure of meeting and working with Mr. Hnat on a pro bono case I was preparing for a pro se litigant. Although my current law practice is in Colorado, Mr. Hnat was extraordinarily kind and patient with my requests. He expertly resolved certain issues related to my client 's pleadings to be filed in the most expeditious and efficient manner. In my many years of practice, five of which were in the NYS court system, Mr. Hnat was the most courteous and professional clerk I have ever dealt with. I would like to pass along my compliments for his outstanding work and my congratulations to you for having such an excellent clerk in your employ.

Very truly yours,
BALCOMB &GREEN, P. C.

Dear Mr. Williams,

My name is Linden Bradshaw. I live in Cincinnati, Ohio. I am writing to you because over the past two years I have been fighting a child support case in Kings County Family Court. I have been calling long distance, hoping to get assistance from someone in your department. After countless attempts of dealing with a number of rude, uncaring, and possibly incompetent employees, I was fortunate enough to speak to Ms. Levine. I found her to be the most considerate, helpful, caring, and informative employee in your department. She has become a lifeline for me and my quest for information. She has helped me in countless ways and because of her consideration and professionalism I wanted to make her supervisor aware of the invalualbe employee she is. I hope that you could make her aware that I have written to you to express my appreciation and perhaps she could be recognized in some way for her efforts. Thank you.

Sincerely,

Linden B.

Dear Mr. Robert Ratanski,

I want you to know what a fine job Mr. Mike Williams did. After many times of speaking with people and getting lost in the court system, I finally reached the office of Mr. Williams, He acted in a very professional and effective manner, He gave me the correct information and was very helpful. I had make over 20 phone calls to people ( I live in Israel ) and it was quite disppointing and frastrating and expensive.

You should be very pleased to know that Mr. Williams is on the ball, and a true asset to your team! He is there to help children!

Please put a copy of this letter in his file.

Channa C.

Today, when so many people have lost their "work ethic", Mr. Williams shows a reflection of your work ethic as well.