Paula Kay

Paula Elaine Kay has lived in the 100th district for 28 years. She and her husband,
Jonathan Drapkin, raised two children in the place they are proud to call home. In her
professional career, she is a municipal attorney with over 22 years of experience working
with local governments, residents, developers, not-for-profits, and community
organizations.
Her varied and extensive history in government to benefit people began with the New York
City Council, writing legislation, conducting public hearings on the bombing of the World
Trade Center, and advising the chairs of the Committees on Housing and Buildings,
General Welfare, and the Speaker’s Special Commission on Homelessness. She was
Director of Special Projects for Assemblymember Jake Gunther, where she piloted the
Adopt-an-Exit program on Route 17. Starting in 2004, Paula was Legislative Director for
Assemblymember Aileen Gunther, writing proposed legislation, reviewing bills for
sponsorship, and working with stakeholders to advance them. She also provided direct
services to constituents in Orange and Sullivan Counties.
Paula formed the Law Office of Paula Elaine Kay in 2008, specializing in municipal law,
including land use and zoning, real estate, corporate law, estate planning, and
representing emergency services organizations, community groups, and not-for-profit
organizations. Additionally, for the last 24 years, she has been the Consulting Attorney and
Deputy Town Attorney for the Town of Thompson, responsible for Town Planning as well as
Zoning and enforcement of Code Violations. The projects she reviewed included Resorts
World Catskills, The Kartrite Resort and Indoor Waterpark, and YO1.
She has also been the Town Attorney for the Town of Fallsburg, where she was responsible
for all town matters, including contracts, litigation, and Planning and Zoning. Paula was the
Town of Thompson Prosecutor, handling all traffic tickets and representing law
enforcement at pre-trial conferences. Prior to opening her law practice, she was Of
Counsel with Jacobowitz and Gubits, LLC, in their Monticello Office.
Paula holds a BA in Political Science, with a major in American Government, from
Wesleyan University, where she was Captain of the Women’s Ice Hockey Team, and a Juris
Doctor from Brooklyn Law School, where she was editor-in-chief of the International Law
Journal.