Brooklyn Supreme Court celebrates Employee of the Year

February 4, 2015 By Rob Abruzzese Brooklyn Daily Eagle

From left to right: Jacquiva Polk, Hon. Laura Jacobson, David Polk, sons Joshua and Deondre, Hon. Lawrence Knipel, chief clerk Charles Small and deputy chief clerk Donna Farrell. Photos by Rob Abruzzese.

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The Kings County Supreme Court presented its Senior PC Analyst, David Polk, with the Employee of the Year award in front of a packed courthouse lobby during a ceremony on Tuesday afternoon.

“David Polk is the man,” Hon. Laura Jacobson said before presenting Polk with a plaque. “He provides IT services at 360 Adams Street and for those of us, who will go nameless, that are not the most technically aware employees of the court, he is a godsend.

“He patiently leads us through the steps to get our computers up and running, our scanners in order and our printers fully functioning.”

Polk was born in Brooklyn and has lived in East New York all of his life. He graduated from the now-defunct Bishop Ford High School and received an associates degree after taking classes at Poly Tech and Kingsborough Community College. He began working at the courthouse in December of 1999.

“The truth is that the way the court functions has changed drastically since the day he started working here,” Jacobson said. “We could not get through a day without the assistance of our IT department and David is the guy that gets us through.”

The court’s Administrative Judge for Civil Matters Lawrence Knipel spoke about Polk and recalled the start of his career 15 years ago. He echoed Judge Jacobson’s sentiments about how the court could not carry on without him and added that it’s testament to how popular he was as the lobby was packed with nearly 100 court employees including a dozen judges.

“With all of his responsibilities, he still finds time to be a devoted family man and we are delighted to have his children here with us today,” Knipel said before introducing Polk’s sons, Deondre and Joshua, and his daughter, Jacquiva. “He is very fortunate to have a wonderful family like this.”

Upon accepting his plaque, Polk kept his words short. He nearly broke down in tears when he thanked his mother and father and gave a special thanks to his team in the IT department.

“Most of all you need a good team to do this job,” Polk said. “I want to take time to acknowledge the IT Department. This is definitely not a one-man show. I appreciate everything you guys do for me. Thank you.”