• by January 20, 2005

TRUTH, JUSTICE AND IRWIN GOTLIEB'S WAY - We always knew that it was one of Irwin Gotlieb's missions in life to make the world safe for media - at least for his clients' media buys, that is - but we never realized how involved he was in making the streets of New York safer as well. It's not that Gotlieb, CEO of WPP's Group M and one of the most powerful media buyers in the world, is moonlighting as a New York auxiliary cop, though we can almost envision him donning brightly colored super hero tights, a cape, a mask and with a giant M emblazoned on his chest (for what else: Media Man). No, Gotlieb's powers are far more sublime: he's faster than a speeding optimizer and he can leap tall spreadsheets in a single bound. He's also got an uncanny ability to influence the media and advertising industries and garner support for an important crime safety organization, the John A. Reisenbach Foundation. So we weren't surprised to learn that the foundation has named Gotlieb its "Distinguished Citizen" of 2005, and that he will be honored at the organization's 13th Gala Tribute for a Safer and Better New York, which takes place March 8 at the Harmonie Club in New York.

That makes Gotlieb the first ad exec to be given the honor, which is kind of ironic when you consider that the person the award was named after - John Reisenbach - was a former media buyer, though he was working for syndicator All American Television when he was killed on a street corner in New York's Greenwich Village in 1990. Other recipients of the award include former Time Warner Chairman Gerry Levin, TV station group manager Dennis Swanson and "Law & Order" creator Dick Wolfe.

It's hard to believe that it's been 15 years since Reisenbach, a well loved figure on Madison Avenue, was murdered, but it's good to know that the foundation named after him has accomplished so much since then. New York has indeed become a safer place, and now ranks among the lowest in terms of crimes among America's 100 biggest cities. And we don't think it's a coincidence that this occurred during a period that the Reisenbach Foundation created a number of important initiatives to improve the crime situation in the Big Apple, including:

* Annual graduate school scholarships at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice
* Neighborhood watch initiatives in all five boroughs
* Police awards recognizing outstanding members of New York's finest
* A John A. Reisenbach Charter School in Harlem
* A "Cab Watch" program providing New York taxi drivers with special 911 cell phones
* And the Learning Project, which develops in-school and after-school programs for inner city New York kids.

As if that weren't enough, the Reisenbach team is in search of new initiatives, says foundation president Bob Lilley, who also happens to be executive vice president and managing director of Optimedia International. Among the foundation's newest initiatives, he says, was "a grant made to the NYPD's New Technologies division to fund the development of a computer hardware network to enhance communication between commanders and officers in the field."

At this rate, the foundation could well be nicknamed "NYPD Green."