“He’s a real, classic, old-school New Yorker, and that’s what a lot of people say I am - hard-edged and hard-charging, but with a big heart,” Sliwa says. Particularly impressed with Icahn’s work to create charter schools in New York City through his Foundation for Greater Opportunity, Sliwa last month named the legendary investor “Angel of the Year.” Says Sliwa, who now spends much of his time as a tough-talking radio personality, “Where we really hit it off was on the subject of vocational and technical schools.” When 65-year-old Icahn was growing up in Queens, New York City was dotted with 80-odd high schools that provided career-specific training; Sliwa, 47, says that number had dwindled to 62 by the time he attended high school. Today only about 20 such schools remain in New York City. Says Sliwa, “It’s obvious that we need some alternatives to our current school system.”
