Richard Kessel, the former Long Island Power Authority chairman who continues to mull over several career paths, this weekend took on a new role: fatherhood.
On Sunday, Kessel, 58, and his wife, Diane, gave birth to their first child, a seven-pound, seven-ounce son, named Eli Bernard Kessel.
Bernard was the name of Kessel’s father, who passed away in 2006.
But what of Eli?
Was it just a coincidence that the boy was born and named the same month LIPA planned to announce a Kessel-inspired $1 billion energy conservation program called ELI (for Efficiency Long Island)?
Actually, says Kessel, "He’s a Superbowl baby." His son was named for Eli Manning, the Giants quarterback who led the New York team to victory at a Superbowl game Kessel and his wife attended this past February. During one critical march up the field, Kessel announced to friends including National Grid USA executive chairman Robert Catell, that if Manning scored, they’d name the child Eli.
The rest is history.
For those with a sinking suspicion the child was named for the LIPA program, Kessel says, "Sorry."
Kessel says he’s not sure what to make of fatherhood yet. "I’ll tell you when I bring [Eli] home and see how the cats react to him," he says.
He’s says also a little concerned the boy may be thrown by his father’s age. "I’m half expecting him to say, ‘Hey grandpa, where’s daddy?"
Mark Harrington