FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM SEPTEMBER 7, 2017 • THE QUEENS COURIER 11
‘A great public servant’: Queens bids farewell to Simanowitz
BY ROBERT POZARYCKI
rpozarycki@qns.com / @robbpoz
Hundreds of colleagues, family members
and friends gathered on Sunday,
Sept. 3, in Forest Hills to say goodbye to
Assemblyman Michael Simanowitz, who
died a day earlier from complications of a
long illness at the age of 45.
Remembered by many as an outstanding
public servant who represented his
district with pride, Simanowitz had served
in the Assembly since in 2011, when he
was elected to the seat previously held
by his mentor, former Assemblywoman
Nettie Mayersohn. His district covers a
swath of central Queens stretching from
College Point and Whitestone down
through Flushing and into Forest Hills,
Kew Gardens and Richmond Hill.
Simanowitz grew up in Forest Hills
and attended Yeshiva Tiferes Moshe;
he graduated from Queens College in
1993. Before joining Mayersohn’s offi ce,
as noted in his biography, he worked
at the city’s Department of Housing
Preservation and Development and
was involved in several major Brooklyn
developments including MetroTech and
Atlantic Terminal.
He was also active with the 107th
Precinct‘s Auxiliary Unit and eventually
became its commanding offi cer. In that
role, Simanowitz was honored for his
role in assisting police in the wake of the
Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and the
Blackout of 2003.
Simanowitz lived in the Electchester
Co-ops with his wife, Jennifer, and
their four children. Th e Yeshiva World
described him as “a tremendous voice for
the Jewish community.”
Tributes from his Queens colleagues in
government began pouring in on social
media and later through offi cial statements.
“My sincerest and heartfelt condolences
to his wife, Jennifer and their
four wonderful children, his blessed parents
Sherman and Sheila, his brothers
Alan and Barry and his entire extended
family,” added Assemblyman Barry
Grodenchik in a Facebook post. “May
his good deeds live on forever. May the
thousands and thousands of people he
helped in his all too short life remember
his kindnesses and may they be multiplied
many fold.”
Queens Borough President Melinda
Katz called Simanowitz “a great public
servant” who cared “deeply about the
people of Queens and fought tenaciously
on their behalf throughout his distinguished
career in public service.”
Congresswoman Grace Meng remembered
Simanowitz as “a wonderful human
being,” adding that “he had a heart of
gold and was among the warmest, friendliest
and most down-to-earth individuals
I have known.”
Governor Andrew Cuomo issued a
statement calling Simanowitz someone
who believed “in public service as a vehicle
for positive change” and “was widely
respected by his peers and partners in
government.”
“Assembly member Michael
Simanowitz worked every day to make
life better for his constituents and I join
them and all New Yorkers in mourning
his sudden passing,” Cuomo said.
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Photo by Dean Moses
The body of Assemblyman Mike Simanowitz is carried out of Schwartz Brothers Chapels in Forest Hills on Sept. 3.