Howard L. Lasher (1944–2007) was an American Democratic Party politician from

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

. He was the first

Orthodox Jew Orthodox Judaism is the collective term for the traditionalist and theologically conservative branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Written and Oral, as revealed by God to Moses on ...

elected to state office in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. He was the first to ever wear a

Kippah A , , or , plural ), also called ''yarmulke'' (, ; yi, יאַרמלקע, link=no, , german: Jarmulke, pl, Jarmułka or ''koppel'' ( yi, קאפל ) is a brimless cap, usually made of cloth, traditionally worn by Jewish males to fulfill the ...

in the New York assembly.

Political career

Lasher was a well-known politician in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, for over thirty-five years. He was a member of the

New York State Assembly The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, with the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits. The Ass ...

from 1973 to 1993, sitting in the 180th, 181st, 182nd, 183rd, 184th, 185th, 186th, 187th, 188th, 189th and

190th New York State Legislature The 190th New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 6, 1993, to December 31, 1994, during the eleventh and twelfth years of Mario Cuomo's governorship, in Albany. Back ...

s. He was a member of the

New York City Council The New York City Council is the lawmaking body of New York City. It has 51 members from 51 council districts throughout the five boroughs. The council serves as a check against the mayor in a mayor-council government model, the performance of ...

from 1994 to 2001. He had represented Brooklyn's 47th District on the City Council,New York City District 47
''Gotham Gazette'', Primary Election Results. representing

Coney Island Coney Island is a peninsular neighborhood and entertainment area in the southwestern section of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood is bounded by Brighton Beach and Manhattan Beach, Brooklyn, Manhattan Beach to its east, L ...

Brighton Beach Brighton Beach is a neighborhood in the southern portion of the New York City borough of Brooklyn, within the greater Coney Island area along the Atlantic Ocean coastline. Brighton Beach is bounded by Coney Island proper at Ocean Parkway to the ...

and the surrounding communities.

New York Deprogramming Bill

Lasher was the principal author of the "New York Deprogramming Bill, which would have allowed courts to appoint temporary guardians to remove people forcibly from cults. The

passed the bill 77-64,''The Buffalo News'',

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from Sou ...

, "Anti-Cult Bill Stirs Debate on Constitutionality", June 23, 1981. as did the

New York State Senate The New York State Senate is the upper house of the New York State Legislature; the New York State Assembly is its lower house. Its members are elected to two-year terms; there are no term limits. There are 63 seats in the Senate. Partisan comp ...

35-23."NY Senate Passes Bill on Cult Deprogramming", ''Garden City Newsday'', Keeler, July 1, 1981,

. However, it was

veto A veto is a legal power to unilaterally stop an official action. In the most typical case, a president or monarch vetoes a bill to stop it from becoming law. In many countries, veto powers are established in the country's constitution. Veto ...

ed in July 1981 by New York Governor Hugh Carey.

Council member

While a Council Member, Lasher funded the reconstruction of Brighton Playground, in 1995. As an Assemblyman, Lasher served as Chairman of New York State Governor

Mario Cuomo Mario Matthew Cuomo (, ; June 15, 1932 – January 1, 2015) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 52nd governor of New York for three terms, from 1983 to 1994. A member of the Democratic Party, Cuomo previously served as ...

's Insurance Committee. In November 2000, Lasher helped fund a $2 million reconstruction of the playground area of

Calvert Vaux Park Calvert Vaux Park (formerly known as Dreier Offerman Park) is an public park in Gravesend, Brooklyn, in New York City. Created in 1934, it is composed of several disconnected sections along the Belt Parkway between Bay 44th and Bay 49th Street ...

, a park in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

; named for

Calvert Vaux Calvert Vaux (; December 20, 1824 – November 19, 1895) was an English-American architect and landscape designer, best known as the co-designer, along with his protégé and junior partner Frederick Law Olmsted, of what would become New York Ci ...

, the designer of

Central Park Central Park is an urban park in New York City located between the Upper West and Upper East Sides of Manhattan. It is the fifth-largest park in the city, covering . It is the most visited urban park in the United States, with an estimated ...

Later years

Lasher did not run in the 2001 Brooklyn City Council elections due to term limits. His wife, Susan Lasher, ran and lost to

Domenic Recchia Domenic Michael Recchia, Jr. (born July 25, 1959) is an American attorney and politician from New York City. A member of the Democratic Party, Recchia formerly represented the 47th district of the New York City Council, which included areas of ...

, receiving 2,999 votes to his 4,509.How The Promise Of Campaign 2001 Played Out
Mark Berkey-Gerard, ''Gotham Gazette'', 2001. Howard Lasher died in his Ocean Parkway,

home, on March 11, 2007."Legislator Howard Lasher dies at 62 - City and state pol fought for disadvantaged in decades-long career."
''Park Slope Courier'', Gary Busio, March 16, 2007., Courier-Life Publications.

Education

Brooklyn Law School Brooklyn Law School (BLS) is a private law school in New York City. Founded in 1901, it has approximately 1,100 students. Brooklyn Law School's faculty includes 60 full-time faculty, 15 emeriti faculty, and a number of adjunct faculty. Brooklyn ...

Brooklyn College , mottoeng = Nothing without great effort , established = , parent = CUNY , type = Public university , endowment = $98.0 million (2019) , budget = $123.96 m ...

Yeshiva University High School for Boys The Marsha Stern Talmudical Academy, also known as Yeshiva University High School for Boys (YUHSB), MTA (Manhattan Talmudical Academy) or TMSTA, is an Orthodox Jewish day school (or yeshiva) and the boys' prep school of Yeshiva University (YU) ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lasher, Howard L. Politicians from Brooklyn Jewish American state legislators in New York (state) New York City Council members Democratic Party members of the New York State Assembly 1944 births 2007 deaths Brooklyn Law School alumni 20th-century American politicians 20th-century American Jews 21st-century American Jews