Abraham Jacob Hirschfeld (December 20, 1919 – August 9, 2005) was an American real estate investor, Broadway producer and political candidate from

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. He was the owner of several buildings in

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

. He served as treasurer for the New York State Democratic Committee in the 1960s and as city commissioner of

Miami Beach, Florida Miami Beach is a coastal resort city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. It is part of the Miami metropolitan area of South Florida. The municipality is located on natural and human-made barrier islands between the Atlantic Ocean ...

, in 1989.

Early life

Abraham Jacob Hirschfeld was born on December 20, 1919, in

Tarnów Tarnów () is a city in southeastern Poland with 105,922 inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of 269,000 inhabitants. The city is situated in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship. It is a major rail junction, located on the strategic east– ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

. He immigrated to the British Mandate of Palestine in the early 1930s. He said most of his extended family remained behind and were murdered in the Holocaust. Hirschfeld moved to the United States in 1950. His brother, Menashe Hirschfeld, moved to

Montreal, Quebec Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

, Canada.

Business career

Hirschfeld made his fortune building semi-enclosed "open-air" parking garages. Hirschfeld became the owner of the Vertical Club, a health club on the Upper East Side. He was a co-owner of the Hotel Pennsylvania. Additionally, he was an investor in the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Times Square. In 1989, he funded the Broadway show '' Prince of Central Park'' and the Jackie Mason show, ''Love Thy Neighbor''. In March 1993, Hirschfeld was the court-appointed manager of ''

New York Post The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is an American Conservatism in the United States, conservative daily Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates three online sites: NYPost. ...

'' for two weeks after the paper filed for bankruptcy. During that period of time, he dismissed editor Pete Hamill, but later upon court order reinstated him and was shown kissing his face in a famous picture. After his ''

'' failure, he founded '' Open Air PM''.

Political career

Throughout his career, Hirschfeld ran for political office several times, including unsuccessful bids as "Honest Abe" for the U.S. Senate in 1974 (defeated in Democratic primary), for

New York City Council The New York City Council is the lawmaking body of New York City in the United States. 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 mod ...

President in 1977, for Manhattan Borough President in 1997, for

Lieutenant Governor of New York The lieutenant governor of New York is a Constitution of New York, constitutional office in the executive branch of the Government of the State of New York. It is the second highest-ranking official in state government. The lieutenant governo ...

, for New York State Comptroller in 1998, and for Mayor of

. Hirschfeld served as treasurer for the New York State Democratic Committee in the 1960s and was elected to the City Commission of Miami Beach in 1989. In 1990, the Miami Beach City Commission censured its colleague Hirschfeld for spitting twice on a ''

Miami Herald The ''Miami Herald'' is an American daily newspaper owned by McClatchy, The McClatchy Company and headquartered in Miami-Dade County, Florida. Founded in 1903, it is the fifth-largest newspaper in Florida, serving Miami-Dade, Broward County, Fl ...

'' reporter, and censured him again in 1991 for telling an ethnic joke at a commission meeting. In September 1987, Hirschfeld launched an unsuccessful campaign in Miami Beach to draft New York developer

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

for president. In 2004, Hirschfeld ran as a third-party candidate for the U.S. Senate from New York against Charles Schumer; Schumer won 71% of the vote, Hirschfeld garnered less than 1%.

Lawsuits

In 1998, Hirschfeld offered US$1,000,000 to Paula Jones to drop her sexual harassment lawsuit against former US President

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...

. In 1999, Hirschfeld was cleared of charges he owed US$3.3 million in taxes. In 2000, Hirschfeld was indicted of criminal solicitation for trying to hire a hit man to kill his former business partner Stanley Stahl, with whom he had a "survivor take all" business partnership. Hirschfeld was sentenced to three years in prison, of which he served two. When he got out of prison he ran for the U.S. Senate, calling himself "Honest Abe".

Personal life

Hirschfeld married Zipora Teicher Hirschfeld in 1943. They had a son, Elie Hirschfeld, and a daughter, Rachel Hirschfeld.

Death and legacy

Hirschfeld died at age 85 on August 9, 2005, at the St. Barnabas Hospital in

The Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

, of

cardiac arrest Cardiac arrest (also known as sudden cardiac arrest CA is when the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating. When the heart stops beating, blood cannot properly Circulatory system, circulate around the body and the blood flow to the ...

stemming from complications of a battle with terminal

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...

. In 2013, his daughter accused her brother of stealing US$300 million from the estate.

References

External links

Official bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hirschfeld, Abraham 1919 births 2005 deaths American people of Polish-Jewish descent American businesspeople in real estate Businesspeople from New York City Deaths from cancer in New York (state) Jewish American people in Florida politics People convicted of soliciting murder People from Tarnów Polish emigrants to the United States American businesspeople convicted of crimes Jewish American people in New York (state) politics 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American Jews 21st-century American Jews