Albert Burstein (November 22, 1922
– December 27, 2018) was an American
Democratic Party politician, who served five terms in the
New Jersey General Assembly
The New Jersey General Assembly is the lower house of the New Jersey Legislature.
Since the election of 1967 (1968 session), the Assembly has consisted of 80 members. Two members are elected from each of New Jersey's 40 legislative districts f ...
, where he represented the
District 13B in his first term then from the
37th Legislative District for the next four. He served as Majority Leader of the Assembly. In June 2004, Burstein was appointed to serve on the
New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission.
Burstein was born to Julius and Hannah Burstein on November 22, 1922, in
, where he graduated from
Henry Snyder High School
Academy of the Arts at Henry Snyder High School is a four-year performing arts public high school serving students in ninth through twelfth grades, located in the Greenville section of Jersey City, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, operating as ...
.
[Palmer, Joanne]
"A very busy 92 years Al Burstein of Tenafly talks about his life, from Jersey City childhood through WWII horrors and adventures in legislation to now"
''Jewish Standard
The ''Jewish Standard'' is a newspaper based in Teaneck, New Jersey, USA, that primarily serves the Jewish community in Bergen County and Northeastern New Jersey. The ''Jewish Standard'' was founded in 1931, and is the oldest Jewish weekly in ...
'', June 18, 2015. Accessed November 14, 2018. "Mr. Burstein went to public school. “There weren’t that many Jewish kids in high school' —Henry Snyder High School — 'but our out-of-school presence was centered on the JCC in Jersey City,' he said." He went on to receive his undergraduate degree from
Columbia College, Columbia University
Columbia College is the oldest undergraduate college of Columbia University, a private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhattan, it is the oldest instit ...
and his law degree from
Columbia Law School
Columbia Law School (CLS) is the Law school in the United States, law school of Columbia University, a Private university, private Ivy League university in New York City.
The school was founded in 1858 as the Columbia College Law School. The un ...
. A resident of
Tenafly, New Jersey
Tenafly () is a borough in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 15,409, an increase of 921 (+6.4%) from the 2010 census count of 14,488, which in turn reflected an ...
, Burstein was a partner in the law firm of Herten, Burstein, Sheridan, Cevasco, Bottinelli, Litt, & Harz, L.L.C. He served as chair of the
New Jersey State Commission of Investigation
The New Jersey State Commission of Investigation (SCI) is an independent governmental fact-finding agency in the U.S. State of New Jersey whose mission is to identify and investigate organized crime, corruption and waste, fraud and abuse in gover ...
Review Committee, chair of the New Jersey Law Revision Commission, chair of the Bergen County IIB South District Ethics Committee as well as serving as a member of the ''New Jersey Law Journal'' editorial board.
[Albert Burstein - Commissioner]
, New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission. Accessed June 16, 2010.
In the Assembly, Burstein sponsored legislation that included a major revision to New Jersey's election law, as well as the Gubernatorial Public Financing Law of 1974. Burstein served as chair of the Education Committee, and as a member of the Election Law Revision Committee, the Capital Budgeting and Planning Commission, and the Public Employees Relations Study Commission.
[
In what ''The New York Times'' described as a "surprising victory", Nicholas S. Mastorelli of ]Secaucus, New Jersey
Secaucus ( ) is a Town (New Jersey), town in Hudson County, New Jersey, Hudson County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the town's population was 22,181, an increase of 5,917 (+36.4%) from the 2010 United St ...
, won the Democratic primary in June 1978 for the nomination to run for the house seat of Harold C. Hollenbeck in New Jersey's 9th congressional district
New Jersey's 9th congressional district is an urban congressional district in the U.S. state of New Jersey, and is currently represented in Congress by United States Democratic Party, Democrat Nellie Pou following the death of Bill Pascrell in 2 ...
. While Burstein won in the Bergen County area, Mastorelli's edge came from large margins in the Hudson County, New Jersey
Hudson County is a county in the U.S. state of New Jersey, its smallest and most densely populated. Lying in the northeast of the state and on the west bank of the Hudson River, the North Jersey county is part of the state's Gateway Region an ...
, portion of the district.
Burstein was the recipient of numerous awards from his more than 60-year career as a practicing attorney in N.J., including "Lawyer of the Year" from the Committee on Professionalism in 1999 and the Daniel J. O'Hern Professional Award from the New Jersey Bar Association in 2006.
On Veterans Day, November 11, 2010, Burstein received the Chevalier of the Legion of Honor for his bravery on the battlefield as a soldier fighting the Germans on French territory during World War II. Burstein was also the recipient of the Bronze Star Medal
The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious a ...
for his service in World War II.[ He died on December 27, 2018, at the age of 96.]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Burstein, Albert
1922 births
2018 deaths
United States Army personnel of World War II
Henry Snyder High School alumni
Columbia Law School alumni
Democratic Party members of the New Jersey General Assembly
Military personnel from Bergen County, New Jersey
Lawyers from Bergen County, New Jersey
People from Tenafly, New Jersey
Politicians from Jersey City, New Jersey
Columbia College (New York) alumni
United States Army soldiers
20th-century American lawyers
20th-century members of the New Jersey Legislature