Arthur J. Katzman (1903 – 1993) was an American politician and attorney who served as a member of the

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 ...

representing the 29th district, which includes

Forest Hills Forest Hills or Forrest Hills may refer to: Places United States * Forest Hills (Tampa), Florida * Forest Hills, Illinois, a neighborhood in Western Springs * Forest Hills, Kentucky * Forest Hills, Boston, Massachusetts ** Forest Hills Cemetery ...

Rego Park Rego Park is a neighborhood in the borough of Queens in New York City. Rego Park is bordered to the north by Elmhurst and Corona, to the east and south by Forest Hills, and to the west by Middle Village. Rego Park's boundaries include Queen ...

Kew Gardens Kew Gardens is a botanical garden, botanic garden in southwest London that houses the "largest and most diverse botany, botanical and mycology, mycological collections in the world". Founded in 1759, from the exotic garden at Kew Park, its li ...

and parts of

Maspeth Maspeth is a residential and commercial community in the borough of Queens in New York City. It was founded in the early 17th century by Dutch and English settlers. Neighborhoods sharing borders with Maspeth are Woodside to the north; Sunnysid ...

, Richmond Hill and Elmhurst.

Early life and education

Katzman was born on September 21, 1903, in

Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...

and emigrated to the United States with his family when he was five. Their first home in

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 ...

was in

Brownsville, Brooklyn Brownsville is a residential neighborhood in eastern Brooklyn in New York City. The neighborhood is bordered by Crown Heights, Brooklyn, Crown Heights to the northwest; Bedford–Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, Bedford–Stuyvesant and the subsection of ...

. Katzman graduated from

Brooklyn Law School Brooklyn Law School (BLS) is a Private university, 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 adjunct faculty. ...

Career

After graduating from law school, Katzman established a law practice in

Forest Hills, Queens Forest Hills is a neighborhood in the central portion of the borough of Queens in New York City. It is adjacent to Corona to the north, Rego Park and Glendale to the west, Forest Park to the south, Kew Gardens to the southeast and Flushing ...

. Katzman served as a member of the

from 1962 until his retirement in 1991. Katzman ran as an insurgent

Reform Democrat Reform Democrats in the United States are members of the Democratic Party who are opposed to the Democratic political machines of their respective cities, counties, or U.S. states, or to analogous machine politics at a national level. Reform Democ ...

against incumbent George J. Schneider. Among his first achievements in office was legislation that provided funding for Yellowstone Municipal Park, a playground that was later named after Katzman. At the time of his retirement, he was the oldest serving member of the City Council.

Death

He died on August 29, 1993, at his daughter's home in

Mountain View, California Mountain View is a city in Santa Clara County, California, United States, part of the San Francisco Bay Area. Named for its views of the Santa Cruz Mountains, the population was 82,376 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Mountain V ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Katzman, Arthur New York City Council members Brooklyn Law School alumni Jewish American people in New York (state) politics 1903 births 1993 deaths 20th-century New York (state) politicians People from Brownsville, Brooklyn Politicians from Brooklyn 20th-century American Jews