Benjamin Brenner (August 3, 1903 – May 30, 1970) was a Polish-born Jewish-American lawyer and politician from

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

who served as 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 ...

in 1938, as a New York city judge in 1939 and again from 1948 to 1952, and as a Justice of the

New York Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the State of New York is the superior court in the Judiciary of New York. It is vested with unlimited civil and criminal jurisdiction, although in many counties outside New York City it acts primarily as a court of civil ju ...

from 1953 to 1969.

Life

Benjamin Brenner was born on August 3, 1903 in

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 ...

. Brenner was a member of the

1938 Events January * January 1 – state-owned enterprise, State-owned railway networks are created by merger, in France (SNCF) and the Netherlands (Nederlandse Spoorwegen – NS). * January 20 – King Farouk of Egypt marries Saf ...

, elected in November 1937 on the American Labor and City Fusion tickets in the 2nd assembly district of

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

. He was defeated when running for re-election in 1938 on the Republican and American Labor tickets. On May 10, 1939, Brenner was appointed by Mayor

Fiorello LaGuardia Fiorello Henry La Guardia (born Fiorello Raffaele Enrico La Guardia; December 11, 1882September 20, 1947) was an American attorney and politician who represented New York in the U.S. House of Representatives and served as the 99th mayor of New Y ...

to the Municipal Court (8th D.) to fill the vacancy caused by the appointment of Murray Hearn to the City Court. In November 1939, he was defeated when running for a full term, and left the bench at the end of the year. In 1940, he ran in the 8th district for Congress but was defeated by Democrat Donald L. O'Toole. In July 1944, he was elected Chairman of the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

in Brooklyn. On September 27, 1948, he was appointed by Mayor

William O'Dwyer William O'Dwyer (July 11, 1890November 24, 1964) was an Irish-American politician who served as the 100th Mayor of New York City, holding that office from 1946 to 1950. O'Dwyer went on to serve President Harry Truman as Ambassador to Mexico fr ...

as a City Magistrate. He was a justice of the

from 1953 to 1969. In September 1960, he was nominated on the Liberal ticket for the

New York Court of Appeals The New York Court of Appeals is the supreme court, highest court in the Judiciary of New York (state), Unified Court System of the New York (state), State of New York. It consists of seven judges: the Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeal ...

; but declined to run. At the end of 1969, he resigned from the bench due to ill health, and moved to

Fort Lauderdale, Florida Fort Lauderdale ( ) is a coastal city located in the U.S. state of Florida, north of Miami along the Atlantic Ocean. It is the county seat of and most populous city in Broward County, Florida, Broward County with a population of 182,760 at the ...

. He died on May 30, 1970, in Memorial Hospital in

Hollywood, Florida Hollywood is a city in Broward County, Florida, United States. It is a suburb in the Miami metropolitan area. The population of Hollywood was 153,067 as of 2020, making it the Broward County#Communities, third-largest city in Broward County, th ...

, of heart disease.''Benjamin Brenner Dead at 66''
in ''The New York Times'' on May 31, 1970 (subscription required)

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brenner, Benjamin 1903 births 1970 deaths Members of the New York State Assembly American Labor Party politicians Politicians from Brooklyn New York Supreme Court justices Liberal Party of New York politicians 20th-century New York state court judges 20th-century members of the New York State Legislature Fiorello La Guardia political appointees