Mates Friesel (c. 1924 – August 1, 2015) was an American Skver

Hasidic Hasidism () or Hasidic Judaism is a religious movement within Judaism that arose in the 18th century as a spiritual revival movement in contemporary Western Ukraine before spreading rapidly throughout Eastern Europe. Today, most of those aff ...

politician and businessman. Friesel was a co-founder and the first, and only, Mayor of

New Square, New York New Square () is an all-Hasidic village in the town of Ramapo, Rockland County, New York, United States. It is located north of Hillcrest, east of Viola, south of New Hempstead, and west of New City. As of the 2020 United States census, i ...

, from the village's founding in 1961 until his death on August 1, 2015. He ran unopposed in each of New Square's mayoral elections since 1961, most recently winning re-election in November 2013 to a new two-year term. Friesel was one of the longest-serving Mayors in the United States.

Biography

Friesel emigrated to the United States from Poland. He owned and operated a travel business. Friesel was one of the founders of the village of New Square, New York, which was formed in 1961. During the mid-1950s, Skver Grand Rabbi Yakov Yosef Twersky dispatched a group of his followers from their home in

Williamsburg, Brooklyn Williamsburg is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, bordered by Greenpoint to the north; Bedford–Stuyvesant to the south; Bushwick and East Williamsburg to the east; and the East River to the west. It was an independe ...

, to a newly acquired 130-acre

dairy farm Dairy farming is a class of agriculture for the long-term production of milk, which is processed (either on the farm or at a dairy plant, either of which may be called a dairy) for the eventual sale of a dairy product. Dairy farming has a h ...

, located in

Ramapo, New York Ramapo is a Administrative divisions of New York (state)#Town, town in Rockland County, New York, United States. It was originally formed as New Hampstead, in 1791, and became Ramapo in 1828."Ramapo", in Peter R. Eisenstadt and Laura-Eve M ...

, in

Rockland County, New York Rockland County is the southernmost county on the west side of the Hudson River in the U.S. state of New York. It is part of the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the county's population is 338,329, making it the state' ...

. The group constructed a large synagogue, over the opposition by Ramapo town officials, and began building residential homes. New Square was established in 1961 as the first predominantly Hasidic town in the United States. Mates Friesel was elected as New Square's first, founding Mayor in 1961. He was unopposed in each of his mayoral campaigns from 1961 to November 2013, when he won his final election. Under Friesel and Grand Rabbis Yaakov Yosef Twersky and David Twersky, the village acquired a former hospital along

New York State Route 45 New York State Route 45 (NY 45) is a north–south state highway in central Rockland County, New York, in the United States. It spans from the village of Chestnut Ridge at the New Jersey–New York border, where it becomes County ...

, which was converted to village municipal offices and classrooms. The village had also been purchasing land in the Catskills to construct a poultry plant. Friesel met with U.S. President

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (October 1, 1924December 29, 2024) was an American politician and humanitarian who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party ...

on his plane in the late 1970s. Friesel served as New Square's only mayor until his death in 2015. He

died in office A death in office is the death of a person who was incumbent of an office-position until the time of death. Such deaths have been usually due to natural causes, but they are also caused by accidents, suicides, disease and assassinations. The deat ...

on August 1, 2015, at the age of 91. Friesel was survived by his wife, children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. He was buried in Skver cemetery in New Square within 24 hours of his death, in accordance with

Jewish law ''Halakha'' ( ; , ), also transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Jewish religious laws that are derived from the Written and Oral Torah. ''Halakha'' is based on biblical commandments ('' mit ...

. New Square Deputy Mayor Israel Spitzer succeeded Friesel as the village's second mayor.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Friesel, Mates Year of birth uncertain 2015 deaths Mayors of places in New York (state) Politicians from Rockland County, New York Businesspeople from New York (state) Jewish American mayors Jewish American people in New York (state) politics Skver (Hasidic dynasty) Polish emigrants to the United States American people of Polish-Jewish descent People from Ramapo, New York