Miriam Friedlander (April 8, 1914,

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– October 4, 2009,

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) was an American politician from 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 ...

who represented New York City's

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and

Chinatown Chinatown ( zh, t=唐人街) is the catch-all name for an ethnic enclave of Chinese people located outside Greater China, most often in an urban setting. Areas known as "Chinatown" exist throughout the world, including Europe, Asia, Africa, O ...

in 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 ...

from 1974 to 1991.

Biography

Friedlander was born to a

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family in

, in 1914. Her father, David Sigel (Sigelovytch), was an office worker, insurance salesman, and political activist in the immigrant foreign language clubs. Her mother Hannah Lipman (Goldotsky) was fluent in Russian, Hebrew, Yiddish, and English. Miriam moved with her family to

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 ...

as at the age of five in 1919. She graduated from Evander Childs High School in 1931 and

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's College of Education in 1935. In 1939, she married Mark Friedlander, and their son Paul was born in New York City in 1943. The marriage ended in divorce in 1954. Her brother Paul died in 1938 fighting for the Republican side during the Spanish Civil War, according to a 2008 profile published in ''The Villager'', a community newspaper in the

. In 1962, Friedlander was one of ten U.S. Communist Party officials told by Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy to register with the Subversive Activities Control Board. Friedlander was identified as a member of the New York party committee. In 1973, Friedlander won the Democratic primary for the 2nd district of the City Council, which then included SoHo, Chinatown, the East Village and the Lower East Side, by a mere 48 votes, defeating four opponents. She had to defend her seat the following year, due to a court-ordered legislative reapportionment. In the Democratic Party primary election she defeated a then-little known lawyer named Sheldon Silver, by just 95 votes. In 1985, she ran against another Chinatown candidate, Virginia Kee.

LGBT issues

William K. Dobbs, a longtime gay activist who got to know Ms. Friedlander in the 1970s and 1980s, described her as a strong, and early, advocate of gay rights.

"When she made a point, it was a physical action," he said in a phone interview. "She'd pull her arm back and crook her elbow. She was a real brawler as a politician, and she fought fiercely in what she believed in."

Death

Friedlander died on October 4, 2009, aged 95. Prior to her death, Friedlander supported the candidacies of John Liu and Mark Green.

References

1914 births 2009 deaths Politicians from the Bronx New York City Council members New York (state) Democrats Women New York City Council members 20th-century American women politicians 21st-century American women 20th-century New York (state) politicians {{NewYork-politician-stub