Morton Povman (January 13, 1931 – March 5, 2024) was a Democratic 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 15th district and later the 24th district of

Queens Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...

, which included

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 ...

, Briarwood,

Kew Gardens Hills Kew Gardens Hills is a neighborhood in the middle of the New York City borough of Queens. The borders are Flushing Meadows–Corona Park to the west, the Long Island Expressway to the north, Interstate 495 (New York), Union Turnpike to the south ...

and

Fresh Meadows Fresh Meadows is a neighborhood in the northeastern section of the New York City borough of Queens. Fresh Meadows used to be part of the broader town of Flushing and is bordered to the north by the Horace Harding Expressway and Auburndale; to ...

. He served in this position from 1971 until his retirement due to term limits in 2001, making him the longest-serving councilman in the history of the City Council.

Biography

Born in Brooklyn to Russian Jewish immigrants, he graduated first in his class 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. ...

in 1955 and was editor-in-chief of the Law Review. He then founded a law office in Forest Hills. Prior to public office, Povman served as legal counsel to State Assembly Majority Leader

Moses M. Weinstein Moses M. Weinstein (July 8, 1912 – November 30, 2007) was an American lawyer and politician. Name He was born Morris Weinstein without a middle initial. A playbill for a production at Brooklyn College added erroneously the middle initial, and ...

. When

Donald Manes Donald R. Manes (, ; January 18, 1934 – March 13, 1986) was a Democratic Party politician from New York City. He served as borough president of the New York City borough of Queens from 1971 until just before his suicide while under suspicion ...

was elected Queens Borough President, the Queens Democratic Party Organization chose Povman to fill the Council seat, as well the position of District Leader. He did not face a primary opponent in his time in the council. Povman served as Chairman of the Rules Committee and the Health Committee. He was instrumental in keeping

Metropolitan Hospital Center The Metropolitan Hospital Center (MHC, also referred to as Metropolitan Hospital) is a hospital in the East Harlem neighborhood of New York City. It has been affiliated with New York Medical College since it was founded in 1875, representing ...

and the 107th Police Precinct operational when they were threatened with closure by the Mayor’s office. A defender of

Flushing Meadows-Corona Park Flushing may refer to: Places Netherlands * Flushing, Netherlands, an English name for the city of Vlissingen, Netherlands United Kingdom * Flushing, Cornwall, a village in Cornwall, England * The Flushing, a building in Suffolk, Englan ...

, Povman fought plans to build high-rise apartments near Willow Lake and a racetrack around Meadow Lake. He championed the relocation of the National Tennis Center into the park and played a crucial role in bringing the

US Open (tennis) The US Open Tennis Championships, commonly called the US Open, is a hardcourt tennis tournament organized by the United States Tennis Association annually in Queens, New York City. Grand Slam (tennis), Grand Slam tennis events, held after the ...

to its present-day location. All 15 parks in his district underwent major rehabilitation during his tenure. As District Leader, Povman served as Executive Director of the John F. Kennedy Regular Democratic Club in Queens County. Throughout his career, Povman performed pro-bono legal work for numerous tenant and civic associations throughout Queens. Povman married Sandra Arkow in 1958. He had two sons, both of whom went on to practice law in New York State, and five grandchildren. He died on March 5, 2024, due to pancreatic cancer.

References

1931 births 2024 deaths New York City Council members Politicians from Queens, New York Brooklyn Law School alumni Jewish American people in New York (state) politics American people of Russian-Jewish descent 21st-century American Jews {{NewYork-politician-stub