Harry Kraf (January 1, 1907 – December 22, 1989) was an American lawyer and politician from

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

Life

He was born on January 1, 1907, in New York City. He attended Public School No. 3 and Morris High School, both in the Bronx. He graduated LL.B. from

Fordham Law School Fordham University School of Law is the law school of Fordham University. The school is located in Manhattan in New York City, and is one of eight ABA-approved law schools in that city. In 2013, 91% of the law school's first-time test tak ...

, and was admitted to the bar in 1929. He practiced law in New York City, and entered politics as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

. He married Lena Ruth Rosenfeld on June 10, 1931, in New York City. They had one daughter, the novelist Elaine Kraf and one granddaughter, Milena Altman Kraf. Kraf was elected in November 1955 to the

New York State Senate The New York State Senate is the upper house of the New York State Legislature; the New York State Assembly is its lower house. Its members are elected to two-year terms; there are no term limits. There are 63 seats in the Senate. Partisan com ...

, to fill the vacancy caused by the death of John J. Donovan, Jr., and took his seat in the

170th New York State Legislature The 170th New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 5, 1955, to March 23, 1956, during the first and second years of W. Averell Harriman's governorship, in Albany. Ba ...

at the beginning of the session of 1956. He was re-elected several times and remained in the Senate until 1965, sitting in the 171st, 172nd, 173rd, 174th and

175th New York State Legislature The 175th New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 6 to June 23, 1965, during the seventh year of Nelson Rockefeller's governorship, in Albany. Background Under the p ...

s. In September 1965, after re-apportionment, Kraf ran for re-nomination in the 37th District, but was defeated in the Democratic primary by Archie A. Gorfinkel. In January 1966, Kraf was appointed as counsel to a legislative committee. He was 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 Assem ...

(75th D.) from 1967 to 1972, sitting in the 177th, 178th and

179th New York State Legislature The 179th New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 6, 1971, to May 12, 1972, during the thirteenth and fourteenth years of Nelson Rockefeller's governorship, in Albany ...

s. In the Assembly, Kraf was known for working on traffic and air pollution problems. He also joined with his Bronx legislative colleagues in 1967 in an attempt to save St. Francis Hospital. In November 1972, he was elected to the New York City Civil Court. He died on December 22, 1989, in

Montefiore Medical Center Montefiore Medical Center is a premier academic medical center and the primary teaching hospital of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx, New York City. Its main campus, the Henry and Lucy Moses Division, is located in the Norwoo ...

in the Bronx.''Harry Kraf, Lawmaker From West Bronx, 82''
in ''The New York Times'' on December 25, 1989

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kraf, Harry 1907 births 1989 deaths Democratic Party New York (state) state senators Democratic Party members of the New York State Assembly Fordham University School of Law alumni New York (state) state court judges 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century American judges Politicians from the Bronx 20th-century American politicians