Stanley M. Isaacs (1882–1962) was a Republican politician from

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

who served as

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

Borough President from 1938 to 1941 and later as a member of the

New York City Council The New York City Council is the lawmaking body of New York City. It has 51 members from 51 council districts throughout the five Borough (New York City), boroughs. The council serves as a check against the Mayor of New York City, mayor in a may ...

from 1942 to 1962. He was Minority Leader of the Council from 1950 to 1962. An advocate for social justice, Isaacs is perhaps best known for his support for

housing Housing, or more generally, living spaces, refers to the construction and assigned usage of houses or buildings individually or collectively, for the purpose of shelter. Housing ensures that members of society have a place to live, whether it ...

and the work he did with Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia, whom he helped to get elected. A graduate of both Columbia College and New York Law School, Isaacs was born in Manhattan to a family of English-Jewish descent. His paternal grandfather,

Samuel Myer Isaacs Samuel Myer Isaacs (January 4, 1804 - May 19, 1878) was a Dutch-born American educator, philanthropist and rabbi. He was the second Jewish spiritual leader in the United States to teach in English instead of Hebrew or German. Early life and educ ...

, was rabbi at Temple Shaaray Tefila. His father,

Myer S. Isaacs Myer Samuel Isaacs (May 8, 1841 – May 24, 1904) was a Jewish-American lawyer and judge from New York. Life Isaacs was born on May 8, 1841, in New York City, the son of Rev. Samuel Myer Isaacs and Jane Symmonds. His paternal grandfather was ...

, along with his grandfather, published ''The'' ''Jewish Messenger''.Stanley Isaacs Documents, Photographs and Artifacts at the La Guardia and Wagner Archives http://www.laguardiawagnerarchive.lagcc.cuny.edu/SearchFromUrl.aspx?&Phrasetype=1&SearchType=0&KeyWord=stanley+and+isaacs&Photos=1&Docs=1&OH=1&Video=1&Art=1

References

1882 births 1962 deaths 20th-century American lawyers American people of English-Jewish descent Columbia College (New York) alumni Housing reformers New York City Council members New York Law School alumni New York (state) Republicans People from Manhattan 20th-century American politicians {{NewYork-politician-stub