Louis Francis Haffen (November 6, 1854 – December 25, 1935) was an American engineer and politician who was the first

Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

Borough President. He was elected four times and was known as the "Father of the Bronx." He was a member of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

Early life and education

Of German-Irish descent, Haffen was born in Melrose, Westchester County (present-day Bronx), the son of Haffen Brewery founder Matthias Haffen, an immigrant from

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

. His mother, Catharine Hayes, was born in Ireland. He was educated at the University of Niagara before transferring to

Fordham University Fordham University () is a Private university, private Jesuit universities, Jesuit research university in New York City. Established in 1841 and named after the Fordham, Bronx, Fordham neighborhood of the The Bronx, Bronx in which its origina ...

in 1872, earning a B.A in 1875. The following year, Haffen entered the

School of Mines A school of mines (or mining school) is an engineering school, often established in the 18th and 19th centuries, that originally focused on mining engineering and applied science. Most have been integrated within larger constructs such as minera ...

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

, graduating in 1879 as a civil and mining engineer.

Career

Haffen went out West for two years to work as an engineer. In 1883, he returned to New York and took an engineering job at the Parks Department, which was then overseeing new streets and thoroughfares. He later became Commissioner of Street Improvements in the 23rd and 24th Wards until 1897. He was credited with making significant improvements in these wards, which were mostly farm land at the time without modern streets and utilities. In 1897, when the borough became part of New York City, Haffen was elected as the first president of the Bronx, and re-elected three times. As

Borough A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle Ag ...

President he selected contractors in 1897 to pave

Jerome Avenue Jerome Avenue is one of the longest thoroughfares in the New York City borough of the Bronx, New York, United States. The road is long and stretches from Concourse to Woodlawn. Both of these termini are with the Major Deegan Expressway which ...

. Three sections of the road were to be remodeled, costing the Bronx about $136,505. While borough president, Haffen worked with Michael J. Garvin. Garvin is credited with the design of the

Haffen Building The Haffen Building is a New York City landmark constructed in 1901–1902 in the neighborhood of Mott Haven, Bronx, New York. The building is located at 2804 Third Avenue, also addressed as 507 Willis Avenue, in the middle of a triangular block ...

and the

Bronx Borough Courthouse The Bronx Borough Courthouse, commonly referred to as the Old Bronx Borough Courthouse, is a building in the Melrose neighborhood of the Bronx, New York City. The courthouse was built between 1905 and 1914 near Boston Road, Third Avenue, St. ...

(built between 1905 and 1915), but a scandal arose when it was discovered that Garvin was not the architect. Oscar Florianus Bluemner was the real architect, and the allegations of

plagiarism Plagiarism is the fraudulent representation of another person's language, thoughts, ideas, or expressions as one's own original work.From the 1995 '' Random House Compact Unabridged Dictionary'': use or close imitation of the language and thought ...

and

fraud In law, fraud is intentional deception to secure unfair or unlawful gain, or to deprive a victim of a legal right. Fraud can violate civil law (e.g., a fraud victim may sue the fraud perpetrator to avoid the fraud or recover monetary compens ...

in relation to who designed the courthouse forced Louis Haffen's resignation from office amid accusations of

cronyism Cronyism is the spoils system practice of partiality in awarding jobs and other advantages to friends or trusted colleagues, especially in politics and between politicians and supportive organizations. For example, cronyism occurs when appointin ...

, fraud and

corruption Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense which is undertaken by a person or an organization which is entrusted in a position of authority, in order to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's personal gain. Corruption m ...

.Haffen Building
Landmarks Preservation Commission June 22, 2010, Designation List 430 LP-2388 After leaving office, he resumed work as a consulting engineer for the Bronx Borough.

Personal life

He was married to Caroline Kurz in 1886. They had five sons, Mathias, Louis Jr., Henry, John and Thomas, and a daughter, Beatrice W. Haffen Havender. He died on Christmas Day, 1935 of reported heart problems and is interred at Woodlawn Cemetery in The Bronx.

References

External links

* Bronx borough presidents 1854 births 1935 deaths American people of German descent American people of Irish descent Fordham University alumni {{NewYork-politician-stub