Name Jerry Finkelstein | ||
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Died November 28, 2012, Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States | ||
Jerry Finkelstein (January 26, 1916 – November 28, 2012) was an American publisher, businessman and political insider. Among his publications were The New York Law Journal and The Hill. He was the father of former New York City Council President, Andrew Stein.
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Career and political influence
After graduating from university in 1938, Finkelstein did not take the bar exam. Instead he worked as a reporter at the New York Daily Mirror. In 1939, along with Arthur Brisbane's son, Seward Brisbane; he founded a newspaper called The Civil Service Leader, with public employees as the target audience. He ran unsuccessfully for the New York State Senate in 1942, the only time he ran for office. In 1949, Finkelstein successfully managed William O'Dwyer's mayoral re-election campaign; the following year, O'Dwyer appointed him director of the NYCOCP. In 1955 he opened a public relations firm; two years later, he merged with another public relations firm owned by Tex McCrary and Jinx Falkenberg. The resultant firm became a major force in financial public relations; after becoming the subject of a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) investigation for insider trading, it was dissolved.
Finkelstein became chairman of Struthers Wells in 1961. He purchased the New York Law Journal in 1963 for $1 million. John F. Kennedy appointed him Chairman of the Fine Arts Gift Committee of the National Cultural Center (later, the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts). In 1972, he was named commissioner of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey by New York governor Nelson Rockefeller.
Finkelstein helped fundraising efforts by John F. Kennedy and Robert F. Kennedy, and also helped President Lyndon B. Johnson. His backing was instrumental in the election of his son, Andrew, to the New York State Assembly in 1968 (at the age of 23). Though a lifelong Democrat, he was also a key supporter of Republican Nelson Rockefeller's gubernatorial and presidential campaigns.
Personal life
He was born to Albert Finkelstein, a small business owner in Manhattan. He attended George Washington High School and New York University. He graduated in 1938 from the New York Law School. He was Jewish.
In 1942 Finkelstein married Shirley Marks, to whom he remained married until her death in 2003. He had two sons, Andrew and James.
Death
Finkelstein died November 28, 2012, at his home in Manhattan. He was 96.