Noach Dear

Early life and education

As a child, he was in Eli Lipsker's Pirchei Agudath Israel Choir, and sang on the first New York Pirchei album, "Pirchei Sings אליך ה' אקרא".

Career

Dear served as a member of the New York City Council from 1983–2001, Dear headed the Transportation Committee and opposed commuter vans, otherwise known as "dollar vans," as a transportation alternative while in office. Dear advocated for support for the state of Israel and concern for the issues impacting the primarily Jewish-and heavily Orthodox Jewish-residents in his community, which included Midwood, as well as large swaths of Borough Park and Bensonhurst. In 1986, Dear voted against a civil rights bill prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation in employment, housing, and public accommodation.

Dear was appointed to the Taxi and Limousine Commission in 2002, slated to serve a seven-year term.

Dear was widely seen as a political rival of Assemblyman Dov Hikind, who represents many of the same constituents that Dear once represented while in office, and comes from an Orthodox Jewish heritage.

Term-limited out of office, Dear launched an uphill campaign for the New York State Senate seat now held by Kevin Parker in 2002. In a five candidate field Dear narrowly lost to Parker by a margin of 909 votes. Dear also ran in a Democratic congressional primary that chose the successor to Charles Schumer in 1998, which saw him face three other candidates, including the eventual winner, Anthony Weiner. After losing that primary Dear went on to contest the general election as the Republican nominee, a race in which he was overwhelmingly defeated.