Hyman Schorenstein

Hyman Schorenstein (unknown – February 3, 1953) was a Brooklyn Democratic leader who dominated Brooklyn politics for three decades beginning in the late 1910s. He influenced Meade Esposito, a Democratic party fixer.[1]

Schorenstein immigrated from Austria in the late 1800s. He took control of politics in Brownsville, Brooklyn and was voted into office representing the Democratic Party. He led the effort to oppose socialists who were against United States involvement in World War I. Schorenstein became the first Jewish Democratic District leader. He was able to impress the Irish political machine and was appointed an election district captain at the age of 20. He offered local residents favors for their votes. One story alleged he gave 10 boots to a family of fisherman, all for their right feet, promising the matching boots would arrive after the election.[2][3]

In 1928, Schorenstein was credited with stopping an eleventh-hour revolt in the Ohio delegation. He guaranteed Governor Al Smith of New York the nomination for president.[2]

Schorenstein's illiteracy was well known. Schorenstein political rival’s challenge him to his literacy in 1933 when Schorenstein was Brooklyn's commissioner of records. The rival asked "can you read or write English?" to which Schorenstein replied "that’s my own personal business". Milton S. Gould, Schorenstein's friend who was a lawyer said, "there was one tragic flaw in the effulgent personality of this municipal monarch: He was illiterate."[3]

After dominating local politics for three decades, Schorenstein was voted out of office largely due to the Italian mafia sending hundreds of associates to illegally vote against him in his district.[4]

His nephew Walter Herbert Shorenstein was a real estate investor and a top Democratic donor who, at one point, became the largest landlord in San Francisco.[5][6]

References
  1. Hertzberg, Hendrik (10 December 1972). "'Hi, boss,' said the judge to Meade Esposito". The New York Times. Retrieved 2018-03-10.
  2. Wendell E. Pritchett (December 2003). Brownsville, Brooklyn: Blacks, Jews, and the Changing Face of the Ghetto. University of Chicago Press. pp. 37–. ISBN 978-0-226-68447-5.
  3. Roberts, Sam (24 August 2008). "An Old-Time Kingmaker and His Political Legacy". The New York Times. Retrieved 2018-03-10.
  4. William Graham Summer (28 July 2017). East Side-West Side: Organizing Crime in New York, 1930-50. Taylor & Francis. pp. 287–. ISBN 978-1-351-31258-5.
  5. Schmidt, Michael S. (26 June 2010). "Walter Shorenstein, Democratic Donor, Dies at 95". The New York Times. Retrieved 2018-03-10.
  6. Schmidt, Michael S. (2010-06-27). "Walter Shorenstein, Democratic Donor, Dies at 95". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved 2018-03-10.
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