Marty Algaze, co-founder of Stonewall Democratic Club of NYC, dies at 72
Marty Algaze, who had a long and successful career in New York Democratic politics and fought to advance the interests of the LGBTQ community, died suddenly on August 27, shocking friends and colleagues who had known him for decades. He was 72.
“He was just so damn committed,” said Steve Ashkinazy, who knew Algaze since the early 80s when both were active in the Gay and Lesbian Independent Democrats (GLID), an LGBTQ political club. “He was involved in politics, but it was really the cause that was important to him…Marty was really devoted to the LGBT community and the advancement of our rights.”
Algaze is best known for co-founding the Stonewall Democratic Club of NYC (SDNYC) in 1986. SDNYC was formed by ex-GLID members who became disillusioned by that club’s internal politics. Algaze, Ashkinazy, Lew Todd, Tom Smith, and others created SDNYC as a citywide organization as opposed to the borough or neighborhood focus of most political clubs in New York City. As the club grew, so did its influence in elections, and its endorsements were sought by candidates for city, state, and federal offices. That experience also meant that Algaze was well versed in policy making and governance.
“I’m devasted by the death of Marty Algaze,” City Councilmember Gale Brewer, who represents Manhattan’s West Side from West 54th Street to Cathedral Parkway, wrote in a newsletter to her constituents. “I first met him in the 1980s, when he was active in the tenant’s rights movement. But he was everywhere, also active on his W. 72nd Street block, in Community Free Democrats and then West Side Democrats, co-founded the Stonewall Democrats, and a longtime member of the NY County Democratic Committee. He knew politics, he knew government policy — he provided leadership in the State Assembly, State Senate, and Mayor’s offices — and he generously shared what he knew with friends and colleagues.”
https://gaycitynews.com/gay-political-marty-algaze-dies-72/
= new reply since forum marked as read
Kick in to the DU tip jar?
This week we're running a special pop-up mini fund drive. From Monday through Friday we're going ad-free for all registered members, and we're asking you to kick in to the DU tip jar to support the site and keep us financially healthy.
As a bonus, making a contribution will allow you to leave kudos for another DU member, and at the end of the week we'll recognize the DUers who you think make this community great.