(JTA) — Jay Kriegel, a real estate executive and adviser to several New York mayors, has died at the age of 79.
Kriegel, the son of Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe, died Thursday at his weekend home in South Kent, Connecticut, from complications connected to his melanoma, his wife, Kathryn McAuliffe, told The New York Times.
He had helped build the massive Hudson Yards project in Manhattan as a senior adviser to Related Companies, the New York Post wrote in an obituary.
Kreigel, a Brooklyn native, was a chief of staff to former Mayor John Lindsay from 1966 to 1973. He had set up the Civilian Complaint Review Board.
The Times described him as “a workaholic known to juggle multiple callers on hold simultaneously.”
As a 25-year-old prodigy, Kriegel helped shape the Lindsay administration’s progressive challenge to New York City’s entrenched power brokers before emerging as one himself, according to The Times.
Former Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who also is Jewish, said in a statement about Kriegel: “Jay was a kid from Brooklyn who became a New York City institution. He was a legend in New York City politics, and from my first day in office to my last, he was always willing to lend a hand or offer smart advice. He loved this city, dedicated his life to making it better, and his impact can be seen and felt across all five boroughs today. I’ll miss him dearly.”
Kriegel is survived by his two biological children and three stepchildren.
