Stanley M. Isaacs

Stanley M. Isaacs (1882–1962) was a Republican politician from New York City who served as Manhattan Borough President from 1938 to 1941 and later as a member of the New York City Council from 1942 to 1962. He was Minority Leader of the council from 1950 to 1962.^[1] An advocate for social justice, Isaacs is perhaps best known for his support for housing and the work he did with Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia, whom he helped to get elected.^[2]

Stanley Isaacs is also remembered for his role in exposing the shady financial arrangements between park commissioner Robert Moses and the restaurant Tavern in the Park's owner Arnold Schleifer during the "Battle for Central Park", in April 1956. This exposure would lead to further questioning of Moses, and eventually to the fall of the system of political patronage he led in the city.^[3]

A graduate of both Columbia College and New York Law School,^[4] Isaacs was born in Manhattan to a family of English-Jewish descent. His paternal grandfather, Samuel Myer Isaacs, was rabbi at Temple Shaaray Tefila. His father, Myer S. Isaacs, along with his grandfather, published The Jewish Messenger.^[5][6]