Early life and career

Beame was the first Jewish mayor of New York City. He was born in London, and grew up on New York's Lower East Side, and became city budget director from 1952 to 1961. He was a Democrat and was elected to two terms as city comptroller in 1961 and 1969. In 1965 he was the Democratic nominee for Mayor, but was defeated by the Republican candidate, John V. Lindsay.

Mayoral challenges

After defeating State Senator John Marchi in the 1973 mayoral election, Beame faced the worst fiscal crisis in the city's history and spent the bulk of his term attempting to ward off bankruptcy. He slashed the city workforce, froze wages, and restructured the budget, that proved insufficient until reinforced by actions from newly created state-sponsored entities and the granting of federal funds. After a tumultuous four years as mayor, he ran for a second term in 1977 and finished third in the Democratic primary to U.S. Representative Edward I. Koch and New York Secretary of State Mario M. Cuomo.

External links

• Official Beame Collection: LaGuardia Community College/CUNY
• Remarks at the Funeral Service for Mayor Abraham Beame by Rudolph W. Giuliani
• Obituary: Abe Beame, 1907-2001
• New York City's first Jewish mayor