[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 23 (Thursday, February 27, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E344-E345]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            IN HONOR OF MORTIMER LEVITT ON HIS 90TH BIRTHDAY

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. CAROLYN B. MALONEY

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, February 27, 1997

  Mrs. MALONEY of New York. Mr. Speaker, it is with great pleasure and 
esteemed respect that I acknowledge my constituent, Mortimer Levitt, 
for his many achievements.
  Mr. Levitt, founder of the Custom Shop Shirtmakers, started his 
venture in 1937. After losing his job and his savings in the height of 
the Great Depression, Mr. Levitt courageously

[[Page E345]]

launched his business, the Custom Shop Shirtmakers. He now owns 73 
Custom Shop Shirtmaker stores.
  Mortimer Levitt, however, is not just an archetype in the fashion 
industry. He is also a philanthropist, Broadway producer, and author of 
four books. The custom shirtmaker is the founder and biggest 
contributor to the Levitt Pavilion for the Performing Arts. He 
contributed funds to the building of the arts center and has since 
helped raise half of the pavilion's annual budget. He is on the board 
of directors for the Lincoln Center Film Society, the Manhattan-based 
Young Concert Artists, and founder of the Manhattan Theater Club where 
not only was he on the board, but also produced over 20 plays. Levitt 
has also made significant contributions to Lincoln Center and endowed a 
scholarship fund at Mercy College in Dobbs Ferry, NY.
  Mortimer Levitt, for the past 60 years, has provided jobs for his 
community, has raised funding for the arts, and has been an inspiration 
to the world of fashion. It is for these reasons and many more that I 
would like to recognize Mr. Levitt on his 90th birthday.

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