[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 161 (Monday, December 15, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S12720-S12721]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 TRIBUTE TO DAVID EDELSTEIN AND THE JEWISH COMMUNITY COUNCIL OF PELHAM 
                                PARKWAY

 Mr. MOYNIHAN. Mr. President, the members of the Jewish 
Community Council of Pelham Parkway in the Bronx recently celebrated 
the 20th anniversary of David Edelstein's tenure as their executive 
director.
  Twenty years ago the Bronx was a virtual, albeit not entirely 
appropriate, synonym for urban decay and middle-class flight. The 
Jewish Community Council of Pelham Parkway is one of the dynamic 
grassroots neighborhood groups that have helped bring about a dramatic 
change in this proud borough.
  Much of the credit for the council's success belongs to its 
indefatigable executive director. David Edelstein came to the Jewish 
Community Council of Pelham Parkway on September 7, 1977. He helped 
establish the council's programs of social service, community 
development, Jewish cultural enrichment, and civic improvement. He 
pioneered the creation of programs that led to the reinvestment of over 
$17 million in the neighborhood's multifamily housing stock and played 
a key role in the creation of programs that helped settle over 3,000 
Soviet Jewish immigrants in the Pelham Parkway neighborhood. David's 
leadership has enabled the council to sponsor programs that assure the 
availability of Jewish education for all neighborhood youngsters.
  David established relationships with New York City's major Jewish 
organizations, helping to assure that needy families in Pelham Parkway 
could be helped with the resources available from those agencies. The 
council distributes over $25,000 in emergency and/or supplemental food 
to over 500 needy families every year. Hundreds of people have been 
helped with emergency home care, transportation for the homebound, 
eviction prevention, and other forms of emergency assistance.
  David has helped the Jewish Community Council become the unified 
voice of the Jewish community in the Pelham Parkway neighborhood. 
Working with the council's active board of directors and maintaining 
relationships with the police, medical centers,

[[Page S12721]]

elected officials, and others whose decisions impact on the community's 
quality of life, David has worked to assure cooperation and consensus 
on issues of community concern.
  My childhood friend, the late distinguished New York State Senator 
Joseph Galiber worked closely with David Edelstein and was fond of 
noting the Jewish Community Council's many strengths and successes. I 
know I speak for all of my colleagues in the Senate when I congratulate 
David Edelstein and the Jewish Community Council of Pelham Parkway on 
two decades of inspired leadership.

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