[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 38 (Monday, March 30, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E516-E517]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           THE OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENTS OF RABBI EDGAR GLUCK

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. BENJAMIN A. GILMAN

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, March 30, 1998

  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to 
call to the attention of our colleagues the outstanding record of our 
good friend and religious leader, Rabbi Edgar Gluck.
  Rabbi Edgar Gluck is a man of exceptional qualities. His hard work 
and dedication has helped to make his community, New York City and the 
State of New York a better place. Rabbi Gluck has worked for many years 
in the public sector. His innovative and intelligent solutions have 
helped to solve many of today's most pressing problems. Each of Rabbi 
Gluck's numerous accomplishments have been a reflection of his earnest 
and profound desire to help others. It is Rabbi Gluck's selfless 
dedication that makes him the remarkable man he is.
  Rabbi Gluck's dedication and perseverance has brought a better life 
to hundreds of people. Early in his long career Rabbi Gluck fought to 
incorporate the Hasidic Village of New Square in Rockland County, N.Y. 
Rabbi Gluck was faced with many obstacles including antisemitism. He 
petitioned and worked along side government officials and bureaucrats 
in hopes of helping his community. Rabbi Gluck's diligence, 
understanding and intelligence made the incorporation of the Village of 
New Square possible.
  Rabbi Gluck has used his insight and intellect to bring about many 
meaningful changes. Rabbi Gluck has been personally responsible for our 
Nation's largest and fastest Volunteer Ambulance Corps. What is most 
remarkable about Rabbi Gluck's accomplishments is that each program, 
issue or organization he has worked with has involved bettering 
people's lives. His convictions and love for community is an example 
for all of us. For bringing about meaningful change.
  Mr. Speaker, for my colleagues information about the Rabbi's 
exemplary life, I would like to submit into the Record an article 
entitled ``Rabbi Edgar Gluck: Personifying the Ideal of Service'' from 
the Jewish Press's March 20th, 1998 edition.

                [From the Jewish Press, March 20, 1998]

          Rabbi Edgar Gluck: Personifying the Ideal of Service

                            (By Jason Maoz)

       Rabbi Edgar Gluck first navigated the bureaucratic maze of 
     government as a yeshiva bochur back in the days of the 
     Eisenhower administration in the 1950's. Forty-plus years 
     later, in the Clinton 90's, he's still at it full force, 
     utilizing his savvy and his skill, his contacts and his 
     connections, working incessantly on behalf of the community.
       A full and detailed account of each of Rabbi Gluck's 
     accomplishments through the years would easily fill half this 
     newspaper; certainly there are too many to list in this 
     space. But it is not very difficult to appreciate the scope 
     of his success: Just think of him the next time you see an 
     Hatzolah ambulance racing to the scene of an accident, or the 
     next time you pass--or use--the designated safe-site for 
     Mincha on the New York State Thruway.
       Born in Hamburg, Germany in 1936, Rabbi Edgar Gluck came to 
     the United States at the age of two. His family settled in 
     the Bronx, where as a young boy he attended yeshiva Ahavas 
     Torah. In later years he would learn at Beis Medrash Elyon, 
     Chasam Sofer Rabbinical College and Mesifta Talmudical 
     Seminary.
       It was as a talmid at Beis Medrash Elyon that Rabbi Gluck 
     became involved in the battle to incorporate the village of 
     New Square--a particularly fierce battle, given the 
     prevailing anti-Jewish attitudes in neighboring communities--
     and learned how to deal with all manner of government 
     officials and bureaucrats.
       ``I was asked by the Rosh Yeshiva to work with some other 
     people on this issue and see if we could make any headway,'' 
     Rabbi Gluck recalls. ``It was a real education, getting to 
     know about all of the various state agencies and how each 
     differs from the other in terms of specific responsibilities. 
     I figured out my way around Albany and made my first trip to 
     the Governor's office--Rockfeller was just starting his first 
     term--and we made steady progress toward achieving our 
     goal.''
       It took several years and a lot of behind-the-scenes 
     maneuvering, but in 1961 the village of New Square was 
     finally incorporated. Rabbi Gluck saw first-hand that while 
     the wheels of government turn slowly, they do turn; the trick 
     is knowing how to steer.
       Rabbi Gluck developed a close relationship in the early 
     1960's with then-Congressman John Lindsay. After Lindsay 
     became Mayor, Rabbi Gluck was appointed Supervisor and 
     Coordinator of Area Services, charged with overseeing nine 
     field offices of the Mayor's Urban Task Force, the 
     Neighborhood Conservation Bureau, and Nieghborhood City Halls 
     in Williamsburg, Boro Park and Coney Island.
       `There was so much going on in New York during that period 
     of time, the late Sixties, early Seventies,'' he says. ``I 
     was fortunate to be right in the middle of things, on the 
     local neighborhood level, interacting with so many 
     constituency groups. It helped me gain immeasurably in my 
     knowledge of the communities that make up the city.''
       Rabbi Gluck continued working in city government under 
     Mayors Beame and Koch, serving as Director of Neighborhood 
     Conservation in the Office of Housing Preservation and 
     Development and as city liaison to the Port Authority Police, 
     the U.S. Departments of Customs and Immigration, and Orthodox 
     communities around the city.
       ``The Rabbi played a key role in many high-level 
     negotiations,'' says a former official who worked on some of 
     the same sensitive issues. ``Racial problems, crime, health 
     services--these were the city's biggest headaches, and Rabbi 
     Gluck always brought to the table a cool head and an amazing 
     amount of relevant information. I remember that people who 
     dealt with him invariably came away with a great amount of 
     respect for the man.''
       In 1979, Governor Hugh Carey named Rabbi Gluck Special 
     Assistant to the Director at the New York Division for Youth 
     where, working in tandem with legislators and community 
     leaders, he helped resolve a wide range of local problems. 
     Since 1984 he's served as Special Assistant to the 
     Superintendent of the State Police, acting as liaison between 
     the office of the Superintendent and state and federal 
     lawmakers, government agencies, and private-sector 
     organizations.
       The many achievements for which Rabbi Gluck can justly take 
     credit include the Hatzolah Volunteer Ambulance Corp., which 
     he co-founded decades ago and which, he points out with 
     pride. Newsweek magazine has called it the largest such 
     organization in the country, with the fastest response time; 
     the Mincha site on the New York Thruway, which he fought for 
     despite fierce opposition from a number of secular 
     organizations; and the new stipulations--agreed to by 
     Governor Pataki at Rabbi Gluck's behest and now officially 
     written into state contracts--that all construction crews on 
     the Thruway work only until 12 noon on Fridays, a measure 
     that greatly facilitates the flow of traffic up to the 
     Catskills.
       Rabbi Gluck has been instrumental in the matter of Jewish 
     cemeteries, working to incorporate the first new Chassidic 
     cemetery in New York State when Grand Rabbi Twersky died and 
     a new cemetery in Monroe when the Satmar Rebbe, Rabbi Joel 
     Teitelbaum, was niftar. He also helped increase the size of 
     the cemetery in Mount Kisco when the Pupa Rebbe, Rabbi 
     Grunwald, passed away.
       Dennis Rapps, the executive director and general counsel at 
     COLPA, the National Jewish Commission on Law and Public 
     Affairs, has known Rabbi Gluck for more than 20 years. The 
     two of them have worked closely together on a number of 
     issues and have successfully influenced legislation, perhaps 
     most notably the autopsy law of 1983. Mr. Rapps describes 
     Rabbi Gluck as a ``pioneer'' on the matter of autopsies and 
     how they affect the Jewish community.
       ``I personally know so many people,'' he says, ``who have 
     been helped by Rabbi Gluck on autopsies alone. This was the 
     case before we got the law passed and it's the case even now, 
     when there are still problems that can come up. Whether it's 
     help to arrange for a special visa, or to get the medical 
     examiner to release a body in time for a flight to Israel, or 
     to make sure an autopsy is not performed on a loved one who 
     unexpectedly dies while abroad, everyone knows Rabbi Gluck is 
     the one to call--and they call him whenever they need him, 
     many times in the middle of the night. He is truly a 
     remarkable individual.''

[[Page E517]]

       A particular source of personal satisfaction, says Rabbi 
     Gluck, is his work with the U.S. Commission for the 
     Preservation of America's Heritage Abroad. Starting on his 
     own in 1984, and continuing as a member of the Commission 
     since 1987, he's traveled to Poland once a year for the 
     purpose of assessing the condition of shuls and cemeteries in 
     order to restore as many as possible.
       Each stay in Poland runs about a week, and while he's there 
     he lends a hand whichever way he can--as rabbi, chazzan, and 
     all-around troubleshooter. He also makes trips on behalf of 
     the Commission to cities as disparate as Moscow and Kiev, 
     Hamburg and Prague, Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.
       Rabbi Gluck has won numerous awards and citations over the 
     years, including the U.S. Presidential Award for Community 
     Service, presented to him by Ronald Reagan, and the Man of 
     the Year Award of the Council of Neighborhood Organizations. 
     Later this month, he will be the Guest of Honor and receive 
     the Humanitarian Award at the annual Journal Dinner of the 
     Yeshiva of Manhattan Beach.
       Asked who has been the most help to him over the years, 
     Rabbi Gluck names several elected officials, among them State 
     Assembly Leader Sheldon Silver and U.S. Representative 
     Benjamin Gilman (whom he describes as his closest political 
     confidante).
       But ultimately, he says, the lion's share of the credit 
     must go to his wife, Fraidy: ``She never complains about my 
     crazy schedule, or about having to answer the phone at all 
     hours of the night. My real help, my most invaluable advice 
     and assistance, comes from her.''

     

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