Profile of Abraham Beame on Famous Like Me

Abraham David Beame (known as Abe Beame) (March 20, 1906 – February 10, 2001) was mayor of New York City from 1974 to 1977. As such, he presided over the city during the fiscal crisis of the mid-1970s, during which the city was almost forced to declare bankruptcy.

Early life and career

Beame was the first openly Jewish mayor of New York City, although earlier Mayor Fiorello H. LaGuardia's mother was actually Jewish. 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, which proved insufficient until reinforced by actions from newly created state-sponsored entities and the granting of federal funds. He also served during the blackout crisis. 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.

He died in 2001 at the age of 94 from natural causes.

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