Magazine Article

Sam Domb Buys a Parade

Goldberg, J J

1991

Overview

How hotel mogul became a Jewish leader It's a safe guess what [Sam Domb], Grand Marshal of this year's New York \"Salute to Israel\" Parade, will say when he addresses the crowds lining Fifth Avenue June 2. Domb's speeches have a sameness to them. \"When Jewish blood is spilled, there is no public opinion,\" During the 1988 U.S. presidential campaign, Domb became an outspoken foe of the Democrats because of Jesse Jackson's influence in the party, and the next year, in the 1989 New York mayoral race, Domb called on Jews to oppose David Dinkins because of his Jackson links. \"We've already had one Auschwitz and we don't need another,\" he told a reporter during the Dinkins race. The report details the 1982 conversion of a Domb-owned property to illustrate \"the abuses to which SRO tenants were subject\" and \"the techniques, and the callousness, of those who would profit by these kind of building conversions.\" Since 1970 the number of SRO units in New York City has declined from 127,000 to fewer than 30,000, [Hank Perlin] says. He adds: \"According to New York City statistics, up to one-third of the homeless single people in the city shelter system last lived in [SROs]. So there's a correlation between the decline of SROs and the growth of homelessness.\" A city official, noting that Domb was never convicted of any wrongdoings, added that \"He seems to have divested himself of his SRO holdings about four years ago.\"

• Publisher: Jerusalem Report
• Subject: Domb, Sam / Schneier, Marc / Wartski, Jerry