Simcha Eichenstein (born August 6, 1983) is an American politician from New York. He is a member of the New York State Assembly.
Early life Simcha Eichenstein was born to a rabbi from a prominent Bobover rabbinical family in Borough Park, Brooklyn, where he grew up and attended yeshivas.Donn, Yochonon (April 26, 2018) "Simcha Eichenstein Declares Candidacy for Brooklyn Assembly Seat", Hamodia(May 2, 2018) "Eichenstein Announces Candidacy In Expected Cakewalk", Kings County PoliticsWitt, Stephen (August 20, 2018) "Simcha Eichenstein: Boro Park’s Changing Of The Political Guard", Kings County Politics
In July 2011, Eichenstein, by then a known political operative, was at the front lines of the search for the suspect in the murder of Leiby Kletzky. His wife helped to identify Levi Aron through her job as a receptionist at the dentist's office that Aron was a patron of.Shaer, Matthew (December 4, 2011) "A Monster Among the 'Frum'", New York Magazine. "[Simcha] Eichenstein's wife, Herbst knew, worked for Sorscher as a receptionist. Elbowing Bernstein out of the way, Herbst uploaded a clip of the bearded man, and sent it to Eichenstein. Eichenstein sent it to his wife, at home with her small children. "Of course", she told her husband. She couldn't remember the man's name, but she was sure she had seen him. "He came in to pay a bill. He was the last one in the office."
Political career Eichenstein started his career as an aide to political consultant Ezra Friedlander.
From 2011 until 2015, Eichenstein was the senior adviser to New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli. Following this, he was director of political and governmental services to the Mayor of New York City, Bill de Blasio.
On April 26, 2018, Eichenstein announced his candidacy for the open New York State Assembly District 48 seat, covering most of Borough Park and part of Midwood, Brooklyn, being vacated by Dov Hikind. He won the seat unopposed in the general election, becoming the first Hasidic lawmaker from Brooklyn elected to any level of government. As Hikind's hand-picked successor, Eichenstein was considered to be the front-runner in the race, running unopposed as the Democratic candidate in the primary election in September 2018. His candidacy was supported by Rebbes of various Hasidic sects, including Bobov, Satmar, Ger, and Belz, as well as by Senator Charles Schumer, former Senator Joe Lieberman, and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio.
Eichenstein has strongly opposed the government mandating secular education in Hasidic schools.
In March 2020, Eichenstein co-sponsored a bill promoted by Pamela Hunter that sought to end driver license suspensions for drivers with unpaid fines, saying: "Without a driver's license, a person cannot drive to work or to school, or even to court to pay their fine... Let's keep our safe and responsible drivers on the roads, instead of being embroiled in needless and wasteful court appearances... This new legislation would represent a victory for all New York drivers.""Assemblyman Eichenstein: Eliminate Driver's License Suspension Due to Unpaid Fines" (March 8, 2020); Hamodia. Retrieved March 12, 2020.
In October 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Eichenstein said he was "outraged" with the "draconian measures" implemented by Governor Andrew Cuomo to curb the spread of coronavirus in various neighborhoods of New York City.
Committees Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie appointed Eichenstein to serve on a number of committees, including Aging, Cities, Housing, Real Property Taxation, and Social Services. Eichenstein serves as Chair of the Subcommittee on Outreach and Oversight of Senior Citizen Programs.
Personal life Eichenstein is married, and the father of four children. He is a life-long resident of Borough Park, Brooklyn.
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