| Mates Friesel | |
| Office: | Mayor of New Square, New York |
| Term Start: | 1961 |
| Term End: | August 1, 2015 |
| Predecessor: | Founding mayor |
| Successor: | Israel Spitzer |
| Birth Date: | c. 1924 |
| Birth Place: | Poland |
| Death Date: | August 1, 2015 (age 91) |
Mates Friesel (c. 1924 – August 1, 2015) was an American Skver Hasidic politician and businessman. Friesel was a co-founder and the first, and only, Mayor of New Square, New York, from the village's founding in 1961 until his death on August 1, 2015.[1] He ran unopposed in each of New Square's mayoral elections since 1961, most recently winning re-election in November 2013 to a new two-year term.[1] [2] Friesel was one of the longest-serving Mayors in the United States.[1]
Friesel emigrated to the United States from Poland.[1] He owned and operated a travel business.[1]
Friesel was one of the founders of the village of New Square, New York, which was formed in 1961.[1] During the mid-1950s, Skver Grand Rabbi Yakov Yosef Twersky dispatched a group of his followers from their home in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, to a newly acquired 130-acre dairy farm, located in Ramapo, New York, in Rockland County, New York.[1] The group constructed a large synagogue, over the opposition by Ramapo town officials, and began building residential homes.[1] New Square was established in 1961 as the first predominantly Hasidic town in the United States.[1]
Mates Friesel was elected as New Square's first, founding Mayor in 1961.[2] He was unopposed in each of his mayoral campaigns from 1961 to November 2013, when he won his final election.[1] [2] Under Friesel and Grand Rabbis Yaakov Yosef Twersky and David Twersky, the village acquired a former hospital along New York State Route 45, which was converted to village municipal offices and classrooms.[1] The village had also been purchasing land in the Catskills to construct a poultry plant.[1] Friesel met with U.S. President Jimmy Carter on his plane in the late 1970s.[1]
Friesel served as New Square's only mayor until his death in 2015.[1] He died in office on August 1, 2015, at the age of 91.[1] [2] Friesel was survived by his wife, children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. He was buried in Skver cemetery in New Square within 24 hours of his death, in accordance with Jewish law.[1]
New Square Deputy Mayor Israel Spitzer succeeded Friesel as the village's second mayor.[1]