| Noach Dear | |
| Office: | Justice of New York Supreme Court |
| Predecessor: | David Schmidt |
| Party: | Democratic |
| Birth Date: | November 20, 1953 |
| Birth Place: | Brooklyn, New York, U.S. |
| Death Place: | Brooklyn, New York, U.S. |
| Children: | 4[1] |
| Term Start: | November 5, 2015 |
| Term End: | April 19, 2020 |
| Office2: | Member of the New York City Council |
| Termstart2: | January 1, 1983 |
| Termend2: | December 31, 2001 |
| Constituency2: | 32nd district (1983–1991) 44th district (1991–2001) |
| Successor2: | Simcha Felder |
| Predecessor2: | Susan Alter |
| Successor: | Vacant |
| Alma Mater: | Brooklyn College (BS) Yeshiva University (MSW) Brooklyn Law School (JD) |
Noach Dear (November 20, 1953 – April 19, 2020) was an American attorney, politician, and jurist who served as a New York Supreme Court judge. Dear was elected in 2008 as a civil court judge, in 2010 as an Acting Supreme Court Justice, and in 2015 for a 15-year term as a Permanent Justice on the New York Supreme Court. Prior to his appointment, he served as a member of the New York City Council from 1983 to 2001. He died during the COVID-19 pandemic due to complications of COVID-19.
Dear was born in Brooklyn, New York, the son of Joan (Lipins) and Sidney Dear.[1] [2] As a child, Dear was in Eli Lipsker's Pirchei Agudath Israel Choir, and sang on the first New York Pirchei album Pirchei Sings .[3] He attended Yeshiva Torah Vodaas.[4] He maintained a connection to the Jewish music business into his early adulthood, being a founding member of the Clei Zemer Orchestra.[5]
Dear received a B.S. from Brooklyn College (1975), a master's degree in social work from Wurzweiler School of Social Work at Yeshiva University (1975), and a JD from Brooklyn Law School (1991).[6] [7] [8] [9]
His public service career began as a district leader and as district manager of Brooklyn's Community Board 12.[10] [11] [12]
Dear served as a member of the New York City Council from 1983 to 2001.[6] He headed the Transportation Committee and opposed commuter vans, otherwise known as "dollar vans," as a transportation alternative while in office.[13] Council member Dear also served on "the Finance and Land Use Committees as well."[14]
He advocated support for the State of Israel and concern for the issues impacting the primarily Jewish-and heavily Orthodox Jewish-residents in his community, which included Midwood, as well as large swaths of Borough Park and Bensonhurst, all in Brooklyn.[6] In 1986, Dear voted against a civil rights bill prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation in employment, housing, and public accommodation.[15] [6] In 1987 he introduced a bill, supported by "about 30 members of the City Council," to push permission for "more Jews .. to leave the Soviet Union."[16]
Dear was appointed Commissioner of the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission in 2002 for a seven-year term.[6]
Dear was widely seen as a political rival of Assemblyman Dov Hikind, who represented many of the same constituents that Dear once represented while in office, and comes from an Orthodox Jewish background.[17]
Term-limited out of office, Dear launched an uphill campaign for the New York State Senate seat now held by Kevin Parker in 2002. In a five-candidate field, Dear narrowly lost to Parker by a margin of 909 votes.[18] Dear also ran in a Democratic congressional primary that chose the successor to Charles Schumer in 1998, which saw him face three other candidates, including the eventual winner, Anthony Weiner.[19] [20]
Dear was a New York Supreme Court judge, elected in 2008 as a civil court judge, in 2010 as an Acting Supreme Court Justice, and in 2015 for a 15-year term as a Permanent Justice on the Supreme Court.[21] [6]
Dear contracted COVID-19 during the COVID-19 pandemic in New York, was sick for weeks, and was placed on a ventilator.[6] He died on April 19, 2020, aged 66.[22] [2] Dear was the second Brooklyn judge to die as a result of COVID-19.[23]