Gay, Jewish, Dwarf Activist struck and killed by NYC taxi

Hell of a guy. He really worked to make the world a better place. At least his passing seems as if it was swift. The world just got a lot more boring.

Well known activist and community board member – Harry Weider – dead at 57
Thursday, April 29, 2010  |  www.jewishjournal.com

Harry Wieder, an LGBT rights, transportation, and disabilities advocate, was run down and killed by a taxi last night in the LES. Weider, 57, described himself on his Facebook page as a “disabled, gay, Jewish, leftist, middle aged dwarf who ambulates with crutches.” He was crossing Essex Street after leaving a Community Board 3 monthly meeting at P.S. 20 when he was struck by the cab. Many colleagues witnessed the accident and accompanied him to Bellevue Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

District manager Susan Stetzer described the scene after the meeting: “His car was parked across the street. It was as laborious for him to walk. For him to walk to the corner and cross the street would have been extremely difficult. He was crossing the street in the middle of the block. The cab driver was very distraught.”

Wieder first came to prominence in the 1980s with the activist group Act-Up. He was profiled in Betty Adelsen’s 2005 book, The Lives of Dwarfs: Their Journey from Public Curiosity Toward Social Liberation, and also written about by Jimmy Breslin for Newsday, who captured his “combative, roguish nature and his penchant for truth.”

Despite having difficulty walking, and living in a home for the deaf, he was an active fixture at community board meetings, rallies and events, and became well known to local politicians. Community Board 3 Chairman Dominic Pisciotta wrote in an e-mail early this morning after the incident, “I will miss Harry terribly. He contributed so much to the board, and you could always count on him being at nearly every meeting. He loved serving the community, and most of all fighting for it…He had a big impact on his community. That’s why his loss will be really felt by people, because he was so intensely engaged with the community.”

And Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer said, “I was extremely saddened to learn about the tragic circumstances surrounding the death of Harry Wieder, a longtime advocate and member of Community Board 3. My thoughts go out to his family and friends. He leaves behind a huge void in the communities he served. How terrible that someone who worked to improve transportation for all was struck by a taxi. We can honor his life by continuing to fight for safer roads, and furthering his legacy of equality and access for all.” – www.DNAINFO.com

Below is an email sent by an un named source with the tragic news:

We unfortunately have some sad news to report this morning. Well-known community activist Harry Wieder was killed last night, after a taxi struck him as he was leaving CB3’s monthly meeting at P.S. 20. Wieder had been trying to cross Essex Street when the accident happened. Emergency crews arrived on the scene almost immediately and transported Wieder to Bellevue Hospital, but attempts to resuscitate him failed.
Wieder was a longtime member of Community Board 3, as well as an activist for gay rights and the rights of the disabled. In an email message, CB3 Chair Dominic Pisciotta said, “I will miss Harry terribly. He contributed so much to the Board and you could always count on him being at nearly every meeting. He loved serving the community and most of all fighting for it.”
Community board members rushed into the street moments after the accident, and several of them went to Bellevue to be by Wieder’s side.
On Wieder’s Facebook Page, he described himself as a: “Disabled, gay, Jewish, leftist, middle aged dwarf who ambulates with crutches…” He was a true Lower East Side personality who definitely made his mark. In Betty Adelsen’s 2005 book, “The Lives of Dwarfs: Their Journey from Public Curiosity Toward Social Liberation,” she wrote of Wieder:
He has gained both fame and notoriety. In 1993 New York Newsday columnist Jimmy Breslin wrote a Runyonesque article about Wieder, inventing some details, but capturing his combative, roguish nature and his penchant for truth.”
You can read a longer excerpt from the book here. Funeral and memorial plans are still pending – we’ll let you know when we have that information. CB3 has canceled tonight’s scheduled meeting of the waterfront subcommittee.
Wieder was 57.