Arnold Spellun, Attorney, Defender of Democracy and Civil Rights, and Real Estate Innovator, Dies at 89. Bronx born and bred, long-time advocate and champion for civil rights and affordable housing, passed away on May 12. A graduate of DeWitt Clinton High School in The Bronx, NY. He went on to receive a B.A. degree from Michigan State University and graduated Yale Law School, a beloved school he remained devoted to throughout his six-decade long career.
A proud New Yorker all his life, following law school he returned to New York City and in the 1960s worked for Senator Robert F. Kennedy on the Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation, the nation’s first community development corporation. He continued to work on affordable housing, helping to develop Taino Towers in East Harlem and later in his career brokered complicated deals between state and local officials and community organizations.
Mr. Spellun was president of the Westside Democrats, one of the leading political reform groups in New York City politics in the 1960s. He was a supporter of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and a revered board member for the Alliance for Justice, a progressive judicial advocacy group in the United States. He was a member of The American Bar Association, New York State Bar Association and Federal Bar Council.
Mr. Spellun is survived by his wife Linda, his 2 children, Mark and Julie, 4 grandchildren, his niece, Marcea, as well as Linda’s children, Zane and Jodi.
Donations in Arnolds name may be made to Alliance for Justice, afj.org.
Funeral will be held at Stephen Wise Synagogue on Sunday May 16th at 11am.
COMPARTA UN OBITUARIO
v.1.9.6