The Jewish Press recently spoke with Councilman Lander about Israel and other subjects. Read about Mr. Lander’s path to politics and his response to criticism about past remarks he made.

The Jewish Press: What’s your background?

Lander: I grew up in a suburb of St. Louis, Missouri. I was a very active member of a Reform Jewish synagogue and in the youth movement that was part of it, where I went on to become both a regional and a national officer.

Then I went to the University of Chicago, where I met my wife, and then I spent a year in London getting a master’s degree. My wife came to New York to go to New York University Law School, and so I moved from London to New York in 1992.

What led you to the world of politics?

I actually used to see politics as much as a barrier to good things happening as a pathway to good things happening.

But I was working at the Fifth Avenue Committee, which is a not-for-profit organization that works on affordable housing, job training, and similar matters, and one of the last things I did there concerned the city’s proposal to rezone Fourth Avenue. The folks I was working with wanted to make sure there were some units in those buildings that normal families could afford, and we learned a lot about policies to make that possible. And so I thought to myself, “Hmm, there are real opportunities here to do things through politics.”

 

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