ALBANY Politicos across the Empire State are mourning the death of legendary power broker Sid Davidoff, who spent decades ironing out deals on behalf of some of New York’s most influential leaders. He was 86. Davidoff, the aide to ex-Mayor John Lindsay, died early Sunday at a hospital in the Dominican Republic surrounded by his family, Linda Stasi, his widow, told The Post. “He was just a true New York character,” Stasi said, describing the lobbyist as a proud “Jewish tough guy.” The label might be best embodied in a young Davidoff, who stepped in when an employee raised flags at City Hall in Lower Manhattan despite orders from his boss to fly them at half staff in honor of the four students killed protesting the Vietnam War at Kent State in 1970. “He went running up to the cupola of the city hall and it was the post man who did it, and he threw him down the stairs,” Stasi said. “He lowered it back down, went on the edge of the thing, put his fingers up with the peace sign. And that’s what started the hard hat riots” when construction workers clashed with students demonstrating against the war. During his time with Lindsay, Davidoff earned a reputation for handling the tedious mission of working across what were bitterly divided factions including in the wake of Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination in 1968. “It was Sid who brought together all the leaders, including the gang leaders in Harlem, and made sure that when Lindsay got up there, he was safe and when he walked around we could quell all of the violence,” said Jeff Citron, one of Davidoff’s future partners. Manhattan Democratic Committee chairman Keith Wright, who now works for Davidoff’s law firm, said he was there in Harlem when orchestrated that. “I was a kid when he did that,” Wright said. The prim and proper Lindsay and rough and tumble Davidoff looked “like oil and water” from the outside but were “politically inseparable,” fellow Lindsay administration alumni and former city comptroller Liz Holtzman told The Post “That gave the Lindsay administration the ability to govern,” she said of Davidoff’s work in 1968. Following his time with the Lindsay administration, Davidoff founded his own firm, now called Davidoff, Hutcher & Citron LLP. The firm was planning to hold a party in honor of its 50th anniversary Monday night, though the occasion was cancelled. Almost every mayor and governor since Lindsay Andrew Cuomo and Eric Adams included would huddle with Davidoff for advice, while always being met with honesty but also compassion, according to his associates. “He was helpful to literally anyone that needed help,” Citron said. In the 1990s, the US Tennis Association needed help and Davidoff a huge fan of the sport gladly stepped in. He helped broker the deal to establish Arthur Ashe Stadium in Flushing as the new permanent home of the US Open with his friend and tennis partner Mayor David Dinkins. “The fact that he made that deal so that everybody could play on the same court as the greats, was one of his great accomplishments that he was most proud of,” Stasi said. He’s to be cremated not in a suit, but his tennis clothes, she added. Davidoff was “exceptionally proud” to be listed as No. 12 on Richard Nixon’s infamous enemies list and no doubt developed more of his own adversaries over his decades in politics but Stasi said her husband was still the “kindest, smartest person I’ve ever known.” A loving parent and grandparent, Davidoff would take his grandkids on trips and was especially proud of teaching them to play poker, according to Stasi. He died from an infection he contracted from a shoulder surgery. “Sid Davidoff is an incredible individual and had a profound impact on this community and his loss is profound,” Gov. Kathy Hochul told reporters Monday. “He always did what he thought was good for the city,” said Larry Hutcher, one of Davidoff’s partners. “He put politics aside for the good of New York.”.
https://nypost.com/2025/11/17/us-news/legendary-lobbyist-ex-john-lindsay-aide-sid-davidoff-dies-at-86/
Legendary lobbyist, ex-John Lindsay aide, Sid Davidoff dies at 86: Proud ‘Jewish tough guy’
