DROMM UNVEILS NYS ASSEMBLYMAN IVAN LAFAYETTE WAY : Street co-naming ceremony honored the memory of a beloved Jackson Heights elected official and community leader

UsaNewsOnline.Com, Jackson Heights, NY – Jul 29, NYC Council Member Daniel Dromm (D-Jackson Heights, Elmhurst) gathered with a host of elected officials, community leaders, and dozens of Jackson Heights residents to celebrate the co-naming of 92nd Street between 34th Avenue and Northern Boulevard as NYS Assemblyman Ivan Lafayette Way.  

Dromm passed legislation in the NYC Council to co-name the street after Ivan C. Lafayette (7/28/30 – 10/3/16), a beloved civic leader and elected official who left an indelible mark on the community he served for many years.  Many local officials and residents paid tribute to Lafayette’s life and legacy at the event, including Dromm, Lafayette’s wife Bertine Lafayette, his successor Assemblyman Michael DenDekker, Lafayette’s long-time chief of staff Maureen Allen, State Senator Toby Ann Stavisky, State Senator Jose Peralta, Assembly Member Jeffrion Aubry, NY State Supreme Court Justice Thomas Raffaele, NY State Supreme Court Justice Rudolph Greco, NY State Supreme Court Judge Carmen Velasquez and many others.  After the speaking portion of the ceremony, Dromm lead the attendees in singing “Happy Birthday” as the event was held on what would have been Lafayette’s 88th birthday.  The event concluded with Dromm, the Lafayette family and others unveiling the NYS Assemblyman Ivan Lafayette Way street sign on the northwest corner of 92nd Street and 34th Avenue. 

“I am pleased to co-name this street after Assemblyman Ivan Lafayette, a remarkable man who loved the community he represented in Albany for so many years” said Council Member Dromm.  “Lafayette was a great leader whose work had a tremendous impact on the community.  He will forever be remembered as someone who had many schools built in the neighborhood when others thought it was impossible to do.  Assemblyman Lafayette was an extraordinary public servant.  We owe him a debt of gratitude for all he has done: from his military service and civic engagement to his work as a state legislator.  He may be gone from this earth, but his legacy lives on.”

“This street co-naming is such an honor and so special since it was dedicated on what would have been Ivan’s 88th birthday,” said Bertine Lafayette, who was married to the late Assemblyman for over six decades.  “He was truly Mr. Jackson Heights and was beloved by his constituents.  Jackson Heights is a better place because of all he accomplished while in the legislature.  We thank Council Member Daniel Dromm for making this possible.”

Lafayette was elected to the New York State Assembly in November 1976 where he served the people of the 34th Assembly District (Jackson Heights and Woodside) until his retirement in 2008.  Lafayette served as Deputy Speaker of the NYS Assembly and was the Dean of the Queens Delegation.  Lafayette also served as Speaker Pro Tempore, Majority Whip and Chairman of the NYS Assembly’s Committee on Standing Committees.  Prior to those positions he was the Chairman of the Assembly’s Majority Steering Committee.

“Ivan was a fighter for Queens,” said NY State Senator Toby Ann Stavisky (D-Flushing).  “Serving over three decades in the Assembly, he always wanted to ensure New Yorkers were treated fairly.  Bertine and Ivan were more than political allies.  We were friends and I am delighted that the Lafayette family is being honored today.  I want to thank Council Member Dromm for recognizing Assemblyman Lafayette, especially at this place, where his office served a generation of constituents.”

“Ivan Lafayette’s mantra was: ‘it’s all about service to your community,’ and Ivan cared deeply for his,” said NY State Assembly Member Michael DenDekker (D-Jackson Heights).  “He worked diligently on legislation that would be helpful to his constituents and district.  Ivan Lafayette was a friend and mentor to me and a lot of others.  He is greatly missed.”

“Ivan Lafayette devoted his time, energy and life to his constituents,” said Democratic District Leader Maureen Allen, who served as Lafayette’s chief of staff for several decades.  “For over 32 years he served his 34th Assembly District in a most honorable and dignified manner.  It was an honor and privilege to serve as his chief of staff for all of  those years.  This symbol—the co-naming of this corner—is well deserved and now, and in the future, everyone will forever remember Ivan.” 

Lafayette was born in Monticello, Sullivan County, New York. He attended public schools in Brooklyn and Brooklyn College. He served in the U.S. Army from December 1952 until December 1954.

He and his wife, Bertine, moved into Jackson Heights in 1956.  The Lafayette’s had three sons.  Jonathan is an executive editor of a national magazine and is married to Helen.  Son Mark, an attorney, is married to Lisa. The Lafayette’s youngest son, Richard, is a physician and is married to Christa.  Lafayette is survived by nine grandchildren: Sara; Michael; triplets Gregory, Eric and Marissa; William; Tyler, Ascher; Rabin; and great granddaughters Thalia and Anya.

As a legislator, Lafayette transformed our community for the better.  Throughout his career, the assemblyman sponsored hundreds of Assembly bills that are now New York state laws. Particularly noteworthy are the nationally acclaimed Truth in Testing Law for college applicants as well as his Uninsured Motorists Law which creates penalties for driving without insurance. Other accomplishments include the law that requires banking institutions to be responsible as to interest obligations. Lafayette also sponsored laws that provided co-ops with veterans’ property tax exemptions and removed parking tax obligations to the shareholders in co-ops.  Laws expanding Senior Citizen Rent Increase Exemptions are some other ways in which the assemblyman showed he cared about his constituents.

Lafayette had a long history of involvement in civic and community affairs. He was a founding member, and served as the president and then honorary president, of the Jackson Heights/Elmhurst Kehillah (Jewish Community Council).  He was a member of Post 209 of the Jewish War Veterans and the American Legion.  Lafayette was a president of the Jackson Heights Community Federation.  He was a former trustee of the North Queens Homeowner and Civic Association, and was also a board member of the Corona Preservation Senior Center, the Community Education Resource Center and the Community Development Agency’s Area Policy Board 3 and 4.  He was a member of the executive committee of the Health Planning Task Force, Sub-Region B.  

Lafayette also served as president of the Jackson Heights Chapter of B’nai B’rith, He was a member of the Kiwanis Club of Jackson Heights.  He was an honorary member of the Father Bellini Society, Queens Council on the Arts and the Latin American Cultural Center.  He also served on the Faculty Advisory Board of LaGuardia Community College Secretarial Science Department.

(PHOTO CAPTION: Bertine Lafayette and Council Member Daniel Dromm (holding twine, left of group) unveil NYS Ivan Lafayette Way on the northwest corner of 92nd Street and 34th Avenue in Jackson Heights, Queens.  They are joined by members of the Lafayette family (right of Dromm) and a host of elected officials (left to right): Assembly Member Michael DenDekker, Assembly Member Jeffrion Aubry, State Senator Jose Peralta and State Senator Toby Ann Stavisky.

PHOTO CAPTION: Bertine Lafayette and Council Member Daniel Dromm (center) pose with street sign with other members of the Lafayette family and a local elected officials at the NYS Assembyman Ivan Lafayette Way street co-naming ceremony on 92nd Street between 34th Avenue and Northern Boulevard in Jackson Heights, Queens.) Press Release.