Franz Leichter

Franz S. Leichter, a maverick New York State legislator for three decades whose progressive views on abortion, gay unions and the decriminalization of marijuana eventually became law in the state, helped in no small part by his persistent prodding, died on Sunday in Manhattan. He was 92. Leichter graduated from Swarthmore College, Swarthmore, PA in 1952, served two years in the Army and graduated from Harvard Law School in 1957. Leichter, since August 2000, is serving as a member of the Board of Directors of the Federal Housing Finance Board pursuant to an appointment by President Clinton. In 1968 Leichter was first elected to the New York State Legislature as a member of the Assembly. He was elected to the Senate in 1974. His Senatorial District encompassed portions of Chelsea, Clinton, West Side, Northern Manhattan and the Northwest Bronx. He retired from the New York State Senate December 31, 1998. Leichter investigated the practices of banks of delaying for many days the crediting of depositors’ accounts when a check is deposited. The investigation concluded that the crediting delays were unjustifiable. Hearings Leichter held led to legislation and ultimately to the nation’s first law limiting how long banks can delay clearing checks. Mr. Leichter was named to the Trust Board by the Manhattan Borough President in 1999. Franz Sigmund Leichter was born to Otto and Käthe (Pick) Leichter on Aug. 19, 1930, and grew up in a highly assimilated Viennese Jewish household. His mother was a prominent labor researcher and political adviser to Austria’s Social Democrats, and his father was also a leading party member, editing its journal until 1934. His family fled WWII and he his father arrived in New York by ship in 1940. His father Otto found work as a foreign correspondent for an Austrian newspaper. In 1958, he married Nina Williams, who was diagnosed as bipolar and endured severe bouts of depression. She died by suicide in 1995. He married Melody Anderson in 2001. She died in 2010. In addition to his daughter, Kathy — who made a documentary film, “Here One Day,” about her mother’s life and death — and his son, Josh, he is survived by six grandchildren.