Miriam Lubling Is Honored for Her Lifelong Devotion to Critically Ill Jewish Patients and Their Families

New York, October 22, 2002 -- In a ceremony on the evening of October 22, The New York Public Library presented Miriam Lubling, the Founder and President of the Rivka Laufer Bikur Cholim -- one of the oldest organizations that provide critical services to the ill and needy -- with the Brooke Russell Astor Award. The $10,000 annual award, established in 1987 by a generous gift to the Library from David Rockefeller, recognizes unsung heroes who have substantially contributed to improving the quality of life in New York City. The award was presented at a cocktail reception in the Trustees Room of The New York Public Library at Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street.

Honorable Mentions were awarded to Lisa Orloff, Founder and President of September Space, a support center for the thousands of spontaneous volunteers of September 11; and Andrew Rubinson, Founder and Co-Director of Fresh Youth Initiatives, an organization for young people in Washington Heights.

Among those attending the ceremony were Mrs. Astor, who warmly congratulated the winners; New York City Council Member Simcha Felder, of the 44th District, Brooklyn, who nominated Mrs. Lubling; and Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrion, Jr., who is a member of the Selection Committee. “I feel very blessed to have been chosen,” said Mrs. Lubling in her acceptance speech. “My childhood and family were taken away from me in Europe during the Second World War. As long as I can, I will do whatever I can to make people’s lives better.”

Miriam Lubling
Miriam Lubling has provided life-saving assistance to thousands of families over the past 50 years. Born in Poland, she managed as a young girl to book a passage to Palestine, thus escaping the Nazi inferno. After her family reunited in the United States, she immediately began her lifelong involvement in Bikur Cholim (a Hebrew expression meaning "caring for the ill"), establishing the first such organization at the Brooklyn Chronic Disease Hospital, which cared for more than 2,000 chronically ill Jewish patients. She is the Director of Medical Services and Services to the Holocaust Victims at the Boro Park Jewish Community Council, as well as President of the prestigious Rivka Laufer Bikur Cholim, which she helped found some 40 years ago. Ms. Lubling works tirelessly as an advocate for patients and their families and is involved in numerous organizations that provide aid to children, holocaust survivors, and the poor and disadvantaged.

2002 Astor Award, Honorable Mentions
Lisa Orloff is a sweater designer who closed her business for a month during the September 11 tragedy, to volunteer at the Jacob Javits Center and at Ground Zero. It was out of that experience that she created September Space, a support center for the more than 50,000 New Yorkers who, like her, were “spontaneous volunteers.” With the help of Newmark Realty and Aid Association for Lutherans/Lutheran Brotherhood, she and other 9/11 volunteers created a meeting place and access center that provides aftercare programs for their volunteer peers.

Andrew Rubinson founded Fresh Youth Initiatives (FYI) in order to provide support and encouragement for the young people of Washington Heights, with the mission to help them “design and carry out community service projects, develop leadership skills, fulfill their potential, and realize their dreams.” In FYI’s nine years of existence, its young people have provided more than 43,000 hours of documented volunteer service, primarily in the organization’s home community of Washington Heights.

The Brooke Russell Astor Award
The Brooke Russell Astor Award was established in 1987 as part of a generous endowment gift to The New York Public Library from David Rockefeller. Mr. Rockefeller’s gift is a tribute to Mrs. Astor’s continued commitment to supporting the role of individuals who improve the quality of life in New York City. Given annually, the Brooke Russell Astor Award honors an unsung hero or heroine, someone whose unrelenting efforts and tireless dedication to this city have contributed substantially to its betterment. Nominations for the 2002 Brooke Russell Astor Award were solicited from over 400 individuals and organizations, including cultural groups, universities, foundations, elected officials, community groups, and social service agencies. The selection committee included representatives from the cultural, academic, government, and social service communities of New York.

Previous Astor Award Recipients (past 5 winners)

2001 – Bryan Pu-Folkes, Founder and President of New Immigrant Community Empowerment (NICE). His response to an anti-immigrant billboard led to the founding of NICE, which is now recognized as a leading immigrant advocacy organization in New York City.

2000 – Yolanda Sanchez, Executive Director of the Puerto Rican Association for Community Affairs, is a life-long community advocate and activist whose work on behalf of Puerto Rican and Latino children and women spans more than four decades.

1999 – Yvonne Stennett, Executive Director of the Community League of West 159th Street, has devoted extraordinary energy and commitment to improving living conditions for the people in the Southern Washington Heights area

1998 – James Gilmore, a New York City police detective in Washington Heights and co-founder of One Hundred Blacks in Law Enforcement, a fraternal organization dedicated to working for social justice.

1997 – Cordell Cleare, Co-Chair of the New York City Coalition to End Lead Poisoning, has conducted workshops on lead poisoning prevention at day care centers, head starts, public schools, and for the Montefiore Medical Center's Lead Poisoning Prevention Project.

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Contact: Tina Hoerenz, 212.704.8600

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