New York State Assemblyman Michael Simanowitz, a devoted father and longtime public servant, died on Saturday after battling an undisclosed illness. He was 45.
Simanowitz, a native of Queens,N.Y., was first elected to state office in 2011, representing a wide area in the center of his home borough — including his old neighborhood of Forest Hills.
He had previously served for 15 years as chief of staff for Assemblywoman Nettie Mayersohn, and had worked for the city Housing Preservation and Development department prior to that job.