Updated on Sunday, Aug. 23 at 10:21 p.m. to include the latest date for Mel Tanzman's memorial service.
A longtime disability rights and independent living advocate, Mel Tanzman worked on issues including employment equality, accessible and affordable housing, and health care. The Yorktown Democratic Committee described him as a “tireless advocate for the issues and causes he felt most passionately about.”
He died Aug. 12 at age 75 from kidney failure and related complications.
From 1986 to 1999, Tanzman served as director of social services and health policy for the Eastern Paralyzed Veterans Association, now United Spinal. He later spent two decades as executive director of Westchester Disabled on the Move, where he worked on accessibility and helped people with disabilities transition from institutions and nursing homes into the community.
In December 2016, WDOM filed a federal lawsuit alleging Yorktown Town Hall violated the Americans with Disabilities Act due to inadequate accessible parking and a lack of elevator access. The Town Board saw the lawsuit as an opportunity to improve Town Hall and revitalize the Underhill Avenue corridor.
Tanzman also held leadership roles with several disability advocacy organizations and was inducted into the New York State Independent Living Council’s Disability Rights Hall of Fame in 2020.
In 2017, Tanzman made a brief bid for the Democratic nomination for Yorktown town supervisor. He also visited polling places to assess accessibility and testified before Congress and in Albany on disability rights issues.
State Sen. Pete Harckham remembered Tanzman as “passionate community advocate who devoted much of his life to supporting people with differing abilities, expanding access to healthcare, and advancing affordable housing initiatives.”
State Sen. Shelley Mayer said his “compassion, dedication, and deep commitment to his community touched countless lives and leaves a lasting legacy.”
Music was also an important part of Tanzman’s life. His former partner, Maura Gregory, said he had a ‘fabulous voice.’ The two met as young adults while sharing an apartment in Brooklyn and later found camaraderie through the Disabled in Action Singers, a New York City-based project of Disabled in Action. They performed with the group for about two decades, released CDs and held a farewell concert in Manhattan in 2010.
Gregory also remembered Tanzman as a father who “adored” his children and enjoyed cooking, particularly desserts. He made a Reese’s pie for Thanksgiving and brownies for a Christmas Eve service. Tanzman was also a longtime Grateful Dead fan and collected the band’s albums and CDs.
Tanzman moved from Brooklyn to Mohegan Lake in 1991 and most recently lived in Shrub Oak. He is survived by his brother, Bart; his children, Andres Tanzman of California and Paris Gregory of Dallas; and his grandchild, Kelsea Sorbara.
A memorial service is scheduled for Oct. 13 at the Fourth Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Westchester in Mohegan Lake and will be held in a hybrid format.
