Sid Davidoff

Early life and education

Sidney H. Davidoff was born in New York City on July 18, 1939. His middle initial was not short for anything. Davidoff graduated with a bachelor's degree from City College of New York in 1960 and earned his J.D. from New York University in 1963. He was admitted to the New York Bar that year.

Career

Davidoff was administrative assistant to New York City Mayor John Lindsay for seven years, from 1966 to 1972, having worked on both his 1965 and 1969 campaigns. During unrest in New York City following the Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., Davidoff was among the mayoral aides working on the administration's response. He served on the board of governors of The New York Young Republican Club from 1967 to 1968.

In 1968, when students took over Hamilton Hall at Columbia University and held dean Henry S. Coleman captive, Lindsay sent Davidoff as one of the mediators to broker the dean's release.

Davidoff appeared as No. 12 on Richard Nixon's enemies list, which described him as "Lindsay's top personal aide: a first class S.O.B., wheeler-dealer and suspected bagman. Positive results would really shake the Lindsay camp and Lindsay's plans to capture youth vote. Davidoff in charge."

Davidoff worked on Lindsay's unsuccessful campaign in the 1972 Democratic Party presidential primaries.

In September 1972, after his time as an administrative assistant for Lindsay, Davidoff and Richard R. Aurelio, Lindsay's deputy mayor, opened a nightclub and restaurant on Manhattan's West 52nd Street called "Jimmy's", named for journalist Jimmy Breslin. A year after "Jimmy's" was closed, Davidoff was indicted in 1976 for alleged state tax law violations.

Until his death, Davidoff was a senior partner at the lobbying firm Davidoff Hutcher & Citron LLP, which he founded in 1975. He later went on to form the New York Advocacy Association, a "lobbying group for lobbyists", designed to counter strict and complicated lobbying laws in the State of New York.

Davidoff was a Chubb Fellow at Yale University, as well as a lecturer to the Root-Tilden students at New York University School of Law. He also taught several political science classes at City College of New York, his alma mater.

Davidoff also had roles in television shows, including the ABC comedy Spin City, and HBO crime series The Sopranos.

Personal life and death

Davidoff’s first two marriages, to Patricia Miller and Bonnie Mandina, ended in divorce. Davidoff married journalist Linda Stasi in 2014. due to an infection while recovering from shoulder surgery.

References

Notes

References

1. (November 22, 1967). "Mayor's Street Guide; Sid Davidoff A 'Health Nut' Teaches Political Science". [[The New York Times]].
2. (2004). "The Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory". Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory, Incorporated.
3. Roberts, Sam. (November 18, 2025). "Sid Davidoff, Powerful Aide to Mayor Lindsay, Dies at 86". [[The New York Times]].
4. Davidoff, Sid. (December 25, 2024). "I was on Nixon's 'enemies list' in 1973. Trump's targets won't be as lucky as I was.". [[MS NOW]].
5. (February 2, 2020). "Stories of New York: City College {{!}} The "Jewish Harvard" and a World of Ideas". Center for Jewish History.
6. Schapiro, Rich. (April 3, 2018). "NYC remained calm amid nation's violent reaction to Martin Luther King Jr. fatal shooting". [[New York Daily News]].
7. Harris, Marvin. (June 10, 1968). "BIG BUST ON MORNINGSIDE HEIGHTS". The Nation.
8. (March 12, 2013). "Nixon's 'Enemies' Gather This Week in Washington". [[Roll Call]].
9. (May 3, 1976). "EX-LINDSAY AIDE FACES TAX COUNT". [[The New York Times]].
10. Sims, Calvin. (April 3, 1992). "Adviser to Dinkins Again Tops List of City Lobbyists". [[The New York Times]].
11. Bragg, Chris. (May 11, 2009). "City Lobbyists Create a Lobby of Their Own". City Hall News.
12. Ortega, Ralph. (November 16, 2025). "Editor's note: Sid Davidoff 'brilliantly smart' at politics, dies at 86". [[City & State]].