New Yorkers Remember Philanthropy's Grande Dame

In statements and in interviews, New Yorkers from a wide variety of cultural, political, artistic, and social circles mourned the death of philanthropist Brooke Astor yesterday. At 105, Astor's largesse touched multiple generations and inspired giving and a new interest in institutions throughout New York City, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the New York Public Library, the New York Botanical Garden, and Columbia University.

"Today, we are all saddened by the loss of Brooke Astor, a quintessential New Yorker and one of the great philanthropists of our time," Mayor Bloomberg said in a statement. "Tens of thousands of New Yorkers were the beneficiaries of Mrs. Astor's good will and kind nature, many unaware of the origins of the donations. Her contributions reached a wide variety of causes; The New York Public Library, and the entire city, would not be what they are today without her gracious support."

"She was involved with us for close to half a century, and in her close to 50 years as a trustee, she stands out as arguably the single most important person in the history of the library," the president of the New York Public Library, Paul LeClerc, said. "Brooke was sort of legendary for saying hello and asking how the custodians were, how the secretaries were, how the guards were, how the clerical staff in the libraries were — she was so kind and gracious and authentically interested in the welfare of the people who worked here."

"I've always thought of her as the people's philanthropist," the president of the Alliance for the Arts, Randall Bourscheidt, said. "She had a principle that she talked about a lot … her mother taught her this — she said she should get to know whoever you give assistance."

"In 1978, the fiscal crisis was still upon the city, and one of the few people who was willing to give private funds to help dig us out, so to speak, was Brooke Astor," a former New York City parks commissioner, Gordon Davis, said. "I'll never forget the first time Brooke Astor came to my office. I didn't think of myself as being that important, and there she was, this grande dame of New York City philanthropy."

"I had just gotten on the board of Carnegie Hall. Brooke Astor gave us this seven-figure gift — to have us spend the money to figure out how we could restore Carnegie Hall," the chairman of the board for Carnegie Hall, Sanford Weill, said. "Her money, when you think about the timing and the leverage, really ended up making a difference."

I have lost my beloved mother, and New York and the world have lost a great lady," Ms Astor's son, Anthony Marshall, said in a statement. "She was one-of-a-kind in every way. Her tombstone will be inscribed with the words she specifically asked for: ‘I had a wonderful life.' I am thankful that she did. I will miss her deeply."