Family of slain Ukrainian-Jewish deli owner appeals for information (03/01/98)

Family of slain Ukrainian-Jewish deli owner appeals for information

by Helen Smindak

NEW YORK - A Manhattan family with roots in Ukraine has made an anguished appeal to the public in a renewed attempt to solve the brutal murder of Abraham Lebewohl, the genial owner of the Second Avenue Deli.

The Lebewohl family is offering a $100,000 reward for any information or tips that lead to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for the crime. The reward replaces an earlier offering of $34,000 made by the family in 1996.

Jack Lebewohl, who has been managing the popular kosher restaurant and caterers since his brother's death two years ago, announced the reward on February 11 at a press conference at the delicatessen, located at Second Avenue and 10th Street in the city's Ukrainian neighborhood.

Mr. Lebewohl told reporters and TV cameramen that his family fervently hopes someone would come forward with information. "Who killed my brother, a loving husband, father and grandfather, a kind man, a great humanitarian?" he asked.

His voice choking with emotion, he added: "Finding the murderer will not bring Abe back, but it will bring some sort of closure to the grief his family feels. The criminals should be punished for what they did. Without Abe, there would be no Second Avenue Deli. Abe did everything, helped everyone; you just don't replace someone like that."

Clustered around him were other grieving family members: Abe Lebewohl's widow, Eleanor, daughters Sharon and Felicia, and Jack's wife, Terri.

Chief of Manhattan detectives Kevin Farrell stated: "We hope this increased publicity and this reward will encourage people to come forward with information. We have a sketch of one suspect - it is still very accurate - but there was more than one person involved."

Abe Lebewohl, a Jewish immigrant from Ukraine was shot and killed on March 4, 1996, while on his way to an East Village bank to deposit the day's receipts. Although the murder weapon, a .25-caliber automatic, was found near the 96th Street transverse in Central Park, the police have been unable to find the criminals. The Ninth Detective Squad and the Manhattan South Homicide Squad are working on the case.

Mr. Lebewohl was born in 1931 in the Lviv suburb of Kulykiv, where his father operated a lumber mill with two partners, one Ukrainian and one Polish. When the Soviets took over western Ukraine in 1939, the elder Lebewohl was exiled to Siberia for 10 years of hard labor while young Abe and his mother were sent to Kazakstan. Reunited after the war, the family managed to escape through Poland and Austria to Italy, where they stayed in refugee camps until emigrating to America in 1950.

Four years later, Mr. Lebewohl and his family bought the tiny coffee shop where he had been working as a waiter, eventually expanding it to accommodate 250 people. The Second Avenue Deli (its outdoor sign and menus spell the name, 2nd Ave. Deli in Hebrew-style lettering) became renowned for its appetizing kosher foods and such Eastern European and Ukrainian delicacies as kasha, stuffed cabbage, kishka, knishes and blintzes.

The New York kosher deli grew to be one of the best in the world, its foods and warm ambiance attracting United Nations ambassadors and stage, screen and TV stars like Paul Reiser, Jerry Seinfeld, Mary Tyler Moore and Bob Hope. Mr. Lebewohl, called Abe or Abie by friends and customers, became known as "The Mayor of Second Avenue," a man respected for his humanitarian assistance to people of all creeds and nationalities.

He often assisted Ukrainian organizations by donating huge platters of food for special occasions, sometimes making the delivery himself in his white van. He was fluent in Ukrainian and proud of his Ukrainian-Jewish heritage. As a firm supporter of small business and community cooperation, he made his travel arrangements with the neighbors across the street, the Kobasniuk Travel Agency, when he traveled to Ukraine in the 1970s. After Ukraine declared its independence, he made plans to open a kosher deli business in Lviv, but his hopes could not be realized because of private-industry problems in Ukraine.

In tribute to the slain merchant, a small city park on a corner diagonal to the Second Avenue Deli and a triangular plot of land further west on 10th Street - both adjacent to historic St. Mark's Church-in-the-Bowery - were officially renamed Abe Lebewohl Park in October 1996.

The 10th and Stuyvesant Streets Block Association, which petitioned the city's Parks and Recreation Department for the new name, has been sponsoring a green market and noontime concerts at the park for the past 15 summers with the assistance of the Third Street Music School and the support of St. Mark's Church, the Second Avenue Deli, the Second Avenue Merchants' Association (which was founded by Mr. Lebewohl) and other local institutions. Last summer, the Cheres Ukrainian ensemble was featured in a concert of Carpathian music.

Like Mr. Lebewohl, the park has a Ukrainian connection: the flagpole, a monument to America's World War II veterans of all nationalities, was dedicated by Ukrainian Americans of Greater New York "in memory of their sons" in July 1944.

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Police are asking anyone with information about the crime that can assist them in arresting the persons who murdered Abraham Lebewohl to contact detectives at 1-800-577-TIPS or (212) 598-0071.