JUDGE DEAD IN HUDSON
First African-American woman on N.Y.’s highest court found floating in river
SHEILA ABDUS-SALAAM, the first-ever female Muslim judge in U.S. history and the first AfricanAmerican woman to serve on New York’s highest court, was found dead Wednesday on the bank of the Hudson River, police said.
Abdus-Salaam, 65, was discovered floating fully clothed on the Manhattan side of the river, by the Henry Hudson Parkway near W. 132nd St. — just a mile from her central Harlem home, just before 2 p.m.
Her husband, who reported her missing Tuesday morning, was brought in to identify the body, sources said.
Police sources said there were no signs of obvious trauma or injuries indicating foul play.
Abdus-Salaam, who made history as the country’s first female Muslim judge, was nominated in 2013 to serve as an associate judge on the state Court of Appeals by Gov. Cuomo.
“As the first African-American woman to be appointed to the state’s Court of Appeals, she was a pioneer,” Cuomo said in a statement Wednesday. “Through her writings, her wisdom and her unshakable moral compass, she was a force for good whose legacy will be felt for years to come.
“On behalf of all New Yorkers, I extend my deepest sympathies to her family, loved ones and colleagues during this trying and difficult time,” the governor added.
During her confirmation hearings before the state Legislature, Abdus-Salaam drew a chuckle from lawmakers when she said she was first inspired to become a lawyer as a child watching the television shows “Perry Mason” and “East Side/West Side.”
“She was highly respected and an inspiration to so many throughout her career,” state Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie said in a statement. “Her passing leaves a void that will be difficult to fill.”
Chief Judge Janet DiFiore said her colleague will be “missed deeply. Her personal warmth, uncompromising sense of fairness and bright legal mind were an inspiration to all of us who had the good fortune to know her.”
Abdus-Salaam, one of seven children born to a working-class family in Washington, D.C., graduated from Barnard College and received her law degree from the Columbia University School of Law, where she was a classmate of former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder.
“Sheila could boogie, but there was a seriousness about her, a strong sense of purpose at a relatively young age,” Holder recalled at her swearing-in ceremony.
“Deeply saddened by the tragic passing of Sheila Abdus-Salaam. She was a humble pioneer. My thoughts are with her family,” Mayor de Blasio tweeted Wednesday.
Before her nomination, she was a judge in Manhattan Supreme Court for 14 years, and an attorney with East Brooklyn Legal Services Corp., the city Law Department and the city Office of Labor Services.
The last court session she likely attended was March 29.
A longtime court employee who has known Abdus-Salaam for years said the divorcee had recently remarried and was very happy.
Abdus-Salaam and the Rev. Gregory Jacobs wed last June at the Greater Newark Conservancy, according to a marriage announcement.
Jacobs, who works for the Episcopal Archdiocese of Newark, stopped by Abdus-Salaam’s Harlem brownstone Wednesday evening, accompanied by detectives.
Neighbor and friend Deborah Audate said the couple maintained separate residences, but spent time together on weekends.
“Even though she was an appellate judge, which is a position of high authority, she was just an ordinary person on the block,” Audate said. “She’s just very smart. She really was a very humble person.
“She’s very well respected on this block. I think we’re still stunned by it,” she added.
The Rev. James Moore, 65, who lives next door, described AbdusSalaam as a “lovely person.”
The medical examiner will determine the cause of death and the investigation is ongoing, police said.