Gina Zuckerman, the local senior who fearlessly fought off a mugger who tried to steal her duffel bag from her cart on Fifth Ave. last September, died at home on April 15. She was 91.
Zuckerman had lived at 10 W. 15th St. since 1993. According to a statement by the building’s board of directors, She was a Holocaust survivor from Poland and had worked in advertising on Madison Ave.
“To neighbors, family and friends, she was a very kind and special person,” the board said.
With Zuckerman’s help, the alleged mugger was arrested in December. The nonagenarian said the suspect shouldn’t go to jail if she was mentally ill.
“I am not vengeful, I just think this is a terrible thing for her to do,” Zuckerman told the Daily News. “I’ve been thinking about the lady, and I think she should go to a mental hospital. I don’t think she should go to a jail.”
In recognition of Zuckerman’s bravery and love of the Village, state Senator Brad Hoylman on presented her on Oct. 27 with a proclamation, declaring it Gina Zuckerman Appreciation Day.
She was a longtime member and volunteer at Greenwich House’s Center on the Square senior day center on Washington Square North — which is where she was headed when the female thug struck.
Laura Marceca, the center’s director, said, “Gina was a main fixture at the center and will never be forgotten. She was a special woman who dedicated her time to her friends, who were like family to her at our senior center. We will miss her deeply.”
There was no service in New York. Zuckerman was buried with her husband in California.
Lincoln Anderson
