By Toby Ehrlich
“Well hello there,” are the words that came from a tall deep-voiced man, named Judge Ira Harkavy, as he entered the doors of his new home at The Martin and Edith Stein Assisted Living Residence. Judge Ira Harkavy a native of Brooklyn, NY lived in the city of Bensonhurst, in a community made up of mostly Jewish and Italian people, which is as it remains today. Judge Harkavy is from a family of 4 and had 1 brother who was stricken with Cerebral Palsy. He describes his neighborhood as one where everyone knew one another. Judge Harkavy attended Brooklyn College and received his Law degree from Columbia University Law School. He met his wife Roberta Harkavy through mutual friends at a party. When he and Roberta wed, they moved into an apartment in Bronx, NY. Soon after Judge Harkavy moved back to Bensonhurst, NY, where he purchased his first home and resided there for 52 years until moving into the Stein Residence in New Jersey. Judge and Roberta Harkavy have 3 children, the eldest a lawyer, the middle a chemistry science teacher, the youngest an emergency management consultant.
Judge Harkavy began his career as a Civil Court Judge and soon became a Criminal Court Judge. These paths ultimately lead him to become a Supreme Court Justice in the state of New York. There he served for 26 years as a Judge. Later on, he would become a Judicial Hearing Officer for a period of 4 years. He also taught Business Law at Brooklyn College for 5 years as an Adjunct Professor. Judge Harkavy feels he was an objective Judge who gave a fair chance to all. A typical day for the Judge began when his courtroom opened at 9:30am Monday-Friday he took a break at 1:00 pm, and reconvened until 4 pm. His main goal along with many others was to hear at least one case per week. This came about from the rule of thumb in Criminal Court and that was to keep the Jurors deliberating so that they could make a quicker decision which saved the state money. You may wonder how money was saved; the longer a trial continued the more money it cost, for example the jurors would need to be housed in a hotel if the case took too much time which the Judge kept in mind.
“Erasers on pencils in Appellate Court,” is a statement Judge Harkavy used concerning his rulings on a case being reversed. He explained, that he liked when the cases were very challenging because these types of cases allowed him to do full research before issuing a ruling. He didn’t enjoy what he called the “run-of-the-mill” motions. He felt that these types of motions were wasteful because they could have been settled, in his opinion, amongst the attorneys without a mediator. However, amidst all of the rulings he delivered, Judge Harkavy received a lot of publicity for and is very proud of the one surrounding his ruling to sentence a slum landlord to live in his own apartment building. This ruling was so important that it made major headlines and even inspired the box-office movie “The Super” starring Joe Pesci. When asked if there was another profession or career path he would have chosen, the Judge replied “I thought about being a medical doctor, but couldn’t stand the site of blood.”
The Martin and Edith Stein Residence is thrilled to welcoming Judge Ira B. Harkavy and his wife Roberta to our community. For more information on The Martin and Edith Stein Assisted Living Residence in Somerset, New Jersey contact us at [email protected], or 732-568-1155. The Martin and Edith Stein Assisted Living Residence in on The Oscar and Ella Wilf Campus for Senior Living, visit us at www.wilfcampus.org.

