John Pomerantz: A Quiet Philanthropist

John Pomerantz listened to his father’s philosophy on giving as a young man.

“He said if it doesn’t hurt it isn’t charity,” Pomerantz recalled, and since then he has taken the words to heart.

Pomerantz has had his home in Harrison for 30 years and now lives here full time. Until three years ago, business obligations kept him in Manhattan most of the week. 

The Pomerantz family was in the fashion industry. His father started from nothing and built a small clothing line into Leslie Fay -- named after Pomerantz’ sister. Pomerantz took over the family business and grew it into a retail powerhouse.

His father’s philosophy on giving remained strongly ingrained in him and he was active in national and international charities throughout his long career.

“I started getting involved with charities when I was a young man and had very little. I wasn’t making any money but still felt it was important to give. It’s always been important to both me and my wife,” he said.

Now 78, Pomerantz spends some time licensing the business name to different product lines, but the majority of his time is spent on the boards of charities overseeing fund-raising efforts.

He is on the board of seven large charities and does additional hands-on work putting together his own donations and fund-raising events, and delivering meals personally for City Meals On Wheels.

His wife Laura is also actively involved in charitable works. She sits on the boards of several large charities and despite running her own business and frequent worldwide travel, is always ready to initiate and become involved in new charitable projects.

After moving up to Harrison full time, the Pomerantzes became aware of the need for charity in Harrison and turned their attention local. 

“We first became aware of the level of local need when the Christmas Project was initiated last year and there were articles about the families needing help from the Harrison Food Pantry. We were shocked that there was that level of need in what is considered an affluent area,” Pomerantz said.

The Pomerantzes are not ones to see a need and not do something about it, and within a week of hearing about the initiatives they got actively involved. They sponsored families as part of the Christmas project, provided Thanksgiving turkeys for the hungry, and Pomerantz mobilized the charitable boards he was on to get goods sent to fill the local needs.

Boxes of new clothes and shoes poured in to cover the families throughout the winter months and Pomerantz spent time trying to get a handle on what the community needs were through the Office Of Community Services, working with Director of Community Services Nina Marraccini. He added these donations and efforts to the personal donations and his fund-raising efforts for the charities to which he had already committed. 

A year later the Pomerantzes are still contributing and working to get funds and goods into the right hands. This week Pomerantz organized a golf fund-raiser at Quaker Ridge Country Club that raised around a quarter of a million dollars for a Manhattan-based charity.

At the time of our interview, he was arranging for clothing to be shipped in to cover the needs of the Harrison community in the upcoming cold months. Laura initiated a letter-writing fund-raising program to get much-needed food supplies for the families.

Pomerantz is touched by families and their struggles, and that motivates him to action. During our interview we discussed a young mother struggling to provide furniture and food for her two boys. 

As I was leaving I looked back to find Pomerantz already on the phone finding out what he could do and just how quickly he could get them the help they needed.