New York City:

Harry Wieder was a Lower East Side triple threat in the best kind of way.

Along with being a good friend to myself and countless others, he, who happened to

be a gay disabled dwarf was one of the biggest activists regarding LBGT issues,

disabilities as well as that of issues of transportation.

He was one of those people who spent a lot of energy making the world a better place

which all starts with making your immediate community a better place.

Tuesday Evening April 27 he was pronounced dead at Bellevue Hospital after having been

struck by a taxi. He and others had just left a Community Board 3 meeting and he was crossing the street to get to his car when it happened. He was 57 years old.

A death unexpected and preventable so much so that I’m sure it’s caused

a lot of people to feel shock. Harry was a credit to the community,

the human community, not just local. He lived his life, or should I say

always went out of his way, to make the world a better place because

that is the right thing to do whether someone asks you to or not.

He made the world a better place, and he did so with a very funny

sometimes ribald sense of humor. The best kind of activists are the ones

who make things fun. The things Harry achieved and helped achieve while

here in the physical form will be continued and will continue to inspire many others.