Community activist Sol Soskin dead at 90

Sol Soskin, President of the 111th Precinct Community Council, passed away on Thursday, August 28 following a short illness. He was 90 years old.
Until he fell ill earlier this summer, Soskin worked “full-time, five days a week” as Director of the Procurement Technical Assistance Program (PTAP) for the Long Island Development Corporation (LIDC).
“He was known literally all over the country,” said his son, Scott Soskin. “He was one of the best known people in his field.”
In his years at PTAP, Soskin helped countless small businesses obtain affordable loans and trained them to prepare proposals to obtain contracts from local, state and federal government departments.
He even helped Queens Courier publisher Victoria Schneps-Yunis become certified as a woman-owned business.
“He was a sweetheart of a man,” said Schneps-Yunis. “He was an indispensable part of the fiber of our community. He made it possible for me to fill out the complicated, enormous pile of papers that enabled me to become certified.”
His expertise in dealing with government stemmed from his own years in the civil service. He was drafted into the U.S. Army in May 1941, and discharged in November 1945, having earned a purple heart. Later he was assigned to the navy office at Grumman Aerospace in Bethpage, Long Island, where he remained for 15 years. All of these jobs entailed working with small businesses.
A resident of Little Neck’s Deepdale Gardens Co-op since 1953, Soskin was a member of Community Board 11 for 35 years. He was on the 111th Precinct Community Council since 1954, serving as its president 20 times.
Soskin was feted both professionally and civically numerous times, receiving an award for 20 years of dedicated service to the Federal Government; in addition he was selected by the Corporate Division of Long Island Development Corp. as Employee of the Year; and he received a fellowship from the National Contract Association.
“He was a quiet kind of guy,” said his son. “Anyone that he met, he touched.”
Soskin was predeceased by his wife Esther. He is survived by his children, Scott and Ayna and twin 18-year-old granddaughters, Melissa and Shira, who “adored him.”
Arrangements were handled by the Sinai Chapels in Fresh Meadows. Interment was at Montefiore Cemetery.