Overview
- He died overnight, with Police Commissioner Jessica S. Tisch announcing his passing and praising his guiding presence for generations of officers.
- Kass joined the NYPD in 1966 at age 30 as its youngest chaplain and became both its longest-serving member and, in recent years, its oldest.
- He was among the first faith leaders to respond after the Sept. 11 attacks, consoling the families of the 23 NYPD officers killed that day.
- As advisor on Jewish affairs and spiritual director of the Shomrim Society, he championed Sabbath and holiday accommodations and extended similar advocacy to other faiths.
- An Air Force veteran and Columbia graduate with rabbinic ordination and a Ph.D., he led Brooklyn’s East Midwood Jewish Center for decades and received NYU’s Eugene J. Keogh Award for Distinguished Public Service in April 2025.