Julius M. Wilensky
1983
Julius M. Wilensky was born in Stamford. He graduated from New Rochelle (NY) High School in 1934 and from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1936. He worked for Yale & Towne, the lock manufacturing company in Stamford from 1939 to 1967. Mr. Wilensky served in the U.S. Army Air Force in World War II becoming a master sergeant. He was a city representative from 1957 to 1959, a member of the Planning Board from 1963 to 1965 and on the Board of Finance from 1965 to 1969. He was Mayor of Stamford from 1969 to 1973. During his tenure he made improvements to the city’s sewer system, improved the operation of the Fair Rent Commission, and helped build Washington Boulevard with the state, the central fire station, and an addition for the Quintard Senior Center. He served on the board of directors for the Stamford Center for the Arts from 1981 to 1990. Mr. Wilensky was also interested in sailing. He was awarded “Yachtsman of the Year” by the Halloween Yacht Club in 1962, where he had been a member since 1950. He established a foundation that taught sailing and navigational skills to underprivileged youths. He worked tirelessly to make the waterfront accessible to Stamford citizens. “Long Island Sound is Stamford’s greatest recreational asset, and our citizens must be able to enjoy it. I hope that most Stamford citizens can agree on a logical definition of waterfront uses,” he said in 1986.
Julius M. Wilensky was named Stamford’s Citizen of the Year in recognition of dedication to making Stamford a better place to live. He began Stamford’s urban renewal process.