There were over 200 people and six eulogies at the funeral for Herbert Stanford Podell, testament to the impact the 94-year-old had on so many people. "It was truly special," his daughter Allison Podell Saft wrote. "I feel my dad would be proud of a life well lived."
Mr. Podell, a founding partner at New York's largest tax certiorari practice, died at home in Palm Beach, Fla., on April 9. Mr. Podell also had a house in East Hampton. He remained a managing partner at Podell, Schwartz, Schechter & Banfield until he was 86. In 2019, he received a lifetime achievement award at the Harvard Club in New York City for his work in real estate tax certiorari.
A philanthropist who supported Guild Hall, the East End Community Organic Farm, and the Animal Rescue Fund of the Hamptons, he "loved to help all animals in need, especially dogs," his family wrote. He also supported an elephant rehabilitation center in southeast India made famous by "The Elephant Whisperers," a Netflix documentary, and was a generous donor to organizations in New York and the Palm Beach area.
Mr. Podell enjoyed simple pleasures like visiting the Nature Trail on David's Lane and getting an ice cream cone at Main Beach. He was fond of chocolate, paella, Scotch on the rocks, pre-Colombian and contemporary art, Homer's "Odyssey," "Casablanca," "Shane," and "Fiddler on the Roof."
He enjoyed tennis, reading, walking, and "clearing a desk, creating order from chaos and reason over conflict," according to his family, and was a "compassionate and calm problem solver" and planner. He was a member of the East Hampton Tennis Club and the South Fork Country Club, now known as the Amagansett Golf Club.
Mr. Podell was born in Brooklyn to Hyman Podell and the former Henrietta Meniker on April 3, 1932, during the lowest point in the Great Depression. When he was a newborn, his parents moved him and his two older brothers from a private house to a one-bedroom railroad flat. His father was a lawyer and radio talk show host who gave out legal advice. His mother worked as his secretary.
As a child of the Depression, Mr. Podell never wanted to take out a loan or a mortgage "but always gave freely to others without ever wanting to be paid back," his family said — a car for an employee's son, tips for the people washing car windows on F.D.R. Drive.
"Most impactful was when he donated a house for wayward youth in East Hampton. He felt there needed to be a place for teens in abuse situations to go for safety and counseling." The house for a time provided safe haven to victims of domestic violence served by the Retreat and continues to be used by the town for human services programs.
Mr. Podell earned a bachelor's degree from New York University, but his plans for law school were temporarily derailed when he was drafted during the Korean War. He turned down a position in intelligence and instead served in Madison, Wisc., from 1953 to 1955. After the Army, he was accepted to law school at both Harvard and N.Y.U. He chose N.Y.U., graduated with the class of 1958, and went to work with his father.
"He discovered that real estate tax certiorari was a form of law that didn't require billable hours" but was "paid on a contingent basis," according to his family. "He realized he could be both a good lawyer and a good businessman and thus a specialty practice was born that grew into what remains the number-one real estate certiorari firm in New York State: Podell, Schwartz, Schechter & Banfield."
Mr. Podell married Lorraine Jacobson on Dec. 10, 1972, and adopted her daughter, Pam. Six years later, they had a second daughter, Allison. They lived in New York City and in the early 1970s bought their first place in East Hampton, where Mr. Podell had been visiting since 1964.
Mr. Podell experienced a traumatic brain injury when he was 86. He needed to learn to read a clock, do basic math, and walk all over again, which he did, even returning to the golf course for a time. In more recent years, he required a wheelchair, but his mind remained active. He read, played Scrabble, and recited poetry until the last days of his life.
He is survived by his wife and by his daughters, Pamela Podell and Allison Podell Saft, all of Florida. He also leaves two granddaughters, Avery Harper Podell Saft and Skylar Blake Podell Saft. His brothers died before him.
