David H. DeRienzis

On Sunday, April 20th, 2025, David H. DeRienzis passed away at his home in Sea Cliff, N.Y. He was 84 years old. Born on September 18th, 1940 in the Bronx, NY, to Daniel and Stella DeRienzis (nee Shuldham), David spent both his personal and professional lives in services to others. In the early to mid-1960’s, David worked as a community organizer in Mississippi during the height of the Civil Rights Movement. He placed volunteers throughout the state; provided security for prominent persons observing civil rights violations and assisted a rural farming community in the completion of a community center, construction of a laundromat, and formation of a soy bean and melon cooperative. Also during this time, he organized a plantation strike to draw attention to the plight of workers being displaced by mechanizations in the Mississippi Delta region.

Returning to New York, he spent the next 20 years of his life furthering his commitment to social welfare and community action. He trained and supervised outreach workers in New York City, Manhasset, and Great Neck. As the executive director of the Port Washington Community Action Council from 1967 to 1974, he oversaw the formation of a credit union and food pantry, and developed job training, housing, and health service programs. In 1974, he started working for the Caroline Veatch Assistance and Extension Program, eventually becoming Assistant Director, where he was responsible for planning, evaluating, and coordinating 3 million dollars per year in allocations to various grantees throughout Long Island and the United States in various social welfare areas.

From there, he moved on to public service. He became Village Administrator of Sea Cliff in 1988 and was subsequently appointed Building Inspector in 1991. He continued in that role until his retirement in 2003, while also acting as the supervisory Code Enforcement Officer on a part-time basis. Although officially retiring, he continued to exercise his experience and expertise in the field in other municipalities over the following 20-plus years, acting as the Building Inspector/Code Enforcement Officers for Roslyn, Roslyn Harbor, and Plandome successively.

Through the course of his life and career, David tried to, in his own words, “…provide services where my experience can be of benefit to the general public…”. He made an impression on companions, colleagues, and coworkers alike for his thoughtfulness, fairness, honesty, and knowledge. He spent his life selflessly and tirelessly working to protect the vulnerable and for the betterment of society. He did this while also being a loving and loved father, husband, son, brother, and grandfather. He will be missed. He is survived by his wife, Gayle Ryder DeRienzis; his two sons, Joshua (Christy) and Daniel (Darshani Singh) DeRienzis; Joshua’s former wife, Stephanie DeRienzis; his sister, Bernadette O’Hara, and his grandchildren: Simon, Ethan, Olivia, and Lucas. He is predeceased by his brother, Daniel, Jr. DeRienzis, his sister, Rita DeRienzis, and former wife, Sonya DeRienzis.

To honor David’s legacy of public and social service, the family requests that those able to make charitable donations to the following organizations: Medicins san Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders); ; the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU); the Institute for Justice; the Coalition for the Homeless; CARE; Conservation Fund; City Harvest; NAMI; National Council on Aging (NCOA); Common Cause Education Fund; Scholarship America; Prostate Cancer Foundation; the National Association of the Deaf