Marjorie Plaut Rogatz

Rogatz - Marjorie Plaut, of Port Washington, NY, died peacefully at her home at the age of 97 on May 10. The poet, E. E. Cummings dedicated a poem to his fellow-poet, Marianne Moore. It sums up Marge in a nutshell:

"In a vicious world â€" to love virtue. In a craven world â€" to have courage. In a treacherous world â€" to prove loyal. In a wavering world â€" to stand firm. In a cruel world â€" to show mercy. In a biased world â€" to act justly. In a shameless world â€" to live nobly. In a hateful world â€" to forgive. In a venal world â€" to be honest. In a heartless world â€" to be human. In a killing world â€" to create. In a sick world â€" to be whole. In an epoch of unself â€" to be oneself."

If there was an underdog any place around, Marge would sniff him out and fight on his side. She fought for Blacks, for Hispanics, for the poor, for the homeless, for children, for labor. She was proof that one person with moral courage and integrity can make a difference in the lives of countless others. Marge became the full-time unpaid President and CEO of Community Advocates, Inc. in 1986. A non-profit organization, CA led efforts to address homelessness, the need for affordable and equitable housing, and the struggle to end structural and institutional racism on Long Island. Under her leadership, CA established a variety of precedent-setting initiatives, including the development in 1990 of the first permanent rental apartments for homeless families in Nassau County. CA also provided closing-cost grants to dozens of first-time homebuyers, employer assistance grants to nonprofits to help lower income employees become homeowners, and bridge loans to nonprofit providers of housing and services to families and individuals who were homeless. She co-founded the Nassau-Suffolk Coalition for the Homeless in 1988 and served as an officer and a member of its executive committee until 2004. In this capacity, she helped bring more than $80 million in HUD Homeless Assistance grants and other federal and state funding to non-profit housing and service providers in Nassau County. She was a founder and an officer of Sustainable Long Island for 10 years, a founder and executive committee member of the Long Island Campaign for Affordable Rental Housing, and a long-time board member of the Health & Welfare Council of Long Island. A co-founder of ERASE Racism in 2001, Marge served as secretary and co-chair of its board and, since 2008, she devoted the largest portion of her time to helping ERASE Racism fight discriminatory policies and practices on Long Island, across New York State and beyond. In 2013, Community Advocates became an informal partner of ERASE Racism, providing significant person-power and financial support. Marge was a member of the Long Island Community Foundation Board, serving for many years on its Grants Committee and on the Advisory Group for its Affordable and Equitable Rental Housing Initiative. She was appointed to the Nassau County Task Force on Homelessness and the Nassau County Panel on Next Generation Housing. In 2007, she was appointed by then County Executive Thomas Suozzi to chair the Nassau County 10-Year Plan to End Homelessness. In January 2008, she was appointed by New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli to the Board of Directors of the State of New York Mortgage Agency (SONYMA). She served on its Mortgage Insurance Fund Committee and on the Governance and other committees of New York State Homes and Community Renewal (HCR), participating in key statewide housing finance, development and preservation decisions until her 2017 retirement from SONYMA. Prior to joining Community Advocates, Marge had carried out consulting assignments in fields related to community development and human services for New York City Mayor John Lindsay, Nassau County Executive Eugene Nickerson and Suffolk County Executives H. Lee Dennison and John Klein. She also consulted for New York City Head Start and for community hospitals and organizations in East Harlem and the South Bronx. During the civil rights movement, Marge served as Special Assistant to James Farmer, National Director of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE). Marge attended Smith College, graduated from Barnard College and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. She is survived by her husband, Dr. Peter Rogatz, to whom she was married for 76 years; by her daughter, Peggy Rogatz Cash; son, Dr. William Rogatz; grandson, Aiden Rogatz; brother, Roy Plaut; and sister-in-law, Olga Gomez Plaut; and many nieces and nephews. Private Cremation by Roslyn Heights Funeral Home. A Virtual Memorial Service will be planned for a later date. In lieu of flowers, contributions in Marge's memory may be made to ERASE Racism, eraseracismny.org.