New York City’s long-serving medical examiner is retiring.

Dr. Charles Hirsch was appointed in 1989 by then-Mayor Ed Koch, who recently died.

The 75-year-old has investigated thousands of deaths, from the 2001 World Trade Center attack to the 1990 flash fire at the Happy Land Social Club in the Bronx that killed 87 people.

Misaskim tells YWN that Dr. Hirsch was an individual who showed unparalleled compassion when dealing with deaths in the Jewish community. From the murder of Rabbi Meir Kahane HY”D, to the murder of Leiby Kletzky Z”L, he always showed extreme sensitivity  and always worked his hardest to assist Misaskim in ensuring the utmost Kavod Hames would be given.

A recent illness prevented Hirsch from speaking about his retirement this week, according to The New York Times.

In a statement Tuesday (posted in YWN – NYC), Mayor Bloomberg called Hirsch “a visionary and dedicated public servant whose work earned him world renown.”

Dr. Barbara Sampson, Hirsch’s longtime deputy, succeeds him as acting chief medical examiner.

Hirsch oversaw major advancements in DNA identification and mass-fatality response operations. His quest to identify the nearly 20,000 body parts collected after 9/11 continues.

(YWN Desk – NYC / AP)