Richard Ottinger, 97, Dies; Fought for the Environment in Congress

Richard L. Ottinger, a New York Democrat who represented largely Republican Westchester County districts in Congress for 16 years and who championed the Hudson River’s cleanup, died on Monday at his home in Mamaroneck, N.Y. He was 97. His son Larry confirmed the death.

Born into a wealthy Republican family, Ottinger switched to the Democratic Party as a young lawyer in the 1950s. He served six years beginning in 1965 and returned for ten more years starting in 1975, with a four-year gap during which he ran unsuccessfully for the U.S.

Senate. He sponsored legislation to reduce pollutants in the Hudson and curb shoreline development, and he joined environmental groups in litigation that forced the government to unlock funds in 1983 to begin removing PCBs from the river. He opposed a proposed expressway north from Tarrytown and a hydroelectric plant at Storm King Mountain; the long fight over Storm King became a template for modern American environmentalism.

United States, Mamaroneck, New York

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