Lisa LaFrieda, 51, ran Downtown meat business

Obituary

Lisa LaFrieda, 51, ran Downtown meat business

By Lincoln Anderson

Lisa LaFrieda, a partner in Pat LaFrieda Meats on Washington St. and a member of Community Board 2 for the past few years, died early Monday morning at St. Vincent’s Hospital. She was 51.

LaFrieda was diagnosed with stomach cancer two years ago. She was a vocal opponent of the proposed Hudson Sq. Business Improvement District. LaFrieda, who lived right near the family meat business, also supported rezoning the north end of Hudson Sq. for residential use, but the effort failed.

A Village resident for the past 40 years, she was born in Brooklyn. She was a Board 2 member since 1999 and was chairperson of its Sidewalks Committee since 2001 and the board’s second vice chairperson since 2003. She was also a board of directors member of the Greenwich Village-Chelsea Chamber of Commerce.

Jim Smith, chairperson of C.B. 2, said: “Lisa will be poignantly missed by us all. She was a tireless fighter for her neighborhood, a loyal friend and a true Lady Bountiful whose generosity of heart and spirit made a feast for all around her. May she journey in peace.”
Pat LaFrieda, her brother and her partner in running the meat business founded by their father, said, “They only gave her a few months and she lasted two years. She was a tough person. Just like she fought for everyone in Greenwich Village, she fought to survive to help people. That was her life in the end — to be on these boards and help people. Sick with cancer she was still doing it.”

Last year, Leroy St. was co-named Pat LaFrieda Way in honor of their father.

LaFrieda is survived by her brother Pat and her sister, Antonette Wright, both of Brooklyn, nine nieces and nephews and two great-nieces.

A funeral Mass will be held Fri., July 30 at 9:30 a.m. at St. Veronica’s Roman Catholic Church, 149-155 Christopher St., between Greenwich and Washington Sts.