David Zielenziger, a former Bloomberg journalist and Great Neck civic leader, died peacefully in his home on May 20. He was 72.
During his decade at Bloomberg, Zeilenziger made news in 2020 when he spoke out about allegations against the company’s owner, Michael Bloomberg, during his presidential bid.
He said in a 1995 interaction, he overheard Bloomberg ridiculing recently married employees to a co-worker of his.
A 1998 complaint states that the co-worker told Bloomberg her married life was “great” and that she was pregnant. In response to this, Bloomberg said Kill it!” according to the complaint.
When asked to repeat himself, Bloomberg said “Kill it!” and then muttered “Great! Number 16!” suggesting his unhappiness that 16 women in the company had a maternity-related status, according to the complaint.
Zielenziger first gave his account to The Washington Post, which led to political backlash directed toward Bloomberg during the 2020 Democratic Primary race.
Zielenziger is survived by his brother, Michael Zielenziger, and preceded in death by his parents, Eric and Ruth Zielenziger.
His funeral was held on Friday, May 23, and Shivah on Sunday, May 25. His family has asked that in lieu of flowers, donations in his honor can be made to the National Ramah Commission of the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York or the Center for Jewish Life at Princeton University.
A 1974 graduate of Princeton, Zielenziger served as the chairman of his campus’s newspaper, The Daily Princetonian.
After graduating, he reported for The Baltimore Sun, then as the Kuala Lumpur bureau chief for the Asian Wall Street Journal, and as Canadian correspondent for The Dallas Morning News.
Zielenziger served as a technology reporter for Bloomberg Business News and a foreign correspondent in Asia, first joining the newsroom in 1992. He left Bloomberg 10 years later, going on to report for various other publications, including Newsweek and Thomson Reuters.
After a career in journalism, Zielenziger’s watchdog tendencies persisted as he continued to use his skills to oversee local municipality functions. He was known as a local leader due to his civic engagement.
Zielenziger was frequently found sitting front row at the Village of Great Neck Board of Trustees meetings, where he would come prepared with a list of questions to present to the board members about the local happenings during public comment periods.
He also ran for trustee in the Great Neck Library’s 2018 election, but lost.
But his civic engagement preceded his time in Great Neck, beginning in his childhood when he would protest the Vietnam War as a teenager. He organized support for liberal Democrat Allard K. Lowenstein, who represented parts of Long Island in Congress from 1969-1971.
Zielenziger also served as an elected delegate to the Democratic National Convention in Miami at the age of 20. He pledged to South Dakota Sen. George McGovern.
