Alfred G. Osterweil

Alfred G. Osterweil, an attorney who represented all of the police unions in the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and most police unions in Bergen County, N.J., died of pneumonia on Jan. 29 in Many, La. He was 86.

The law was not only Mr. Osterweil’s work, it was his passion. “He loved the practice of law and won cases that changed laws in New Jersey,” his wife, Cynthia Anne Osterweil, wrote. He had recently won a case in New York regarding the right of “non-domiciled residents to own firearms,” she said. 

Mr. Osterweil began practicing public-sector labor law when it was a burgeoning field. In addition to the police unions, he also represented nurses at Englewood Hospital during their first strike. 

He had a law office in Edgewater and lived in Hackensack, N.J. From 1995 to about 2001, he and his wife lived in Amagansett, first on Hedges Lane and later on Cross Highway to Devon. When they made Amagansett their year-round residence, Mrs. Osterweil volunteered as an emergency medical technician for the Amagansett Fire Department’s ambulance squad and Mr. Osterweil volunteered as an ambulance driver. 

More recently, the couple lived in Louisiana and summered in Summit, N.Y. 

Mr. Osterweil was born in Newark on June 30, 1931, to Jack Osterweil and the former Freida Lane. He grew up in Newark, graduating from Central High School before going on to Rutgers Law School. He served with the Army in Germany following his graduation and opened a law office in Edgewater after his discharge. 

Mr. Osterweil married Cynthia Anne Rollenhagen on Jan. 2, 1983. In addition to his wife, he is survived by a daughter, Marla Collins of Westfield, N.J., and two grandchildren. A son, Hal Osterweil, died before him. 

A burial service in Summit and a memorial service in New Jersey are planned for the spring. Condolences can be left for the family at levinememorialchapel.com.