Business & Tech

Long Island Economist Pearl Kamer Dead at 74

For decades, Kamer chronicled the changing Long Island economy.

Pearl Kamer, most recently the chief economist for the Long Island Association, died Saturday of breast cancer. She was 74 years old.

Kamer resigned from the LIA eight months ago, after working for 18 years with the powerful Long Island business group.

"Pearl was a trusted friend and colleague who dedicated her career to the betterment of Long Island," LIA chief Kevin Law said in a statement posted on the organization's website Saturday. "Her analysis of our economy and efforts to improve it have left an indelible impact in the region. She will be sorely missed."

Kamer joined the LIA in 1995 after being approached by then-chairman Matt Crosson, and for nearly two decades authored reports and analysis on the Long Island economy for the organization. In that time, Kamer drew sharp observations on the region's biggest challenges, ranging from the migration of younger workers off Long Island to the Great Recession and the unemployment, credit crunch and plummeting home values that came with it.

Before working with the LIA, Kamer spent nearly 29 years as an economist with the Long Island Regional Planning Council, working with renowned master planner Lee Koppleman.

She earned her doctorate in economics from New York University in 1976.

Kamer was born in 1939 in Manhattan, and grew up in Kew Gardens Hills, Queens. She recently lived in the Town of Oyster Bay.

Funeral services will be held Wednesday at Gutterman's Funeral Home in Woodbury.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here