QUEENS, NEW YORK — Judah Gribetz died on Friday at his home in Queens, New York, at the age of 97. Sidney Gribetz confirmed his death.

In 1975, Gribetz served as counsel to New York Governor Hugh L. Carey. New York City faced a deficit of approximately $2.6 billion during that year. Gribetz was a chief negotiator for Governor Carey during discussions with New York City Mayor Abraham D. Beame. Beame stated, "He's never roared at me, but I've heard him make himself known." He added, "But everybody who knows him knows that's just an outward facade: Down deep, he's very easygoing and pleasant."

Gribetz returned to private law practice in 1979. In 1999, a federal judge appointed him as a special master. In this role, he created a plan to distribute $1.25 billion from Swiss banks to resolve a class-action lawsuit concerning Nazi-inflicted harm. Claimants in this settlement included individuals who deposited money to protect it from Nazis, people subjected to forced labor for German companies, and individuals whose Nazi-looted property was handled through Swiss institutions. The Romani community, Jehovah's Witnesses, disabled people, and gay individuals were also included in the claim.

Gribetz developed a 900-page plan over a year and a half. The plan allocated up to $800 million for Holocaust survivors, with payments adjusted for inflation. It also allocated $450 million for former enslaved laborers and those whose property had been plundered during the war. Nearly $1.288 billion was distributed to more than 458,400 claimants under his plan. Regarding the plan, Gribetz stated, "We tried to do as transparent and as far-reaching a solution as possible." He added that the plan had been arduous but "very satisfying."

Gribetz was born on April 1, 1929, in Brooklyn to Abraham and Ida (Heller) Gribetz. His father, Abraham Gribetz, became executive director of the Hebrew Free Loan Society in 1938. Judah Gribetz attended Boys High School in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn. He earned bachelor's and law degrees from Columbia University and a master's degree from New York University. He also served in the Navy. Gribetz married Jessica Shapiro in 1952. He served as president of the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York and co-authored the book "The Timetables of Jewish History: A Chronology of the Most Important People and Events in Jewish History," published in 1993, with Edward L. Greenstein and Regina Stein. Gribetz is survived by his wife Jessica Shapiro, two sons, two daughters, a brother, four grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren.