Moses Maldwin Fertig

Moses Maldwin Fertig (July 10, 1887 – July 23, 1972) was an American lawyer and politician from New York.

Life Fertig was born on July 10, 1887, in New York City, New York, the son of Joseph Fertig and Celia Siegel. His father was an Austrian immigrant from Lemberg. His brother was New York economist, author, and columnist Lawrence Fertig.

In 1914, Fertig was elected to the New York State Assembly as a Democrat, representing the New York City 34th District in Bronx County. He served in the Assembly in 1915, 1917 (having been elected as a Democrat, Progressive, and Independence League), and 1919 (having been elected as a Democrat and Republican). By 1919, he was practicing law in 120 Broadway and was a member of the law firm Walter, Wolff & Fertig.

Fertig was the first to call for an inquiry in the state's housing problems in 1919, resulting in his appointment to the Lockwood Housing Committee. He introduced the first bill in the State Legislature to exempt newly-constructed residential buildings from taxation. He introduced and successfully passed the Lockwood-Fertig Bill, which provided equal pay for New York City school teachers. He also successfully passed a bill that enlarged New York City College. He sponsored a Minimum Wage Bill and an Eight Hour Law. While in the Assembly, he was commended by the American Federation of Labor for his stance on labor issues.

In 1933, Fertig became senior partner of the law firm Fertig, Walter & Gottesman with Alfred A. Walter and Samuel Gottesman. An expert in public utility law and practice, he became a member of the New York State Transit Commission he in 1938. He was a member of the New York State Constitutional Convention of 1938. In the Convention, he successfully sponsored the Fertig Amendment, which authorized a 315 million dollar exemption from New York City's statutory debt limit to be used so the city could buy ownership of the Interboro Rapid Transit and the Brooklyn-Manhattan Transit systems. Later, he was a negotiator who helped fix the amounts to be paid for the properties.