Editor’s Note: The Bronx honors Lloyd Ultan, someone truly historic

Lloyd Ultan. Even the name sounds historic. That’s what stuck with me after meeting Ultan, the Bronx borough historian, for the first time back in 1998 while I was a reporter at the Daily News. Ultan was historian for 26 years and now holds an emeritus title after passing the torch to the new Bronx historian, Angel Hernandez, on May 5. Catching up with me last week, the 85-year-old Bronx native spoke about his longevity in the role. “The usual pattern is that the person enters the office vertically and leaves horizontally,” he said with a laugh.

All those years helped Ultan develop an institutional knowledge of Bronx history. “He’s a natural for it. He’s never disappointed,” former Bronx Borough President Freddy Ferrer, who appointed Ultan, told me. Ultan’s also a talker. “I’ve always called Lloyd the ‘Energizer Bunny’ for his energy, his enthusiasm and his dedication to spreading the word about the Bronx,” my former Bronx bureau chief at the News Bob Kappstatter said.

And Ultan’s never been paid. “By law, I'm supposed to get a six-figure salary, but unfortunately by the very same law, all six figures are zero,” Ultan joked. He kept his job teaching history all these years and remains on the faculty at Fairleigh Dickinson University. Advice for policymakers, I asked? Don’t destroy or throw away anything, he said, noting former Bronx Borough President Herman Badillo had his documents stored at Boricua College. A politician’s papers can influence future policy, Ultan said. “We are the sum total of everything that has happened in the past, and it made us what we are today.”