Draft:Zwi Wasserstein

Zwi Wasserstein (* 1955 in Frankfurt) is a German-American actor, lawyer and co-founder and co-creator of the Area.

His parents were survivors of the Holocaust in Poland. The experiences of his childhood in postwar West Germany has been the subject of several documentations and publications and are archived in the Jewish Museum Berlin. They have served among exemplary biographies for workshops and in German schools to educate about Jewish life in postwar Germany.

Acting
Wasserstein started his acting career in the German TV series Tatort. After a two year stint in Italy to study medicince and Italian he moved to New York City in 1980.

Area
In 1983 Wasserstein co-founded legendary Area (nightclub) in Tribeca in New York City. The club quickly became one of the most important nodes of New York City's cultural scene. Actors, artists, models, creatives of all kinds and types congregated there.

Paris
After Aera closed its doors in 1987 Wasserstein moved to Paris and attended a cooking school. He graduated with a French state chef's diploma. During this time he supported himself with translations for the media and film industry.

Public Defender
After graduating from cooking school he returned to New York to study media law at the Cardozo Law School. He graduated with a degree in criminal law and has been a member of the New York Bar since 1998. Initially he worked for the Legal Aid Society in New York City, then for New York County Defender Services (NYCDS) and since 2018 again for the Legal Aid Society. He is known for taking on the more challenging cases and occasionally advises foreign media on the intricacies and procedures of the American judicial system.