Members of the 369th Regiment escort the casket carrying US Rep. Charles Rangel into City Hall on June 11, 2025.
Photo by Lloyd Mitchell
The body of US Rep. Charles Rangel, who died on Memorial Day, arrived at City Hall on Wednesday afternoon to lie in state through Friday morning.
Mayor Eric Adams provided the Rangel family with the same honor accorded to President Abraham Lincoln following his assassination in 1865. This honor also gave New Yorkers the opportunity to pay their own respects to the late Harlem political giant.
June 11 would have been Rangel’s 95th birthday. In life, he was the second-longest serving incumbent member of the House of Representatives, serving from 1971 to 2017. The Democrat became a key figure in local and national politics and served at one point as chair of the prestigious House Ways and Means Committee.
Rangel was also a Korean War veteran, earning the Bronze Medal and the Purple Heart while serving in combat. In recognition of his military, members of New York’s 369th Regiment, known as the famed Harlem Hellfighters, served as the honor guard, carrying the late Congressman’s body from the hearse and up the City Hall steps to the rotunda.
Mayor Adams himself oversaw the solemn proceeding.
“As the ‘Lion of Lenox,’ he represented his community as one of our city’s greatest elected leaders for nearly 50 years,” said Mayor Adams. “I am honored to host the family of Congressman Rangel as he lies in state here at City Hall, but I am also deeply saddened to say goodbye to a dear friend and an exemplary model of devotion and courage. Rest in power, my friend. I hope you and [Rangel’s late wife] Alma are together once again.”
New Yorkers will be able to pay their respects to Rangel inside the City Hall Rotunda on Thursday, June 12, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held for the late Congressman at St. Patrick’s Cathedral on Friday.
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