Her diagnosis has brought a new urgency to her life as she searches for a living kidney donor, with none of her immediate family members being a match.\n<\/p>\n
But, she is not facing the fight alone.\n<\/p>\n
The Brooklyn Bar community \u2014 a group of friends, colleagues and fellow members of the legal profession<\/a> she has known throughout her career \u2014 has rallied around her ever since her diagnosis, which at one long point required weekly, biweekly and monthly chemotherapy sessions.<\/p>\n For Cyrulnik, who retired from the bench in December 2025, that support has been a reminder of the relationships she has built during years of serving Brooklyn.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cMy brother just moved to Florida, I live alone, and I thought to myself, \u2018How am I going to do this?\u2019 When the chemo started,\u201d the judge said. \u201cAnd the answer was, I didn\u2019t have to.\u201d<\/p>\n Friends from the legal community have driven the esteemed judge to medical appointments, helped with everyday needs and even cooked meals and brought her soup.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cSo many people drove me and sat with me \u2014 colleagues and friends,\u201d she said.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n A \u2018Brooklyn girl through and through\u2019<\/p>\n Before her diagnosis, Cyrulnik built an extensive judicial career rooted in Brooklyn. A highly accomplished yet humble, friendly, and jovial judge, she has rarely been seen in the traditional judicial robe. Brooklyn has remained a constant throughout her life, from her birthplace and education to her legal and judicial career.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI am a Brooklyn girl through and through. I grew up in Canarsie. I went to Brooklyn College and Brooklyn Law School. And my entire career has been working in Brooklyn. First in a small law firm, then in the courts before I became a judge.\u201d<\/p>\n Although Cyrulnik confessed to \u201cleaving the borough from time to time,\u201d it is not surprising she has such strong ties in the Brooklyn legal community. She is a past president of the Brooklyn Bar Association<\/a>, the Brooklyn Women\u2019s Bar Association, the Brooklyn Brandeis Society and a member of other bar associations.\u00a0<\/p>\n When Cyrulnik went on NYU\u2019s kidney transplant list, the hospital and other organizations recommended she reach out to her community to spread the word about her urgent need for a kidney.<\/p>\n \u201cAfter giving it some thought, I realized this is my community\u2014the lawyers and the bar associations that I\u2019ve known and dealt with for four decades,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Cyrulnik was appointed as a judge to criminal court in 2003. From 2011 to 2025, she was an active Supreme Court Justice in Brooklyn.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve learned a lot from the lawyers I\u2019ve worked with over the years. They made me a better lawyer and a better judge. And so I\u2019ve come to them again for something personal,\u201d she said.\n<\/p>\n Living with kidney failure<\/p>\n Cyrulnik is approaching the time when kidney dialysis might be inevitable, her doctors say. While she reports that her daily symptoms are not debilitating yet, her blood levels show otherwise, and kidney function has declined.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cAs my nephrologist said, \u2018The numbers are what they are, and this is where you are heading. You are heading for dialysis unless we can get a kidney before then.\u2019\u201d\n<\/p>\n Cyrulnik, who has a strong will and a positive attitude, said she feels \u201cquite well,\u201d but her major symptom right now is similar to morning sickness. And as she awaits help, she is still thinking of others as she puts out a message to possible donors.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are thousands of people, including children, who are living with this, hanging over their heads. As a living donor, you have an opportunity to do something miraculous to save someone\u2019s life. There are kids who need kidneys,\u201d she said. \u201cWhat an amazing thing to give of yourself in a way that will save a life.\u201d<\/p>\n Anyone who is interested in finding out more about becoming a donor can call NYU at 212-263-3621 or by visiting nyulh.donorscreen.org<\/a>. More information is also available at renewal.org<\/a> or by contacting 718-215-8735 or R27018@renewal.org.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"For decades, Judge Miriam Cyrulnik helped people navigate some of the most difficult moments of their lives from…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":346683,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[98,128814,100,99,56045,129760,2710,9,24,63],"class_list":["post-346682","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-brooklyn","tag-brooklyn","tag-brooklyn-courts","tag-brooklyn-headlines","tag-brooklyn-news","tag-brooklyn-bar-association","tag-judge-miriam-cyrulnik","tag-law","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/346682","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=346682"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/346682\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/346683"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=346682"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=346682"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=346682"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"two](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/IMG_7108.jpeg\" "\\"Brooklyn")
A rare photo of the judge in her robe, officiating her nephew\u2019s wedding.Photo courtesy Miriam Cyrulnik<\/p>\n