Feinman abruptly retired from the Court of Appeals in March over health concerns. He died just over a week after the retirement announcement.

Feinman’s husband told The New York Times that the cause was acute myeloid leukemia.

Those who worked closely with Feinman remembered him as a friend and colleague as well as a  pioneer in the New York courts.

“Paul was my best friend and losing him has been one of the greatest hardships that I have had to endure,” said Deborah A. Kaplan, who is the administrative judge of New York County Supreme Court’s civil term. “There is not a day that goes by that I don’t think about Paul. That I don’t reach for my phone to call him or to text him. That I don’t wait to hear from him, wait to hear for that voice that always made me feel better.”

Julia Herd spent more than two decades working with Feinman and served as his principal law clerk at the Court of Appeals.

“I felt like we were part of a team representing the LGBT community in the court system,” she said.

Taking Feinman’s place on the state’s top bench is Judge Anthony Cannataro, who was nominated by Gov. Andrew Cuomo and confirmed by the state Senate.

Cannataro, who lives in New York City with his husband, is the second openly LGBTQ judge to be elevated to the state’s top court.

“Diversity, equity and inclusion in the seats of government are ever closer for traditionally marginalized New Yorkers because of his legacy,” Cannataro said.