Golden is a retired New York City police officer. He received 49 commendations during his seven years as an officer in the New York City Police Department.[4] He served from 1973 until 1976 in the 67th Precinct,whereupon he was laid off due to the fiscal crisis.[5] He was rehired in 1978. In 1978,Golden faced an Internal Affairs Investigation and a disciplinary proceeding for losing his service weapon,which he claimed was a result of his mother discarding the firearm along with an old train set while he was away "on a vacation cruise".[4] According to Golden,he suffered a career-ending injury in 1981;while witnessing a suspected drug deal,he chased the suspect,was struck by a car,and suffered a broken arm and ligament damage to his legs. Golden has said that he retired the following year and received a three-quarters disability pension.[5]
In 2011,Golden voted against legalizing same-sex marriage in New York,stating that he considered it a "destruction of the sacrament of marriage."[6]
Golden voted in favor of the gun control law known as the NY SAFE Act in January 2013.[7]
In 2013,Golden was a vocal opponent of traffic enforcement cameras.[8] In 2017,he described plans to expand the number of speed cameras near public schools in New York City as "non-starters".[9] While in May 2018,he stated support for legislation that would double the number of speed cameras in New York City,this concession came only after Republican members of the State Senate worked to reduce the number of speed cameras from the proposed 750 to just 290.[10] In June 2018,Golden co-sponsored legislation to eliminate all speed cameras after six months.[11]
In February 2015,the New York Post reported that Golden had "proposed legislation requiring the state Health Department to inspect abortion clinics at least once every two years."[12]
Following the murder of NYPD Officer Randolph Holder in 2015,Golden proposed legislation that would prevent anyone with two or more felony convictions from entering a drug treatment program as an alternative to imprisonment. Tyrone Howard,the killer of Officer Holder,had a long history of arrests but was still allowed into a diversion program in early 2015.[13] The bill passed the Senate in 2017.[14]
In June 2017,approximately 150 protesters rallied outside Golden's office in support of the New York Health Act,an act to establish a single-payer healthcare system in New York.[15] Golden and his staff reportedly declined the protesters' request for him to hold a healthcare townhall.[16]
Martin Golden protests the proposed site of a hotel in March 2018
Golden has been a vocal opponent of a proposed hotel that would sit directly across from a P.S. 104 in Bay Ridge. Golden stated,"We don't want to put a hotel where we so desperately need classrooms". Since March 2018,Golden has attended three protests at the vacant lot. Golden started a petition online to help garner more support for the protest of the proposed hotel.[17][18][19]
In September 2018,The New York Times described Golden as a "popular figure" in his district who has "consistently won support from both Republicans and Democrats,who know him for his omnipresence at scholarship dinners and senior citizens' birthday parties". He ran unopposed in four of his elections,even though Democrats hold a two-to-one voter registration advantage in the district.[20]
In his 2018 re-election bid,Golden was defeated by Democratic challenger Andrew Gounardes by 1,100 votes.[21]
Controversies
On August 6,2005,Golden struck a 74-year-old woman with his SUV when she attempted to cross the street against the light. Golden provided help to the woman,and witnesses said he "was visibly shaken by the accident." Later that night,he "went to the hospital to check on her condition."[22] The NYPD determined Golden was not at fault and no charges were filed. The woman died six months later,and Golden paid her family $750,000 to settle a lawsuit.[23]
In 2011,the New York Daily News reported that Golden spent just under $40,000 in campaign funds at the Bay Ridge Manor,a catering hall in Bay Ridge,Brooklyn owned by Golden's brother. Golden sold the business to his brother in 2002. As of August 2011,Golden still owned the building that housed the Bay Ridge Manor and still received rent from his brother for the Manor.[24] An investigation revealed that since Golden became Senator in 2002,he had paid $355,000 in campaign money to the Bay Ridge Manor. Golden denied nepotism,but was criticized by Michael Murphy,Susan Lerner,and other politicians.[24] In 2014,Golden's campaign finances were the subject of an investigation by then-U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara.[25] In December 2017,the Albany Times Union reported that Golden had spent more than $797,000 in campaign funds at the Bay Ridge Manor.[26]
In 2012,Golden advertised an etiquette class for women to help them be successful in the workplace that included strategies such as "walking up and down stairs elegantly"[27] and "sitting,standing,and walking like a model".[28] This event,which was taxpayer-funded,was heavily criticized,and Golden eventually cancelled it.[29]
In July 2015,Senator Golden made a controversial joke on his Facebook page regarding marijuana and same-sex marriage,stating "It all makes sense now. Gay marriage and marijuana being legalized on the same day. Leviticus 20:13 –'if a man lays with another man he should be stoned.' We've just been interpreting it wrong all these years," Golden has since deleted this comment.[30]
In February 2017,Golden—speaking in defense of President Donald Trump's executive order barring persons from certain majority-Muslim nations from entering the United States—inaccurately claimed that a number of the terrorists involved in the 9-11 attacks lived in Bay Ridge. Golden's spokesman,John Quaglione,later claimed that Golden had confused the 9-11 attacks with the 1993 attack on the World Trade Center;one of the 1993 attackers had,in fact,lived in Bay Ridge,Brooklyn.[31]
In June 2017,while endorsing his staffer,John Quaglione,in a local City Council race,Golden was overheard referring derisively to one of Quaglione's Democratic challengers as "Fat Boy" in front of reporters,warning a reporter present who had taken note of the gaffe not to print it or "[she] would never have a sit-down with [him] again."[32]
In December 2017,Brian Howald,a bicyclist and member of Brooklyn Community Board 2's transportation committee,alleged that Golden,while a passenger in a vehicle that was driving illegally in the bicycle lane,impersonated a police officer and threatened to arrest him if he did not yield to Golden's vehicle. The New York Post reported that Golden's car's plate number was associated with "more than 30 traffic violations over the last four years."[33]
The Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge is a suspension bridge connecting the New York City boroughs of Staten Island and Brooklyn. It spans the Narrows,a body of water linking the relatively enclosed New York Harbor with Lower New York Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. It is the only fixed crossing of the Narrows. The double-deck bridge carries 13 lanes of Interstate 278:seven on the upper level and six on the lower level. The span is named for Giovanni da Verrazzano,who in 1524 was the first European explorer to enter New York Harbor and the Hudson River.
Bay Ridge is a neighborhood in the southwest corner of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. It is bounded by Sunset Park to the north,Dyker Heights to the east,the Narrows and the Belt Parkway to the west,and Fort Hamilton Army Base and the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge to the south. The section of Bay Ridge south of 86th Street is sometimes considered part of a sub-neighborhood called Fort Hamilton.
The Conservative Party of New York State is an American political party founded in 1962 following conservative dissatisfaction with the Republican Party in New York. Running on the Conservative Party line,James L. Buckley won election to the U.S. Senate in 1970 and served for one term. Since 2010,the party has held "Row C" on New York ballots—the third-place ballot position,directly below the Democratic and Republican parties—because it received the third-highest number of votes of any political party in the 2010,2014 and 2018 New York gubernatorial elections. The party is known for its strategy of attempting to influence the Republican Party in a more conservative direction.
Sheepshead Bay is a neighborhood in southern Brooklyn,New York City. It is bounded by Ocean Parkway to the west;Avenue T and Kings Highway to the north;Nostrand Avenue and Gerritsen Avenue to the east;and the Atlantic Ocean to the south. Sheepshead Bay is abutted by the neighborhoods of Brighton Beach and Homecrest to the west;Midwood to the north;and Gerritsen Beach to the east.
The New York State Senate is the upper house of the New York State Legislature,while the New York State Assembly is its lower house. Established in 1777 by the Constitution of New York,its members are elected to two-year terms with no term limits. There are currently 63 seats in the Senate.
Andrew Joseph Lanza is an American lawyer and Republican politician. He is a member of the New York State Senate,representing the 24th district,which includes most of Staten Island. He was elected in 2006 after having served on the New York City Council for the 51st district.
Diane J. Savino is an American Democratic politician who represented the 23rd Senate District in the New York State Senate,in northern Staten Island and parts of southern Brooklyn,including Sunset Park,Bay Ridge,Bath Beach,Brighton Beach,and Coney Island. She currently serves as a senior advisor to New York City Mayor Eric Adams.
Vincent Joseph "Vinnie" Gentile is an American politician who served in the New York City Council from the 43rd district from 2003 to 2017. He is a Democrat. The district includes Bath Beach,Bay Ridge,Bensonhurst,and Dyker Heights in Brooklyn.
Carl Kruger is an American convicted felon and politician from New York. A Democrat from Brooklyn,he represented District 27 in the New York State Senate. Kruger was first elected to the State Senate in 1994 and later became Chair of the Senate Social Service Committee and the Senate Finance Committee. In December 2011,he resigned from the State Senate and pleaded guilty to federal corruption charges. In 2012,Kruger was sentenced to seven years in prison.
Martin MalavéDilan is a former member of the New York State Senate representing the 17th and 18th Senate Districts. The 18th Senate District encompasses the northern Brooklyn communities of Bushwick,Williamsburg,Greenpoint,Cypress Hills,City-Line,East New York,Bedford-Stuyvesant and Brownsville.
Kevin Parker is an American politician from the state of New York. He is a member of the New York State Senate representing the 21st district,which comprises portions of the Brooklyn neighborhoods of East Flatbush,Flatbush,Midwood,Ditmas Park,Kensington,Park Slope,and Windsor Terrace. A Democrat,Parker was first elected to the Senate in 2002.
Bradford S. Lander is an American politician,urban planner,and community organizer who currently serves as the New York City Comptroller. A member of the Democratic Party,Lander is a progressive politician,and has been described as "one of the most left-leaning politicians in the city."
Daniel Michael Donovan Jr. is an American attorney,former prosecutor and politician. A member of the Republican Party,he served as the U.S. representative for New York's 11th congressional district from 2015 to 2019. Donovan served as District Attorney of Richmond County from 2004 to 2015. He was first elected to Congress in a special election following the resignation of Michael Grimm. The district includes all of Staten Island,as well as portions of southwest Brooklyn. Donovan was defeated for reelection in 2018 by Democrat Max Rose.
The 1982 United States Senate election in New York was held on November 2,1982. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan won re-election to a second term.
David Storobin is a New York attorney and a former New York State Senator. A Republican,Storobin represented District 27 in the New York State Senate for several months in 2012.
Ross Elliot Barkan is an American journalist,novelist,and essayist.
New York's 17th State Senate district is one of 63 districts in the New York State Senate. It has been represented by Democrat Iwen Chu since 2023. Prior to redistricting in 2022,Simcha Felder represented this district - he now represents the 22nd district.
Jabari Brisport is an American politician,activist,and former public school teacher. He is the state senator for New York's 25th State Senate district in Brooklyn,and the first openly gay person of color to be elected to the New York State Legislature.
Zellnor Myrie is an American politician. A member of the Democratic Party,he has served in the New York State Senate since 2019,representing the 20th state senate district,which includes parts of Brooklyn.
Andrew Gounardes is an American lawyer and politician. He is a Democrat and a member of the New York State Senate,representing the 26th district,which encompasses the neighborhoods of Bay Ridge,Dyker Heights,Sunset Park,Greenwood Heights,Red Hook,Park Slope,Gowanus,Carroll Gardens,Boerum Hill,Cobble Hill,Downtown Brooklyn,Fort Greene,Brooklyn Heights,Vinegar Hill,and DUMBO in Brooklyn.
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