Queens Gazette

DA Brown’s Legacy


...“Judge Brown’s goal as district attorney from the very start was to elevate the standard of professionalism by hiring on merit, not political connections. And he made it a priority to have the most talented, capable and dedicated professionals imaginable...”

…“Judge Brown’s goal as district attorney from the very start was to elevate the standard of professionalism by hiring on merit, not political connections. And he made it a priority to have the most talented, capable and dedicated professionals imaginable…”

Upon the passing of Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown on Friday, May 3, Chief Assistant District Attorney John M. Ryan released the following statement:

“It is with a heavy heart that I share the very sad news that our beloved Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown has passed away. He was 86 years old.

“Judge Brown – as he has long been affectionately called – was a public servant like no other. He topped a spectacular judicial career and was appointed the district attorney of Queens County in 1991 by then-Governor Mario Cuomo. He was proud to serve the millions of people of Queens for nearly 28 years and was reelected to seven terms in office.

“Judge Brown’s goal as district attorney from the very start was to elevate the standard of professionalism by hiring on merit, not political connections. And he made it a priority to have the most talented, capable and dedicated professionals imaginable.

“Together with his law enforcement colleagues throughout New York City, Judge Brown contributed greatly to making this city the safest big city in the nation. His district attorney’s office created one of the state’s first Drug Courts, as well as Mental Health Courts and Veterans Court – all very successful over the years and their models (have been) duplicated across the country.

 

 

“Many programs followed: a Domestic Violence Bureau, the Office of Immigrant Affairs, the Animal Cruelty Unit and most recently, the Queens Treatment Intervention Program (Q-TIP) created to address the scourge of opioid addiction by providing a second chance for addicts to avoid criminal prosecution and to literally save lives.

“Judge Brown loved working for the people of Queens. He would often be the first person in the office and very likely the last to leave every day – and sometimes on weekends too. He was known to visit crime scenes, meet with victims and work tirelessly to give them justice.

“In January, Judge Brown announced that he would not seek reelection, and in March he decided that on June 1, 2019, he would step down, due to increasing health problems associated with Parkinson’s disease.

“The Judge died last night. He is survived by his wife Rhoda, their three children and their spouses: Karen; Todd and his wife Monica; and Lynn and her husband

Bruce. Judge Brown was exceedingly proud of his granddaughters: Leah, who is entering her last year at West Point; and Alana, who will start her first year at West Point in September.”

Well over 1,000 people came to honor and pay their respects at the funeral services for DA Richard A. Brown, including hundreds of NYPD, PAPD and FDNY officers. While it was virtually impossible to see everyone in the Temple, which was filled to capacity, those seen included Mayor Bill de Blasio, Chief Assistant

District Attorney John Ryan, NYPD Commissioner James O’Neill, former

Mayor Bloomberg, former Mayor David Dinkins, former Congressman Joseph Crowley, Queens Borough President

Melinda Katz, Congressman Gregory Meeks, Assembly Members Catherine Nolan and Andrew Hevesi, President & CEO of the Queens Chamber of Commerce

Thomas Grech, NYC Councilwoman

Karen Koslowitz, former NYC Councilman Morton Povman, former NYC Council Speaker Peter Vallone, Sr., former City Comptroller Alan Hevesi. Speakers at the service included several rabbis; ADA Ryan; former Special Assistant to DA Brown, Robert S. Tucker; and Brown’s son-in-law Bruce Foodman.

Thank You, DA Brown

The following is a reprint of an editorial run in the Gazette on January 16, 2019

It is hard to imagine any other district attorney who has had the same impact and record as our own Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown, 86, who has just announced his decision not to run for reelection. Brown has been the borough’s longest-serving district attorney with seven full terms in office, and with good reason: he has done an extraordinary job helping to bring crime rates down to record lows with the city’s highest conviction rates. His work has contributed immeasurably to shaping Queens and keeping it safe, and we want to thank him for his dedication and excellence. Not only has DA Brown been a highly successful prosecutor with historic reductions in violent crime and auto theft, among other categories, but he has proactively made Queens a better place by being an innovator, creating pioneering programs such as specialty courts, crime victim advocacy, and alternative sentencing and intervention to prevent as many people as possible from entering the system in the first place. Brown has been the only DA to send an assistant district attorney to every lineup in the county to ensure that lineups are conducted properly.

His legacy will be hard to live up to for whomever is elected to the office later this year, and we hope his successor will build on his work and continue the trend of vastly reduced crime that we have Brown to thank for. We shall never forget his excellence, phenomenal service, and accomplishments.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.