Marty Golden

Martin Golden
Martin Golden
Member of the New York State Senate
from the 22nd district
Assumed office
January 1, 2003
Preceded by Seymour P. Lachman
Member of the New York City Council
from the 43rd District
In office
January 1, 1998 – December 31, 2002
Preceded by Sal F. Albanese
Succeeded by Vincent J. Gentile
Personal details
Born (1950-09-22) September 22, 1950
Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
Political party Republican
Residence Bay Ridge, Brooklyn
Alma mater St. John's University
Occupation State Senator [1]
Signature
Website www.golden.nysenate.gov

Martin J. Golden (born September 22, 1950)[2] is an American politician from Brooklyn, New York, one of the five boroughs of New York City. Currently a member of the New York State Senate, Golden is a former member of the New York City Council. As of January 2018, Golden was the only Republican State Senator from Brooklyn, and was one of only three Republican elected officials representing Brooklyn; the others were Congressman Daniel M. Donovan, Jr. and New York State Assemblywoman Nicole Malliotakis, both of Staten Island.

Early life, family, and early career

Golden is the oldest of eight children born to Irish immigrants who settled in Bay Ridge.[3] Golden attended St. Patrick's and Our Lady of Angels Grammar Schools, New York School of Printing, and John Jay College. He holds an associate degree from St. John's University.[4] Golden and his wife, Colleen, have two children, Michael and P.J.[3]

Golden received 49 commendations during his seven years as an officer in the New York City Police Department.[5] He served from 1973 until 1976 in the 67th Precinct, whereupon he was laid off due to the fiscal crisis.[6] 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".[5] In 1981, while witnessing a suspected drug deal, Golden gave chase and was struck by a car. He suffered a broken arm and irreversible damage to his legs. Golden was medically forced to retire by the Police Department in 1983 and was granted a three-quarters disability pension.[6]

Political career

From 1998 through 2002, Golden represented the 43rd Council District in the New York City Council. In the days immediately after 9/11, Golden's office coordinated the shipment of more than 200 truckloads of food, clothing, and materials to the volunteers working at "Ground Zero" and helped to establish the first Community Emergency Response Team (CERT 1 NYC) in New York State.[4]

Golden was first elected to represent Brooklyn's 22nd Senate District in 2002. The 22nd State Senate District includes the neighborhoods of Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights, Bensonhurst, Marine Park, Gerritsen Beach, Gravesend, Manhattan Beach, and parts of Sheepshead Bay, Borough Park and Midwood.[4]

Golden has authored over 75 laws in the areas of public safety, taxes, economic development, and senior citizen issues. He has also supported or written several laws affecting senior citizens, include a law mandating the internet posting of retail prescription drug prices and a single EPIC/Medicare prescription drug card. In 2011, Golden was selected by then-Majority Leader Dean Skelos to serve as the Senate's Representative to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) Capital Program Review Board.[4]

In 2011, Golden voted against legalizing same-sex marriage in New York, stating that he considered it to be a "destruction of the sacrament of marriage."[7]

Following the murder of NYPD Officer Randolph Holder in 2015, Senator Golden wrote 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.[8] The bill also provides that the court must consider and make a finding of fact on the record, regarding the risk the individual might pose to public safety. Titled 'Officer Randolph Holder's Law,' S27 passed the Senate in 2017.[9]

In 2013, Golden was a vocal opponent of traffic enforcement cameras.[10] In 2017 he referred plans to expand the number of speed cameras near public schools in New York City as "non-starters".[11] 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.[12] In July 2018, Golden called for the State Senate to return to Albany to pass legislation that would continue to keep speed cameras functioning near New York City schools.[13]

In January 2017, Senator Golden co-sponsored Senate Bill S362, which would establish a prohibition on the imposition of any tax, fee or local charge on carry out merchandise bags in cities having a population of one million or more.[14]

A number of Senator Golden's bills have sought to reform child protective services. S6324, which passed the Senate in 2017, requires child protective services to document home visits with photographs.[15] S5724A, another bill that passed the Senate in 2017, prohibits the alleged child victim of a child abuse report from being interviewed in the presence of any other person named in the report.[16] This bill was written in response to the death of a 5-year-old at the hands of his father in Western New York.[17] One bill, S3146, with strong support in both the Senate and the Assembly, directs the Office of Children and Family Services to establish caseload standards for Child Protective Services workers. The standard holds that full-time CPS workers would not be able to handle more than 15 cases per month. The bill passed both houses in 2017, only to be vetoed by Governor Cuomo in December.[18][19]

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.[20] Golden and his staff reportedly declined the protesters' request for him to hold a healthcare townhall.[21]

Martin Golden protests the proposed site of a hotel in March of 2018.

In March 2018, Senator Golden went on Fox & Friends to condemn the release of former Black Liberation Army killer Herman Bell.[22] Golden stated, "By releasing Herman Bell, the Parole Board has dishonored the service and sacrifice of slain officers Joseph Piagentini and Waverly Jones." Golden has since written legislation, S8015, requiring that individuals be sentenced to life without parole when they are convicted of 1st degree murder with the intended victim being a police officer or other first responder.[23]

Golden has been a vocal opponent of a proposed hotel that sits 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. We want classrooms not hotel rooms…this is about Bay Ridge; this is about the people who live here. It's about the children who go to that school." Since March 2018, Golden has attended three protests at the vacant lot while being joined by other Bay Ridge politicians, including Congressman Dan Donovan, New York City Councilmember Justin Brannan, and New York State Assemblywoman Nicole Malliotakis. Golden started a petition online to help garner more support for the protest of the proposed hotel.[24][25][26]

Controversies

On August 6, 2005, Golden struck a 74-year-old woman with his SUV while 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" and that night "went to the hospital to check on her condition."[27] The NYPD determined Golden was not at fault and no charges were filed. The woman died six months later, and Golden paid her family a $750,000 settlement over a negligence and recklessness lawsuit.[28]

In 2011, the New York Daily News reported that Golden spent just under $40,000 of his campaign money at the Bay Ridge Manor, a catering hall in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, that is owned by Golden's brother. Golden is the former owner of this business, but sold it to his brother in 2002. The Senator, however, still owns the building that houses the business. He receives rent from his brother for the Bay Ridge Manor and continued to receive money from the sale of the business for at least a decade.[29] An investigation revealed that, since Golden became Senator in 2002, he had paid $355,000 in campaign money to the Bay Ridge Manor, which both he and his brother benefit from. Golden denied nepotism, but was criticized by Michael Murphy, Susan Lerner, and other politicians for this action.[29] In 2014, Golden's campaign finances were the subject of an investigation by then-U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara.[30] The Albany Times Union reported, in December 2017, that Golden had spent more than $797,000 in campaign funds at the Bay Ridge Manor.[31]

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"[32] and "sitting, standing, and walking like a model."[33] This event, which was taxpayer-funded, was heavily criticized, and Golden eventually cancelled it.[34]

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.[35]

In February 2017, Golden falsely claimed that the 9/11 hijackers originated from Bay Ridge, which is a neighborhood he represents, in defense of Trump's Muslim Ban. He claimed: "A number of them that drove the planes into the — 9-11 — into the building at World Trade Center that killed 3,000 Americans — are you ready for this? They were in this community, they lived here in Bay Ridge, they were visiting in this community". His spokesman, John Quaglione, later claimed that Golden had "misspoken."[36][37]

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."[38]

In December 2017, a bicyclist 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."[39]

Following the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida in 2018, Golden fired a staffer named Anthony Testaverde who had shared Twitter posts comparing activist David Hogg to Hitler and Nazi Youth.[40][41]

References

  1. ↑ "Martin J. Golden, NY State Senate". www.nysenate.gov.
  2. ↑ "Free Birthday Database". www.birthdatabase.com.
  3. 1 2 "Senator Marty Golden Official Website". Retrieved December 23, 2011.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Senator Martin J. Golden". New York Senate. Retrieved May 4, 2017.
  5. 1 2 "EX-COP GOLDEN TO REVEAL PAST". New York Daily News. Retrieved 2018-06-02.
  6. 1 2 "EX-COP POL FACES FOE ON DISABILITY PAY". New York Daily News. Retrieved 2018-06-02.
  7. ↑ "Same-sex marriage is all in the family for Golden". The Brooklyn Paper.
  8. ↑ Blain, Glenn. "NY lawmaker wants to make it harder for career criminals to enter diversion programs". New York Daily News.
  9. ↑ "NY State Senate Bill S27". New York Senate. December 28, 2016.
  10. ↑ "Targeting Marty Golden, speed-camera enemy number one". Politico.
  11. ↑ "Speed Cameras Get Traction in Albany, But Marty Golden Promises to Obstruct". May 15, 2017.
  12. ↑ DeJesus, Jaime (May 9, 2018). "Advocates rally in Bay Ridge for safer streets". Brooklyn Reporter.
  13. ↑ "Golden calls for senate to reconvene to pass speed camera bill". Brooklyn Eagle.
  14. ↑ "Plastics! Lander's bag fee under attack in Albany". The Brooklyn Paper.
  15. ↑ "NY State Senate Bill S6324". New York Senate. May 11, 2017.
  16. ↑ "NY State Senate Bill S5724A". New York Senate. April 11, 2018.
  17. ↑ Drantch, Ed (February 5, 2015). "Lawsuit: Boy was abused for 2 years prior to murder". WKBW-TV.
  18. ↑ "NY State Senate Bill S3146". New York Senate. January 19, 2017.
  19. ↑ "New bill would limit child-welfare workers to 15 cases a month". New York Post. January 25, 2017.
  20. ↑ "Healthcare bill a Golden chance, protesters say". Brooklyn Eagle.
  21. ↑ Zagare, Liena (June 1, 2017). "Golden Snubs Health Care Rally Outside His Office". BKLYNER.
  22. ↑ "'This Board Should Be Taken Apart': NY Lawmaker Blasts State Board for Paroling Double Cop Killer". Fox News. March 17, 2018.
  23. ↑ "NY State Senate Bill S8015". New York Senate. March 19, 2018.
  24. ↑ "Prospective new hotel across from P.S. 104 in Bay Ridge stirs controversy". Brooklyn Eagle.
  25. ↑ "Classrooms Not Hotel Rooms". New York Senate. March 20, 2018.
  26. ↑ "Bay Ridge residents protest proposed hotel". News 12 Networks. April 27, 2018.
  27. ↑ "Legislator's S.U.V. Strikes Woman, 74". The New York Times. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
  28. ↑ Fanelli, James. "Cop-impersonating state Sen. Marty Golden knocked 74-year-old pedestrian into coma with 2005 wreck, paid out $750G settlement". New York Daily News. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
  29. 1 2 Lovett, Kenneth (August 3, 2011). "Brooklyn pol Martin Golden pours in $39,000 to brother's catering business". New York Daily News. Retrieved April 19, 2018.
  30. ↑ "Bharara investigating state Sen. Golden's campaign finances". New York Post. October 9, 2014.
  31. ↑ "Lawmaker's business boosted by aide's public campaign funds". Times Union (Albany).
  32. ↑ lvladimirova (July 11, 2012). "Senator Martin Golden's Pesky Etiquette Class Isn't Going Away Quietly". BKLYNER.
  33. ↑ Bean, Bensonhurst (July 3, 2012). "Golden Draws Feminist Ire For Seminar Teaching Women To "Walk Up And Down A Stair Elegantly"". BKLYNER.
  34. ↑ "Sen. Marty Golden Holding Event Teaching The "Feminine Presence" [UPDATED]". City & State.
  35. ↑ "State Senator Deletes Joke About Gay Marriage From Facebook Page". The New York Observer. July 6, 2015. Retrieved May 4, 2017.
  36. ↑ "Pol made up Brooklyn's 9-11 connection to defend Trump travel ban". The Brooklyn Paper.
  37. ↑ "Unpacking Marty Golden's 9/11 Hijacker B.S." Hey Ridge.
  38. ↑ "Golden gaffe: State senator insults Dem Council candidate". Brooklyn Daily.
  39. ↑ "Politician impersonated cop to get past me in bike lane: cyclist". New York Post. December 12, 2017.
  40. ↑ Conley, Kristian (March 26, 2018). "State senator's aide compared student protester to Hitler". New York Post. Retrieved April 18, 2018.
  41. ↑ Manskar, Noah. "NYC Senator Axes Staffer Who Compared Parkland Teen To Hitler". patch.com. Patch Media. Retrieved April 18, 2018.
Political offices
Preceded by
Sal Albanese		 New York City Council, 43rd District
1998–2002		 Succeeded by
Vincent J. Gentile
New York State Senate
Preceded by
Seymour P. Lachman		 New York State Senate, 22nd District
2003–present		 Incumbent
Preceded by
Ruben Diaz		 Chairman of the Senate Committee on Aging
January 2011–January 2011		 Succeeded by
David Valesky
Preceded by
Bill Larkin		 Chairman of the Senate Committee on Civil Service and Pensions
January 2011–present		 Incumbent
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