Hello Brooklyn!

There is no higher honor that anyone can achieve in life than that which a community bestows on one of its own. Brooklynites have given me your respect and your trust, and there is nothing more important to me. My agenda as borough president will continue to focus on one thing: making Brooklyn a better place to live now, and for future generations.

I will work as hard in my third term as I did in my first and second. If at the end of the next two years Brooklynites can say that I have made their lives a little better, put a smile on their faces, and made them prouder to be Brooklynites, I will have achieved what I set out to do.  

As a former state senator who represented various slices of Brooklyn neighborhoods for more than two decades, I can attest that we need an elected advocate with a borough-wide mandate to further the unique interests of our borough, and to ensure that Brooklynites are heard and that our priorities receive the attention they richly deserve. As borough president, I have pledged to be Brooklyn’s biggest promoter, best salesman, greatest defender, and most enthusiastic cheerleader. And remember, if it’s good for Brooklyn residents and businesses, it’s good for New York City.

I have charged my staff with creating the most responsive, most relevant government office in the city. I am proud to lead a Borough Hall that is energetic and accessible, and an agenda that I believe is productive, visible and beneficial to every Brooklynite. The goal of my administration is to be a source of hands-on practical assistance, as well as civic pride and inspiration.

The ongoing Brooklyn renaissance has ushered in extraordinary changes that were virtually unimaginable even a decade ago. Still, some residents continue to struggle to attain access to quality health care, decent, affordable housing, safe, excellent schools for their children, and opportunities to advance their social and economic security.

I understand those struggles, and I will not rest until they are overcome. I grew up in rental apartments and public housing, working after school to help support my family. I earned my degree through attending nine long years of night school at Brooklyn College while working full-time. And I began my public career organizing tenants and senior citizens in Flatbush.

As borough president, my foremost policy priorities include finding effective ways to create more affordable housing, improve public education, eliminate health disparities, and keep crime down, while promoting economic development that expands opportunity for every Brooklynite in every corner of the borough.

Please feel free to call or write to my office with your questions, concerns and ideas about Brooklyn. With more than 2.5 million of the most creative people in the world, there are bound to be millions of ideas for making our borough even better than it is today. I will continue to do my best for Brooklyn, and all of New York City.

Marty