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Howard Golden ’58 (1925–2024)
Howard Golden, who graduated from Brooklyn Law School on the G.I. Bill after serving as a Navy medic during World War II, became one of the most influential figures in Brooklyn’s modern political history. A product of Brooklyn’s Democratic club system, he rose from representing Borough Park and Kensington on the New York City Council in the 1970s to serving as Brooklyn borough president from 1977 to 2001. Over his twenty-five-year tenure, Golden championed economic development and was closely associated with the revitalization of Downtown Brooklyn in the 1980s, including the construction of the MetroTech Center. Known for his blunt, forceful defense of the borough, he frequently clashed with city leadership yet earned respect for his persistence on behalf of local communities. Reflecting his lifelong pride in the borough he led, Golden remarked in a 2000 speech quoted in his New York Times obituary, “There are two kinds of people in this world — those that come from Brooklyn, and those that wish they did.”
Keywords
Navy, Veteran, Veterans, Brooklyn, Brooklyn Borough President