12 MAY 9, 2019 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
Hail and farewell to District Attorney Brown
Throughout his 28 years as
Queens’ top prosecutor, Richard
A. Brown made a habit of
EDITORIAL
getting around to local community
organizations and precinct council
meetings to update the people on what
his offi ce was doing.
Few things made him prouder than
to report on the tremendous overall
crime drop that coincided with his
service to the borough, which offi cially
came to an end with his death on May
3 at the age of 86.
Judge Brown, as so many of
his colleagues referred to him,
always spoke with pride about the
thousands of cases his team adeptly
handled and the quick turnaround
of getting offi cers back on duty aft er
processing arrests.
Brown was oft en quick to boast that
his offi ce had the highest conviction
rate of any borough. It wasn’t just
about a high winning percentage,
but rather about the hard work of his
staff in building strong cases based on
the facts.
It would be unfair to Brown’s
legacy, however, to suggest that his
offi ce was all about catching the bad guys. He worked just as hard to keep
The late Queens District Attorney Richard Brown.
people caught for lesser crimes from
repeating their off enses or falling into
the trap of a life of crime.
He founded alternative sentencing
programs for drug offenders and
supported the Queens Family Justice
Center, which provides assistance to
domestic violence victims. He also
supported various programs across
the borough to give kids safe places
to recreate.
Since Brown announced in January
he would not run for re-election,
many of those running to succeed him
have taken a very critical eye toward
Brown and his office. They speak
of doing more to reform criminal
justice and giving more people a
second chance. It’s part of an ongoing
national dialogue in a land that has
one of the highest incarceration rates
in the world.
Such concerns have merit, and in 28
years of service, Brown made his share
of mistakes, as any imperfect leader
has. It shouldn’t be said, however, that
Brown was ignorant of reform or
pursuing justice. His record of service
to this borough is demonstrative
of that effort, in keeping crime
low and the borough’s 2.2 million
residents safe.
What we admired most of Brown
was his straightforward approach to
the job he held nearly three decades.
He’d issue plenty of statements in
announcing arraignments and
convictions, but he never sought to
make headlines himself.
When he was able to, Brown would
go to major crime scenes not to rattle
off a soundbite, but to participate in
the investigative work underway. To
him, it was all part of his duty to the
people he worked for.
We hope that the next district
attorney, while bringing their own
ideas and approach to the offi ce, will
share that same diligent work ethic
and pursuit of justice.
We off er our condolences to the
Brown family and to all those who
worked closely with him.
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ESTABLISHED 1908
Co-Publishers
VICTORIA SCHNEPS-YUNIS
JOSHUA SCHNEPS
Editor-in-Chief
ROBERT POZARYCKI
Classifi ed Manager
DEBORAH CUSICK
Assistant Classifi ed Manager
MARLENE RUIZ
Reporters
EMILY DAVENPORT
MARK HALLUM
CARLOTTA MOHAMED
BILL PARRY
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STORY:
Construction work fi nally starts at
Douglaston Lowe’s site aft er months
of uncertainty about big-box store
SUMMARY:
Douglaston and Little Neck residents
have been in the dark about the
development of the Lowe’s Home
Improvement at the Douglaston
Plaza shopping center ever since
Community Board 11 approved it in
February 2018.
REACH:
13,476 people reached (as of 5/7/19)
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