Transcript: Mayor de Blasio Delivers Remarks at the Funeral for Queens District Attorney Richard Brown

May 7, 2019

Mayor Bill de Blasio: Thank you, Rabbi. And a thank you to all who are here to celebrate Judge Brown’s life. This is an extraordinary outpouring, and it’s the measure of the man that so many people can here, so many people busy, engaged in the life of the City, but who all stopped for the sole purpose of honoring a man who did so much for us. So, thank all of you for being here – all of the elected officials and community leaders, his brother and sister DA’s, for whom the bond was so close. I want to offer a special thanks to my predecessor, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, thank you for joining us. 

Everyone, we gather united, and the City is united in grief, in mourning, but in appreciation as well. A great man was here among us and did such good – 28 years as District Attorney of this borough. Richard Brown made a difference, a profound difference. When we celebrate our progress as a city, he is one of the architects of that progress. When we think how much we have changed for the better, he was one of those change-makers. We celebrate that there’s more justice and fairness, he was one of the authors of that justice and fairness. He changed out city deeply by his presence, by his example, by his leadership, and all of that will be sorely missed. 

Our hearts go out to the Brown family. You sustained him and supported him. You were his strength and I know he loved you deeply. This extraordinary family – starting, of course, with his wife of almost 59 years, Rhoda – God bless you – amazing. And his whole family that I know today is sad, but I also know is so proud to have nurtured and supported all of the good that Judge Brown did. To his children, Karen, Todd, and Lynn, and their spouses too – his granddaughters Leah and Alana – God bless you, and thank you for carrying on that beautiful, powerful tradition of service that this family was known for. Leah is at West Point and Alana joins her there next year. God bless you both and thank you. And to his sister, Carolyn, this whole family, all that he did was made possible by you. 

I want to offer my condolences as well to the men and women of the Queens DA’s Office. I had the honor of spending a little time in that office, visiting a few years ago, and saw the devotion, the feeling of passion for justice, but also the passion for serving under Judge Brown. For everyone who spent time working under his leadership, I know it made a profound impact. And our hearts are with you today. I know you’re feeling a lot and we are here to support you just as you are doing so much to support the Brown family now. 

It is not an overstatement to say that Judge Brown commanded universal respect. I can say, in my 20 years of public service in this city, it was a given, to me. I saw any time he entered the room, any time anyone even mentioned his name, it was done with a certain reverence. 

In scripture there is a powerful passage that says, “Follow justice and justice alone.” It could have been written for Judge Brown personally because his love for justice was so intense and so clear. He had a seriousness and a focus and sobriety when it came to the question of what was the right thing to do. That really stood out – an integrity that was unmistakable. And that’s why people spoke about him with reverence.

He also was someone who often saw what we had to do before others did. He was an innovator. He was ahead of his time in so many of the areas that he focused on, pulling not only the Queens DA’s Office but so many in the criminal justice system to focus more on domestic violence, to focus more on hate crimes, to stand up more for victims’ rights. He understood there was more to be done and he also pushed harder with the laser-like focus.

He believed we could do more for young people with alternative sentencing. He saw what was possible. And with Judge Brown, you knew if he had an idea, he had the energy, he had the passion and determination to make it come to life. I don’t know how he sustained that energy over so many years. I don’t know how he did it even when he faced illness but he did it and it was a marvel to watch.

And I want to say that some people as they leave us can know that their legacy lives on and this is so true of Judge Brown. His legacy lives on in his beautiful family. His legacy lives on because Queens is a safer place. His legacy lives on because all of New York City is a safer place. His legacy surely lives on because he nurtured generation after generation of public servants and gave them that same sense of passion and possibility because their work continues to enrich us all and will for decades and decades to come.

For so many people in this room, a moment will come, a fork in the road, an important decision, and you’ll hear Judge Brown’s voice. You’ll know what he would have told you and you’ll know it’s the path to take.

So, we mourn but we appreciate with all our hearts what he has left us. On behalf of all 8.6 million New Yorkers, may Richard Brown’s memory be a blessing. To his family, to his friends, to his colleagues, to all who knew him, to the people of Queens, to the people of this city – let’s remember Judge Brown, let’s try and live like Judge Brown.

God bless you all.

[Applause]