Markowitz Delivers Final Annual Address With Usual Zing

Markowitz, who is term-limited, said that the address “marked a bittersweet occasion.” State Sen. Eric Adams, the Brooklyn Democrat who is running virtually unopposed to replace him, emphasized that transition during his cameo appearance at the end.

“I’m here to escort you off, Marty,” Adams said.

Markowitz’s address was classic. Mentioning “Brooklyn” 188 times, he touted his accomplishments, principally by bringing Brooklyn to center stage in the city.

“When I was first elected in 2001,” he boasted, “many Brooklynites didn’t even know what a borough president was, so I pledged to make it the most relevant office to Brooklynites. And I promised that Brooklyn would never be in the shadow of any other city in America, and that we’d be a place where people would want to move to, not from.”

Markowitz invited some 2,000 people to Barclays Center for his nearly three-hour extravaganza. And with exploding fireworks, the event was more spectacle than speech. He played videos of himself sampling food across the borough and galloping off on a horse.

Hyperbole reigned at times during the speech, such as when Markowitz declared, “Our emerging tech triangle is one of America’s hottest hubs for hi-tech companies. Silicon Valley is so over!”

Markowitz spoke about the new lights on Coney Island, saying, “As I promised, there will be so much bling on it that it’ll be visible from outer space.

“It’ll be Brooklyn’s Eiffel Tower — another must-see on every tourist’s list,” Markowitz boasted. “Ladies and gentlemen, feast your eyes on the new lights of the parachute jump. How’s that for some Brooklyn swagger?”

Markowitz ended his farewell by saying, “If I improved your lives in Brooklyn even just a little, and if I put a smile on your face, then I accomplished everything I set out to do.”

This article appeared in print on page 4 of the April 15th, 2013 edition of Hamodia.