[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 135 (Friday, December 8, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2225-E2226]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        IN HONOR OF MARTIN GOLD

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. JOSEPH CROWLEY

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, December 8, 2006

  Mr. CROWLEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor the life and reflect on the 
passing of Martin Gold of the Bronx, New York. He was 90 years old.
  On October 3, 2006, Martin left us for a better place, leaving behind 
his wife Helen, a son Robert Mariconi, many friends and admirers, and a 
far better Bronx thanks to his tireless advocacy.
  Martin Gold was a passionate advocate of senior citizens, veterans, 
and the overall beautification of the Bronx.
  He was the longtime Legislative Chairman for the Aging in America 
Community Services, Senior Center in the Bronx.
  He fought against the privatization of Social Security, the 
prescription drug plan that created a donut-hole and left millions of 
seniors without coverage, cuts to Medicare and other senior services 
programs.
  Martin was also a leader in fighting for additional benefits and 
better and more respectful treatment for veterans, including greater 
access to health care and ensuring waiting lists at VA hospitals 
disappeared.
  He himself served our Nation proudly in the United States Navy for 8 
years aboard the Valley Forge.
  He would often write to me, organize petition drives and speak to 
myself and my staff about important bills and the need to look out for 
seniors and veterans in Congress.
  Additionally, he was a true champion for a greater Bronx, himself 
organizing anti-graffiti campaigns to beautify the borough--a campaign 
he launched in 1994, when he was 78 years old.
  In the neighborhoods around Pelham Parkway North, he would monitor 50 
mailboxes to keep them clean. The Post Office gives him the specific 
shades of blue and green paints for the boxes, and a local neighborhood 
association donates the brushes and other supplies.
  It was these efforts that led our former Bronx Borough President to 
award him the ``Quality of Life Award''.
  He was one of the great Bronx residents who is changing the minds of 
America about what type of place the Bronx is. The Bronx that Howard 
Cosell referenced is not the Bronx that Martin Gold left us.
  We have the second largest public park in the City, Pelham Park, and 
serve as home to the Bronx Zoo and the Bronx Botanical Garden.
  The Bronx is also home to over 1.4 million people and so many lovely 
communities from City Island to Throggs Neck to Co-op City.

[[Page E2226]]

  The local news channel New York One once dubbed him ''New Yorker of 
the Week''.
  Well, I think that could be an understatement.
  Martin Gold was a Bronx Man for Life.

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