[1] His father, Robert, was a waiter at George & Sid's, a kosher delicatessen, but died when Marty was nine years old; his mother, Dorothy, moved the family to public housing in Sheepshead Bay.

At one such concert, in 1990, soul legend Curtis Mayfield was left paralyzed from the neck down after a lighting fixture that had been knocked loose by wind fell on him, crushing several of his vertebrae.

Markowitz subsequently pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor for failing to disclose a campaign contribution; he was fined and performed community service.[when?

As borough presidents have little real power within city government, Markowitz used the office to be an aggressive advocate for Brooklyn, promoting mainstream tourism and events.

He repeated this during the 2005 New York City transit strike, inviting Brooklynites into Borough Hall for warm drinks and a chance to call loved ones.

Through capital funding and use of the borough president's Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP) authority, thousands of affordable housing units have been created, including inclusionary zoning in Greenpoint/Willamsburg and the Habitat for Humanity project in Ocean Hill/Brownsville.

He also called for increased parental and community engagement in schools and has supported policies that improve graduation rates and prepare Brooklyn students to compete and succeed in the global economy.

His desire to bring an NBA team to Brooklyn had been known since his campaign for borough president, and he was instrumental in persuading Bruce Ratner to purchase the Nets in 2004.

Two years later, it was revealed that Williams, who is co-founder of a Brooklyn construction company, had invested a million dollars in Bruce Ratner's purchase of the New Jersey Nets.

Markowitz delivered an address to attendees, prompting protesters outside to take a break from shouting "shame" in order to chant pejoratives at the borough president.

[10] During this same event, Markowitz's wife Jamie took eight limited edition fiberglass placemats designed by Murakami; this move caused some controversy, since there were only enough produced to provide each guest with one.

[12] In September 2009, NYC Department of Transportation was scheduled to modify the layout of Prospect Park West, installing a two-way protected bicycle lane.

[19] In July 2011, New York City's Conflicts of Interest Board fined Markowitz $20,000, an unusually large penalty, for accepting three trips for his wife, Jamie Snow, that were paid for by the governments of Turkey and the Netherlands.

The Board found that "by accepting travel expenses for his wife for each trip, [Markowitz] used his position as a public servant for private or personal advantage."