Hundreds Mourn Queens DA Richard Brown At Forest Hills Funeral

FOREST HILLS, QUEENS — Hundreds of mourners gathered Tuesday in Forest Hills to see Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown leave the courthouse one last time.

A procession carried Brown's hearse along Queens Boulevard to The Reform Temple of Forest Hills for funeral services honoring the life of the longtime prosecutor and local resident. Brown died on May 3 at the age of 86.

Former Mayors David Dinkins and Michael Bloomberg, NYS Attorney General Letitia James, NYPD Commissioner James O’Neill, Manhattan DA Cy Vance and Bronx DA Darcel Clark joined Brown's loved ones and coworkers for the ceremony, according to the New York Daily News.

"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," Mayor Bill de Blasio said in his eulogy.

Brown, who was appointed the district attorney of Queens County in 1991 by then-Gov. Mario Cuomo, was the longest-serving DA in Queens history. He died after battling health issues associated with Parkinson's Disease, which prompted him to take a leave of absence from his job as DA.

"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," de Blasio said. "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."

Brown is survived by his wife Rhoda and their three children. He is also survived by their two granddaughters, Leah and Alana.