QUEENS, New York — On June 27, New York State will be holding a special election for judge for the New York City Civil Court in Queens county and on the ballot is Democrat, Marianne Gonzalez.
Gonzalez has been practicing law for over 25 years and specializes in commercial and residential real estate transactions. “She prides herself in providing exceptional service to her clients and strives to close every transaction amicably and expeditiously,” her website reads.
She was born into an Italian-Puerto Rican family and raised in Brooklyn. After earning a scholarship, she studied law at Touro College where she earned her Juris Doctor.
“She possesses strong core values, integrity and commitment to personal service. Her main focus is to help people achieve their goals. She is very passionate about her work and feels fortunate to do what she loves and loves what she does,” her website adds.
A long-time resident of Queens, Gonzalez has served her community for 30 years and told Vision Times that in that time she gained intimate knowledge about the community and its residents.
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“If you look at my website, I get a lot of nice things and people always feel the need to buy me a gift, because they feel so represented. They feel comfortable. They feel that they are being heard,” Gonzalez told Vision Times, adding that, “I just want to help. That’s why I became an attorney.”
She said she feels her established approach would translate well to the bench saying that she is “an ordinary person trying to do extraordinary things.”
She is proud to be someone who looks out for and represents common people. “I like one-on-one. I like the exchange and I like the gratification in knowing that I helped somebody,” she said.
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Like talking to a friend
“I pride myself on understanding the needs of the people. Everybody’s different, everybody’s culture is different,” she said, adding that, “Everyone [who] walks [through my] door, they don’t feel intimidated, they feel comfortable because they are able to sit down and … feel like they are talking to a friend, which is nice. And that’s how I built my practice.”
Her practice serves a broad spectrum of cultures including the Chinese, Indian, and Sikh populations, among others.
“Queens is a very diverse Borough and since I’ve been in Woodhaven, Queens for almost 30 years, I have become familiar with the need of the people,” Gonzalez told Vision Times via an email, adding that, “I have an open door policy in my Office and I pride myself on making everyone who walks through my door feel comfortable.”
Gonzalez says that she “also represent[s] First Time Home buyers working with Cypress Hills Development Corp., Neighborhood Restore and The Queens Bar Association Pro Bono Panel for Wills & Matrimonial Actions, so I am always working to give back to the community I serve,” adding that, “I understand diversity and I know that while we are diverse we are also very similar in that we all possess the common core values of Family and hard work.”
“I understand cultures,” she said, adding that, “I have learned that every culture has the same common denominator, which is family. Everybody has family and family is important.”
She believes she can bring a new level of respect to the people she serves as a judge and wants to change the judiciary from within.
“I am not saying you have to be warm. I know you have to maintain your composure. But, there’s a level of respect that all people deserve,” she said.
When asked about the political direction the country is taking Gonzalez declined to comment, saying that her priority is to “be focused on the law,” and that her main goal “is to interpret the law fairly and treat each case as an individual,” and that through this she will be able to mold the direction of her immediate community.
“Because, you see, the way something is decided, if it’s not appealed, it becomes precedent and people will follow suit. So, hopefully I could make a change,” she said.
Concerning her decision to run for judge, she said she was sitting in her living room one Saturday afternoon contemplating where she wanted to take her career; pondering whether she was ready to retire or whether there was something else she wanted to accomplish.
She said she thought about her mother, who passed away three years ago, who always encouraged her to seek a place on the bench.
The following Monday she received a call from New York community leader Martha Flores-Vazquez who told her, “We want you as our candidate,” and the hair on her arms stood up. “Mother, I know that’s you,” she said, adding that, “if it’s meant to be it will be.”
The primary will occur on June 27, 2023. The general election will occur on November 7, 2023.
Gonzalez’s office is located at 95-07 Jamaica Avenue Jamaica, NY and she can be reached by phone at (718) 850-6969.
