From the Desk of . . . Brooklyn BP Marty Markowitz

Aaron Short with this amusing new feature in the print edition: Marty Markowitz first became a state senator in 1978 and was elected Brooklyn borough president in 2001. Over that time he's accumulated a lot of stuff: shovels from ground-breakings, embroidered jerseys, alcohol and collectables from his beloved Brooklyn Dodgers. Markowitz's favorite objects lean toward the nostalgic and the sports-related, but he waxes most emotional about his pet bird, "Beep," an African gray parakeet. He keeps several photos of Beep on his desk, next to his wife and family. To read more from City & State [click here. ](http://www.cityandstateny.com) [caption id="attachment_51273" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Rug with the Borough of Brooklyn Seal "When I became borough president in 2002, I called an artist from Park Slope who made rugs and asked her to make me a rug with the Brooklyn logo-and this is what she did. She took about six months.""](http://nypress.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/marty3.jpg)[/caption] [caption id="attachment_51272" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Leather briefcase "The bag I started using on January 1, 1979 when I was first elected. It has been repaired at least three times. It's not as if I can't afford a leather bag, but it's been a part of me through 11 terms in the State Senate, and three terms here. It's part of my DNA. I've kept it and repaired it as best I can, but you can only do so much.""](http://nypress.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/marty4.jpg)[/caption]