Staten Island will remember Guy Molinari, who died Wednesday after a long illness, as the pugnacious politico who championed “the forgotten borough” for decades — with enormous success.
Before that, he fought for his nation as a Marine in the Korean War, then for his clients as a lawyer in private practice for two decades.
But it was his tireless public service — six years in the state Assembly, 10 in the House of Representatives and a decade as borough president — that won so many hearts.
He won the enmity of Mayor Ed Koch by stopping the proposed Rossville city jail in the 1980s and was vital to Rudy Giuliani’s rise to the mayor’s office in 1993.
Molinari was the driving force in ending the toll for Brooklyn-bound cars on the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, lifting the 50-cent Staten Island Ferry fare and closing the Fresh Kills landfill — all huge quality-of-life victories for Staten Islanders.
Then again, he never shirked from a fight, even challenging City Councilman Jerome O’Donovan to fisticuffs amid one bitter race.
Rep. Dan Donovan summed it up well: Guy Molinari “left an indelible mark on Staten Island that inspired countless others to a calling of public service. His legacy will long outlast his remarkable life.”
Job well done, sir. Rest in peace.