Maria Aragona takes lead in Williamsburg, Greenpoint Civil Court judicial race

June 25, 2020 Rob Abruzzese

Maria Aragona, second from right, had a 21.5 percent lead over Stephen Burzio after the polls closed Tuesday night. Aragona is pictured here with Andrew Clemenza, from left, RoseAnn Branda and Lucy DiSalvo. Photo: Rob Abruzzese/Brooklyn Eagle

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While absentee ballots continue to be counted, Maria Aragona has taken a commanding 21.5 percent lead in the Democratic primary for judge of the Civil Court in the 3rd Municipal Court District over her opponent Stephen Burzio.

The primary is not yet officially over, she is ahead 11,255 votes to 7,255, and people familiar with local judicial elections have pointed out that it likely means that it’s only a matter of time until her lead turns into a victory.

“Typically, the absentee ballots fall along the same or similar line as the electronic ballots so it would appear that here the results will not change,” said Frank Carone, the outgoing president of the Brooklyn Bar Association.

“Maria Aragona deserves a lot of credit for her hard work and the voters in her district have clearly spoken,” Carone continued. “I have every confidence that she will serve the judiciary with the same passion and hard work that won her the seat in the first place.”

Burzio did not respond to requests for comment in time for publication, however. Aragona said that she had not heard from him, and expects to wait until all of the absentee ballots are counted before celebrating.

Both Burzio and Aragona are law clerks to Kings County Supreme Court judges. The winner will get a 10-year term on the bench in Brooklyn which will likely start with a one-to-two-year stint in the Criminal Court, which is typical for judges elected in New York City.

Maria Aragona. Photo: Mario Belluomo/Brooklyn Eagle

The third Municipal District where the election took place mainly covers the Williamsburg and Greenpoint neighborhoods, although the district does cover parts of the 54th, 56th and 57th Assembly Districts in Northern Brooklyn.

Aragona performed strongest in the 53rd Assembly District, which covers Williamsburg east of the Brooklyn/Queens Expressway and East Williamsburg, where she had a commanding 5,197 to 2,184 lead.

Burzio was much stronger in the 50th Assembly District, but still trailed Aragona 4,707 votes to 4,874. Only 1,548 ballots have been counted so far out of the 54th, 56th, and 57th Assembly Districts and Aragona led them all.

Aragona is a St. John’s University and Hofstra Law School graduate. She worked in private practice before she joined the court system, where she was named Employee of the Year in March 2019. She is currently the president of the Catholic Lawyers Guild, is the outgoing president of the Confederation of Columbian Lawyer Associations and is vice president of the Columbian Lawyers Association of Brooklyn.

Aragona is also involved in many local community organizations, and has worked with Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church and Community Board 1. Her mother is a teacher at P.S. 152.