Basil A. Paterson

Paterson was born in Harlem on April 27, 1926,[6] the son of Leonard James and Evangeline Alicia (Rondon) Paterson.[7] His father was born on the island of Carriacou in the Grenadines and arrived in the United States aboard the S.S. Vestris on May 16, 1917 in New York City.[5] His mother was born in Kingston, Jamaica and arrived in the United States on September 9, 1919 aboard the S.S. Vestnorge in Philadelphia with a final destination of New York City.[1] A stenographer by profession,[1] the former Miss Rondon once served as a secretary for Marcus Garvey.[6]

In 1942, at the age of 16, Paterson graduated from De Witt Clinton High School in the Bronx. He was shaped by his experiences with racism early on. "I got out of high school when I was 16," Paterson told The New York Times columnist Bob Herbert, "and the first real job I had was with a wholesale house in the old Port Authority building, down on 18th Street. We'd pack and load these trucks that went up and down in huge elevators. Every year there would be a Christmas party for the employees at some local hotel. Those of us who worked in the shipping department were black. We got paid not to go to the party."[8] He attended college at St. John's University, but his studies were interrupted by a two-year stint in the U.S. Army during World War II. After serving honorably, he returned to St. John's to complete his undergraduate studies. While there he was very active in social and community service organizations, including among others the Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity, where he joined the ranks of the Omicron chapter of New York (now at Columbia University) in 1947. Paterson graduated with a B.S. in biology in 1948. He was later admitted to St. John's University Law School, where he received a Juris Doctor degree in 1951.[6][9]

Paterson became involved in Democratic politics in Harlem in the 1950s and 1960s. A member of the "Gang of Four", along with former New York Mayor David Dinkins, the late Manhattan Borough President Percy Sutton, and Congressman Charles Rangel, Paterson was a leader of the "Harlem Clubhouse", which has dominated Harlem politics since the 1960s.[10] J. Raymond Jones was influential in this clubhouse.

Paterson was a member of the New York State Senate, representing the Upper West Side of New York City and Harlem, from 1966 to 1971, sitting in the 176th, 177th and 178th New York State Legislatures. Paterson played a key role in stopping Columbia University from building a gym in Morningside Park.[8] He gave up his Senate seat in 1970 to run for Lieutenant Governor of New York, as the running mate of former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Arthur Goldberg. The Goldberg/Paterson ticket lost to the Republican incumbents Gov. Nelson Rockefeller and Lt. Gov. Malcolm Wilson. Many say Paterson was not highlighted enough. His son, David Paterson, would go on to become Lt. Governor in January of 2007.

In 1978, Paterson was appointed as a Deputy Mayor of New York City by then Mayor Ed Koch. Despite having briefly served in the Koch Administration, Paterson made moves to run for Mayor against Koch as the latter sought a third term, but ultimately chose not to run.[11] Koch had chosen to govern with a conservative, antagonistic coalition that did not fit Paterson's politics. He stepped down as deputy mayor in 1979 to become Secretary of State of New York, the first African American person to have held the post, and served until the end of the Hugh Carey administration in 1983. He succeeded Mario Cuomo who had risen to Lieutenant Governor, but was not speaking with Carey.

Paterson was a member of the law firm of Meyer, Suozzi, English & Klein, P.C., where he was co-chair of the firm's labor law practice.[9]

Paterson was the father of former New York Governor David Paterson. David served in the state Senate from 1985 to 2006. He was minority leader of the state Senate from 2003 to 2006. He was subsequently elected lieutenant governor in 2006 on a ticket with Gov. Eliot Spitzer. David Paterson succeeded to the governor's office upon Spitzer's resignation on March 17, 2008. Basil was present at his son's swearing in and was recognized by his son during his speech.

Paterson died on April 16, 2014, in Mount Sinai Hospital in Manhattan.[12][13]

His son, David, in late 2020 published his first book, Black, Blind, & In Charge: A Story of Visionary Leadership and Overcoming Adversity.[14][15]

• Paterson, David “Black, Blind, & In Charge: A Story of Visionary Leadership and Overcoming Adversity.” New York, New York, 2020
• Dinkins, David, A Mayor's Life: Governing New York's Gorgeous Mosaic, PublicAffairs Books, 2013
• Rangel, Charles B.; Wynter, Leon(2007)And I Haven't Had a Bad Day Since: From the Streets of Harlem to the Halls of Congress New York: St. Martin's Press.
• Walker, John C.The Harlem Fox: J. Raymond Jones at Tammany 1920:1970, New York: State University New York Press, 1989.
• Howell, Ron Boss of Black Brooklyn: The Life and Times of Bertram L. Baker Fordham University Press Bronx, New York 2018

• 1970 New York gubernatorial election
• J. Raymond Jones

• Meyer, Suozzi, English & Klein, P.C. - Biography Official Site
• Meyer, Suozzi, English & Klein, P.C. - Labor Law Practice