Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Ex-Deputy Mayor: I Resigned Because Of Domestic Violence Arrest, Not My Crappy Blizzard Response
By
Jen Chung
Published Sep 1, 2011
Modified Sep 1, 2011
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Jen Chung
Published Sep 1, 2011
Modified Sep 1, 2011
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Hey, remember former Deputy Mayor Stephen Goldsmith? You know, the deputy mayor of operations who was welcomed with excitement (he was a former mayor of Indianapolis), sucked during Blizzageddon response and stepped down at the beginning of August? Well, now it turns out that Goldsmith may have been pushed out of his job not because of being a terrible city manager—the Post says he resigned because he was arrested by D.C. police during a fight with his wife in July. Okay, that's what his wife says—"It would become a huge distraction to Bloomberg, and Stephen would never allow that to happen. He wasn't planning to resign when he resigned."
An argument apparently broke out in the posh townhouse Goldsmith and his wife Margaret, a newspaper heiress, own. According to the Post, "Goldsmith was arrested at his Georgetown home after his wife, Margaret, told cops he smashed a phone and grabbed her as she desperately tried to call cops, a Washington, DC, police report reveals."
The shocking report describes in dramatic detail how a "verbal altercation" between the former Indianapolis mayor, 64, and his wife in their ritzy house turned ugly at around 11:30 p.m. July 30.
"I should have put a bullet through you years ago!" Margaret, 59, allegedly told Goldsmith, the report revealed.
Stephen Goldsmith then "shoved [Margaret into] the kitchen counter," according to the report.
"You're not going to do this to me again, I'm calling the police," Margaret responded, the report said.
Goldsmith "then grabbed the phone from her hands and threw it onto the ground, breaking the phone. He then grabbed [Margaret] and refused to let her go."
"She kept screaming, 'Let me go, let me go,' " as Stephen refused to let her out of his grasp, according to the report."She dug her nails into [Stephen's] forearms," causing him to release Margaret, who then "ran to the other room to call police."
Goldsmith was arrested for simple assault domestic violence and spent two days in jail, but Margaret Goldsmith decided not to press charges. She tells the Post that her husband was never violent, explaining, "There was no domestic violence that occurred between my husband and myself. Nor has there ever been in the history of the marriage... [The arrest] was a big mistake. I can only tell you it was an enormous misunderstanding. It just got out of control."
Goldsmith himself said, "Because, according to the officers, DC law required an arrest, one was made over the objection of my wife, and no charges were ever filed.... Although Margaret, under oath, has affirmed the absence of violence and my actual innocence, I offered my resignation in order not to be a distraction to the mayor and his important agenda for the city." Mayor Bloomberg's office declined to comment.
Tagged
blizzageddon
Blizzard
d.c.
margaret goldsmith
mayor bloomberg
resignation
stephen goldsmith
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Deer are all over New Jersey roads looking for sex, state officials warn
Mid-October through mid-December is deer mating season, which can be a danger to drivers as the sex-seeking creatures cross roadways throughout the Garden State.
By
Rosemary Misdary
Published Oct 16, 2026 at 4:22 p.m. ET
Man messaged 'I got straight poison' before giving NYC college students fentanyl, feds say
A transcript from an April court hearing sheds new light on what transpired at Fashion Institute of Technology.
By
Samantha Max
News
Man messaged 'I got straight poison' before giving NYC college students fentanyl, feds say
A transcript from an April court hearing sheds new light on what transpired at Fashion Institute of Technology.
By
Samantha Max
Inside the plan to fix the nearly collapsed Pfizer Building, 1/64th of an inch at a time
By
David Brand
School bus carrying autistic students got lost in Brooklyn for 4 hours last year
By
Jessica Gould
NYC’s bridges can last 'forever,' if we take care of them
By
Clayton Guse
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .