Though unopposed in 2009, other races were clouded by what some call “political prosecutions” of candidates and their allies: challengers Judge John Phillips and attorney Sandra Roper, John O’Hara, Assemblywoman Diane Gordon, and former Brooklyn Democratic County Leader Assemblyman Clarence Norman. Ironically, Taharka Robinson, Hynes’ 2013 Deputy Campaign Manager, was once a target of Hynes.
This time, a growing crescendo of voters is asking questions about the candidate himself and his record as a prosecutor.
Suspicions of favorable treatment were exposed by a New York Times series of reports on the prosecution of child sex assaults within Brooklyn’s very insular Orthodox Jewish communities. The district attorney was forced to confront accusations of having a different set of rules, including withholding from the public the names of those prosecuted, deferring to rabbinical authorities who were to determine victim credibility, and at times negotiating a guilty plea and probation.
In the face of those accusations, Hynes recently obtained the successful conviction of a prominent local rabbinical counselor for sexual abuse of a young female client.
On the flip side, other communities sometimes experience over-the-top prosecutions.
Early in 2011, four young men were charged with pimping and sexually abusing an Orthodox Jewish young woman for 9 years. A year later, defense counsel learned that early in the investigation, the young woman had recanted her claims. Hynes’ office was forced to drop the charges. Meanwhile, two of the men had been in jail for 10 months.
Last week, the Village Voice produced a scathing detailed report of instances of alleged prosecutorial misconduct emanating from within the Brooklyn District Attorney’s office.
In one highlighted case, Jabbar Collins spent 16 years in prison for the murder of a rabbi, a murder he did not commit. Collins is suing the city for wrongful conviction. U.S. District Judge Frederick Block stated from the bench that he is “disturbed by Hynes’ behavior” in support of the prosecutor on Collins’ case, Michael Vecchione.
Collins’ attorney Joel Rudin has reportedly uncovered 56 cases of Brooklyn prosecutorial misconduct since the mid-1980s.
DA Hynes is known both locally and nationally for his innovative crime prevention programs, from ComAlert and the Sex Offender’s Hotline, to domestic violence and anti-gang initiatives.
But, as the borough’s top prosecutor, Charles Hynes will likely face pointed questions from this year’s challengers, Manhattan prosecutor Abe George and prominent federal prosecutor and defense counsel Kenneth Thompson – both men of color.
As reports of his decision to run were reported, Abe George characterized the Brooklyn DA’s office as “way too political” regarding sex abuse scandals in Brooklyn’s Orthodox Jewish communities, and then praised how Manhattan DA Cy Vance runs that office. But, Manhattan doesn’t have the concentrations of Orthodox Jewish communities that Brooklyn has. Vance has not been faced with prosecuting crimes emanating from within extremely closed, insular communities.
George called the Brooklyn DA’s office “antiquated” and not very technologically advanced, as if he would know. George has worked primarily in the special narcotics unit for years, and will come under his own scrutiny from those of us who read the papers and see the special treatment Manhattan whites receive when caches of drugs are found in their apartments or when high profile socialites die from drug overdoses. The former ADA does believe that prosecutions for small amounts of marijuana waste valuable law enforcement resources.
Kenneth Thompson first became widely known to Brooklynites for his successful investigation and prosecution of NYPD officers involved in the beating and torture of Haitian husband and father Abner Louima. Thompson’s trial skills compelled police officer Justin Volpe to plead guilty in the middle of the trial. He obtained a jury conviction of former officer Charles Schwarz in the same case.
Thompson represented the mother of Romona Moore, a young Caribbean college student who was snatched off East Flatbush streets, and chained in a basement for days where she was raped and tortured. Her body was found tossed under an ice cream truck. When Moore’s mother begged NYPD for missing person status for her daughter, she was rebuffed and told Romona was probably with a non-existent boyfriend. Ironically, during the same time period, a wealthy white socialite went missing. NYPD pulled out all the stops, plastering Manhattan with missing person’s flyers and vans with bullhorns asking for information. That socialite was found in the East River.
Thompson gained worldwide recognition for representing Nafissatou Diallo, the Manhattan hotel maid who was sexually assaulted by Dominique Strauss-Kahn, a front runner for the French presidency at the time. Questions remain regarding how Cy Vance’s office handled the criminal prosecution, which was dropped. Thompson stood by his client until she received a civil settlement from Strauss-Kahn.
Thompson also represented the school teacher who was approached at gun-point by a drunken off-duty cop early one morning on her way to work, taken to a courtyard, and raped. After ludicrous denial, that cop was convicted.
Kenneth Thompson raised $340,000 against Abe George’s $210,000 – both from more than 400 contributions. DA Hynes raised $27,000 during the filing period and had a January closing balance of $375,000 after spending $73,000.
According to one political strategist, George and Thompson should sit down and establish benchmarks that would determine which should go to a one-on-one against Hynes. Any individual challenger would face a tough race against Hynes, but with both men of color in the race chasing contributions and volunteers, Hynes would be able to go on vacation and still win… despite questions of his prosecutorial style.
Originally published in Our Time Press, Jan. 17, 2013.
U.S. Public Health Service Medical Assistance Teams Deployed to Brookdale Hospital
The U.S. Public Health Service (PHS) is deployed at Brookdale University Hospital and Medical Center, serving medical needs in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy.
U.S. Public Health Service Medical Assistance Teams Deployed to Brookdale Hospital
The U.S. Public Health Service (PHS) is deployed at Brookdale University Hospital and Medical Center, serving medical needs in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy.
For the first time ever, two Rapid Deployment Force (RDF) Teams have set up operations in a hospital.
Brookdale CEO Mark Toney led the 48 hour transformation of 1½ floors of storage areas into a fully functioning medical space for more than 100 patients from storm damaged local nursing homes and Coney Island Hospital which closed due to flooding. Brookdale Hospital and this team were able to track down all but four family members who were contacted, and notified that their family members are safe at Brookdale. Family members have come to visit, and for family who live too far away, or maybe they are victims (of Hurricane Sandy) themselves and were not able to come see their family, Brookdale and the RDF set up phone calls for them.
Lieut. Mike Muni, DPI Officer for RDF Team-2 stated, “This is a perfect example of what President Obama just talked about on the news not too long ago. We have to cut the red tape to get the services where they are needed.” Brookdale Hospital contacted the state and the Health Department offering its underutilized space. The state contacted the federal government, which “which activated our team out of Washington DC.,” Muni said. “When we got here, they were literally putting the paint on the walls as we were moving in. It was ‘all hands on deck’ for the community, for Brookdale Hospital, the state, and for the federal government.” In less than two days, the storage areas on half the 6th floor and the entire 11th floor were cleared, plumbing and electricity was fully functional, and patient beds were moved in.
“Our teams are hospitals-in-a-box, virtually,” said Captain de la Cruz, PI Officer for PHS-2 RDF. “We come with everything from doctors and nurses, to veterinarians, sanitation, engineers, administration, hospital administrative staff, public affairs, logisticians to make sure we have all the supplies we need. We go to where we are needed within 12 to 14 hours to provide services.” Each Team arrives with its own cache of supplies, including a pharmacy and is able to provide services for up to 14 days without needing to be restocked. They serve chronic and acute care needs. “We’ve served in the past everything from seniors – nursing home evacuees like we’re doing now, special needs populations, or a family – parents, children and infants. We go the gamut,” said de la Cruz. “We don’t know the population we are going to serve until we are on the ground.”
“Brookdale Hospital has been incredibly cooperative,” said de la Cruz. “They are a fantastic collaborator and partner.”
PHS-2 is one of five RDF Teams from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services who are ready to go at a moment’s notice after a natural disaster when called upon by the Department of Health and Human Services and FEMA to go to an area of need once they have a request by the governor.
This week saw the end of a 14 day deployment for RDF-2. Cmdr. Joseph Zagame, PI Officer for incoming RDF-1 said, “We are here to provide a seamless transition from Team-2 to Team-1. Once we get the transition plan approved and vetted by the team commanders -- our staff is in route right now – then the ongoing complement will be going home.”
Zagame, who is also a licensed pharmacist, explained that the normal complement of the team is 105 personnel. Based on the need at Brookdale, RFD-2 has 76 officers; and replacement Team RDF-1 has 65 officers because of “the exceptional job they have done laying the groundwork for us to come in to provide seamless integration and continuity of care for the patients. Whatever is needed to complete the mission we will provide,” said Zagame.
In the past, RDFs have provided medical services for other hurricanes, including Gustave and Katrina. They were officers deployed in Haiti after the earthquake and in Japan after the tsunami. “We have public health officers at the Inauguration, as well,” said Muni. “Anytime there is an opportunity for something to happen, we have public health officers the behind-the-scenes. It all falls under our mission, which is to protect, promote and advance the health and safety of our nation.”
De la Cruz added, “We can set up our federal medical station pretty much anywhere, in gymnasiums, we’ve taken over convention centers – anywhere where we can guarantee the safety of the patients that we serve. We have to have basic electricity and running water so that the medical care can be provided. But, we have set up in tents before and run our own generators. This is the first time we have been able to deploy in a hospital system.”
As hospital CEO, Toney explained his role in providing services to the greater community during a time of crisis. “When a community has been impacted the way this community has been, and Brookdale is a facility that had minimal damage to it, we have a commitment and a responsibility to take care of the people,” he said. “We need to be able to be the beacon in the community. We were able to do that.”
The entire Brookdale Hospital family pulled together. “It was done within 48 hours. And, it was done because the Brookdale family employees here knew the need and wanted to help their neighbors,” Toney said. “Being able to offer our availability was something that we were happy to do.”
According to Toney, Brookdale staff were willing to step forward and assist the RDF Teams and throughout the hospital. Toney admitted that in today’s healthcare environment, most institutions run very lean. “We did not have access staff,” he said. “What we did is implement a state-of-emergency. All our staff are basically on-call and have to be available. We are in the business of taking care of people who need our help.” The staff stayed through the nights, and Brookdale provided bedding and food for them. “At the end of the day,” said Toney, “our staff are the ones who worked through it” even though some staff experienced flooding at their own homes. Toney said, “The hospital is running some overtime, obviously, but our staff are willing to do that because it’s needed for the patients.” In addition, Brookdale hired and is hiring more temporary staff, through the unions and the marketplace.
The nursing home patients were in the dark and the cold for an extended period of time in a couple of the facilities. “As the nursing homes start re-opening pending approval from the state, the residents on the sixth and eleventh floors will probably go back to long term care facilities versus being in an acute care hospital,” said Toney. “We hope that Brookdale will always be here as a beacon to help in a crisis.” While the RDF Teams were attending to the medical needs of their transfer patients, Brookdale Hospital is providing continuing post-Superstorm care to the greater community.
Elliot Bondy, Director of Pulmonary Medicine at Brookdale Hospital spoke to Our Time Press about health risks in the aftermath of Sandy.
Dr. Bondy: “Exposure to mold for those people who are sensitive can cause them to have coughing, wheezing, and with a long enough exposure over a long enough period of time will start to get shortness of breath. Usually a person who has a pre-existing pulmonary condition, for example asthma, or allergies, will have quicker symptoms. There are some people who are very sensitive to mold after a day or two will start experiencing shortness of breath and coughing. Treatment for mold exposure is removal of the mold or removal of your exposure by leaving the area. People who may have experienced sustained damage from the storm – flooded basements, wet walls, areas where mold can grow – they are going to be at risk for having mold exposure. There is nothing a person can take to prevent symptoms of mold exposure. Some people who may have been exposed might need anti-inflammatory agents. It is a little bit too early to expect to see large numbers of mold exposure cases.”
Dust is another factor when people are cleaning out their flooded homes. “People, especially cleanup workers, have to take extra precautions,” said Dr. Bondy. “Though not as serious as after 9/11, the dust in the air can contribute to airway sensitivity.”
Dr. Bondy said tuberculosis is only a risk when there is a breakdown in health standards in areas of crowding and if there is a patient who has tuberculosis in a shelter and doesn’t tell anybody. Then others are at risk, but the health department is very meticulous about following people who have tuberculosis.”
For people who live in high rises where water systems stopped functioning, the smell of human waste is not a health problem. Dr. Bondy did say that the only serious problem is physical touching of the accumulated waste. “That is an infectious disease concern,” Dr. Bondy said. The Centers for Disease Control recommends using clean bottled water for washing hands and body.
Originally published in Our Time Press, November 15, 2012.
Sonny Southerland’s teen daughter Ciara drank non-toxic paint at school one day. Though the school claimed it was a suicide attempt, none of the school authorities called EMS to have Ciara evaluated in an emergency room or a mental health facility. Nevertheless, the Administration of Children’s Services was contacted. Southerland informed the school and ACS that Ciara was not living in his home and he had obtained several PINS (persons in need of supervision) designations on her.
Caseworker Timothy Woo came to Southerland’s home, and after several attempts, met 5 of Southerland’s youngest children as he was taking them to school. Woo obtained the names of all Southerland’s children. Woo went to Family Court to procure a warrant, using the names of children associated with Ciara’s mother, who had an open ACS case and a different set of children. Woo knew that that Ciara’s mother’s children were different because he had obtained the names of Southerland’s children from Southerland himself.
Woo was able to gain access to Southerland’s home and made an assessment. Woo looked in the refrigerator and found among other items birthday cake and beer, remnants of a birthday party for one of Southerland’s children the day before. (Southerland has video of the birthday party which shows that the children were healthy, happy, and well-fed.) Woo did not look in the freezer or the kitchen cabinets, yet made an assessment that the children had no food and were hungry.
Woo told the court that one child had stepped on a nail and that Southerland was not making arrangements to have the child get a tetanus shot. Woo deemed it medical neglect. But, there was no nail. Southerland had taken the children to Cypress Hill Park and the child had stepped on a small tree branch. She had a slight limp and her foot was a little sore, but the skin was not broken.
Woo also presented information to the court that the children were sleeping on the floor, but neglected to mention that the children had bunk beds and preferred to sleep on camping equipment, i.e., sleeping bags. Woo made a point to complain that there was electronic equipment in one of the rooms.
Because of Woo’s subjective assessment, which should not have taken place because the catalyst -- Ciara -- did not live in the home, the children were removed.
At a certain point, Family Court realized Woo’s representations to the court were not factual, but that did not stop what Southerland says is a fabrication of abuse allegations against him which he says was used to justify keeping the children.
In NYC’s petition to the U.S. Supreme Court for a writ of certiorari (cert), the city states “In 1998, after a trial in New York State Family Court, Sonny Southerland was found to have abused his seven children so severely – sexually and corporally – as to warrant denying him custody for seven years.” What the city doesn’t tell the Court is that all of the children were attending school daily. Southerland contends that if his children were as “severely” abused as the city contends, NYC schools are staffed by mandated reporters who are required by law to report suspected child abuse. According to the record, no school-based mandated reporter alerted child protective authorities of any allegation of abuse by Southerland against the children living in his home.
Brian King, Southerland’s attorney stated he interviewed all of the children. “You know, all of his children are still with him. They came back to him, after the foster care system, and everything. I interviewed all of those children. Now, they are adults, of course. Each of them, to a person, said that their dad never abused them and he is a good dad,” said King. “I think that is a testament to how good a dad he is as anything. They are adults now saying, ‘No. He never abused us.’ He is a good dad.”
Southerland said the charges of abuse were manufactured after his children were taken from him. According to Southerland, during the Family Court case process, the court demanded he undergo a psychiatric evaluation with a court appointed service provider. Southerland refused the court appointed provider and decided to obtain an independent evaluation from a service provider of his choosing, which Southerland said made the process even more belligerent. Southerland said he believes any court appointed psychiatric evaluation service provider would be tempted to produce a report favorable to the court in order to continue to obtain court-appointed referrals. He also believes that giving parents no choice but to undergo a psychiatric evaluation with only court appointed service providers is a method to pathologize the parent.
The City is asking the Supreme Court to decide several questions. 1) Assuming that a plaintiff has a constitutional claim under either the 4th or 14th amendment with respect to a child’s removal, should the qualified immunity question as to the caseworker who removed the child be whether a reasonable jury could conclude that the child was not at imminent risk of harm or whether a reasonable caseworker in that particular caseworker’s position could have concluded that the child was? The City asks the Supreme Court if the reasonable standard should be that of a jury or case worker. The City does not address the misrepresentations of fact by Woo to Family Court which started the taking of the children. Nor does the City ask if a reasonable caseworker would misrepresent facts regarding a family. Neither does the City ask if a caseworker should be immune from damages resulting from deliberate, willful, or careless misrepresentation of facts.
2) The City asks whether Woo is entitled to qualified immunity where 5 Judges of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit agree that there was an absence of statutory or constitutional rules which Woo should have been aware of when he secured a warrant to search Southerland’s home and remove the children. Here, the City seems to be stretching by relying on the minority opinion. The majority opinion found in favor of Southerland. In addition, there are currently 13 judges in regular active service and 10 judges in senior status on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
3) After removing children from a home under the belief that they were abused, and, thereafter, a state court adjudicates a parent to have been so abusive of his children as to deny him further custody, can the parent and the children sue the caseworker who rescued children from further abuse on due process grounds? The City does not mention what redress should be sufficient to parents and children when children are wrongfully removed from their home.
In answering the NYC’s request for cert, Sonny Southerland’s attorneys (Lansner & Kubitschek) state there are only 2 questions regarding the Secord Circuit’s finding in favor of Southerland. 1) Was the Second Circuit correct when it denied qualified immunity on 4th amendment search claim when Woo “recklessly, knowingly, or intentionally omitted relevant information from his sworn application” seeking a court order to enter Southerland’s home “and the omitted information would have undercut a finding of probable cause?” 2) Was qualified immunity correctly denied for removing children from parent “without judicial authorization when a genuine issue of material fact existed as to whether [Woo] could have believed child faced imminent harm?
Lansner & Kubitschek’s answer to the Court states the city did not answer the illegal search claim. In addition, Southerland’s attorneys state that the city was raising an argument it had never raised during the 13 years the case had been litigated regarding “always” looking for a child in a home of the custodial parent even if the child did not live there.
The National Association of Social Workers (NASW) filed an amicus (friend of the court) brief. NASW seemed concerned with caseworker jobs and protection of their income while dismissing the serious liability and harm to families from a case worker who may “recklessly, knowingly, or intentionally omitted relevant information from his sworn application” for child removal. NASW prefers social worker oversight not be in federal court, but in the state, where its associations and unions can lobby elected official and contribute financially to campaigns of elected officials, potentially skewing legislation in favor of social workers. (On the other hand, according to Southerland, Family Court personnel and foster care agency case workers routinely tell parents not to discuss their case with anyone -- family, friends, advocates, or legislators, and parents are threatened that if they do talk about their Family Court case, they will never see their children again.) There is no mention of the rights of parents, who NASW calls "adjudicated abusers." NASW also believes social workers should have the authority to determine child abuse "too soon," prior to any potential occurrence of abuse. Southerland believes the association is asking the Supreme Court to grant authority to presumably make pre-abuse -- similar to pre-crime -- determinations where no abuse exists.
Attorney King said Southerland displays “The most remarkable display of courage and tenacity that I have seen from a parent. His kids were taken away from him illegally. He fought to get them back. He is now, after over a decade of fighting, just at the point to talk about the harm that was done to him. He is just getting to that point. It took a lot of patience.”
Edited from original article published in Our Time Press, Nov. 8, 2014.
Chris Owens is calling for an immediate elimination of at-large committee membership. When Lopez appointed 11 at-large members, the outcry was heard all across the borough. Any vote taked by the 42 elected district leaders could be swayed by the Lopez 11. Now, Owens wants them gone.
Although members of any organization expect regularly scheduled meetings, this practice does not occur in the County Committee. Owens wants a commitment to establish bi-monthly meetings, with public schedules, proceedings published on a functional website, and secret ballot voting.
Owens also wants specific subcommittees to handle county business, consideration of separating the roles of State Committee and District Leader, and a public pledge that the County Chair shall not directly engage in solicitation of funds.
Local district leaders have expressed their own suggestions for better county operations.
Robert Cornegy (56th AD) wants to maintain diversity on the executive board. He says at-large members add diversity, but he wants their voting right taken away. Cornegy believes there needs to be better representation of diversity on the Civil and Supreme Kings County bench because “70% or more of those sentenced on the Kings County bench are people of color.”
Annette Robinson (56th AD) sees a need for “transparency, the calling of regular meetings, an active county committee, and diversity in the judiciary.” Robinson said a best practice would be to bring all elected officials “under a unifying tent” so that they can work together for the benefit of all residents of Brooklyn. According to Robinson, as things currently stand, there are no meetings with representatives on the city, state, and federal level “as a County.”
Walter Mosley (57th AD) would like to see subcommittees already in the by-laws “empowered.” He also thinks there is need for “decentralization of power” so that “just in case of an emergency, the County will function.”
Assemblyman Karim Camara’s name was floated as a potential candidate for County Leader. “I was approached. What I have been doing is having active discussions with the coalition that approached me. As it stands, I am currently not eligible. My priority now is to continue being part of the discussion so that we collectively can find ways to create a reform agenda for Brooklyn politics.”
Camara thinks there are guiding principles that can be introduced into County Committee. “Independent of my potential candidacy, I think there is a strong argument that can be made for not restricting who the Chairperson is to current District Leaders,” he said. “We have some dynamic District Leaders, many of whom would be very capable to be County Leader. By the same token, I think we should not limit it to that group of individuals.”
“Whoever the next chair is,” Camara said, “I think that is something that Chair and the District Leadership could consider -- the pros and cons of restricting leadership to the current district leaders.”
By expanding the potential pool, Camara thinks the person should be “a resident of Brooklyn -- an individual who has made a mark, whether it’s raising money for the party or a political strategist for the party -- someone who is deemed to be a leader and who can help galvanize the other District Leaders. Part of the challenge is for them to look at the pros and cons of both. It should be given very careful thought, at the very least. Independent of my particular candidacy, I would love to be a part of the discussion of the best way to reform Brooklyn politics for the better of the County of Kings.”
According to Weyman Carey (58th AD) there is immediacy to settling County business: next year Brooklyn will be electing 6 Supreme Court judges: three are aging out, and there will be three additional open seats.
Originally pubished in Our Time Press, September 6, 2012
Today, Crain’s published a little dish about a meeting of Black Democrats that took place at Vanguard Independent Democratic Association (VIDA) last night (Wed., August 29). The piece claims “an insider said” Assemblyman Karim Camara, district leader Walter Mosley, Councilmembers Letitia James and Albert Vann and others gathered.”
Here is the piece in its entirety:
Black Democrats Meet on Seddio
With former Assemblyman Frank Seddio solidifying his frontrunner status to replace Vito Lopez as Brooklyn Democratic chairman, the borough's black leadership met last night. Assemblyman Karim Camara, district leader Walter Mosley, Councilmembers Letitia James and Albert Vann and others gathered at the Vanguard Independent Democratic Association in Bed-Stuy to "put together their own manifesto" for Seddio, an insider said. "They want to see some progressive changes," said the insider. Many of Brooklyn's black officials wanted Camara to succeed Lopez, but Seddio had the votes and party rules on his side. The source called him "more of the same with a different name." But district leader Joe Bova said Seddio could unite the party. "His personality will bring people together," Bova said.
Read more: http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20120830/INS/120829863#ixzz253KUq3wp
Guess what? I was there… standing outside VIDA last night talking to folk from about 8-8:30pm. I saw Assemblywoman/District Leader Annette Robinson enter VIDA. I saw District Leaders Chris Owens and Rodneyse Bichotte enter. District Leader Robert Cornegy came down and spoke to me for a couple of minutes.
Apparently, District Leader Walter Mosley arrived after I left.
Others in attendance were District Leaders Olanike Alabi, Darlene Mealy, Shirley Paterson, Ingrid Martin, and Jesse Hamilton.
No, Al Vann was not there. Neither was Councilmember Letitia James, who was in upper Manhattan with Council Member Ydanis Rodriguez at an event that was covered by Channel 7 news.
And no, the meeting was not to "put together their own manifesto" for Seddio. The meeting was to see whether, as a group, Black district leaders could come to a consensus as to who they would support for County Leader.
What did they decide? They will meet with all County Leader candidates on the weekend of Sept. 15 and 16.
As for Lopez orchestrating Seddio, well it’s plausible. But, as district leader, Seddio has forged his own alliances. Lopez and Seddio admittedly are close. According to the NY Times, Seddio “expressed doubt that the alleged harassment occurred, despite the settlement payout and Assembly committee’s censure vote.”
From the Times: “If they are true,” the sex-harassment charges are “abhorrent,” Seddio said. “He’s indicated to me that these charges were unfounded,” Seddio said.
(As I was preparing to post, I received a statement from Seddio calling for Assemblyman Lopez to resign: “The accusations by former staffers of Assemblyman Lopez in today’s papers are appalling. If true, Vito has to resign from the Assembly. This is unspeakable, atrocious behavior. Sexual harassment is unacceptable anywhere, especially in the workplace, and the behavior of which he stands accused is unacceptable by anyone, let alone a public official.”)
I can only marvel at how Brooklyn Black district leaders have not yet come up with a potential successor to Lopez from among themselves. Instead, some have been talking about a potential rules change with unforeseen consequences. County rules state a County Leader must be or have been a district leader.
Despite this, among certain circles Hakeem Jeffries name was floated. But, he is preparing to go to Washington. Then Karim Camara was suggested (not by Governor Cuomo). But, District Leader Inez Barron would not support Camara, who the Barrons view as yet another “go along to get along” Black politician.
Among District Leaders, rumors that Walter Mosley would be interested are false. Mosley is focused on his campaign for Assembly.
Considering the ever expanding workplace sex harassment allegations against Lopez, and the outrage from women’s groups that tax dollars were used to secretly settle with two former Lopez employees, one would think Brooklyn’s female district leaders would at least discuss the possibility of support for a female County Leader. Jo Anne Simon tried, but couldn’t gain traction.
No matter what happens during the next couple of weeks, including the outcome of the district leader elections on Sept. 13, one thing is clear. The Sept. 20 County meeting will usher in a new era of leadership.
Prior to the 2008 housing bust, every imaginable space was ripe for developers who somehow got banks to finance high-end projects in poor and working class communities. The completed units were projected to sell for upwards of half a million dollars -- prices not found in even upper middle class neighborhoods.
One example is 1040 East New York Avenue, a former gas station and repair shop. As the site was being developed, established teachers working in PS 398 inquired about purchase prices. They were shocked when the developer stated prices of $500,000 and up. Those teachers, with some of the best professional jobs in the community, could not afford to buy. Who did this developer intend to sell to?
When the 68 unit building was completed, as predicted, the developer found no buyers. Then, the housing market crashed. The developer was in big trouble. Until the Bloomberg administration came in to save him.
The city entered into a 10 year contract with the developer to turn the building into a homeless shelter at $3,000 a month per unit.
In 2009, I wrote about a townhall meeting at which community residents expressed shock and concern that a new development -- complete with marble counter tops and hard wood floors -- priced out working professionals, yet was turned into a luxury homeless shelter.
Below is my story. By the way, a promised media tour and follow-up townhall never occurred.
Luxury Shelter Townhall Meeting Leaves More Questions Than Answers
Just a few short months ago, the seemingly delirious rush to develop virtually every available space with market rate housing went bust. A prime example is 1040 East New York Avenue, a private development that found itself empty until the City stepped in to save the developer. 1040 East New York Ave. is now a luxury homeless shelter.
Published reports state the idea of developer Avi Shriki “leasing out his new luxury condo building to a homeless shelter was the furthest thing from his mind.” NYC's real estate boom created thousands of unsold and vacant units across the city. Shriki's development faced the same fate – until he signed a 10 year contract with the Bushwick Economic Development Group to turn the building into a homeless shelter, complete with granite countertops, marble bathrooms, walk-in closets, and terraces facing Lincoln Terrace Park.
Protests, queries, and complaints created the need for a townhall meeting focused on the shelter. Hosted by Council member Darlene Mealy, Community Board #17 District Manager Sheriff Fraser, and Director of Community Development of Block Associations B.M. Marcus, the townhall was attended by 100 community members – homeowners, clergy, formerly homeless, and concerned citizens. Residents of the shelter were invited, but did not attend. Neither did the City's Economic Development Corp., which was also invited.
Mealy presented her own concerns, and wondered if there are counselors on premises; whether residents can have visitors. Mealy said, “I am not saying I am against shelters,” and reminded attendees of the numbers of people coming back from prison who sometimes find themselves sleeping as guests on sofas, with no housing of their own.
Attendees expressed their concerns. One spoke for teachers employed at PS 398, located a half block from the development. Several teachers applied for purchase of the development's co-op units, and found they could not afford them. The speaker observed it was no wonder the developer could not sell them, they were too expensive for middle class teacher salaries. Mealy commented that she is mindful of the affordability of new developments; she is blocking another Brownsville development with a proposed price per unit of $750,000. “It is not being built,” Mealy said.
There were no hard answers as to how much the City is paying to house the homeless. Mealy said it may be $90.00 per night, per room. A college educated formerly homeless worker said she had received a shelter allowance budget letter that stated a cost of $1,000 per week per person. Marcus said the shelter is being paid $150.00 per night, per room.
Marcus called the whole process a “scam,” occurring in Brooklyn and the Bronx. “Our tax dollars could be spent differently.” According to Marcus, HPD and NYCHA combined are warehousing a total of 500,000 apartments. “Instead of renting rooms for $150.00 per night, the money could be used for low income housing,” Marcus said. He added, “I am not against the homeless, but this is a community.”
Fraser reported a series of communications between CB #17, EDC, and the Dept. of Homeless Services beginning March 18. Fraser was notified that 1040 East New York Ave had a “total capacity of 68 units,” which “will provide transitional housing and an array of services as they transition to permanent housing.” Fraser said CB #17 contacted the EDC exec. dir., who was invited to the CB meetings. Fraser pointed out EDC was a no show then, and at the townhall meeting.
Fraser said a major complaint she receives is that these types of facilities are being placed throughout East Flatbush. She said the DHS intends to place these types of facilities “on your block.”
Mealy asked attendees to remember the City has no law to control what private owners do with their property as long as the property complies with housing codes.
Then Mealy told what happened on her block. A private house was turned into a homeless shelter. On her block, witnesses saw beds being moved in a 12:30 at night. Later it was found that 27 beds were placed in a 2 story house. “The community accepted it,” Mealy said. The shelter residents were not a problem, and in fact attend block association meetings. According to Mealy, the residents have become part of the community.
Providing a broader view, Mealy told of a development on Atlantic between Buffalo and Ralph which has 5 tiers of income levels, including 10% homeless. “A homeless family can be in an apartment next to someone making $80,000.”
One man said he was part of a 2-person protest in front of the facility until one resident with children opened the window and yelled she was there are a result of domestic violence. Her words made him stop and think. He said, “When undocumented men from the Caribbean and Africa overstay their VISA, we didn't call Homeland Security or ICE. These women and children are American citizens.” He told the townhall attendees, “Don't discriminate.”
Mealy concurred, “We can't stereotype people. There but for the grace of God, go I.”
No one knew if the shelter was housing single men, single women, or women with children. An older man was extremely concerned if the type of men who reside at the Atlantic Ave. shelter would be placed in the facility. Another woman said she did not have a problem with homeless women and children living in the facility. “They spend money in the community. Their children attend local schools.”
Marcus said “Several psych centers are being placed in our community.” Mealy responded, “This is happening everywhere.”
Mealy asked if there are problems with the homeless facility. “Has anyone been seen standing outside?” No one in attendance could say they have. Mealy reminded the attendees that elected officials cannot be everywhere. “It is important that members of the community contact their official when they see something of concern.”
Volunteers stepped forward to participate in a soon to be scheduled tour of the facility and will bring observations to a follow-up townhall.
Originally published in Our Time Press, June 2009.
After the story below was published in January, women living in homeless shelters in four boroughs told me of "punishment shelters" throughout the city. "Punishment shelters" impose an 8pm curfew, as opposed to 10pm at other shelters, which limit women's ability to work later hours, attend 12-step self-help meetings, or take evening continuing education classes. One "punishment shelter" in particular, the 174th Street Plaza Shelter in Manhattan, was where Maria was abruptly transferred.
Women is shelters across the city told similar stories of denial of medical treatment, staff confiscating and not returning prescription pills -- especially pain medication, non-medical staff dispensing medication, and medication not dispensed at intervals prescribed by doctors -- which in one case led to multiple emergency room admissions for one woman with epilepsy.
Just this weekend, women living in shelters with their children told me of horrendous structural conditions -- including rats and mold, the lack of programs, and demands that women stop using their welfare grant to get haircuts, mandatory school uniforms, and shoes for their growing children.
How did most of these women find themselves in the NYC shelter system? They specifically point to Bloomberg's policies, including cancellation of the Advantage program, the city's cessation of Section 8 vouchers, the warehousing of empty NYCHA apartments, the discontinuance of NYCHA priority for shelter residents, and Bloomberg's veto of the living wage bill, which would have allowed the women to be better able to afford rent while working full-time.
Disabled Women at Lexington Ave. Shelter Face Deferred Dreams... and Violations
Maria Antonellis found herself transferred to a “punishment shelter” after a series of mishaps at the BRC Women’s Shelter at 85 Lexington Ave. Each week she was required to see her case manager to sign an Independent Living Plan (ILP). Because her case worker did not keep regularly scheduled appointments, Maria was issued an undated “violation” for failure to keep her appointments. She was given a warning stating a second violation would lead to her being “Next Stepped,” and transferred to a “punishment shelter” with an 8pm curfew and no toilet paper.
Despite living with a heart murmur and osteoporosis, by using her own initiative Maria found a job. After working a couple of weeks, Maria found herself displaced by students at a nursing school and unemployed. Homeless shelter clients are required to save 60% of their earnings via Postal money order. “I was working 8 days, and got two checks. Next thing you know, they are looking for my 60%,” said Maria. In total, Maria earned approximately $300. After paying back loans from friends, she had no money. Maria offered to give 60% of her EBT payment ($32.40), which the shelter accepted.
Maria was given a second “violation” and at 9pm that evening, Maria was ordered out of the shelter and given 15 minutes to leave and no carfare. She was told to go to Plaza Next Step Women’s Shelter at 555 W 174th St. in Manhattan. She went to a fair hearing on Sept. 28 where her violation was rescinded the same day. 85 Lexington was ordered to allow Maria to return. Each time Maria called, she was told there were no beds available.
Barbara Gonzalez walks with a cane after having surgery on her foot due to a car accident a few months ago. She needs additional surgery on her foot as well as surgery on her back. As a result of her various conditions, Barbara needs to take medication. Protocol at 85 Lexington is during intake a list of the client’s medications is generated. Barbara takes medication for high blood pressure, diabetes, asthma, migraines, irritable bowel syndrome, and pain in her foot and back. She says clients are allowed to keep their medications with them unless they are controlled substances. Barbara says one day someone went into her locker without consent. She suspects it was shelter staff that entered her locker because clients are required to use shelter locks that staff has recorded the combinations. The next day shelter staff demanded a search of Barbara’s locker and pocketbook. Barbara’s medication was confiscated. According to Barbara, when staff returned her medication bottles three weeks later, some of the pills are missing. During that time, Barbara had no access to her medication.
Barbara says shelter staff accused her of taking street drugs. She was given a urine test which staff claimed came back "positive." Barbara says, “According to them, I was positive for every drug known to man. I have never taken drugs in my life. My medications may give a false positive.” Barbara says she rarely takes the medication because after she does so she needs to rest and there is no place to rest at the shelter. “Ms. Calloway, the director accused me of using drugs and being in a methadone program. I asked, ’OK, where did you get this information?’” When Barbara demanded the source of the information and threatened to sue, staff retracted the charge of a positive urine test and returned her meditation. Barbara took her prescribed pills to her friend’s house and never brought them back to the shelter. When she needs a pain medication she goes to a friend’s house 2 buses and 40 minutes away and takes it there. “I only go when the pain becomes unbearable,” said Barbara. “They promised me an apology letter, but I have never received it.”
In addition, Barbara receives $22 from public assistance every two weeks. The shelter is demanding 60% to hold as savings. Barbara says this is impossible because the co-pay or one of the medications is $10.
Since these incidents have occurred, Barbara has been moved from the medical dorm. According to Barbara, “They say the medical dorm does not exist. It does exist; they call it the CCP room” where clients are allowed to stay all day as long as they are dressed by 11 AM.
Margie R. is completely blind, has MS, lupus and has had a disk removed from her spine. Margie said during her stay at 85 Lexington she was constantly harassed by staff who did not believe she is blind. One day, she was given a 2 hour notice that she had to leave 85 Lexington shelter and go to Susan’s Place, a specialized shelter in the Bronx. She had 4 suitcases and at the time $2,984 in cash accumulated from monthly SSD payments. She had called the facility prior to leaving 85 Lexington and asked if she could be accepted with her 4 suitcases. “The people had no idea who I was. They had no transfer papers for me.” said Margie.
According to Margie she was being transferred because 85 Lexington was not suitable for her based on her disability. Yet she had been at 85 Lexington for 15 months. 85 Lexington staff offered to take Margie to Susan’s Place in their van, but refused to take her 4 suitcases. She was forced to take a cab to Susan’s Place, but because they had no documentation of Margie, she was not accepted at that time. to a hotel, where she spent 4 days at a cost of $150 per day. Margie had to pay someone to stay with her because the hotel would not allow her to stay there by herself. For three days Margie took a cab from the hotel to Susan’s Place at a cost of $60 each way. Each time she was turned away because documentation Ms. Calloway gave Margie was an inadequate blank form with Margie’s name on it. 85 Lexington was forced to allow Margie to return where she stayed for a week until the transfer to Susan’s Place was finalized.
Originally published in Our Time Press, January 12, 2012.
Though Jacobs has represented the office since 1978, for the past two decades the district has been 80-85% majority minority – first African American and now Caribbean American. Haitians make up the largest group among the district’s Caribbean’s, “whether they are documented, not documented, citizens, non-citizens, permanent residents, voters, non-voters,” said Bichotte. The second largest island group is Jamaicans. Almost every election saw two or more Caribbean candidates who effectively split the majority minority vote, allowing Jacobs easy elections. This year would have been no different.
Perennial candidate Zachary Lareche was running in a three-way contest with Bichotte and Jacobs… until last week when Bichotte knocked him off the ballot for assembly. Lareche’s petitions had something no election specialist had ever seen before: Voter names and addresses pre-printed on petitions. Theoretically, all Lareche’s camp had to do was knock on the voter’s door and obtain their signature. When Bichotte saw that some of her petition signers allegedly signed Lareche’s petitions, too, she challenged them. The Bichotte campaign brought in Jeffrey Luber, a board certified forensic document examiner with the Suffolk County Crime Laboratory. Luber found numerous instances where Board of Election voter cards on file did not match signatures on Lareche’s petitions. In addition, there were different signatures for one person who was the signing witness on his petitions.
With Lareche successfully knocked off the ballot, Bichotte is waging a direct one-on-one campaign against Jacobs.
First, Bichotte eliminated approximately 90% of Jacobs’ Democratic County Committee candidates during a line-by-line petition review. County Committee members are part of a group responsible for choosing a successor in the event an elected official is unable to complete their term of office. “She did sloppy work, so we knocked off 90% of her County Committee,” said Bichotte. “She should have learned because two years ago I knocked off two of her County Committee people. She should have known you would have done that and more this year.”
When asked if the Jacobs campaign challenged Bichotte for Assembly and District Leader or any of her Judicial Delegate or County Committee people, Bichotte said, “No, because she knows I come correct. My petitions were solid.”
Next, the Bichotte campaign challenged the entirety of Assemblywoman Jacobs slate, including Mary Hobson who is seeking re-election to her former Female District Leader seat, as well as Jacobs’ remaining County Committee candidates and her Delegates to the Judicial Convention.
Bichotte had difficulty finding a judge who would take her case challenging Jacobs’ petitions. “When we first started the case no judge would take it; every judge was recusing themselves. The case almost got dropped,” said Bichotte. “We had to go to the Chief Judge because no one would take it.” Honorable Michelle Weston was assigned to hear the case.
Ultimately, seven of Jacobs’ County Committee candidates were knocked off her ballot, as well as one Judicial Delegate. All had testified that though they signed some sort of form, they did not know they were signing consent to be place on Assemblywoman Jacobs’ ballot to run for County Committee or Judicial Delegate. One person though he was signing an endorsement for Jacobs. Another person said he had given consent to be on another candidate’s slate.
Hon. Michelle Weston ordered that the seven candidates for Democratic County Committee are “stricken from the ballot.” One candidate for Delegate to the Judicial Convention from the 42nd AD was also stricken. The Bichotte petition to the court to invalidate the entire designating petition was denied because although the candidates in question signed consent forms, they did not know what “consent” they were signing.
The Bichotte campaign has appealed. “I think the lower court erred,” said Bichotte attorney and election specialist Aaron Maslow. “If two or more individuals did not give permission to have their name placed on the petition, precedent dictates that the entire petition is invalid.”
Maslow acknowledged that the Appellate Court “can decide not to follow precedent, if they want to.”
The Appellate Court has an impactful decision to make. If they rule that Jacobs’ petitions stand, they will deviate from their own previous appellate precedent. In addition, future candidates who lead slates will have case law to rely upon holding them harmless from fault if they are found to have down-petition invalidations of their own County Committee candidates. If the Appellate Court rules based upon precedent, Assemblywoman Rhoda Jacobs and her entire slate would be knocked off the ballot. There would be no primary on September 13. It would be an abrupt end to a long career of Jacobs. But, a ruling based upon precedent would serve to warn future candidates for elected office that invalidations down-petition could prove fatal to the top of the slate.
As of press deadline, the Appellate Court has not issued their decision. If the decision is unfavorable to Jacobs, the assemblywoman can take the case to the Court of Appeals while will hear election cases next week.
Bichotte began fundraising for this legal battle when she announced in February. “I knew I needed money 6 months ago because I am challenging an incumbent, whether I was going to challenge or not, you need money,” she said.
A variety of people have gravitated toward her campaign. “The reason I have a lot of support is because for the very first time there is finally a viable candidate who can run against Rhoda. I am a viable candidate they feel could win,” said Bichotte. “Many of Rhoda’s longtime supporters have joined my camp. Everyone is gravitating to my campaign. I do have a significant number of retirees involved in my campaign who knock on doors, phone bank, everything. I think for a very long time campaigns in the 42nd AD did not attract young people. My campaign has attracted young people. It is young people who are running the show. We have registered young people to vote. We have given young people a reason to get involved.”
Originally published in Our Time Press, August 16, 2012
How could Jacobs find herself in this precarious position? Bichotte challenged Jacobs’ petitions, paying particular attention to Jacobs’ County Committee candidates. During the court challenge, 7 County Committee candidates testified that they did not give permission to be listed on Jacobs’ petitions. (One Judicial Delegate also did not give permission.) The Supreme Court allowed Jacobs’ petitions to stand by reasoning that there was no intent to defraud voters.
Bichotte appealed. Her attorney, Aaron D. Maslow, believes the lower court erred because “If two or more individuals did not give permission to have their name placed on the ballot, precedent dictates that the entire petition is invalid.”
Both parties made oral arguments before the Appellate Division Tuesday morning.
The four member panel grilled Maslow on the effect of invalidating a number of down-petition candidates on candidates at the top of the petition. Again and again, Maslow pointed to Appellate precedent where in at least two cases petitions were invalidated due to two down-petition candidates not giving permission to be listed on a petition.
The panel equally pressed the defense. One judge stated, “Nothing says that 32-year incumbents are exempt from the rules.” Defense counsel argued that allowing the lower court ruling to stand would validate “the will of the voters” who may not have signed the petitions for County Committee candidates but for Jacobs. In a seeming sign of desperation, defense argued the policy implications of overturning the lower court and reminded the panel that invalidating the entirety of Jacobs’ petitions would impact the upcoming primary and general election.
The Appellate Court will likely make a decision this week, as the Court of Appeals will hear election cases next week.
The Appellate Second Division panel knows it has a difficult decision, evidenced by the full and complete hearing it gave to both sides.
If the Appellate Court decides to ignore its own precedent and allow partially invalidated petitions to stand, that decision will impact others who will ask for exemptions from fault on invalidations on future petitions. If the Appellate Court rules that Jacobs’ entire set of petitions are invalidated, it will be an abrupt end to a sitting Assembly member. But, it will also be a sobering warning to future candidates for elected office that the top of the slate can be fatally harmed by invalidations down-petition.
During an OTP interview in June, Banks promised to issue a written jobs plan by the end of July. “We will produce a plan and present it by the end of July,” he said. As of the second week in August, the paper has received no plan. A statement from Banks campaign manager Vanessa Hughes said, “The Job piece is ready and it will be released through a press release from the campaign… We are still working on a date… you will be the first to get a copy.”
The East New York section of Brooklyn is a living contradiction. As new multi-family housing units surround the flourishing Gateway Mall, other areas of the 60th assembly district are overwhelmed with poverty, disease, crime and unemployment. Chris Banks, 27-year-old Founder and Executive Director of East New York United Concerned Citizens, provides an array of services to the young and the elderly in ENY through his not-for-profit. He is a member of Community Board #5 and President of his block association. When asked why he decided to run, Banks said simply, “We need new leadership in the community.”
Banks has a litany of complaints about the incumbent’s representation of the district; chief among them is a lack of resources. “On the assembly level, we haven’t got as much resources as needed coming from the current state assemblywoman. We haven’t gotten any member items,” said Banks. “Nothing.”
Banks seems to think the district can obtain member items through the magic of relationships, while acknowledging fiscal and executive constraints. “The governor has put a stop to a lot of member items, nevertheless I think through relationships that can be fostered and built through the assemblyperson or any elected official, we should be able to fund certain programs if those relationships exist,” Banks said. “I think through her inability to foster those relationships, the district has suffered with bringing resources in and bringing money to support our organizations that are in dire need of help.”
Charging that suffering in the district is directly attributable to how the Barrons relate to other people, Banks said, “I hate to say it, but the Barrons have a history and record of being controversial, of being radical, and not being approachable. Because of their rhetoric, it keeps people away. And, it has hurt the community. There are a lot of opportunities we could have had that could have benefited the community.”
“As the executor of ENY United Concerned Citizens, I built relationships,” Banks added.
Banks also alleges the community missed opportunities during Barron’s tenure. He pointed out the assemblywoman’s vote against the “Millionaire Tax” last December, the only member of the central Brooklyn assembly delegation to do so. Banks is referring to a comprehensive package of tax amendments that also included appropriations for summer youth work, funds for programs to help people going through foreclosure. That vote was “against the community’s interests,” said Banks.
Underneath Chris Banks’ complaint about jobs is his view that WalMart is an opportunity for the Gateway expansion, as well as NYC, despite the company’s track record across the country of tax dodging, union busting, gender discrimination and paying employees wages so low that they qualify for food stamps, Medicaid, and housing subsidies.
“One of the things we could have done to create jobs as a legislator is look at the land developed by Related Company. There were potential tenants to bring jobs to the community. We missed a golden opportunity to negotiate with folks,” said Banks. “WalMart was a potential candidate. So were JC Penney and ShopRite.”
Banks said he doesn’t “want to make this election about WalMart.” But, it is about WalMart. “We had a golden opportunity. This would have been the first time WalMart would have come into NYC,” Banks said. He acknowledges WalMart’s “major issues with labor violations.” He said he is “in support of a living wage for part-time and full time workers.” And he believes “any employer that comes into Gateway or ENY must pay a living wage.” But, Banks said, “we must have a dialog,” as if any dialog with a local community will impact WalMart’s predatory corporate policies.
OTP reminded Banks that the City Council held hearings and invited WalMart. They didn’t come. You are a member of Community Board #5.And when Related and WalMart were invited to a meeting of Community Board #5 of which Banks is a member, they didn’t show up. “How are you going to have a dialog with no-shows?” OTP asked.
“I agree. They haven’t been open to have talks with us, even though the community is open to talks. I find that egregious,” said Banks. “If you want to come into our community and be a partner with us, you need to sit down and talk.” Banks couldn’t resist adding another dig at Barron. “But, the assemblywoman has no plan.” OTP asked, “How do you know she has no plan?” “Because they said no to WalMart or any of the other tenants that could come,” said Banks. “There has been no alternative presented.” Pressing further, OTP asked, “Isn’t WalMart saying no? If you are going to accuse the sitting assemblywoman of not producing dialog, couldn’t the same be said of WalMart and Related or any of the other companies?” Banks responded, “She is the elected official. Her job is to help the community and she hasn’t done that.” One more time OTP asked, “If Community Board #5 or the City Council couldn’t respectfully compel WalMart or Related to come, how is it one assembly person’s fault?” Banks answer: “She has made no attempt that I know of to produce a plan to bring jobs.”
At that point, OTP asked again, “Where is your plan to create jobs?”
Originally published in Our Time Press, August 9, 2012.
The DSCC is targeting 10 Republican seats across the state. Gianaris said several seats are vulnerable to a Democrat win.
At the top of the list is Marty Golden in Brooklyn/Staten Island. “If you look at the democratic performance in his district, he represents a very democratic area that vote Democrat for every other elected official but him,” said Gianaris. “He hasn’t had an opponent in 10 years. He has just been living off of his incumbency.” Golden received national attention recently when his office announced a job preparation event that would teach young women “the art of feminine presence”, how to “sit, stand, and walk like a model”, and “walk up and down a stair elegantly.” That event was cancelled the same day it was announced due to public outcry. Andrew Gounardes, an attorney for Citizens Committee for New York City and a member of Community Board 10, is challenging Golden.
Greg Ball, who represents parts of Duchess, Putnam, and Westchester counties, has “the single most conservative voting record in the entire state Senate as ranked by the conservative party,” said Gianaris. “He barely won last time; he won by less than 2% in a very big Republican year. This year, with Pres. Obama at the top of the ticket we expect much stronger Democratic turnout.” Ball is a member of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) which is notorious across the country for distributing draft legislation on voter ID, Stand Your Ground laws, anti-union legislation, and anti-contraception bills. DSCC is supporting Justin Wagner, Croton-on-Hudson attorney, against Ball. Wagner is endorsed by No Bad Apples PAC which was started by Manhattan Sen. Liz Krueger in 2011 in the aftermath of Pedro Espada taking the Senate hostage which shut down Senate operations for a month. “We expect Greg Ball to go down in defeat,” Gianaris said.
DSCC sees the Rochester open seat as another opportunity. It was Jim Alesi’s seat, but he’s not running for re-election. Alesi was one of the 4 Republican Senators who joined 29 Democrats to pass marriage equality, incurring the wrath of conservatives in the process. Though Bloomberg promised to financially assist the re-election of any Senate Republican who voted in favor of marriage equality, Alesi is stepping down. Ted O’Brien, minority leader of the Monroe County legislature, “is very progressive and we expect him to win,” said Gianaris. “I see an open seat that’s winnable, so we’re going for it.” The Republican candidate is Assemblyman Sean Hanna who is well-known but the district has a slight Democratic enrollment.
Mark Grisanti in Buffalo “shouldn’t have won the first time,” said Gianaris. “It was a fluke. He beat Antoine Thompson in a very unusual election. It was a recount that ended up being a 500 vote margin in a very democratic District. He won because there was a whole series of local factors on top of the national Republican wave that was taking place.” The Buffalo district was one of the most democratic in the entire state. Grisanti lost support of the Erie County Conservative Party after he voted in favor of marriage equality. The DSCC is supporting Chuck Swanick. The Conservative Party has thrown its support behind Swanick, a former Erie county legislator who is a Democrat who turned Republican then back to Democrat. With Conservative and Democratic ballot status, if Swanick wins, he will be one to watch.
There are two districts in Nassau the DSCC is looking at: Jack Martins and Kemp Hannon. The DSCC candidates are Dan Ross against Martins and Ryan Cronin against Hannon. “In Jack Martin’s district, the Democratic candidate had money left over after the campaign that could’ve been spent,” said Gianaris. “Martins defeated Craig Johnson by 451 votes in 2010.” In a published report, Cronin said of Hannon who has been in office for 35 years, “He’s been in office since 1977, longer than I have been alive. Career politicians are part of the problem.”
Gianaris said that in Suffolk County, Ken LaValle who has a strong opponent, a woman named Bridgette Fleming, who is a Southampton town Councilwoman and a former prosecutor. “We are very excited about her prospects,” said Gianaris. Fleming has the No Bad Apples PAC endorsement.
And speaking of women candidates, the DSCC has Cecilia Tkaczyk running in the new 63rd seat that runs from Albany all the way down to Kingston. Tkaczyk is a former senior legislative analyst and local school board president.
Back in Suffolk, for 82-year-old Owen Johnson’s seat the DSCC candidate is Rick Montano. Despite Owens’ position as the state chair of ALEC, there is major drama in Suffolk. The Suffolk Democratic Chairman Rich Schaffer is backing Republican Johnson over Montano and declined to hold a Democratic county convention for the express purpose of denying Montano official Suffolk Democratic backing.
Bill Larkin’s seat in Orange County in the Hudson Valley is being challenged by Chris Eachus is a county legislator and a physics teacher.
“We have 10 seats where looking at. All we have to do is pick up three,” said Gianaris. “We have 10 places to do it.”
Of those 10 seats Gianaris said, “Actually we only have to pick up two of those. There was a third one coming our way,” referring to the Super Jewish seat in Brooklyn where David Storobin won. “Simcha Felder is going to win in November we believe,” Gianaris said. “The fact is he is running as a Democrat. We expect him to win.”
The DCSS is looking forward to 32 seats, which would be comfortable enough so that there are no Democrats in Name Only (DINOs) like Espada. “The days of Espada are behind us,” said Gianaris,” “The Senate Democrats never intend to go back to that kind of hostage taking.” Gianaris added, “The people of New York are tired of those kind of Republican shenanigans. I think that anyone that plays those games and gets elected by Democrats then serves as Republicans are going to have to answer to the voters.”
Regarding voters who may find that post-redistricting they may have a different State Senator, Gianaris suggested voters can call the board of elections or they can call their local senator’s office to get that information. “An educated electorate is always best,” he said.
Gianaris is optimistic. “I think people will be coming out in bigger numbers to vote for the presidency this year,” Gianaris said. “I would just encourage them not to forget to go all the way to the end of the ballot to vote for state Senate as well. It is a critically important election. We have the ability to make real progressive change in New York if we can pick up those two or three seats.”
Originally published in Our Time Press, July 12, 2012.
State Senator Eric Adams wrote a letter to Commissioner Kelly in response. Adams reminded Kelly that “As a former police captain and current State Senator, I, along with other African-American leaders, have spoken out against violence in the African-American community, and have partnered with several organizations whose mission is to decrease violence in our communities.” Adams invited the commissioner to visit and walk through our communities to receive a first-hand account from those who are dedicated to working to decrease violence and reduce the tide in high crime areas. Unfortunately, distrust and lack of communication between police and the community has fostered an uneasy and strained relationship between the two groups.” At a press conference, Adams asked if Commissioner Kelly can take credit when crime goes down, why can’t he take responsibility when crime goes up.
Council Member Jumaane D. Williams, co-chair of the Task Force to Combat Gun Violence, called Commissioner Kelly's comments "incendiary" and expressed his outrage "at the presumptious and patently false comments of Commissioner Kelly, which directly insult communities like mine, which are grieving for our lost and trying to save young people every day." He asked where Mayor Bloomberg and Commissioner Kelly have been while gun violence is occuring in his community and calls the them "shockingly deaf." Williams denounced policies such as the NYPD's misuse and abuse of stop, question, and frisk and the Young Men's Initiative, both of which have failed to reduce violent crime in communities of more color.
“I am disappointed by the implication that those of us who have criticized Stop-and-Frisk are unconcerned with recent incidents of violence,” said Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke. “I don’t believe we have to choose between the right to equal protection and the safety of our communities. It is a sad commentary on the state of affairs in our city when its citizenry are given a false choice of the protection of their civil rights and civil liberties and their public safety as an either / or proposition.
"The increased violence we have recently experienced is deeply troubling, and can be attributed to the fact that there are too many guns and too few jobs in our community," said Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries. "It is unnecessarily divisive for Police Commissioner Ray Kelly to cast blame on others who do not have direct responsibility for the safety of our city. Moving forward, it is my hope that Mayor Michael Bloomberg and his administration will work closely with civic leaders to address the violence problem and improve the relationship between the police and the community.
After more than 10 years in his second tenure as Police Commissioner, one wonders if Kelly pays attention to information he receives from his various community affairs officers and local media.
There are various community groups on the ground that respond to gun violence and often prevent it. They do the work despite being underfunded by the Bloomberg administration, or not funded at all. Anti-violence work takes place in hotbeds of gun violence in East Flatbush, Brownsville, East New York and all around the city.
Last spring a youngster and his mom moved into East Flatbush. Days after the move, the child was shot by a stray bullet while riding his bike in front of his home. In response, Councilman Jumaane Williams worked with Assemblyman Nick Perry, local clergy, and community activists to assist the family. Weeks later, Williams held his first “Not in My Hood” march and youth resource fair, as well as an anti-violence concert at Brooklyn College. The response was so successful, Williams has made it an annual event. He is there to comfort the families and offer assistance in the aftermath of any gun violence situation in his community.
The Church Avenue corridor in East Flatbush has been the location of too many gun violence incidents. In response, the 67th Precinct Clergy Council formed. Council President Pastor Gil Monrose said, “The progressive voices against gun violence in our communities have always been loud. Every march or prayer vigil we have done so far have been on the issue of innocent people who have lost their lives to gun violence.”
“We have formed a group called Mothers Who Have Lost Their Sons to Gun Violence. We have 7 mothers who are a support group and are speaking out against gun violence so that the community can see there is a human toll and human pain felt by mothers of sons who have lost their lives,” said Monrose. “We in the 67th believe if we can put a human face to the pain and suffering of yet another Black person shot and killed in the street this will help discourage gun violence by 1) sensitizing the community to the hurt and pain and 2) mothers have a special place in son’s lives. We believe when other young men see mothers suffering that that may be a turning point for some people.”
The 67th Precinct Clergy Council has a response team that is dispatched through the hot spots in Brooklyn – 5-10 clergy who walk the street where there has been a recent shooting and talk to the people in the community to see if they would like to talk about the incident and problems in that area, as well as offer assistance.
Regarding the 77 shootings last week, Pastor Monrose said, “There is a response. We will continue to respond. We respond to those types of shootings all the time. There are grassroots people and individuals like us who meet twice a month to do strategic planning on gun violence. This is a sustained campaign against gun violence. We do this day in and day out. We don’t take a break on gun violence. We bury individuals all the time. With all the mothers that we serve and all the families in our care, we don’t take a break. There is no time off. There is no silence in central Brooklyn.”
Kelly is wrong,” said anti-violence activist Tony Herbert. “He didn’t do his homework. There are however a number of grass root leaders who are on the front lines of this issue every day, that do scream for help to stop the violence and are on the ground everyday fighting the good fight. Herbert listed organizations such as Trucked Out, Lay the Guns Down Campaign, Advocates Without Borders, SOS, the Brooklyn Blizzards Youth Org, Harlem Youth Ministries, I Love My Life Campaign, The Kings Of Kings Foundation who are doing the work that Kelly knows nothing about.
Herbert and his collaborators are well known in the streets. Recently, Mike Tucker of the Lay The Guns Down Campaign was approached in the street and given a bag containing 2 pistols – a 9mm and a 22 automatic – and more than 100 rounds of ammunition. The person wanted to turn the guns in but was fearful of taking them to the precinct by himself. Tucker met with Herbert, who contacted the 81st precinct. Two officers came, vouchered the weapons, took all the bullets out, them accompanied Tucker to the precinct to complete paperwork. Herbert gets calls from people inquiring how to turn in guns, “because there is a protocol,” said Herbert.
The Brooklyn District Attorney’s office has been conducting formal gun buy-back events since at least 2008. Last year the DA’s office conducted 3 gun buy-backs and collected a total of 337 guns. This year there has been one buy-back so far. They collected 108 guns. A spokesperson for the DA said the guns turned in were in good working order.
Rev. Vernon Williams, the Harlem Pastor who pastors for peace said, “For 3 years I've invited borough presidents, community leaders, families etc. to take part in city wide Ride Walk and Rally for Peace a City response to youth violence. Ask them who came out. For six years I have been calling for total community outrage concerning youth violence, gun violence and youth gang violence. We that take the streets, do the work without pay and try to save our youth.”
Anti-violence specialist A.T. Mitchell disagrees with Kelly on guns being the problem. “It’s not the guns, it’s the people. It is the changing of the mindset of the people in the neighborhoods hardest hit. Our work is to change the norm, the way the people normally handle their crises, their disputes. Unfortunately, the norm is that they think violently. Our work is to change the social norm. The violence is an emotional response to hurt. A lot of these people dealing with these crises are already depressed, oppressed, angry, or hungry. When someone else triggers something in them, violence is the easiest mode to go into. It is easier to get violent than to think a situation through for some people. Our work is psychological, behavioral change. We work to change the way people see each other, treat each other. Eventually, hopefully they will change the way they interact with one another."
Mitchell said the summer is the “most brutal and violent months of the year. We have to brace ourselves for the summer, and not just through law enforcement and stop-and-frisk.” Mitchell, whose Man Up Inc! organization counts days without gun violence, said if he had the resources that NYPD has, he would be able to put a stop to gun violence immediately.
Rev. Taharka Robinson, founder and CEO of Central Brooklyn Anti-Violence Coalition, said he has “a lot of concerns regarding Kelly’s assertions.” Robinson listed several killings that NYPD dismissed until community activism made them pay attention: Chanel Petro Nixon who disappeared in broad daylight, Bennie Lyde who was murdered on his doorstep, Romona Moore who was raped and murdered in a basement, Zaneen White who was murdered at a cookout up the block from the 81st precinct, and across the street from where Isaiah Rivira was shot, Delilah Graves a 10-year-old was shot in the hand in the middle of a shootout. He recalled a march against domestic violence across the Brooklyn Bridge and another march across the Brooklyn Bridge last year in which hundreds carried coffins to demonstrate community concern.
“We were outraged when the police killed Timothy Stansberry while he was crossing the rooftop at Louis Armstrong Apartments. We were outraged a couple of years later when Kyle Coppin was killed by the police over a hairbrush,” said Robinson. “We have a history of outrage. We have been outraged year after year, whether it has been police killings, self-inflicted killings, domestic violence or any type of abuse in our communities.”
“I want to know what Commissioner Kelly is talking about. I think the apathy in the leadership of the NYC Police Department needs to correct itself,” said Robinson. “But since he wants to see outrage, we are going to have a march throughout this city – 26.2 miles like the NYC Marathon. We are going to have a Peace and Prayer march. We are going to march through every borough in this city. We are going to start in Staten Island, come through Brooklyn, and go through Queens, to the Bronx and back in Manhattan. We are going to end up at 1 Police Plaza. Since he wants to see outrage.”
Originally published in Our Time Press, July 12, 2012.
On June 26, residents of the 8th Congressional district have a choice to make: should the district have representation with a single-minded focus on the 20th century’s color line, or does the district deserve 21st century representation that will serve the diversity of all residents regardless of race, gender, religion, disability, and sexual orientation?
On June 26, residents of the 8th Congressional district have a choice to make: should the district have representation with a single-minded focus on the 20th century’s color line, or does the district deserve 21st century representation that will serve the diversity of all residents regardless of race, gender, religion, disability, and sexual orientation?
Charles Barron is an icon of color line ideology. Throughout his 10 years in the City Council, he has demonstrated time and again that race is his singular focus. That focus, coupled with a keen knack for self-promotion, is the hallmark of Barron’s public career and sometimes borders on emotional abuse of the public. Here are some examples.
In early 2009, Barron stood beside Sharpton calling for an inquiry into Rupert Murdock’s broadcast license waiver in the wake of a NY Post cartoon characterizing President Obama as a shot gorilla one day after the president signed the stimulus bill. Both led protests in front of News Corp.’s NYC headquarters, home to the NY Post and Fox News, and threatened to go directly to the FCC with their complaint. Going after Murdock’s license was viewed as a laudable goal by community supporters. Protests reached a fever pitch, then… nothing.
Barron’s longest running racial episode under the guise of defending Black free speech began in 2007 when his then Chief-of-Staff Viola Plummer disrupted a Council Stated Meeting during a vote for a street re-naming of Gates Avenue in honor of Sonny Carson. Plummer was asked to leave, then while still on City Hall grounds, called for the “assassination (of Council member Leroy Comrie’s) ass” after he abstained. Plummer later claimed she meant it in a political sense, but the comment was widely viewed as unseemly considering the late Councilman James Davis was shot to death in City Hall Council Chambers. Apparently nothing says Blackness and self-determination like calling for the assassination of a member of the City Council on City Hall grounds where a real assassination of a Council member took place just a few short years ago. Despite this, Barron steadfastly stood by Plummer.
One month later, Quinn initiated a series of actions that culminated in Plummer’s firing. As Our Time Press reported, this is where Barron arguably made a tactical error. Instead of “symbolically” suspending his friend and employee for a day or a week, Barron non-action opened the door for Quinn to reach in and discipline his staff member. Quinn requested Plummer sign a letter stating Plummer would behave appropriately during meetings. Plummer refused. Barron held a press conference on City Hall steps where he tore the letter into shreds. Quinn fired Plummer in July 2007. Self-determination firmly in tow, Barron supported Plummer through 3 years of failed state and federal lawsuits against Quinn. As vocal as they were during the court cases, they were silent when they lost. Along the way, grassroots support for the street re-naming was transferred to support for Plummer, her behavior in Council Chambers and her statement.
In June of 2010, Barron announced his candidacy for NYS governor. The campaign was an attempt to acquire ballot status to promote a “Black people’s agenda” as Barron said at the time. Our Time Press had regularly covered the Freedom Party which first emanated from within Alton Maddox’s United African Movement in 1994. It was re-incarnated when UAM member Ollie McClean was drafted to run for Congress to prevent David Yassky from getting the seat in 2006. When Andrew Cuomo chose no diversity for his gubernatorial ticket, it was UAM that resurrected the Freedom Party in May 2010. UAM’s choice to lead the slate was Michael Greys, spokesman for 110 Blacks in Law Enforcement Who Care. By June, Barron has displaced Greys. Maddox claimed to have “personally opposed” Barron’s candidacy, but relented. UAM financed several thousand dollars’ worth of campaign literature and expenses, mostly for upstate. According to one of Maddox’s writings during the campaign, “Councilman Charles Barron had made it clear that only D-12 (December 12 Movement) and the ‘Black United Front’ would be entitled to any reimbursement or compensation” for campaign literature and related expenses. On Election Day, ballot placement and allegations of other voting irregularities prompted Maddox to seek a recount. Barron disagreed. Since the candidate is the only one with standing to request a recount, Barron’s disinterest stymied Maddox’s efforts. Maddox stated he has been attempting to schedule a sit-down between himself and Barron ever since. Barron has been re-added to Maddox’s list of Black (s)elected officials and activists “hustling” the Black community.
In a post-gubernatorial debate debriefing in 2010, Jitu Weusi, Barron’s campaign manager during the Freedom Party gubernatorial race and current campaign manager responded to Barron’s debate statement that “The Freedom Party had not made a decision” on marriage equality. “I think that was an honest answer,” said Weusi. “I think that was an answer that will not lose us any votes because if there are some gays, they can’t say we weren’t going to vote for that. And, if there are some people who are against that, they can’t say that either.” (After the gubernatorial election, numerous LGBT people from a variety of races told me they deliberately voted against Barron and for Rent Is Too Damn High McMillian “the clown” because Barron refused to take a position during the debate.) Since then, Barron has made his position clear. On a recent primary debate on Up Close with Diana Williams, Barron said, “I define marriage as between a man and a woman. For those of us who feel we are against same sex marriage that should be respected. I don’t support same sex marriage.” Regarding a possible vote to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) Barron said, “I don’t think the federal government should impose itself on a state or a nation.” (But, Barron does support federal intervention regarding civil rights, i.e. “Black issues.”)
During that same televised debate, regarding the civil side of marriage equality candidate Hakeem Jeffries said, “I don’t believe we as a state can make a distinction based on race or gender or sexual orientation or religion.” Jeffries defined marriage as “between two loving individuals who decide they want to commit themselves to a union that will involve a variety of different rights, responsibilities, and privileges that is conferred by the state. It can also be blessed by a religion or religious practice, but we’re talking about the civil institution of marriage and that license that is conferred by the state.”
In March 2011, a billboard was erected in lower Manhattan that stated, “The Most Dangerous Place for an African American is in the Womb.” Though the billboard was meant to single out Black women for having abortions and using birth control if they choose, the statement was a direct attack on African American women’s bodies. Barron, who calls press conferences immediately whenever racial incidents occur, issued a statement after repeated queries from OTP: “We are going to send a letter immediately to the Life Always group responsible for the ad to demand that it be taken down.” When has Barron been known to “send a letter” in response to a racial insult? Under the Black Nationalist rubric that Black = male and Black women’s issues don’t really count, Barron’s response was lukewarm, but not surprising.
During the 2009 Public Advocate race, in a NY Post article about de Blasio featuring his wife and children on campaign mailings, Charles Barron is quoted as saying, “The insulting part of it is that if you want to appeal to the black community, then appeal to us based upon our issues, not based upon who you're married to.” This from the same man who single-handedly caused a change in policy towards politicians at St. Pauls’ Community Baptist Church when he spoke in a negative manner about de Blasio from the pulpit, then commented about de Blasio's “Black wife” in a published report about the incident. This is the same man who began calling himself “Mr. Inez Barron” after his wife won the 40th Assembly seat. I posted my take on Barron’s comments about Chirlane deBlasio here on R8 in "Charles Barron Should Shut Up", which thankfully led sound bite seeking white reporters to stop chasing Barron on the issue.
Just this week, Chair of the Council’s Women’s committee Julissa Ferreras announced the passing of a law that would help combat sex trafficking by creating civil penalties for TLC-licensed drivers who actively participate in and profit from coerced prostitution. Barron has been a member of the Women’s committee for at least two terms, yet he was not present at the announcement. Neither has he disseminated information on the law, nor any other progressive legislation coming out of the committee on behalf of women and girls, even though he knows commercial sex exploitation a major issue in his district and across Black Brooklyn.
From the beginning of his tenure in the Assembly, Jeffries has demonstrated the use of sound legislative practices to advocate for a wide variety of constituents. He had voted in favor of marriage equality several times. He is solidly pro-choice. Jeffries even went up against the hyper-male rap music industry for its negative, disparaging lyrics against Blacks women and the rampant use of the N-word, eliciting the wrath of some industry icons that hide behind the 1st Amendment.
In 2007 Jeffries noted that approximately $3 billion of the NYS Pension Fund is spent on 16 major entertainment companies such as Time Warner, Disney and Universal. Jeffries asked NYS Comptroller Tom DiNapoli to review the appropriateness of continuing the state’s multi-billion dollar investment in the entertainment industry, to the extent companies like Universal refuse to address the corporate responsibility issue. At the time, Jeffries stated he is uncomfortable with “our public money being used to support negative imagery and offensive language put forth by gangster rap music, and their corporate sponsors. The hip hop industry must begin to bring some measure of social responsibility to the content they distribute.”
The color line is still an issue requiring advocacy, as was demonstrated in the Father’s Day Silent March against Stop-and-Frisk. However, the definition of “Black issues” that require policy attention and legislation must be expanded to include others. Civil Rights and Black Nationalist male leadership needs to disavow itself of having a monopoly on public policy debate.
Black = male is so 20th century.
As Rep. Ed Towns was leaving the presser in which he endorsed Charles Barron for NY's 8th Congressional district, I asked about the endorsement's impact on Towns' previous bases of Jewish support during his 30 years in Congress.
As Rep. Ed Towns was leaving the presser in which he endorsed Charles Barron for NY's 8th Congressional district, I asked about the endorsement's impact on Towns' previous bases of Jewish support during his 30 years in Congress.
Specifically, I asked the congressman, “Do you think this endorsement will alienate some of the previous bases that supported you such as Jewish communities? Do you think that this endorsement will alienate some of your bases that supported you for years?”
Town’s response: “I don’t think that is an issue. I am looking at the district that I represented for 30 years. I want to leave it in good hands. That’s the reason I am doing this. Simple as that.”
See for yourself.
Where do I begin?
Where do I begin?
Political newcomer Nikki Lucas, a resident of Starrett City, is challenging Inez Barron for Female District Leader. A member of the Rosetta Gaston Democratic Club, Lucas was instrumental in gathering strong petitions for retiring Congressman Ed Towns, which we now know was a wasted effort.
(All quotes in the following account are paraphrases. My main source is as close to the events without actually being one of the named parties.)
About a month ago, Towns told Nikki to meet him at his district office in Downtown Brooklyn, and bring 40th AD Male District Leader Earl Williams with her. Nikki went to Williams and said, ‘Hey, we’ve got a meeting scheduled at Towns office.’ Williams reply was, ‘To hell with Towns. He can’t do nothing for me. He’s out.’ Nikki went to the meeting by herself where she first received a suggestion to leave her team and join forces with the Barron camp. At that time, she made no decision on the offer, preferring to mull it over.
This past weekend, Towns invited Nikki to his house. Towns told Nikki to dump Williams and come join Barron’s club. Nikki would run with Barron, and in the event that Barron won, his wife would go for the council seat. With Inez Barron’s assembly seat open, Nikki would have first dibs. Apparently at the meeting, Towns discussed how Williams dumped Towns after Towns financed Williams’ campaigns. Lucas told Towns she would give the offer some thought.
Williams’ has his own motivations to stay put. The bottom line is that his daughter is a civil court justice; he wants her to go to Supreme Court. Williams knows if he goes messing around with Towns, his daughter is not going to get that spot. (I witnessed Williams’ advocacy for his daughter with my own two eye balls. When Diane Gordon was Assemblywomen, Williams was a member of the Ron Brown Democratic Club. At that time, a decision was made within the club for Williams to run for district leader with club support. The club would also support his daughter for judge. Once both won, the deal was for Williams to step aside and let another member run for the seat. When his daughter won her race, Williams said f*** the club and went back to Rosetta Gaston Democratic Club. An aside: How did the Ron Brown Club form? Williams and Gordon were both members of Rosetta Gaston. At some point, Gordon asked Williams for the club’s documents. Williams refused to relinquish them. So, Gordon formed her own club.)
Back to the story. Nikki Lucas has the run of Rosetta Gaston. She appointed all of the poll inspectors from the 40th AD. (Although Nikki had not yet had the opportunity to gather one signature for her run for district leader, Williams dropped the job of naming poll workers in her lap. In addition, nothing was said of 40th AD Female District Leader Inez Barron appointing her own poll inspectors, though it is likely she has.) Nikki has her whole crew in place for petition carrying. How would it look for Nikki to dump her own allegiances to go with Barron at this late date? Her loyalty would be in doubt before her first race.
In addition, if she aligned with Barron, what guarantee would Nikki have that Barron wouldn’t dump her? On this one, I have to say Nikki’s instincts are correct. (When Barron was running for his third term on the council, he was challenged by several individuals, including Regina Powell. During that time, I saw Regina at Brownsville’s Old Timer’s Day and stopped to say hello. Barron came by, excused himself, and then whispered in Regina’s ear. I didn’t care what they were talking about, but when he walked away, Regina clammed up, which was odd because Regina and I had a cordial relationship after having worked with each other on community projects. After pressing her, Regina said Barron told her not to talk to me because ‘he knows me and I am not a good person.’ I told Regina that I am media and can get her message out. Regina said she was listening to Barron because he was her mentor. Yes, Regina actually thought Barron was mentoring her challenge to his council seat. You can’t make this stuff up. Anyway, at that time I was pissed at Barron for interfering with my relationship with Regina. But, she allowed him to do so.)
Back to the story…
Nikki told Williams what transpired at Town’s home. Williams replied, ‘Well, Barron approached me with the same proposition, as well as a suggestion to dump Chris Banks for assembly against Inez.’ In the suggested scenario, apparently the leadership of the club would go untouched. Rosetta Gaston is currently chaired by Decosta Headly. (Detour: DA Hynes is scheduled to address the Rosetta Gaston Democratic Club on Saturday. Apparently, Decosta has decided in advance he will not be there. It was Decosta, childhood friend of former Assembly woman Diane Gordon, who introduced Gordon to the developer who later set her up. To this day, folk in ENY are wondering what Hynes had/has on Decosta and don’t trust him as far as they can see him.)
Anyway, a couple of days ago, Nikki Lucas told Towns she has decided to stay with Earl Williams.
Even without the support of Earl Williams and Nikki Lucas, Towns’ endorsement of Barron, a former political nemesis who ran a close race against him in 2006, and a Barron win against Jeffries would be Towns’ final kiss-off to Brooklyn County Leader Vito Lopez.