MARTY ON EMINENT DOMAIN Borough President Marty Markowitz wasn't allowed to take the microphone at the recent community forum in Park Slope about Bruce Ratner's arena/office/housing complex, but he eagerly spoke to a street-corner gathering outside. According to our spies, the beep said he was strongly in favor of the arena for the Nets but had misgivings about the size and scope of the rest of the project and was troubled by the extent to which eminent domain might be used. That prompted one project opponent to shake Markowitz's hand.

A witness later asked if we thought Markowitz was as sincere as he seemed. We believe so. Markowitz has long dreamed of bringing a pro sports franchise to Brooklyn. But he never dreamed about knocking down perfectly good buildings so larger ones could be built in their place. Look for Markowitz and others to persuade Ratner to scale down the project.

UNDERDOG WINS, THEN HITS WALL Nothing could be more embarrassing for city lawyers than to lose a case against a non-lawyer representing herself. But that's what happened when a Fort Greene woman, whom we'll identify by her initials "A.B.," sued for being falsely arrested 14 years ago.

In a bizarre act of defiance, the city is now refusing to pay the half-million dollars A.B. was awarded by a jury, she told us. Actually, the city is simply pursuing the case to its bitterest legal end, delaying things longer than a non-lawyer would think possible. The story began when A.B., who's of African descent, was asked by the wife of the Mozambican ambassador to help promote a purported fashion designer's clothing line in the U.S. When the designer started passing bad checks, A.B. and a dozen recipients of the checks contacted the NYPD.

A.B. and another person, initials M.M., then met with Detective William Wallace, who proved somewhat less accommodating than his namesake from Mel Gibson's "Braveheart"-he charged them with armed burglary. The designer, the one who'd passed the bad checks, had accused them of stealing $300,000 worth of clothing.

Never mind that there was no evidence in the way of a gun or clothes, and that the accused were all upstanding members of the community with no criminal records. A.B. and M.M. spent three days in jail. (It took that long for A.B.'s then-husband to find her because the detective had recorded the arrest of a man from Afghanistan rather than a woman from Africa.)

The case soon fell apart because the fashion designer disappeared. A.B. and M.M. were released and their arrest records sealed. They sued for false arrest and malicious prosecution and went before Judge Bernadette Bayne. M.M. settled with the city on the first day of trial, but A.B. rejected the offer and tried the case herself. It's said that someone who represents herself has a fool for a client, but in this case, after two weeks in court and two days of jury deliberations, the fool won half a mil.

That was two years ago. The city has yet to pay a cent. Corporation Counsel, the city's legal arm, has filed motion after motion to wiggle out of paying, or at least delay it. It has lost every time, most recently on February 6 when Brooklyn Judge Karen Rothenberg denied the city's umpteenth motion as untimely. The city then filed another motion to ask Rothenberg to change her mind. A.B., perplexed that the case still has legs, has spent countless hours on the phone with dozens of bureaucrats, reporters, anyone who'll listen. But no one can do anything because the case remains alive, albeit barely (the city is now arguing that it's still timely to argue that A.B. didn't sign off on the trial transcripts).

She called Ralph Perfetto in Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum's office, and when he couldn't help, she thought he was undermining her. He wasn't, but years of frustration will trigger such conspiracy theories. She called Alan Fleishman and others in Comptroller Billy Thompson's office, who were stymied by Corp Counsel, which answers to the mayor. So she called the mayor's office (again). The mayor's people told her Corp Counsel had instructed them not to talk to her. Then they transferred her-to the police. "I've been on this for 14 years," A.B. e-mailed us. "It has prevented me from working, from living, from taking proper care of my family and myself. I had to write four legal papers this week." In the process, she lost her apartment.

Her case doesn't exactly speak wonders for our legal system. We are reminded of another saying: "People who love sausage and respect the law should never watch either being made."

PRE-K FUNDED AT P.S. 282 With all the talk of city, state, and federal budget deficits, we were shocked to learn that money has been allocated to launch a full-day pre-kindergarten program at P.S. 282 in Park Slope this September. One P.S. 282 person told us admission was guaranteed to kids in the school's zone. Later we learned admission would be based on other factors, including "need" (financial?), and that the number of seats was unknown. (P.S. 321 has a lottery for pre-k, the odds of which are only slightly better than Lotto.)

When we asked where the funding for pre-k came from, a P.S. 282 insider hesitated, then declined to answer. But we were assured that the program wouldn't be cut. That's terrific news for parents of 4-year-olds whose only previous option was private school for $15,000 (nearly three times more than undergraduate tuition at SUNY-Albany). But last month, many parents put down non-refundable deposits for private schools without knowing they could send their 4-year-olds to P.S. 282 for free. The school did distribute some fliers but the local parents we know never saw them. This was a story that should have been pitched to the local papers.

Still, the effort to improve P.S. 282 is welcome. For years, 282 has toiled in the shadow of Park Slope's vaunted P.S. 321. Slope parents in the P.S. 282 zone fake their addresses to get kids into P.S. 321. Others rent apartments in the P.S. 321 zone, enroll their kids, then buy a house outside of the zone-but keep their kids enrolled (which is legal). As a result, a startling percentage of P.S. 321 kids live outside the zone, and the school has become quite crowded. It now has 1,260 students, compared to 662 at P.S. 282.

But P.S. 282 is hardly a school of last resort. While some Slope parents avoid it, parents from other neighborhoods seek waivers to get their kids in. You know the cliché: One man's junk is another's treasure. Can P.S. 282 achieve the reputation of its ballyhooed neighbor? One way to raise test scores is to attract students who'll likely score better-kids from wealthier families. Few educators will say that, because it's not politically correct. But columnists can.

This year, 63 percent of P.S. 282 students are eligible for free lunch. At P.S. 321, the number is just 24 percent. Higher income levels are correlated with higher standardized test scores, and that is indeed the case at 321 and 282. P.S. 282's scores are good, but 321's are always better. And test scores, for better or worse, are how many parents judge schools. Parents also look at suspension rates. P.S. 282's is seven times P.S. 321's. That may reflect more misbehavior at 282, a different approach to discipline, or both. We know of one parent who withdrew his son from P.S. 321 because a boy who bullied him went unpunished. There are promising signs for P.S. 282. First, thanks to the mayor's revamping of city schools, 282 is no longer in a different district from 321; both are in Region 8, headed by Carmen Farina, and in the same subsection of the region, led by Joan Kaufman. But more important is the pre-k program, despite its haphazard launch.

Pre-k could attract middle-class parents who'd rather save money for college than write huge tuition checks for 4-year-olds. If their kids stay at 282, they'd lift scores on the fourth-grade exams. Pre-k will also give an educational head-start to kids whose parents can't afford private schools. That, too, should lead to higher test scores five years later. Higher scores will attract more kids from good home environments, who will lift scores yet again. You know the cliché: Nothing succeeds like success.

BOYLAND TO RETURN CASH Councilwoman Tracy Boyland will return the corporate donations improperly deposited into her congressional campaign fund and hire a professional to handle future Federal Election Commission filings. "My treasurer is very inexperienced," Boyland told us. "She was excited about the broad-based support that we got. She deposited all the checks we've gotten."

By federal law, only individuals may give money to campaigns for Congress. By our count Boyland received over $60,000 from ineligible contributors, as we reported last week, but she said only about $20,000 would have to be refunded. Boyland got cash from a bunch of businesses outside of the district in which she's running, currently represented by Rep. Major Owens. But Boyland said no specific effort to lobby these far-flung donors was made. "We told people, and word spreads, that we were thinking about running for Congress," she said. "People just started telling other friends."

One veteran of Brooklyn politics was dubious. "It was no accident," the insider said.

TOWNS BUGS UNIONS In our March 10, 2003 column, we reported that an invitation for Rep. Ed Towns's annual breakfast fundraiser lacked a "union bug," a logo indicating the printing was done by a union shop. Politicians, particularly those who court support from unions, usually use union printers. When we asked Towns's office last year why a non-union printer was used, we were told the local residents who arranged the breakfast "were not aware of the political sensitivity of the subject."

Well, invitations for this year's fundraiser on March 19 just went out, and guess what-no union bug. Towns aide Karen Johnson said the fundraiser is a small one (the cheapest ticket is $50) and that union printers are used for larger events.

FOLLOW THE MONEY A reader suggested we explain how to look up campaign contributions "so we can learn who is beholden to whom." We're inclined to say yes to folks who use "who" and "whom" correctly. So: To see campaign finance data for New York City candidates, go to nyccfb.info and click on "public disclosure." (Data for campaigns that didn't apply for matching funds is not available on line. You must visit the Board of Elections.)

For campaigns for state office, see elections.state.ny.us/finance/fdismenu.htm.

For federal campaigns, see fec.gov/finance_reports.html.

One politician not afraid of what you'll find on these lists is State Senator Carl Kruger, whose chief of staff sent e-mails celebrating Kruger's recent fundraising prowess. "Senator Kruger's disclosure statement will show that of the $416,000 [in his account] over $265,000 was raised in the last six months," Jason Koppel wrote. "In addition to ongoing fundraising, Senator Kruger has several major fundraising events scheduled in the next few months."

TIDBITS Councilman Simcha Felder asked Mayor Mike Bloomberg if he'd host a Felder fundraiser at the mayor's townhouse, and the mayor said yes. The event was scheduled for March 15. Usually the mayor doesn't do such favors for Democrats, but Felder also had the Republican line in the 2003 election, which gave Bloomberg political cover to help him…

The withdrawal of Senator John Edwards from the presidential race was costly for Councilman Bill de Blasio, who had been making $6,000 a month as a campaign consultant for Edwards since July 2003. The councilman is now supporting Senator John Kerry…

Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz got a response from the Department of Sanitation on the matter we raised about garbage going uncollected during snowstorms. The department suggested trash be put out no sooner than 5 p.m. the day before the scheduled collection. It also claimed residents can get information on garbage-collection delays by calling 311. We have our doubts, given our past experience with the local Sanitation garage. Our suggestion is when a blizzard is imminent, call 311 for an updated collection schedule before putting trash on the curb. Then hope for the best…

Speculation is that Anatoly Eyzenberg, a/k/a Tony Eisenberg, will run for Democratic district leader this summer in Brighton Beach against incumbent Mark Davidovich, a fellow Russian-American. If successful, Eyzenberg would try to challenge Councilman Domenic Recchia again in 2005. Eyzenberg got kicked off the ballot by Recchia last year because he listed his shop, Brighton Meats, as his voting address. That, uh, spoiled his chances…

How does candidate Frank Barbaro feel about the Iraq situation? "Get our soldiers home, let the U.N. go in, stop the sweetheart contracts for [Vice President Dick] Cheney's friends. Use that money to rebuild America," he said. The former assemblyman from Bensonhurst is challenging Rep. Vito Fossella…

Former State Senate and City Council candidate Omar Boucher is considering running for Democratic district leader in East Flatbush's 58th Assembly District. The position is currently held by Councilman Kendall Stewart, who plans to leave it. Stewart wanted to quit the Democratic state committee in October 2003, but held onto it when his aide Asquith Reid and his former ally Weyman Carey began fighting for the position. Look for those two to run for it in September.

Contact Brooklyn Politics at (718) 399-3693.

Borough Politics Archive

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2000
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1999
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