No Big Deal Supporters of State Senate Minority Leader Martin Connor are shrugging off a recent report that Connor's leadership has been undermined by the cross-party endorsements of Governor George Pataki by State Senators Carl Kruger and Olga Mendez, and the party switch by Bronx State Senator Pedro Espada. The report, published in the tip sheet Crain's Insider, said that there were "rumbles" among rank-and-file Senate Democrats that Kruger and Mendez have been able to keep their lulus, shorthand for stipends that supplement their base pay, despite stepping over party lines. Mendez is chair of Democrats for Pataki, while Kruger is vice-chair.

Some insiders believe the report emanated from Connor's chief Democratic antagonist, State Senator Eric Schneiderman of Manhattan, and that the cross-endorsements from Kruger and Mendez are not surprising since they have done so in the past. "I don't think there's any imminent challenge," said one insider. "On the other hand, there are ambitious people in the conference."

The annoyance at Connor for the cross-endorsements is a red herring, said Connor supporters, since any challenger to Connor would love to have the votes of Kruger and Mendez. "Usually these things are all about the same thing: someone's ambition getting the way of someone else's ambition," said the source.

Comeback Sal? Insiders have circulated the name of Sal Albanese as a potential candidate for state senate, and at least one player is openly receptive to the idea. "I would love to see Sal Albanese come out," said District Leader Ralph Perfetto. "He set the standard for a working councilman." Albanese represented Bay Ridge, where Perfetto serves as district leader, for 15 years in the City Council.

Perfetto said Albanese would make a good candidate in the proposed 22nd Senate District. However, State Senator Vincent Gentile has not yet decided if he will run in that district or the 23rd, which encompasses parts of Brooklyn and Staten Island. Perfetto thinks Gentile will run in the 23rd, leaving the 22nd open for Albanese if he should decide to run.

"This is only one man's opinion, but Vincent Gentile is strong in Staten Island and the people there are fighting to keep him. He's really got a solid base there and I don't see him giving up the 23rd," said Perfetto. Gentile has said he will weigh his options until the final district lines are settled. Albanese could not be reached for comment.

If Albanese were to run, he would face Bay Ridge's current councilman, Marty Golden, who may not be eager to run against an incumbent like Gentile. "It would be a solid race all around," said Perfetto of the possible Albanese-Golden contest.

Beaming with Pride Isac Weinberger, one of Brooklyn's political observers and consummate wags, has a decided soft spot for former Mayor Abraham David Beame, the city's first Jewish mayor. "He was my favorite person," said Weinberger, who can recite Beame's biography from his 1906 birth in London, through his Crown Heights residency and eventual death in 2000.

Beame was elected mayor in 1973 after serving as the city's comptroller. He served only one term as mayor, as the city's financial crisis swept him out of office without even making the Democratic runoff. But Weinberger points out that Beame was influential in the 1976 Democratic convention, held in New York, since he was the first mayor to endorse former President Jimmy Carter. "Most probably, that's the reason why Carter won (the nomination)," said Weinberger.

Weinberger is now pushing hard for the city to name something after Beame, and he may get his wish right here in Brooklyn. Weinberger said that he and public relations pro Howard Rubenstein recently met with Borough President Marty Markowitz, and that Markowitz was considering the idea of naming the municipal building across the street from Borough Hall after Beame. "Marty Markowitz is seriously considering it," said Weinberger.

"The borough president certainly wants to honor New York City's first Jewish mayor, who was also a Brooklynite, and right now we're in the stage of determining the best way to do that," said Markowitz's spokesperson, Anna Hunter.

Yassky Backs Bloomberg On Board of Ed Councilmember David Yassky is voicing support for Mayor Bloomberg's proposal to relocate the Board of Education from Downtown Brooklyn to the refurbished Tweed Courthouse near City Hall. Yassky's district includes the Board of Ed building at 110 Livingston Street.

"The first question is what is good for schools, and I think it would be a good thing to have the Board of Ed right in the mayor's backyard. It would be good management and oversight," said Yassky, who supports mayoral control of the city's schools. "I also like the fact that it's a smaller building, and therefore would force some of the trimming of the Board of Ed that we need to do and have not always had the will to do."

Yassky said that the move would cost Brooklyn some jobs, at least in the short term, but that loss could be offset by a new opportunity for development. "We want to be developing Livingston and Schermerhorn Streets as part of a mixed use downtown, with commercial and residential space," he said. Politically speaking, he said, his colleagues in the council are mixed over the idea, as it depends in part on one's view of mayoral school control.

Marty Nixing Televised Aerobics Speaking of Markowitz, the beep is just about to kick off his borough-wide diet campaign, named "Lighten Up, Brooklyn," in accord with Markowitz's fundamental worldview. The 8-week program will begin April 16, but the diet won't commence until April 22nd. The winner of the neighborhood v. neighborhood contest will be announced on June 21st.

While details remain to be worked out, some Brooklynites may be a bit disappointed in one aspect of the program. Much to our chagrin, Markowitz may not be doing aerobics on BCAT after all. "He's going to do something on BCAT," said Anna Hunter. "That's going to be an opportunity for him to talk about his progress and give exercise tips."

An exercise talk show! How deflating! No offense, but there is simply no substitute for seeing a spandex-clad Markowitz sweat for it on cable access television. Show us the pain, Marty, show us the desire up close: Brooklyn deserves no less than a beep who can out-hustle Richard Simmons one minute and clean up the Gowanus Canal the next.

Borough Politics Archive

2002
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2001
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2000
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1999
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