COP EYES ROGER GREEN About this time every year, a rumor pops up that Lieutenant Eric Adams, a co-founder of 100 Blacks in Law Enforcement Who Care, will run for office. This year he's said to be targeting the 57th Assembly District, the domain of Roger Green. Green has fought off challenges from Hakeem Jeffries in the last two elections, the last time convincingly, but that was before his conviction for stealing travel expenses from state taxpayers and for supporting Bruce Ratner's Atlantic Yards project, which has some vocal opponents in the district.

"Clearly now with the arena people being so angry at Roger, and the conviction, Roger's got two strikes. Someone's going to give Roger a real race this time," one insider said. "Plus there's a lot of talk that Roger will retire and go to work for someone connected to the arena." For all the talk about Adams as a candidate, in his only race he failed to make the Democratic primary ballot in 1994 against Rep. Major Owens. He claimed his petitions were stolen-a story many didn't buy.

DIAMONDSTONE PONDERS RACE Community Board 2 member Ken Diamondstone will decide in mid-April whether to challenge State Senator Marty Connor in September's Democratic primary. Diamondstone said his decision would hinge on "whether I have the financial support and the political support to make a credible run."

Running for State Senate isn't cheap, especially because candidates can't get public matching funds to run for state offices. "I don't think it could be done for under $125,000," Diamondstone said. Upon reflection, he said it might cost twice that. Diamondstone, an activist for gay and civil rights who's known for his progressive politics, used money from his own pocket to help finance his campaign against Rep. Ed Towns in 1998. He also ran for City Council in 2001, finishing third behind David Yassky and Steve Cohn but ahead of David Reiss.

While he wasn't ready to tell us what he considered the problem with Connor, Diamondstone did say, "This district deserves someone who can accomplish things even as a minority (member)." One source told us Diamondstone blames Connor for allowing the commuter tax to be eliminated for political reasons. Connor was the minority leader of the Senate at the time.

FELDER FLIPS OUT On March 24, Councilman Simcha Felder made a spectacle of himself at City Hall by interrupting Council proceedings to recite the Pledge of Allegiance. Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum repeatedly called Felder "out of order" but was unable to cut off his microphone as requested by Councilman Robert Jackson of Manhattan.

Jackson said Felder was "totally wrong" to violate Council rules to make his point, which was that the Supreme Court should keep "under God" in the pledge. Other members were also reportedly angered by Felder's tactics, which could be seen as a brave, patriotic gesture or a shameless, juvenile attempt at publicity, depending on whether you're on Felder's payroll. The Times reported that Felder apologized to his colleagues, but there was no hint of apology in the press release Felder issued. It noted that several of his colleagues, including Jimmy Oddo, recited the pledge with him.

Felder's release, which included some creative capitalization, added, "Felder cited American History in rejecting claims that there is no room for G-d in government. 'Our Founding Fathers recognized that we are endowed by our Creator with certain inalienable rights. That's not Simcha Felder, that's Thomas Jefferson.'"

But Thomas Jefferson was not always right. He was a slave owner who slept with at least one of his slaves. Does that mean white Americans today should be allowed to own and rape slaves? Felder is worried that the United States Supreme Court will uphold a federal appeals court ruling that reciting the Pledge of Allegiance in public school is unconstitutional unless "under God" is removed.

"What's next, do we edit the Declaration of Independence?" said Felder. Someone remind Felder that "under God" is itself a result of editing the pledge. Congress added the phrase in 1954 to advance religion during the Cold War against godless communists.

BOYLAND DONOR DUPED Former City Councilman Ken Fisher left this message on our answering machine last week: "I didn't know I had given $500 to [Councilwoman] Tracy Boyland's campaign for Congress until I read it in your column." Fisher did buy a ticket for a Boyland fundraiser last year but had no idea she planned to use the money to challenge Rep. Major Owens. "I was responding to a fundraiser that she held back in October," Fisher said. "The solicitation came in September, when she was running for reelection to the Council. It did not mention that she was a candidate for Congress. It did not have any of the FEC (Federal Election Commission) language that you normally see on a federal-related invitation."

We called Fisher at his law-firm job and asked if he'd have gone to Boyland's fundraiser if he knew the money would support her campaign against Owens and Councilwoman Yvette Clarke. "Probably not," said Fisher, pointing out that he supported former Councilwoman Una Clarke, Yvette's mother, against Owens in 2000 (an indication that he'll endorse Yvette this time). Fisher, incidentally, remembers well Boyland's fundraiser at the Marriott in downtown Brooklyn. He arrived at the hotel to find a gaggle of reporters, for it was the night that Assemblyman Clarence Norman was surrendering following his indictment. The media set upon him, asking, "Are you here to show your support for Clarence?"

"I said to myself, 'Let me get the hell out of here,'" Fisher laughed.

BUMPY RIDE FOR ROGER GREEN Prior to his sentencing date for accepting reimbursement for travel expenses he never incurred, Assemblyman Roger Green met with a probation officer in Albany, who then wrote in his pre-sentencing report, "The defendant seems to use the fact that the Assembly issued vague rules…as a justification for his stealing money from the state…Either the defendant has a limited mental capacity or is being dishonest."

The officer found Green's explanation "very convoluted," the Albany Times-Union reported. Without offering specifics, Green's attorney disputed the accuracy of the officer's report and blasted the court for making it public.

Meanwhile, the Assembly Ethics Committee met privately for the first time in 17 years, presumably to decide Green's in-house punishment. Green was sentenced March 22 to three years probation and ordered to pay $3,000 in restitution and a $2,000 fine. He pleaded guilty February 5 to two counts of petit larceny and one count of filing a false instrument.

SCHUMER SHOWS 'EM When it comes to running for higher office, State Senator Carl Andrews and Councilwoman Yvette Clarke could learn a thing or two from Senator Chuck Schumer. Andrews, known to be interested in running for the House in the 11th Congressional District, and Clarke, who is running in the 11th District, skipped the annual dinners of the Central Brooklyn Independent Democrats and the Independent Neighborhood Democrats in late March.

Schumer attended both dinners. His ability to be seemingly everywhere played no small role in his rising from the Assembly to the House to the Senate, and will likely keep him there or lead him to even higher office. "The U.S. senator shows up at both dinners, but two local elected officials who want to go to Congress don't. Hello?" one befuddled observer remarked. "The 11th C.D. contains both of these [clubs'] areas, and the white part of the district votes" in strong numbers.

LIBRARY NETS BERNARD KING We've learned that former basketball great Bernard King will be an honoree at the Brooklyn Public Library's annual gala on November 18. King's presence should boost attendance at the library fundraiser, especially since he's helping to promote Bruce Ratner's proposed basketball arena at Atlantic Terminal. Fundraisers always want honorees who can sell tables, and Ratner figures to buy a few to cheer for King.

But King is deserving regardless of his connection to high rollers. Raised in the Fort Greene projects, he excelled at Tennessee before joining the NBA, where he overcame personal problems to become a Knicks star in the early 1980s. In the process of winning the scoring title in 1985, King tore up his knee. Two years later he became the first player with a reconstructed anterior cruciate ligament to return to the league, and in 1991 he made it back to the All-Star game as a member of the Washington Bullets. King was nominated in February for induction into the Basketball Hall of Fame.

CONNOR SEES SUIT SQUELCHED The ouster of Marty Connor as Democratic leader of the State Senate in 2002 also cost him control of the lawsuit he helped initiate earlier that year against the Senate district lines drawn by the Republicans. Any chance the suit had of success was dashed when a challenge to congressional lines was grouped with it, apparently because the Council of Black Elected Democrats (COBED) was upset with the addition of white Westchester County voters to Rep. Eliot Engel's Bronx district. The case ended up before a panel of three federal Republican judges who might not have minded changing State Senate lines but were likely not interested in altering the congressional boundaries.

Also, there's a fundamental difference at play: congressional districts must all have the same number of residents, but State Senate districts can deviate by 10 percent. So Republicans drew underpopulated districts upstate and overpopulated ones downstate, bunching up Democrats and essentially stripping them of one seat.

DOES AMBULANCE MAN CHASE SKIRTS? We wrote in November about federal charges against Brooklyn ambulance mogul Steven Zakheim for allegedly funneling excessive campaign contributions through his employees. Turns out there was more to the story. The Village Voice reported last week that Zakheim was accused of rampant skirt-chasing at his Foster Avenue business by a lawsuit that was just settled.

"His office antics allegedly included grabbing employees' hands and placing them in his opened zipper, and giving unrequested shoulder massages as women sat at their desks and peeking down their blouses," the Voice reported. His accusers were represented by Arnie Kriss, a potential candidate for Brooklyn district attorney in 2005. Neither Kriss nor Zakheim would discuss the case with the Voice, though Zakheim's attorney denied his client did anything wrong. But the complaint detailed all sorts of specific incidents of allegedly bawdy behavior by Zakheim, 49, and noted that he hired bimbos for his business and then attempted to date them.

The Voice also reported that Zakheim was convicted of misdemeanor sex abuse in 1983, but failed to list it on his state license applications-a transgression that ultimately resulted in a $6,000 fine.

Bay Ridge Republican Pat Russo, who lost to Councilman Vinny Gentile last November, penned a letter to the editor criticizing this column for seizing on an erroneous fact toward the end of a letter to the editor by State Senator Marty Golden. Russo felt that in blasting Golden for falsely asserting that the number of abortions is "soaring" we ignored the point of Golden's letter, which was to say there are too many abortions in New York City. But Russo forgets how this column works. When a politician botches a fact, we mercilessly expose the error for all it's worth, and then some. No apologies…

Corniest line of the week goes to campaign manager Gary Tilzer, who concluded his press release about a fundraiser for Civil Court candidate Bernie Graham this way: "At the end of the evening all in attendance agreed that Bernie Graham is the clear front-runner." What, did they quiz everyone at the coat check? Besides, a fundraiser for a candidate isn't a great place to conduct an impartial poll about his chances…

Fred Laverpool, founder of something called Braggin' About Brooklyn, is upset that Councilman Al Vann is calling for Fulton Street to be co-named Harriet Tubman Avenue. Laverpool would like it re-named rather than co-named for Tubman…

Rep. Nydia Velazquez will be one of three honorees at the Lambda Independent Democrats' 26th anniversary lunch on April 17. Velazquez supports gay marriage…

Civil Court Judge Loren Baily-Schiffman recently failed to hire Elaine Schack, the daughter of Supreme Court Judge Artie Schack and Democratic district leader Delia Schack, as her law clerk. Making matters worse, the judge reportedly angered the Schacks further by not telling their daughter personally that she didn't get the job. Insiders are wondering if Baily-Schiffman hurt her chances to be elevated to Supreme Court, since Delia Schack is one of the more powerful district leaders…

Democratic district leader Francis Byrd and former School Board 13 President Chris Owens sent angry letters to the mayor about his plan to hold back third graders who score too low on a standardized test. It is not lost on insiders that keeping low scorers out of fourth grade in 2004 would boost scores on the big fourth-grade test that year-scores that will be released shortly before the mayoral election… The New York Observer recently editorialized about Assemblyman Clarence Norman's legal troubles. "Some of Mr. Norman's allies are complaining that their man was singled out for prosecution because he is black. That's worse than rubbish: Would they also claim that the late, unlamented Meade Esposito was prosecuted because he was Italian-American?" the paper offered. "The history of New York politics-particularly in Kings County-suggests that corruption is an equal-opportunity offense."

Contact Brooklyn Politics at (718) 399-3693.

Borough Politics Archive

2004
March 29 column.
March 22 column.
March 15 column.
March 8 column.
March 1 column.
February 23 column.
February 16 column.
February 9 column.
February 2 column.
January 26 column.
January 19 column.
January 12 column.
January 5 column.

2003
December 29 column.
December 22 column.
December 15 column.
December 8 column.
December 1 column.
November 24 column.
November 17 column.
November 10 column.
November 3 column.
October 27 column.
October 20 column.
October 13 column.
October 6 column.
September 29 column.
September 22 column.
September 15 column.
September 8 column.
September 1 column.
August 25 column.
August 18 column.
August 18 column.
August 11 column.
August 4 column.
July 21 column.
July 14 column.
July 7 column.
June 30 column.
June 23 column.
June 16 column.
June 9 column.
June 2 column.
May 26 column.
May 19 column.
May 12 column.
May 5 column.
April 28 column.
April 21 column.
April 14 column.
April 7 column.
March 31 column.
March 24 column.
March 10 column.
March 3 column.
February 24 column.
February 17 column.
February 10 column.
February 3 column.
January 27 column.
January 20 column.
January 13 column.
January 6 column.

2002
December 30 column.
December 23 column.
December 16 column.
December 9 column.
December 2 column.
Novemer 25 column.
Novemer 18 column.
November 11 column.
November 4 column.
October 28 column.
October 21 column.
October 14 column.
October 7 column.
September 30 column.
September 23 column.
September 16 column.
September 9 column.
September 2 column.
August 26 column.
August 19 column.
August 12 column.
August 5 column.
July 29 column.
July 22 column.
July 8 column.
July 1 column.
June 17 column.
June 10 column.
June 3 column.
May 27 column.
May 20 column.
May 13 column.
May 6 column.
April 29 column.
April 22 column.
April 15 column.
April 8 column.
April 1 column.
March 25 column.
March 18 column.
March 11 column.
March 4 column.
February 25 column.
February 18 column.
February 11 column.
February 4 column.
January 28 column.
January 21 column.
January 7 column.

2001
December 10 column.
December 3 column.
November 19 column.
November 12 column.
November 5 column.
October 22 column.
October 1 column.
September 6 column.
September 4 column.
August 30 column.
July 23 column.
July 2 column.
June 25 column.
June 11 column.
May 28 column.
May 21 column.
May 14 column.
May 7 column.
April 30 column.
April 23 column.
April 9 column.
April 2 column.
March 26 column.
March 19 column.
March 12 column.
March 5 column.
February 26 column.
February 19 column.
February 12 column.
February 5 column.
January 29 column.
January 22 column.
January 15 column.
January 8 column.
January 1 column.

2000
December 25 column.
December 18 column.
December 11 column.
December 4 column.
November 27 column.
November 20 column.
November 13 column.
November 6 column.
October 30 column.
October 23 column.
October 16 column.
October 9 column.
October 2 column.
September 25 column.
September 18 column.
September 11 column.
September 4 column.
August 28 column.
August 21 column.
August 7 column.
July 31 column.
July 24 column.
July 17 column.
July 10 column.
June 26 column.
June 19 column.
June 12 column.
May 15 column.
May 8 column.
April 24 column.
April 10 column.
March 13 column.
March 7 column.
February 21 column.
February 14 column.
February 7 column.
January 31 column.
January 24 column.
January 17 column.

1999
December 16 column.
December 9 column.
December 2 column.
November 25 column.
November 18 column.
November 11 column.
November 4 column.