ROGER GREEN OPPOSED The folks fighting Bruce Ratner's basketball arena and the downtown Brooklyn redevelopment plan were set to unveil an Assembly candidate to oppose arena supporter Roger Green last weekend at an anti-arena rally, but were convinced that doing so would distract people from their primary message, which is to stop Ratner. Instead, Green's Democratic primary opponent will be formally introduced in the coming days. He is Daniel McCalla, a 29-year-old black resident of Fort Greene and music director at a Bedford-Stuyvesant church. He will try to make the election a referendum on the Ratner and redevelopment plans, which he and his supporters consider overdevelopment.

Defeating Green will be difficult even though Green resigned his Assembly seat following a misdemeanor conviction. Swarms of paid campaign workers from the self-described reform organization ACORN figure to hit the streets for Green, as they did in his last two reelections. Unions, who stand to benefit from the development McCalla opposes, could also send in troops for Green, as could their ally, the Working Families Party. Councilwoman Tish James, despite opposing Ratner's plan, also supports Green.

McCalla, without a campaign war chest, might end up using a community garden for his campaign headquarters. We are not kidding. "Do we have money? No. Do we have consultants? No," said McCalla supporter Schellie Hagan. "But we have heart." Problem is, it takes more than heart to sell a candidate with no name recognition to a district of 121,000 people in two and a half months. McCalla, a Julliard-trained musician who plays bassoon and organ, will have to learn quickly how to toot his own horn.

THE OTHER D.A. CANDIDATE Crain's Insider, in reporting that the Thomas Jefferson Democratic Club is pushing State Senator John Sampson for Brooklyn district attorney in 2005, printed that Sampson is the only African-American potential candidate to surface yet. Not so. Attorney Paul Wooten's name has been out there for months.

Wooten has been making the rounds and raising money, and has even retained a public relations person, Pauline Barfield, who told us, "Paul is gearing up to declare his candidacy." Wooten has done work for plenty of Brooklyn candidates over the years, the most infamous being Othniel Boaz "Aaron" Askew, who later murdered Councilman James Davis. Wooten bound Askew's petitions, which were never filed, but had minimal contact with the future assassin.

TWO CHEFS COULD SPOIL MEAL What do Zachary LaReche and Michele Adolphe have in common? (A) They are Haitian. (B) They are running in the Democratic primary against Assemblywoman Rhoda Jacobs. (C) They are assuring Jacobs's reelection. The answer is (D) All of the above.

The recipe for knocking off a sitting legislator has several ingredients, including no second challenger to split the anti-incumbent vote. LaReche and Adolphe are two chefs in the same kitchen. Not gonna work, even in a district that's 65 percent black and 14 percent Latino. The irony here is that Adolphe has worked on LaReche's past campaigns and the two were close friends, sources said.

UNA CLARKE, STAGE MOM Don't believe rumors that former Councilwoman Una Clarke has put together a slate of Caribbean candidates to oppose elected officials who aren't endorsing her daughter, Councilwoman Yvette Clarke, for Congress against Rep. Major Owens. The Clarkes are too busy with Yvette's campaign to manage others, and the collection of insurgent Caribbean candidates this year did not arise from a unified effort.

As for Una, she told us, "I don't even know who those insurgent candidates are… I'm out of politics. I am like the mother of the bride…Let me just be a stage mom." Well, she's not entirely out of politics, given that she works for Governor George Pataki at the Brooklyn Community Network Office of the Empire State Development Corporation.

And she is playing some role in her daughter's campaign. "I'm making sure that any flies that come near her are swatted away," she said. The elder Clarke lost to Owens in 2000 in part because she ran as a lone wolf. Some believe that to avoid repeating that mistake, her daughter will hook up with other insurgent campaigns. Indeed she might, but to call the insurgents a slate would be an exaggeration.

MIDWOOD ANNEX DEBATE In the dispute over whether Midwood High School should get a lot across the street for new science labs, or whether it should become a playground, Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz supports the school.

"Midwood, like so many schools all across Brooklyn, is bursting at the seams. Midwood focuses on science, yet the school's science labs date back to the 1940s when the school was built," a Markowitz spokesman e-mailed us. "There must be an appropriate balance for the desire for playground space and the desperately needed annex. The school tells us that when the annex is built, there would actually be more open space in the area then there is now." That should say if the annex were built. No money has been allocated to start construction any time soon.

STEWART'S NO STOOGE City Councilman Kendall Stewart might have issued an off-the-cuff endorsement of Mayor Mike Bloomberg earlier this year, but judging by his remarks about Bloomberg's budget plan he doesn't appear to be a stooge for the mayor. "In general the proposal is a pretty good one, but one problem is the proposed giveback of $400 to homeowners," Stewart told Gotham Gazette. "I do not believe that this plan will do much, and is more of a political ploy than anything else. The amount is not significant enough to make a difference. Those funds could be pooled together to try to restore some of the cuts from last year, such as the firehouses, summer youth employment, senior centers and day care."

At a Brooklyn event with Bloomberg, Stewart had said the mayor should get another term. The media labeled that an endorsement, though it wasn't a formal one. "Kendall kind of jumped the gun. I don't think it was planned. It was just a spontaneous reaction on Kendall's part," one district leader said. "It certainly doesn't help him in a Democratic primary (in 2005) to be an early endorser of a Republican candidate for mayor."

In 2002, Stewart endorsed Republican Governor George Pataki, contributing to Stewart's near defeat in his 2003 primary against Sam Taitt, who'll run again next year. Stewart represents a heavily Democratic East Flatbush district.

WASTE OF MONEY DRAGS ON A year ago, one column reader posted on his refrigerator our item about an investigation by Comptroller Billy Thompson that found the city was spending $17.3 million a year on vacant day-care slots. At the first anniversary, the reader asked for an update. The problem appeared simple: day care providers weren't allowed to screen applicants until there was a vacancy. So when a vacancy arose, it remained unfilled during the screening process-but fully paid for.

You'd think it'd be simple to allow providers to line up qualified families before slots became vacant. And you'd be wrong. In fact, the city is still working on this. Thompson's people told us they're still talking with the responsible city agency, which has "made some progress" but hasn't solved the problem. Any year now…

LAVERPOOL OFF DEEP END A Brooklynite named Fred Laverpool doesn't struggle to find people who agree with him that Fulton Street should be renamed Harriet Tubman Avenue. But he has a hard time changing the minds of others, especially with his somewhat radical view of Robert Fulton. "Fulton's perfection of the steamboat actually contributed to the perpetuation of slavery," Laverpool said. "His invention aided slavery and perpetuated it because it made it easier to transport slaves. He knew it would be used in that context, in the shipping trade."

Laverpool disagrees with Councilman Al Vann's idea to co-name Fulton Street for Tubman because, Laverpool said, "Putting his name over Harriet Tubman's is like putting Adolf Hitler over Arthur Schindler." We pointed out that blaming Fulton for slavery is like blaming the inventor of railroads for concentration camps. Laverpool was not convinced. He might be correct, though, that co-naming the street would kill any chance of replacing Fulton's name entirely.

TIDBITS Councilman David Yassky was praised in a June 16 New York Sun editorial for suggesting the city save money by reducing street cleaning. It's a good idea, but it won't save money because street cleaning is more than paid for by the parking tickets it generates…

In her latest newsletter, Assemblywoman Joan Millman called herself "a longtime supporter of Brooklyn's great cultural institutions" but twice botched the name of the Brooklyn Botanic Garden by adding an "s" at the end. She did get it right one time. Also on the proofreading front, Councilwoman Tracy Boyland's first congressional campaign mailing entertained us with random placements and omissions of commas and semicolons. It also recounted Boyland's years as an "aid" to other elected officials-technically acceptable, but "aide" is preferred…

Rep. Major Owens, whom Boyland is challenging, dispatched his first electronic campaign newsletter. In the first paragraph, it said, "We promise not to inundate you with e-mails!" We received the message three times in one day…

Noach Dear's campaign blasted as "blatant lies" the assertions by State Senator Kevin Parker that the third candidate in their race, Wellington Sharpe, was planted by Dear to siphon votes from Parker…

State Senator John Sampson, whose district is less than 13 percent white, hired a white Orthodox Jew, Michael Cohen, to be his new chief of staff. Some saw the move as designed to raise Sampson's profile among voting blocs that could be pivotal in the 2005 Brooklyn district attorney's race. But Sampson told us Cohen's predecessor was also white, and that he hires people who reflect his personality, not necessarily his color…

Why is Flatbush district leader Lori Knipel rooting for Comptroller Billy Thompson to run for mayor? If he does, Assemblyman Jim Brennan would run for comptroller. And if Brennan wins, Knipel could then run for Brennan's Assembly seat. Guess who was the main honoree at Knipel's annual dinner this week? Billy Thompson. OK, Knipel joining the Assembly is a far-fetched scenario. She has a better chance of becoming a Civil Court judge once she has the required 10 years as a member of the bar…

A rumor was floated that State Senator Marty Golden wants to take control of the Brooklyn Republican Party. But a source close to Golden told us unequivocally that in no way does Golden desire to replace Hy Singer, the county chairman…

Asked by Governing magazine about the bevy of potential candidates he may face in the 2005 election, Brooklyn District Attorney Joe Hynes said, "The more, the merrier." Indeed, multiple challengers could split the anti-incumbent vote, ensuring Hynes's reelection…

Civic leaders in southern Brooklyn are fighting a proposal to turn Venice Marina into a shopping center, as reported by our Joe Maniscalco. "Do we really need Beverly Hills shops here?" asked one Gerritsen Beach man. Declared 61st Precinct Community Council President Joy Foy, "We believe that the need for police will not be occasional, but chronic." We understand. Upscale shops have certainly turned Beverly Hills into a high-crime area…

A reader objected to our support of Sunday parking meters, calling it the "Small Business Killer Tax" and writing anonymously, "Why should I pay another 25 cents every Sunday morning when I stop for bialys 5-7 minutes?" Well, in many neighborhoods you wouldn't find a spot in front of the bialy store if parking were free. Then you might not drive to the store at all. That's why small business owners complain more about lack of parking than about 25-cent parking…

Park Slope's Alan Fleishman, a Democratic district leader and gay activist, sent an invitation to a fundraiser for Civil Court hopeful Harley Diamond that declared, "Despite a huge gay population in Brooklyn, no gay man has ever been elected borough-wide. It is time for a change. We need to have a seat on the bench."

One of the candidates for Civil Court judge this year is Gerry Dunbar, the attorney who represented Crown Heights tenants in the case on which the movie "The Super" was based. Dunbar has often represented insurgent candidates against the Democratic machine, but the machine doesn't seem to be opposing Dunbar's candidacy because he's an ally of the Orthodox community, which the machine would rather not upset…

Assemblymen Dov Hikind and Frank Seddio and State Senator Carl Kruger, all Democrats, will also appear on the Republican line this November…

The mayor honored city parks volunteers with a June 1 barbecue at Gracie Mansion. But the invitations were square, forcing organizers to slap another $.12 postage on every one. So much for fiscal restraint…

The Department of Health said a third of people who got its free nicotine patches were still not smoking after six months, which is double the usual rate of success. Councilman Jimmy Oddo had complained about the patch giveaway, suggesting the money could be better spent elsewhere, such as on nurses for non-public schools…

Rep. Anthony Weiner is calling for the government to subsidize commuter ferries, as it does subways and buses. Long-haul ferries would reduce traffic and pollution and ease subway crowding, but is not profitable on its own, Weiner wrote on GothamGazette.com. Weiner stuck language in the pork-laden federal transportation bill to buy three fast ferries for Rockaway commuters, but it could be removed in conference with the Senate.

Contact Brooklyn Politics at (718) 399-3693.

Borough Politics Archive

2004
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2003
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2002
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2001
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2000
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1999
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