BEEP SKIPS RALLY FOR A CAR-FREE PARK A major premise of the July 17 rally to ban cars from Prospect Park was to win over Borough President Marty Markowitz to the idea and show him the broad support for it. That's why organizers cleared the meeting date with Markowitz's office weeks in advance. So they were shocked to learn six hours before the event that Markowitz would bag it because of a "prior commitment." Organizers don't know why the beep didn't attend, but they don't really believe the "prior commitment" excuse since they checked with Markowitz before setting a date he could make.

Even if something came up unexpectedly, they figure he could have at least stopped by for a few minutes on his way to the other commitment, as politicians commonly do. "Marty avoided seeing nearly 500 of his constituents, when he goes to nearly every event as a tireless advocate for Brooklyn. I see him at events with a dozen or fewer people at it," said Clarence Eckerson of Carroll Gardens, one of the organizers. "It's just very, very disappointing." The beep, who sent senior aides in his place, wouldn't tell us what his "prior commitment" was. Markowitz has yet to take a position on banning cars from Prospect Park, even for a three-month trial period. He's talking it over with fellow Park Slope resident Iris Weinshall, the city transportation commissioner.

But his written statement that while a car-free park is a "laudable" goal, he "must also represent the many Brooklynites who drive through the park every day and the neighborhoods that abut the park who may be negatively impacted (he meant affected) by any additional closures" gives reason to doubt that Markowitz will make the right call. Officially, it's the city's decision, but Markowitz's opinion would likely be followed. Eckerson said politicians have been difficult to convince because "they go to events in the park when the park is closed to traffic. They never see what's it's like to be an average Brooklynite in the park when it's open to traffic."

One of the obstacles to a car-free park has been Community Board 14 of Flatbush, whose chairman Alvin Berk believes closing the park would make the streets around it more dangerous. But even if the rush-hour congestion he mistakenly fears did materialize on Parkside and Ocean avenues, safety would only be enhanced. Pedestrians are hit when cars drive too fast, not too slowly.

HIS CREDIBILITY QUESTIONED, GREEN LOSES CLUB'S SUPPORT Assemblyman Roger Green, who's enjoyed the support of the influential reform club Central Brooklyn Independent Democrats throughout his 22 years in office, was denied CBID's endorsement after his credibility was questioned at a fiery meeting.

The 46 club members who voted were split evenly between Green and Hakeem Jeffries, who earned 41 percent of the popular vote in losing to Green in 2000's Democratic primary and is mounting a stronger effort this year. The Jeffries camp was expecting perhaps 10 or 12 votes at CBID, but Green's support eroded during a contentious question-and-answer session.

First, district leader candidate Alan Fleishman grilled Green about his abandoned promise to include Civil Court Judge Margarita Lopez Torres on his petitions. State Senator Velmanette Montgomery tried to come to Green's rescue, saying she advised Green to drop Lopez Torres from their omnibus petition because carrying a separate petition for the judge would be more "effective." We'll be generous and just say that Montgomery's explanation was a highly euphemistic way of saying she and Green backed down under pressure from the county Democratic organization, which opposes Lopez Torres and figures to challenge her petitions in court.

If an omnibus (multiple) petition for Montgomery, Green, and Lopez Torres were disqualified, Montgomery and Green could be knocked off the ballot-collateral casualties of county's war against Lopez Torres. To avoid that possibility, Montgomery and Green jettisoned Lopez Torres. It's sort of like kicking the fattest passenger out of an overfilled lifeboat and throwing out a rope instead. Fleishman, soon to be the Democratic district leader for most of brownstone Brooklyn, chastised Green, who in turn called Fleishman "abusive."

"I said he was less than truthful. I didn't use the word liar," recalled Fleishman, who's backing Jeffries. "He gave a very certain answer and then he did a totally different thing. It doesn't sit right with me." Green also declared that he'd been endorsed by gubernatorial candidate Carl McCall, prompting another CBID member supporting Jeffries, Chris Brown, to ask if he had that in writing. "Are you calling me a liar now, too?" replied an indignant Green, according to a Jeffries supporter who said McCall announced at the last Council of Black Elected Democrats meeting that he wasn't endorsing in any central Brooklyn (read: black-versus-black) races. "Roger Green nearly fainted when he said that," the Jeffries supporter said.

Side note: McCall would be foolish to take sides in races between black candidates, like Green versus Jeffries, lest he alienate people who would otherwise vote for him. "If he does go with one over the other, the other's not going to carry him on his palm card," one observer noted. "He probably needs them more than they need him."

Back to CBID: School Board 15 President Eddie Rodriguez took the final shot at Green, asking for his take on community school boards. Green said they're rife with cronyism and patronage and he's glad they're being disbanded, prompting Rodriguez to ask why Green hired a former school board president as his legislative director.

As cheap shots go, that was a good one. But we're with Green on this one: though some school boards are effective, many are not, and over all we'll be better off without them. Eddie Rodriguez's nascent political career won't, but that's another story.

HYNES HURT BY HATCHET JOB Brooklyn District Attorney Joe Hynes was skewered by the Daily News on July 15. A two-page spread charged that Hynes runs more of a social welfare agency than a prosecutor's office, has the city's lowest conviction rate, divides his staff into an absurd 52 work units, overspends his budget, overpays an inflated executive staff, and illegally diverted millions of dollars from the federal asset forfeiture fund. Hynes has taken some grief in this column, but the News piece was clearly a hatchet job-with two exceptions, which we'll discuss shortly.

First: While it may be unusual for a district attorney to hire nearly 40 social workers, chances are the ones in Hynes's office provide more societal good for the buck than do most prosecutors. The DA's office is in a position to smartly deploy social workers, who make peanuts anyway.

Second: Hynes's conviction rate (convictions per arrest) is low largely because he offers non-violent drug offenders alternatives to the usual merry-go-round of drug use, arrest, and incarceration. It's a policy that, if done well, saves money while lowering crime and improving lives.

Third: What's wrong with 52 work units? The newspaper cited such programs as DTAP (for drug users), TADD (for mentally ill drug users), FTAP (for landlords), ComALERT (for ex-cons), and AWARE (for abused women).

Except for the silly acronyms, we don't see the problem. The city Department of Environmental Protection has a zillion work units, some with just a few employees. Who cares? Fourth: Hynes overspent his budget by $80,000 to $350,000. In a budget of $75 million, that's not much-less than half a percent. But when it comes to finances and assets seized from criminals, the paper was on target.

Hynes's demoralized young prosecutors, while recognizing most of the story as unfair, agreed with its ridiculing of the DA's salary structure, in which six-figure salaries are bestowed upon 115 staffers-far more than at the offices of the other boroughs' Das. They are perhaps most bothered by the $125,000 job created for former Borough President Howard Golden. Ten people are doing public relations at a cost to taxpayers of $456,000 (an investment that doesn't seem to be paying off for Hynes, given the horrible press he's been getting). Another wasteful endeavor has 12 people earning an average of $47,000 writing lesson plans and sending prosecutors out to speak to fifth graders. A dozen class-visit schedules seems a bit much. And wouldn't prosecutors' time be better spent prosecuting people? Besides, do you remember anyone who visited your fifth-grade classroom?

The News also discovered that Hynes used cash from the federal asset forfeiture fund to pay for operating expenses, whereas it's supposed to only supplement an agency's budget. Federal law forbids what Hynes is doing, the idea being to remove any financial incentive for law enforcement. True, not many people will care that seized drug money was used in place of taxpayer money. But if Hynes were to hold himself to the same standard that he applied to political operative John O'Hara, whom he prosecuted for years for voting from the wrong address, Hynes would have no choice but to indict himself. Don't hold your breath.

YASSKY'S FERRY PLAN CAPSIZES Not surprisingly, the $5 million that Councilman David Yassky had sought to expand commuter ferry service was not included in the 2003 budget negotiated by the council and the mayor. In fact, ferry service was reduced, since no funding was provided to continue the existing service from the Brooklyn Army Terminal at the Sunset Park/Bay Ridge waterfront. That service is being funded by the federal government through the end of 2002 to help the city recover from September 11, but could be canceled in January if the city doesn't find some cash.

Yassky, whose district includes Park Slope, Brooklyn Heights and Williamsburg, is still hopeful that will happen, since budgets are adjusted as revenues and expenditures vary from what was forecast. "We have a little bit of time to figure out what's going to happen," Yassky said. "It's not going to be easy, but I certainly don't rule it out. It's a very important route, and I think the Department of Transportation recognizes how successful it's been and how valuable it is now. I'm sure between now and then we're going to be taking another look at the budget we've just adopted." The same day Yassky said that, the mayor said even more cuts would likely be necessary.

The $5 million Yassky sought was to maintain ferry service from the Brooklyn Army Terminal and add lines connecting Queens, Greenpoint, and lower Manhattan; linking Williamsburg, Fulton Ferry Landing, and lower Manhattan, and going from the Rockaways to Brooklyn Army Terminal. All the 2003 budget provided toward new ferries was $300,000 for a feasibility study for service from the Rockaways. Unfortunately for Yassky, the chance to sit next to a Queens resident on a ferry is not something he'll be able to sell to Brooklyn voters when he runs for reelection next year.

MAYOR IS GOLDEN GOOSE FOR MARTY Mayor Mike Bloomberg hosted a fundraiser July 16 at his East 79th Street townhouse for City Councilman Marty Golden, a fellow Republican who's challenging state Senator Vinny Gentile this November. Tickets were $3,000 each, a startlingly high figure for a local race. By contrast, Gentile's fundraiser featuring state Attorney General Eliot Spitzer was $250 to $1,000 per person. We mentioned Golden's fundraiser to Steve Casey, Gentile's campaign manager. "I think it's another example of Marty Golden being bought and sold by the Republican Party," he said. "Marty Golden should be raising money from the district. Instead he's raising money from the big wigs. He's going to owe them." That drew a laugh from Golden campaign spokesman Bill O'Reilly. "It sounds like the Gentile campaign is green with envy that they don't have access to the mayor," he said.

We agree that any candidate who could raise $150,000 with a dinner at Bloomberg's house would probably do so. But if you can't, the next best thing is to ridicule your opponent for doing it. O'Reilly said Golden was proud to have Bloomberg's support (an endorsement is forthcoming), but we will note that his July 19 press release downplayed the Bloomberg fundraiser, giving it a brief mention at the end of the third paragraph, while playing up unspecified support from police and fire unions. O'Reilly also noted that Golden does raise money in his district, receiving donations for as little as $5. Golden's campaign hadn't received help from the Republican Senate Campaign Committee until it did a mailing for Golden on July 12, O'Reilly added.

Casey said Gentile expects to spend $300,000 to $500,000 on the race, but wouldn't be surprised if Golden spent $1 million. "Ridiculous," O'Reilly shot back. "Not even close." Golden has already raised more than $340,000 and spent more than $100,000. He's quite unhappy, though, that he will have to spend some of it to win a Conservative Party primary in September, thanks to the candidacy of a heretofore unknown Conservative candidate. "His name is Ira Rudolph, like the reindeer," said O'Reilly, adding, "I'm not trying to be funny."

Golden had expected to be unopposed on the Conservative line, on which he could pick up 4 to 6 percent of the vote in the general election. Keeping that line is crucial to his chances. "If he loses that line, he's dead," Casey declared. "Campaign's over." But could he possibly lose it to the obscure Rudolph? Well, Rudolph is aligned with the wealthy Tom Golisano, who's again running as a Conservative for governor and will pay for mailings to the 1,700 registered Conservatives in the new 22nd Senate District. "The 1,700 Conservatives are going to be getting mail like you wouldn't believe. It's going to say, 'Vote for the true Conservative,'" said Casey, noting that Rudolph is a registered Conservative and Golden is a Republican. "Remember, the universe is so small. It's 1,700. You can mail these guys 15 times and it won't cost too much."

How bothered is the Golden camp by this development? Gentile is telling people that Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno's right-hand man, Steve Boggess, approached Gentile on the Senate floor and said, "I understand my good friend Marty Golden has a Conservative Party primary…Well, maybe you're going to have a Democratic Party primary." O'Reilly said he knows nothing about that, adding that Golden won't be putting up a spoiler candidate to give Gentile a primary.

As for Rudolph, Golden's spokesman said, "This guy came out of nowhere. He climbed out from under a rock." Rudolph, 52, lives in state Senator Carl Kruger's new district, and only registered as a Conservative on June 11. Before that, he wasn't even registered to vote. "He's just a show put up by the Golisano people and probably the Gentile people as well to try to make Marty spend time and money on this thing," O'Reilly said. Rudolph decided on his own to run, said his nephew Elnatan Rudolph, a 20-year-old Brooklyn College student from Midwood who runs Solutions America Political Consulting and counts state Senator Seymour Lachman and Civil Court candidate Ellen Spodek among his clients. Elnatan Rudolph acknowledged he's a friend of Gentile, but said that's not why his uncle is running against Golden. It's because "he grew up in that district" and "he didn't want to run against Carl Kruger." Rudolph added, "My uncle's the only true Conservative running. Marty Golden's running on the Conservative line just because he wants a second line."

Borough Politics Archive

2002
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2001
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2000
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1999
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