Clowning Around Borough President Howard Golden sent whispers through the ample crowd gathered at a recent Jeannette Gadson fundraiser when he made mention of a certain "clown" who was running against Gadson but unsure of their ultimate ambition. While Golden could have been referring to State Senator Marty Markowitz, many in the audience took the remark as a thinly veiled jab at Councilmember Ken Fisher, who gave up his mayoral bid to run against Gadson in the borough president's race.

Golden could not be reached for comment by press time, but the day after the event Newsday reported that a Golden staffer said that the beep meant the remark in a general sense-that all candidates besides Gadson were clowns trying to defeat her "with smoke and mirrors." Fisher and Golden are friends and allies, and many have even speculated that Golden would have backed Fisher instead of Gadson if the term-limited councilmember had declared his local intentions a bit sooner. Nonetheless, Gadson, the deputy borough president, is Golden's candidate, and he is backing her fully, although he and Fisher remain friends.

"I don't know exactly what (Golden) said," said Fisher. "Howie sometimes sounds like a character from Guy and Dolls, but it would be very much out of character for him to make a personal attack."

Three of a Kind Speaking of Fisher, the word is that he will most likely be running on a non-binding ticket with two of his Council colleagues: fellow Councilmember Herb Berman, candidate for comptroller, and Speaker Peter Vallone, a candidate for mayor. The relationships between the three men are many. For starters, Fisher has hired George Artz as a campaign consultant. Berman also hired Artz. Additionally, Fisher has been sending mail throughout the 33rd Councilmanic District that highlights both himself and Vallone as advocates for rent protections-a touchy issue for both candidates, especially since Fisher voted for a Vallone-backed lead paint bill that many believed favored landlords. Fisher has also been circulating mail that lauds Berman and Vallone for their work with him as chair of the Youth Services Committee. Further, Fisher and Berman worked together last month on a $50 million city allocation for Brooklyn Bridge Park, which lies within Fisher's district. No one involved with the park expected the money to come this year, but Berman and Fisher, with the support of Vallone, were able to get the mayoral nod for the allocation.

Berman called talk of the ticket "pure unadulterated speculation. "When people are sitting down having a beer or something, they'll say what about this combo or what about that combo, but there's been no talk about (the ticket)," said Berman. "These things may or may not happen, but there's been no slate discussions. It's way too early." Fisher also said that the buzz was premature. "There's been no discussion of a Vallone-Berman-Fisher ticket," he said. "We have a lot of overlapping interests. We work closely together on the Council. I certainly have the highest respect for them. (But) all of those discussions are premature."

"I think it's realistic speculation," said one source. "Certainly Herb and Peter are going to work together, but nothing has been done yet. With Ken, there's nothing in stone. There have been discussions."

From Deliveryman to Assembly Candidate Alec Brook-Krasny is nothing but forthright about why he originally joined Community Board 13. "I thought that it was going to be good for my business," said the owner of Fun-O-Rama, who has his sights set on challenging Assemblymember Adele Cohen in the Democratic primary. "But then when I got involved in community affairs, I understood that it's very important. Somebody has to make these decisions and I like it very much. I like to help people," he said. Brook-Krasny, who came to the United States from Russia in 1989, started as a deliveryman for a Manhattan shoe store. He worked his way up to store manager, then went to business school and after graduation worked as an accountant. In 1996, he started Fun-O-Rama with capital from business partners.

A few months ago, he won the endorsement of Councilmember Howard Lasher's political club, the Good Government Democrats, to run against Cohen. Brook-Krasny said that he wants to act as a "bridge" between longtime residents and more recent Russian-speaking immigrants in the 46th A.D. For years, the two communities have been waging often bitter culture wars. "I think what is very important in this community is somehow to make a way from the differences to celebrating diversity," he said. "And in order to do that you probably need an administrator who would understand all the needs of all the people in the community." Brook-Krasny, a resident of Sea Gate, estimated that 45 percent of the district is comprised of Russian-speaking immigrants. Cohen put the figure much lower. There are no official numbers.

"I wish him good luck," said Cohen. "I have been working very hard for every constituency, from Brighton Beach to Coney Island to Sea Gate to Bay Ridge. And I intend to keep working as hard as I can and serving the people-all the people."

How Do These Things Get Started? District Leader Ralph Perfetto, formerly the Director of Cemeteries for the State of New York, said that a rumor about Assemblymember Dov Hikind is circulating up in Albany. The word, said Perfetto, is that Hikind will not run for either public advocate or borough president, but instead will run for mayor-as a Democrat in the primary, and then as a Republican in the general if he loses the Democratic nomination. The basis for the theory is Hikind's closeness with Governor Pataki, who attended a recent Hikind fundraiser in Borough Park. Additionally, said Perfetto, Hikind has the ability to raise enough money, he would not have to give up his Assembly seat to run, and he would help Republican Council candidates. "They feel he'll run on the safe streets issue," said Perfetto. "They feel he could be a moderate because he spoke up against (the) Gideon Busch (incident)."

Hikind, when told of the rumor, shared it with his staff. "We had a good laugh," he said. "It's sort of nice. I love these stories. It means people are talking, so that's good." He also mentioned a circulating story that has Hillary Clinton looking to match her daughter Chelsea with Hikind's son, whom she met while paying a shiva call to Hikind after his father died. "That story has as much credibility as the one you just told me," he said.

Borough Politics Archive
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