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View From Here: Human Priorities Should Take Precedent

David Mark Greaves
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By David Mark Greaves

Eighty-nine (89%) of  eligible voters did not vote in the last mayoral primary.  This bit of knowledge is what is driving all of the Political Action Committees (PACs) and election advisors.   Their equations are based upon the 11% of “likely voters”, and if they can sway them, they’re good.   That is why hedge funds back charter school-friendly candidates and real estate interests back candidates who understand their needs.  That is why endorsements are important.  Because the turnout is so low, 20 endorsements generating a few thousand votes can determine an election.   But if the 89% had a reason to come out, everything changes.

There are 4 candidates in the race who will divide the 11% of the eligible voters who voted in the last mayoral primary.  There’s Christine Quinn, the City Council Speaker and Bloomberg surrogate who deserves payback for that and this is a perfect opportunity.   There’s Bill Thompson, who could not compel 89% of the eligible voters to come out for him in the last primary, and he’s done nothing in the intervening four years to make the case for them to come out now.  We have Bill de Blasio and his tale of “two cities approach” which is a co-option of elements of John Liu’s People’s Budget. De Blasio’s universal pre-K, paid for by taxing the wealthy, is only one element of the People’s Budget, which includes an array of revenue-generating proposals necessary to fund the educational and employment aspirations of the 89%.  And if other campaigns answer with a series of “Me to(s)”, then it’s best to go with the original, not the would-be copycat.   As for Anthony “I-have-no-shame” Weiner, we know he’s still in the race, but that doesn’t mean we have to care.

Everything has its time.   During the Bloomberg years, developers and real estate interests had their time and we see the amount of new construction they’ve been able to achieve as they’ve remade the city skyline.  But we also see the financial pain in communities of color,  we see a failed school system that reels from one experiment to the next, taking young people who start out as the best and brightest, and extinguishes their spark as they advance in school years.  We see the draconian policing tactics and the fancy consultants overpaid with tax dollars.

Because Bloomberg thinks fingerprinting everyone in public housing is a good idea, then everyone in public housing eligible to vote in the Democratic Primary on Tuesday, September 10, should come out and vote for the candidate billionaire Mayor Bloomberg can’t stand, John Liu.  If public housing residents did that, it would tell Bloomberg what he could do with his proposal, and no politician would ever again allow words like that to leave their lips.   Also, John Liu would win the election and the human priorities of the city would begin to take a guiding precedent.

Despite his wealth and power, Michael Bloomberg has only one vote.  The same as the housing tenant.  And the tens of thousands of tenants who did not vote in the last primary, each should take their one vote and put it down on the candidate whose name Bloomberg, Wall Street and real estate speculators want forgotten, John Liu.

Many of the 11% who are guaranteed to come out, vote because it’s the right thing to do, and because it is so important, they feel it better to vote for not the worst candidate, rather than risk “wasting” their vote on someone who, in the opinion of pollsters, has no chance of winning.  Another part of the 11% look at politics as an inside game to be played with interested parties able to get out the troops, their portion of the 11%.  These core voters will all come out and make their votes count.

But for the other folks, the 89% who were not inspired to come out and vote in the last primary, this is their chance to cast a meaningful vote.  This is the time to bring collective power to bear and strike like a Black Belt, hitting at a uniquely vulnerable point for the establishment, the Democratic Primary.  Use social media for social action.  Tweet, Facebook and share that voting for John Liu is the only way to go.  Do that and then go watch your vote explode across the screens primary night and see the world change right before your eyes.

On a last note, as we go to press we see that the ugliest kind of campaign literature is being mailed to residents of Council District 36 by Jobs For New York, seemingly on behalf of one candidate while viciously attacking the others.  This Real Estate Board of New York-funded mailing is nothing but an effort by white males to suppress the black vote.  They want to engender negative feelings about all politicians and the process.  The fewer votes the black community casts, the better it is for their candidates in the mayoral race.   The community has an opportunity to tell them that game is old and known by patiently waiting only three weeks  on Tuesday, September 10th. Deal with them decisively by voting for John Liu for Mayor.

 

(Correction on the Web site for the Election District interactive map.
http://nyc.precinctsreporting.com)

 

BK Teens Get Guns with Ease

Stephen Witt
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By Aissatou Diallo

Keilon LaBarrie, 18, watches his back every time he leaves his Flatbush home. He knows so many teens with guns that he feels unsafe in his neighborhood.

Even though experts at the Centers for Disease Control credit the low rate of teen gun ownership in New York City to stronger gun laws, young people in Brooklyn are still getting their hands on weapons fairly easily.

LaBarrie’s peers get guns from street dealers or from family members so they can “protect themselves or look tough,” he said.

“It’s an underground market. It’s so established now – it’s similar to the drug market,” said Allen James, Program Manager of Save Our Streets Crown Heights. “All they have to do is ask a few questions of their peers and they know how to get them. It’s not a rare thing.”

Save Our Streets Crown Heights aims to stop shootings from Kingston Ave to Utica and Eastern Parkway to Atlantic Avenue by getting teens, gang and guns off the streets.

The federal data shows teens carrying guns in the city has declined since 2001 by 36 percent reaching an all-time low of 2.3 percent, compared to the national average of 5.1 percent.

New York has one of the nation’s stiffest penalties for possession of an illegal handgun with a 3 ½ year mandatory minimum sentence for illegal possession. But, still more than a quarter of all murder suspects were ages 16 and 21, according to the 2012 annual NYPD report on the state of murder in New York City.

Gun violence is a bigger issue in Brooklyn though with 36 percent of the 419 homicides in the city in 2012 occurring in mostly northern and eastern Brooklyn, making it the most dangerous of the five boroughs.

For those teens who still participate in gun-related activities, James, of Save Our Streets Crown Heights, points out that one of the major challenges is the effort to redirect young people away from violence and destructive activities. Save Our Streets staff encourages the youth to set small, simple achievable goals to change their lifestyle like getting legal NY State ID cards or getting back into school.  But James said it ultimately begins with the youth “to make individual decisions to change.”

Thirty percent of shootings in New York City can be traced to gangs composed of mostly young teens, who are responsible for much of the violence in and around public housing and elsewhere, according to the NYC Youth and Guns press release. To tackle this issue the NYPD introduced Operation Crew Cut which included expanding the size of the Gang Division.

According to National Gun Victims Action Council (NGAC) , unauthorized people get guns easily in three ways: Relatives or friends buy guns for someone legally prohibited from possessing them. Corrupt federally licensed gun sell “off the books” to private sellers and criminals. Also, a loophole in federal law allows unlicensed or “private” sellers to lawfully sell guns without conducting a criminal background check.

Race to Succeed Al Vann Gets Ugly

Stephen Witt
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Mailing by controversial well-moneyed organization attacks three candidates

By Stephen Witt

The race to succeed term-limited Al Vann from the 36th District of the City Council took a nasty turn this week when a glossy pro-Kirsten John Foy mailer was sent to residents labeling his opponents as  “Three bad options”.

And Rev. Conrad Tillard, one of the three, wasted no time in replying that Foy has little community involvement and is a puppet of Rev. Al Sharpton, who wants to extend his political base from Harlem to Central Brooklyn.

The attack mailer accuses Tillard as the “divisive option” because he was once a black Muslim, Rev. Robert Waterman as the “irresponsible option” because he owed creditors money more than 20 years ago, and District Leader Robert Cornegy as the “Negligent Option” because he owed back taxes dating back a decade.

“As a follower of Reverend Al Sharpton and a member of the National Action Network, he (Foy) certainly wouldn’t want to attack people for saying incendiary things. The National Action Network[ itself] has had legendary tax improprieties that have been well-documented,” said Tillard. “This is a salacious and desperate attack to get a seat and Foy has not done the groundwork to deserve the seat.”

The mailer was the latest that the Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY) sent out on behalf of Foy under its moniker Jobs For New York. Thus far, REBNY has spent about $80,000 in mailings on behalf of Foy – or roughly the maximum the city gives in public matching funds to City Council candidates.

The group is able to skirt the city’s campaign finance laws as it’s a political action committee(PAC) and therefore can spend money on any candidate they wish as an independent expenditure.  Although they include some construction unions, the bulk of REBNY’s funding comes from high-end developers. They have poured money into mailings in several City Council races throughout the city including for both Foy and Laurie Cumbo in the neighboring 35th District representing Fort Greene and Clinton Hill.

While Foy and Cumbo point out that by law they don’t associate with REBNY and never solicited help from the organization, they also maintain a nuanced approach towards it.

“No one really understands how Jobs For New York is functioning and what impact it has on campaigns,” said Cumbo. “They are an independent body doing what they want to do and their support has no bearing on how I will function as a City Council member in January, but also at the same time I look forward to working with REBNY members for organic development that’s in the best interest of the community.”

Foy said he appreciated that Jobs For New York saw something of value in his campaign.

“I never expected their support to come but it came and everyone wants to paint it with a broad brush,” said Foy. “Jobs For New York is labor and business coming together around candidates and no other candidate around the city is more progressive than me.”

But Tillard called the organization a proverbial fox in the henhouse, hell-bent on further pricing out longtime residents.

“These are the people that pushed the epicenter of unaffordability from the Silk Stocking districts of Manhattan to Bed-Stuy, Crown Heights, Red Hook and Greenpoint. These are the people engaged in the hostile takeover of neighborhoods, and these are the people that want to take NYCHA properties and develop them to the detriment of the poor families that have no other option,” said Tillard.

“And yet Kirsten Foy sits there saying he is fighting for the underclass while the plutocrats are financing his outreach to the district. This is really a scandal and any candidate in this race that will not speak out against this is not showing leadership,” he added.

Waterman could not be reached at press time for comment and Cornegy refused comment on the issue.

When confronted with the recent negative mailing, Foy distanced himself from both the mailing and REBNY.

“Going negative is not my style. I don’t believe the way to move forward is tearing people down,” said Foy. “I would not support or embrace such a mailing whether or not it was on my behalf, and if that’s the case, I’m disturbed by it.”

City Councilwoman Mealy’s leadership questioned

Stephen Witt
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Opponents present new ideas for 41st District covering East Flatbush, Ocean Hill-Brownsville and parts of Bed-Stuy

By Stephen Witt

While incumbent 41st District City Councilwoman Darlene Mealy appears to be running for re-election in a low gear, her two opponents –  Stanley Kinard and Kathleen Daniel – say change is desperately needed come Primary Day, Sept. 10.

“I’m running because Darlene has not provided strong leadership,” said Kinard. “She doesn’t have a real comprehensive plan in terms of education and economic development and she doesn’t seem to be the person to lead the community at this very critical time.”

Kinard said many residents he speaks with say they are dissatisfied with Mealy for both her support to extend term limits (nearly four years ago) and because she has a poor record of being present at council meetings when there is a critical vote.

Kinard, a lifelong resident, said his main platform is to restore local public schools to community control while taking away more mayoral control and the control of charter schools.

“I advocate for choice, but the community has no involvement of what goes on at the charter school buildings at 4 pm when they close,” said Kinard.

Kinard said that in community schools the community would have access to the school building once school lets out for after-school and other programs. There isn’t a lot of parental involvement in charter schools, he said.

Kinard, who currently runs the CARE Center at Boys & Girls High School, which provides the students with support services, said he wants to promote urban agriculture and the establishment of vocational training institutes that teach employable skills.

“And I call for black history to be taught in all our schools. That’s big,” he said.

Likewise, Daniel, a single mother of two, said she is running because Mealy often is not involved with the community. This stems from when she was a chair for the McDonough Street Head Start Program and learned that without support from the local councilwoman the day care’s funding would be slashed.

“It took me months to get an appointment with her, and then she visited and took pictures with the children, but didn’t show up to meetings when the budget cuts were being discussed,” said Daniel.

Daniel also noted the district has the most public housing per capita in the country, and unemployment in the district is above 20 percent.

“I recently did a walk-through of the Van Dyke Houses where there are over 5,200 open tickets for repairs and it’s been like that for over a year. People are living with holes in their ceiling, and black mold. I saw bulletproof glass that was removed and never replaced and the stairs are never hosed down,” she said.

Daniel said while these residents are living in appalling conditions, NYCHA gives the NYPD $75 million a year for policing, which is like a second tax on the poor.

“People elect officials to represent them and we have not been represented because clearly people are living in substandard housing in the district,” she said.

Mealy did not return several phone calls and e-mails at press time.

Bill Lynch, Former Dinkins Deputy Mayor And Longtime Consultant, Passes Away

Editor, Our Time Press
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New York City political consultant Bill Lynch (center) with former
Mayor David Dinkins and beloved South African world leader Nelson Mandela.
Bill Lynch Associates

Written by Nick Powell
Courtesy of City & State

Longtime New York City political consultant Bill Lynch passed away today. He was 72. A statement from Lynch’s family said that the cause of death was complications from kidney disease.

Lynch was instrumental in helping David Dinkins win election as the city’s first African-American mayor and was one of Dinkins’ chief advisers during his administration, serving as deputy mayor for intergovernmental affairs. He would later leave the Dinkins administration to run Bill Clinton’s 1992 presidential campaign operation in New York. Clinton would later appoint Lynch to the Democratic National Committee in 1997, where he served as vice-chair until 2003.

Lynch’s influence extended internationally as well, advising Nelson Mandela during South Africa’s transition from apartheid and his subsequent presidential campaign.

Prior to his work in government, Lynch served as Director of Legislation and Political Action for District Council 1701 of AFSCME, as well as playing key roles in the presidential campaigns of Jesse Jackson and Walter Mondale.

Lynch started his own consulting firm in 1999, advising Democratic campaigns and politicians, as well as providing lobbying and consulting services to corporations. Among his clients was Hillary Clinton during both of her Senate campaigns and her 2008 presidential campaign, as well as 2004 presidential candidate John Kerry.

A committed philanthropist, Lynch served on the boards of Advancement Project, the Black Institute, the Children’s Defense Fund, Long Island University, the Museum for African Art, Shared Interest, the New York Organ Donor Network, and the Hamilton Heights-Sugar Hill Historic Commission.

Most recently, Lynch was the primary campaign consultant for Democratic mayoral candidate John Liu. The Liu campaign issued a statement and canceled their remaining public events for the day.

“Bill Lynch is a true friend and mentor to generations of countless mentors, leaders, trailblazers, organizers and activists,” Liu’s statement read. “Words cannot express the deep grief felt throughout New York, including the Team Liu Family of which Uncle Bill is the patriarch. I would not be where nor who I am today without Bill Lynch.”

Lynch is survived by his wife, Mary; son and political consultant, William Lynch III; daughter and attorney, Stacy R Lynch, and grandson, William Lynch IV. Funeral arrangements are pending.

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