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Kings County Politics

Stephen Witt
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By Stephen Witt

Wrestling for reform in the Democratic Party

Lincoln Restler

In the crazy world of Kings County Politics, young up-and-comers are making inroads.
A case in point is Lincoln Restler, the incumbent Male 50th Democratic District Leader representing Greenpoint, Williamsburg, Fort Greene, Clinton Hill and Wallabout.
Basically, Restler’s entire campaign mantra boils down to the need to “clean up the corruption in Brooklyn politics.”
So said Restler at his crowded fund-raiser at a Williamsburg eatery this week filled with like-minded people who paint Kings County Democratic boss Vito Lopez as all that’s evil about Brooklyn politics.
Ironically, Restler is a relative newcomer to Kings County Politics, and his Lopez-backed opponent is Community Board 1 Chair Chris Olechowski, a longtime Polish-American civic activist in a Polish-American community recently overrun with hipsters.
Lopez may be a lot of things as a county boss, but when it comes to picking Democratic candidates for civil and Supreme Court judgeship, he also allows fellow district leaders a say and as such, the Kings County Civil and Supreme Court benches are a reflection of the borough’s diversity.
This is a far cry from Mayor Bloomberg, whose appointments to the city’s Family Court bench have been an abomination in regards to being a reflection of the city’s diversity.
In any event, Restler is one of the kingpins in the borough’s political reformer movement that includes both the Male and Female 52nd Democratic Assembly District Leaders Chris Owens, son of former Congressman Major Owens, and Jo Anne Simon.
But it’s Restler who appears to hold the most political promise. A Brown University graduate, Restler is a twenty-something politically ambitious person who already has raised over $50,000 for his reelection campaign to a nonpaying political job that comes with some clout.
Additionally, Restler is showing political muscle as an up-and-comer. Among those backing him are Borough President Marty Markowitz, Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez and Congressman Jerry Nadler, state Sens. Daniel Squadron, Velmanette Montgomery and Eric Adams, Assembly members Jim Brennan, Karim Camara and Joan Millman, and City Council members Diana Reyna, Tish James, Jumaane Williams and Brad Lander.
Restler aside, one of the ongoing battles between this Democratic Party reform movement and the Party Machine is the party backing of people running for judgeships – be it on the civil or Supreme Court level.
This applies to the First Municipal Court District including Brooklyn Heights, Cobble Hill, Carroll Gardens, Red Hook, Boerum Hill, Downtown Brooklyn, DUMBO, Fort Greene and parts of Park Slope, which has an opening for a civil court judge.
Lopez is backing attorney Lara Genovesi, daughter of late powerbroker Assemblyman Tony Genovesi for the bench. Restler and the anti-Lopez group supports openly gay litigation lawyer Richard Montelione
Genovesi was rated as “Highly Qualified” by the Independent Judicial Election Qualification Commission, a statewide network of independent screening panels for judicial candidates, while Montelione was rated as slightly lower as “Qualified.”
At the fund-raiser, Restler gushed about his support for Montelione.
“I support him (Montelione) because we need reform-minded judges who are independent of the Brooklyn Democratic machine,” said Restler.
Among those supporting Genovesi is Assemblyman and presumptive Democratic Congressman Hakeem Jeffries.
Jeffries, as of press time, did not back anyone in Restler’s district leadership race and the thinking at KCP is he will sit this election out as he received strong support from Lopez and his cronies in his landslide victory over City Councilman Charles Barron in the recent Democratic Congressional Primary.
Jeffries also recently came out in support of Genovesi for the judgeship race.
“Lara Genovesi has the integrity and legal experience we need and deserve in our judges, and most importantly, she is truly dedicated to justice.  I am proud to endorse Lara Genovesi for Brooklyn Civil Court Judge,” he said.

Gillibrand comes to Bed-Stuy calling for a federal minimum wage hike

Stephen Witt
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The U.S. Senator calls for increase from the current $7.25 per hour to $9.80

By Stephen Witt

Increase the Minimum Wage: U.S. Senator Kristen Gillibrand, entrepreneur Daicha Perkins and Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries, Democratic candidate for congress at Tiny Cup cafe to emphasize need for increase in the minimum wage. Photo: Nathaniel Adams

United States Senator Kirsten Gillibrand came to Bed-Stuy this week calling for the federal minimum wage be hiked from $7.25 an hour to $9.80 over the next three years.

The Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2012, co-sponsored by Gillibrand, would boost the incomes of an estimated 651,000 New York City workers, including about 195,000 Brooklyn residents, according to the Fiscal Policy Institute.

“Working poor New Yorkers who go to work every day at minimum-wage jobs aren’t even keeping pace with the rate of inflation,” said Gillibrand at a press conference at the Tiny Cup coffee shop on Nostrand Avenue and Clifton Place.

“Not only does the current minimum wage often keep these working families below the poverty line, it keeps needed spending power out of our local economy,” she added.

Gillibrand argued that increasing the minimum wage is a win-win situation in that it will help working-poor families living week to week pay their basic bills and local Brooklyn businesses who will profit from additional consumer spending.”

Joining Gillibrand was Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries, the presumptive candidate to succeed retiring Congressman Ed Towns in Washington, and Tiny Cup owner Dacha Perkins.

“Passage of the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2012 will address the rising cost of basic necessities like food, gas, housing and grow our economy in a sustainable way that will also benefit local businesses,” said Jeffries, who vowed to make the raising of the federal minimum wage a priority once he gets to Washington.

Perkins said reining the minimum wage is good for business.

“It will boost morale among employees, which makes them work more efficiently and more reliably,” said Perkins, adding that some of her employees work two and three jobs just to keep above water.”

The move to increase the minimum wage comes as its current purchasing power is at a historic low, with the last increase in the federal minimum wage taking place in July 2009.

If the minimum wage had kept up with inflation, it would be estimated at more than $10.50 an hour today.

The legislation will also raise the minimum wage for tipped workers for the first time in more than 20 years, raising it to a level that is 70 percent of the regular minimum wage.

A majority of the lowest wage-earners in New York, or 84 percent, are adult workers, not teenagers in after-school and seasonal jobs.

More than half of low-wage workers are women, many with children, and more than 40 percent are minorities, including an estimated 249,200 Hispanic residents in New York City and an estimated 181,700 African-American residents who would benefit from a pay increase.

City’s Department of Homeless Services stalls on Sumner Armory

Stephen Witt
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Vann and community ready to move ahead with feasibility study

By Stephen Witt
While the Park Slope Armory received $16 million for a state of the art recreation center in recent years to go along with being a women’s homeless shelter, and the city is in the process of taking bids for $14 million in similar work at the Bedford-Atlantic Armory in Crown Heights, which also houses a men’s shelter, weeds and litter abound on the small patch of grass in front of the Sumner Armory.

Like the other aforementioned armories, the city’s Department of Homeless Services (DHS) run the underutilized armory and has contracted the Black Veterans of Social Justice to run a 200-bed men’s homeless shelter called Pamoja House.

Community Board 3 Chair Henry Butler said the community is ready to move ahead with a $105,000 feasibility study on possible multi-uses for the armory, but the DHS has to green light the study and the agency has been hesitant to do that.

“Initially they (DHS) wanted to increase the population about a year ago to 400 men, but that was put on hold after (City Councilman) Al Vann and others wrote letters against the plan,” said Butler.

Butler said besides Vann, State Sen. Velmanette Montgomery and Borough President Marty Markowitz have all tried to get the ball rolling on the armory project, but DHS continues to be uncommunicative.

“The DHS commissioner is not willing to work with us (on the study) and DHS has to be on board with this project. The process is slow because the commissioner does not want to do it,” he said.

Vann said he remains committed to ensure the armory gets funding for multi community uses.

“The Sumner Armory is an important community asset and maximizing its usefulness will require extensive research, fundraising and planning,” he said. “Community Board 3 is in the initial stages of this work and I am committed to assisting with this project, as I have with other major community development efforts over the years.”
Vann spokeswoman Dynishal Gross said the first step is not funding the feasibility study, but reaching agreement with DHS.

“Those discussions are beginning and when they have evolved sufficiently, a feasibility study will be the likely next step. Pratt Center for Community Development is a likely entity to conduct that study,” she said.

The DHS did not return several phone and email inquiries regarding the project at press time.

Letter to the Editor: NYCHA Problems are Long-Standing

Editor, Our Time Press
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Rev. Clinton Miller

The latest exposé of the NYCHA’s mismanagement of funds is starting to help members of the community connect the dots concerning unspent stimulus package funds. In 2010, residents and community leaders were notified that over 100 million dollars was to be spent on housing repairs, jobs and contracts for MWBE’s and upkeep of Walt Whitman and Raymond Ingersoll public housing in Fort Greene, Brooklyn. Since 2008, the NYCHA has received 1.2 billion dollars to renovate public housing citywide.

In the midst of an economic recession, this stimulus was good news and gave families hope for better quality of housing and jobs. The repairs never happened, the jobs were never created and small businesses never received contracts. There are many ramifications and questions regarding integrity in government and New York City’s plan for public housing especially when neighborhoods are being artificially gentrified at an unbelievable rate. If the NYCHA has the money to make public housing a more viable place to live for its present residents and doesn’t spend the money to do so, what does it really want to do with public housing in New York City?

Ever since I was a teenager growing up in Brooklyn, there have been rumors of housing projects like Whitman, Ingresoll, Farragut, Gowanus, Lafayette Gardens and others being sold to private developers. Is NYCHA really beginning the process to sell the projects to private developers? If it’s not, then why not fix the apartment units and help decrease homelessness.

As a pastor of a local church, I have gone to the NYCHA office on many occasions to advocate for parishioners who have been on year, sometimes two-year-long waiting lists for public housing. Now that we know that the NYCHA has the money to make more units available, the frustration and anger of waiting families increases exponentially. The long waits are totally unnecessary.

So far, most of the criticism has been towards John Rhea, agency head of the NYCHA. However, as we look further, it’s becoming clearer that there is a pattern of higher politics that removes democracy out of local development and quality of life in New York City.  The NYCHA paid $10 million dollars to a Boston-based consultant group to do an efficiency report on the NYCHA.  Knowing what we know about contracts and the Bloomberg Administration, I think it’s fair to ask if there was a RFP process that this Boston consulting group had to undergo. Now that the consultant has completed the report, the mayor does not want to reveal the full report. I think this issue goes far beyond John Rhea. Because the NYCHA is accountable to the mayor, Michael Bloomberg should have the full report released and then should govern accordingly.

Governor Cuomo said that he was disturbed about recent newspaper articles calling the NYCHA to task. As former head of HUD during the Clinton Administration, he has probably seen local municipalities mismanage funds to their detriment. With that knowledge and experience, and since those stimulus funds were offered through the state of New York from the federal government, he should become more involved to ensure that the funds are appropriately spent on housing repairs, jobs and contracts for local small businesses. The NYCHA is sitting on close to 1 billion dollars in the middle of a recession. Isn’t that what the major banks are doing?

Rev. Clinton Miller
Pastor
Brown Memorial Baptist Church
Brooklyn, NY

The Parent's Notebook: Putting Conflict Resolution on the Home and Community Agendas

Aminisha Black
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As marches and campaigns are organized around ending rampant violence among youth, it occurred to me that this is an ideal time to remember the opportunities that home and village have to make a difference.  As individuals, parents, teachers, neighbors we can contribute to young people’s self-esteem, understanding that violence, at all levels, result from feelings of inferiority or inability to change unwanted circumstances.  There are opportunities in the daily actions with youth that opportunities arise to help young people manage their behavior.

**Discipline means to teach appropriate behavior.

**Modeling is the best way to teach appropriate behavior.  It is said that children sometimes do what we say but always do what they see us do.

**Obey the law that says, “Wherever you focus your attention, that increases’”.  Reward appropriate behavior.

**Whenever there is inappropriate behavior, take time to listen carefully and hear the child’s point of view.  What feelings triggered the upset? Feelings should be given room for expression followed by understanding and reassurance.  Many adults have discovered that suppressed emotions from childhood gave rise to mental/emotional problems as adults.

**Ignore behavior that is designed to get attention and does not endanger physical well-being or property.  Children need attention.  If they are not getting it, they will resort to tactics that force adults to pay attention, even if it’s negative, i.e., punishment.

**Take away privileges related to the behavior so that child learns that privileges are the reward for responsible behavior.

**Time –Outs – Child is removed to a quiet space where they can be alone to rethink their actions or to calm down after emotional outbursts.  At the end of the time-out, discuss the behavior with the child, explaining the issues you perceive.  Be careful to focus on the behavior, not on making the child WRONG.

**Family meetings help members discuss how behavior affects everyone in the family and can provide a safe space for conflicts to be resolved collectively.

**Include the child in developing a plan to solve persistent behavioral problems.  Explore all possible causes for the behavior with the child because it is there where solutions will be found. Adults should share problems they had or are currently working on.  Explain to the child that problems are simply lessons and when we learn how not to react emotionally, we’ll solve the problem and add it to our list of skills.

** Remember that behavior is a language.  Work to understand the need that is being expressed and address the need without getting overwhelmed by the behavior.

**Remember to focus on the behavior, citing the effect on others and child, being careful not on making the child wrong.
It might help to recall times if you were punished at home or school during your childhood.  What were your feelings?  Did your parents or teacher ask and listen to you?  Or were you simply punished?

We’re living in stressful times that have now turned more violent than ever before calling for drastic measures.  Our youth are waging war on each other.  Their actions are cries for help.  It is our duty as elders to come to prevent these wars of self-destruction. I suggest we start with adults learning to accept differences and claim a vision for the children that ensure emotional and physical security at home, community and world at-large. Comments: parentsnotebook@yahoo.com, visit The Parents Notebook on Facebook.

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