The Madison-Marine-Homecrest Civic Association will hold its “Annual Meeting” — the final meeting of the season — this Thursday, June 20, 7:30 p.m. at the Carmine Carro Community Center in Marine Park, along Fillmore Avenue from Madison Place to Marine Parkway.
The meeting will present an opportunity to meet and greet with candidates running for various local and citywide positions prior to the September 10 primary.
There will be an election of directors, as well as awarding two civic-minded, local junior high school students the Mary Powell Awards, named for the civic organization’s late, long-time president.
Desserts and refreshments will be served. The Madison-Marine-Homecrest Civic will not meet again until October 17.
For further info, contact Ed Jaworski via email at coachedj@aol.com or call (718) 375-9158 or (347) 661-6960 (cell).
On the turf of former State Senator Carl Kruger and embattled State Senator John Sampson, U.S. Attorney Loretta Lynch came before a group of concerned citizens with a message: don’t despair, not everyone is corrupt, be you must be active and involved to ensure the best from your elected leaders.
Madison Marine Homecrest Civic Association hosted the event on Thursday, May 16, inviting Lynch to the Carmine Carro Community Center in Marine Park to talk about the recent cases. Lynch’s appearance came amid scandalous headlines involving Sampson who’s at the center of a handful of federal probes, and less than two years after the arrest and resignation of Kruger. Both represented portions of Marine Park.
The entire 40-minute talk by Lynch, which included questions from the audience, is posted above. But, aside from Sheepshead Bites, a slew of other reporters were at the event. Here’s what some of them wrote:
Don’t “succumb to cynicism and apathy. Don’t give up — stay committed,” said Lynch, who is the chief federal prosecutor for the Eastern District of New York in Brooklyn, which also includes, Queens, Staten Island and Long Island.
“Stay involved . . . Don’t give up.”
… When the audience was asked how many of them believed all politicians are corrupt, nearly everyone in attendance raised a hand.
Lynch told the audience, “We have to take back the system from the people who trampled on it. I don’t own it, you own it.”
Lynch took that message a step further when she said that not only should people not give up on the political process, but also that their participation is necessary.
… U.S. Attorney Lynch stated that apathy hurts the democratic process and that – along with wiretaps, undercover officers, and witnesses using recording devices – ordinary citizens who notice inconsistencies often play a big role in bringing corrupt politicians down.
“We are all enforcers,” Lynch said. “We all play a role. People need to get involved. ‘See something, say something’ is not just a slogan for the subway.”
Lynch also cautioned people to be patient in corruption cases and warned that just because somebody’s name is brought into the mix doesn’t necessarily mean they are corrupt.
“There can often be names that come out that should not have come out because, especially early on in an investigation, it’s impossible to determine their involvement and often it just tars their names,” she said.
Political reporters converged on Lynch after the event, asking her about recent allegations from minority lawmakers that the feds, including Lynch, were unfairly targeting elected officials of color. Lynch, herself an African-American who began her career working in civil rights, denied the charges.
From the Eagle:
When Lynch was questioned about whether black politicians are unfairly targeted, she replied, “Not stealing money is not a high standard. We look at the behavior of everyone. Our goal is to protect communities. You deserve integrity regardless of what your background is.”
When Lynch was questioned about whether black politicians are unfairly targeted, she replied, “Not stealing money is not a high standard. We look at the behavior of everyone. Our goal is to protect communities. You deserve integrity regardless of what your background is.”
… “No matter what type of case we prosecute, people who may feel targeted are concerned and make all kinds of statements about it,” Ms. Lynch said. “It’s part of the problem of public corruption that it really almost makes everyone look as if they’re involved, even if they’re not. And so you have people get very paranoid and very nervous and feel as if they’re under a microscope … We don’t go around targeting people other than those that we strongly have evidence [against], but I think what happens is, the atmosphere is very toxic, for lack of a better word, and it does affect people and that’s a byproduct of these cases,” she said.
A slew of local elected officials, including Councilman Lew Fidler and Assemblymembers Helene Weinstein and Alan Maisel, spoke before Lynch, and used it as an opportunity to remind attendees that the recent headlines reflect a few “bad apples.” They also touted anti-corruption legislation they’re working on, including disallowing lawmakers from using campaign funds on legal fees, and the ability to strip convicted legislators of their pension.
The next meeting of the Madison-Marine-Homecrest Civic Association will be this Thursday, May 16, at 7:30 p.m. inside the new Carmine Carro Community Center in Marine Park, Fillmore Avenue between Madison Place and Marine Parkway (front entrance by flagpole).
Guest speaker Loretta E. Lynch, the US Attorney for the Eastern District of NY (Brooklyn), will be discussing “Confronting Public / Political Corruption.” She will likely have a lot to discuss.
Representatives from the 61st Precinct will be on hand, and elected officials and candidates in the next election have also been invited.
Light refreshments will be served.
For further info, contact Ed Jaworski at (718) 375-9158 or (347) 661-6960 (cell).
The next meeting of the Madison-Marine-Homecrest Civic Association, April 18 at 7:30 p.m., will feature a special “Ask the Doctor” segment with Dr. Ian Wall, a gastroenterologist with Brooklyn Gastroenterology and Endoscopy Associates and Beth Israel Hospital’s Kings Highway Division.
The meeting will be held at the King’s Chapel on the corner of Quentin Road and East 27th Street (enter on East 27th).
There will also be elected officials as well as a police representative from the 61st Precinct. Light refreshments (coffee and cookies) — but no medicine — will be served.
For more, contact Ed Jaworski, president, Madison-Marine-Homecrest Civic, at (718) 375-9158 or coachedj@aol.com.
The next meeting of the Madison-Marine-Homecrest Civic Association (MMHCA) will be Thursday, March 21 at 7:30 p.m. inside the King’s Chapel, corner of Quentin Road and East 27th Street.
Representatives from the 61st Precinct, as well as local elected officials and candidates for various public offices have been invited. The meeting’s agenda includes discussions about the redistricting of the community.
Irish soda bread and coffee will be served. While free and open to the public, attendees are encouraged to join the MMHCA. Annual dues are $10 per family or business.
“Bullet Points” is our format for Community Board 15 meeting coverage, providing takeaways we think are important. Information in Bullet Points is meant only to be a quick summary, and some issues may be more deeply explored in future articles.
Neighbors Demand Board Rescind Support For Drug Counseling Center: Residents of East 17th Street near Kings Highway rallied at last night’s Community Board 15 meeting, demanding the Board rescind a letter of support for a proposed drug treatment facility at 1670 East 17th Street.
Led by Madison-Marine-Homecrest Civic Association President Ed Jaworski, a group of residents took to the podium, claiming that the Board failed to inform the community that the issue would be discussed and voted on in December.
“The City Charter and the Community Board bylaws say that the Community Board should serve the community, should communicate within the community, should act as a liaison agency, should review services, should develop plans for the community. None of this was done regarding the drug center being located on East 17th Street,” Jaworski said. “What took place at the November meeting was a shortcut. It was cutting the community’s input.”
The center, One World Counseling, received a letter of support from Community Board 15 in November with a 31-4 vote. Dmitri Oster, a rep for One World, told the Board then that they intended to target immigrants in the Sheepshead Bay area who have turned to drugs to cope with cultural integration. They would offer only counseling and would not distribute medication.
The Madison-Marine-Homecrest Civic Association is celebrating the holidays tomorrow with refreshments, music and a panel on community service.
The meeting will take place at 7:30 p.m. at Kings Chapel (Quentin Road and East 27th Street).
The panel, titled “Inter-relationships: Neighbors Serving and Sharing,” feautres Dr. Alvin Kass, Rabbi of the East Midwood Jewish Center & Chief Chaplain for the NYPD, and teacher Sally Hipscher.
Refreshments will be served and music will be played. Elected officials, the 61st Precinct Community Affairs Unit, and neighbors will attend.
Paul Moses, a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter and Marine Park resident, spoke before the Madison-Marine-Homecrest Civic Association on Thursday, discussing the media’s lackluster response to Southern Brooklyn’s disaster zones in the wake of Hurricane Sandy.
“There’s been some brilliant journalism in recent days, but there was a slow start in reporting the extent of the storm’s impact,” said Moses. “I think it’s fair to say that Southern Brooklyn has gotten relatively little media attention.”
Moses said that the citywide press did some stellar reporting, exemplified by stories about the state’s and city’s role in the gas shortage, the Long Island Power Authority’s failures, and the struggles at city housing projects.
But in the first days after the storm, Moses said there were few stories that focused on Southern Brooklyn and Queens, though the press was quick to report in the immediate aftermath at locations like downtown Manhattan, Red Hook, New Jersey and Staten Island. It wasn’t until several days – and sometimes more than a week – that communities like Gerritsen Beach, Manhattan Beach and Sheepshead Bay found their way into the newspapers.
But media should have been on the scene in these neighborhoods immediately after the storm, he said, in order to convey the most important and useful information for victims and those looking to help.
“In a time of disaster, the journalist’s role is to notify the public of impending danger and to give people the vital information they need, and to tell people where the damage is, and to tell the stories of the people who’ve been affected,” said Moses. “Through what we report on, the public at large finds out where the greatest needs are after the disaster and often will respond accordingly.”
“I really found the overall coverage in the first few days disappointing,” Moses added.
Source: U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Kevin S. O’Brien via Wikimedia Commons
Hurricane Sandy was an unstoppable storm, affecting so many residents throughout our city. Mayor Michael Bloomberg is a figure many looked to for leadership and guidance during this critical time.
The opinions of his efforts or shortcomings, depending on any given perspective, vary greatly. WNYC asked several New Yorkers how they would rate Bloomberg in the wake of Sandy.
Interestingly, of those interviewed in the piece, the three leaders representing the private sector graded the mayor fairly high, while the two public sector leaders gave Bloomberg an “F”.
Sandy’s impact reflects Mayor Bloomberg’s obsession with real estate-development: seeking taller buildings and more densely packed population than other cities worldwide. Three weeks before the hurricane, he announced that he’d seek a major up-zoning on Manhattan’s East Side. Did he address all the component infrastructure consequences, including safety? How about when he encouraged dense development on the Brooklyn and Queens waterfronts? Now, because we have a Department of City Planning that doesn’t plan — it rezones — the mayor had to appoint a director of housing recovery operations and community restoration directors.
We’d like to hear your take on Bloomberg’s efforts. On your standard grammar school scale of A to F, did he do well by our neighborhood before, during and after Hurricane Sandy?
The Madison-Marine-Homecrest Civic Association’s (MMHCA) next meeting will be a Thanksgiving food drive to assist the needy, November 15 at 7:30 p.m. inside the King’s Chapel, Quentin Road and East 27th Street. They are collecting non-perishable food items, Kosher and non-Kosher, along with contributions to purchase turkeys.
The Thanksgiving food drive is taking place now through the November 15 meeting. There are plenty of people out there — our friends, family and neighbors — who lost everything in their lives and could really use something to be thankful for this holiday season, so please be generous.
Checks to purchase turkeys, payable to “Madison-Marine Civic Assn.,” may also be brought to the November 15 meeting or sent to” MMHCA, PO Box 432, Homecrest Station, Brooklyn, NY 11229.
