SHEEPSHEAD BAY'S ONLY INDEPENDENT NEWS BLOG

Mayor Michael Bloomberg endorsed Gene Berardelli for City Council over the weekend, raising the stakes in his fight against sitting Councilman Lew Fidler.

In the release from the Berardelli camp, Bloomberg cited the candidate’s work with Brigham Street Park and his efforts in downzoning a portion of Sheepshead Bay as reasons hizzonah would lend his support to the first-time candidate for public office.

“I need a fighter like Gene Berardelli in the City Council so we can keep the city moving in the right direction. I strongly endorse Gene Berardelli in the race for City Council and urge the voters of the 46th district to support him too,” said Mayor Bloomberg in the release.

With just a little over three weeks left until the election, the endorsement’s effects are questionable. Berardelli probably wont be fundraising anymore, and his meager $3,000 or so of contributions is hardly enough to do such campaign basics as send mailers to the district’s residents. But he will appear on the Republican ballot in a year in which the Republican mayor has spent record amounts on media and other materials promoting himself and the party.

But while Berardelli is able to ride off the media-inundated coattails of the sitting mayor, it appears his opponent nailed the resources necessary to buy a little attention himself.

Councilman Fidler has received more than $63,000 in taxpayer funds after submitting a statement of need to the campaign finance board. Although Berardelli has not raised nearly enough money to be eligible for matching funds from the city, Fidler was able to get three times the amount he normally would by citing the district’s past turnout for a Republican mayor, as well as submitting 40 pages of documentation that included campaign coverage by Sheepshead Bites.

Things get weirder by the day in NYC politics, and now it has taken a turn to the utterly bizarre.

A Sheepshead resident is calling Mayor Bloomberg a tyrant following the actions of hizzonah’s Royal Guard (a.k.a. the NYPD), who have been trying to seize the man’s antique rifle. Michael Littlejohn, a Colonial American reenactor, had a replica Revolutionary War-era flint-lock rifle custom-made by a Tennessee-based blacksmighth. The only problem is, he didn’t have a gun permit. Now he’s threatening to sue the city for taking the fight too far. Here’s an excerpt from an article in the Daily News:

“This is the last legal gun that you can have without registration in New York,” Littlejohn said. “And yet Mayor Bloomberg is driven crazy by my flintlock gun – the one that won the American Revolution.”

Littlejohn fired the first shot when he hired a Tennessee blacksmith to recreate the vintage rifle. It arrived at his Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, apartment in June – followed quickly by city cops.

Police claim it’s illegal for Littlejohn to keep the flintlock without a gun license.

Littlejohn, 50, cites the earliest American patriots as his inspiration while refusing to surrender his firearm or apply for a license.

The social worker is also clinging to a little-known exemption in the city’s strict gun laws.

The loophole allows license-free ownership of “antique firearms” – defined as rifles that require the bullet and gunpowder to be loaded separately.

Littlejohn’s rifle appears to fit the bill.

Loading the weapon, he explains, is a multistep process that takes several pokes with a ramrod and up to a minute to complete.

To fire, the rifle relies on a sharpened piece of flint that produces a spark when the trigger is pulled. That point is moot, Littlejohn says: He doesn’t own gunpowder or bullets.

That’s not enough to make the NYPD retreat.

The cops visited Littlejohn’s apartment and sat down this month with the Tennessee blacksmith who forged the rifle.

The lead detective on the case told Littlejohn’s lawyer that he had orders “from higher-ups” to pursue the case, according to an e-mail the lawyer sent to Littlejohn.

There’s a lot of voter outrage towards the mayor these days. The term limits fiasco, challenges to the mayoral control of schools policy, increased taxes and a crumbling of the political infrastructure statewide (okay, not sure if we can blame him for that one) – the challengers have a lot of ammo. Bloomberg, though, has even more bucks, and that means the other mayoral candidates will be kicking their campaigns old school: meet and greets.

“There is a Choice in the 2009 NYC Mayoral Election” is the main topic for the Madison-Marine-Homecrest Civic Association’s meeting on Thursday, June 18, at 7:30 p.m., in the auditorium of the King’s Chapel, Quentin Road and East 27 Street. Announced Democratic Party candidates Comptroller William Thompson and Councilmember Tony Avella have been invited to make statements and take questions. So bring your questions about their community and citywide initiatives, especially about important local issues like mayoral control, development and economic recovery.

This is Madison-Marine-Homecrest Civic’s final general meeting of the season. Also in attendance will be representatives for the 61st Police Precinct, the Department of Buildings, and elected officials.

When: June 18th at 7:30 p.m.
Where: King’s Chapel, Quentin Road and East 27th Street

(Photo by Ray Johnson)

Six Belt Parkway bridges, including four in the Sheepshead Bay area, will get a $6.8 million face lift by Fall 2011, says Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

The mayor made the announcement during the unveiling of the Stimulus Transportation Projects on Monday. The list of projects includes construction sites in all five boroughs, racking up a total price tag of $1.1 billion and, according to the administration, will keep or create 32,000 jobs. The projects are funded in part by $271 million in federal stimulus money for transportation projects.

(Photo by Ray Johnson)

The city is replacing the protective coating on the overpasses’ steel skeletons, an update expected to extend their lifespans by 20 years. Work on the rust and salt encrusted metal begins this spring and will also see the removal of the lead-based paint. The bridges involved are the Bay 8th Street, Cropsey Avenue, Sheepshead Bay Road, Ocean Avenue, Bedford Avenue, and 14th Street Pedestrian bridges.

In addition to these works in Sheepshead Bay, the city is pushing $15 million to continue renovating the Coney Island boardwalk. Planks along the historical walkway were torn out months ago, and empty spaces have remained. The spaces line many of the boardwalk’s restaurants and bars, worrying communities members over whether or not the establishments will open in time this season. In January, officials said the boardwalk would be restored by Easter, but with that date fast approaching little progress has been made.

(Photo by Jonsey PabloJonsey)

The injection of $15 million is expected to end the need for such “band-aid” repairs, instead favoring sustainable materials that have a lower carbon footprint, lower maintenance costs and will reduce future deterioration to unsafe conditions. Reconstruction work will take place from West 31st to West 37th Street, West 15th Street to Stillwell Avenue, and Surf Avenue / Ocean Parkway to Brighton 2nd. Construction will finish in Spring 2011.

Meanwhile, in Bath Beach a $14 million project seeks to reconstruct the 67-year-old access ramp to the Belt Parkway. The city says the work here will address deficiencies and substandard features, bring the bridge into compliance with current safety standards, reduce maintenance costs, and extend the useful life of the ramp. It will finish in Spring 2011.

[info via Gotham Gazette's The Wonkster]

(Congressman Anthony Weiner’s website screenshot)

As the NY Times City Room reported, Congressman Anthony Weiner’s questions regarding Mayor Bloomberg’s touting term limits were not even allowed to pass into His Royal Mayor’s great ears.

You can take a look at the transcript of what went on at the press conference and if you know what the Mayor meant by saying, “I didn’t hear what Anthony Weiner said, so it’s kind of hard to respond and I’m not worried about campaigning” — will you please let me know?

Call me shallow, but I always liked Anthony Weiner, because he reminded me so much of my baby brother. But, aside from that he proved to be such a good politician for the little people, effecting change and doing lots of work.

I’m especially proud of him for understanding the impact of all that excess product packaging that seems to be clogging every single catch basin and sewer grate (especially in Sheepshead Bay). He’s even introducing a bill to help reduce this type of waste by 30% in 10 years.

Best of all, we have him to thank for helping to bring back Sheepshead Bay and giving us all so much to be proud of, lately — as his website bio reminds us

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