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Michael Nelson // Source: council.nyc.gov

City Councilman Michael Nelson is demanding the United States Department of State reverse a policy allowing foreign governments to skip out on millions of dollars in city property taxes.

His criticism comes as a panel of federal judges ruled that foreign governments are exempt from local property taxes, citing State Department policy.

But the policy is new, according to the local legislator, and it’s a snub to city residents.

Nelson said a 2009 decision by the State Department exempts foreign governments from local property taxes on portions of their diplomatic office being used for non-diplomatic purposes. According to Nelson, the fed’s stance prior to the new policy was that United Nations missions must pay relevant taxes on those properties, but now the city can’t get them to pay up.

Nelson’s office estimates that New York City is expected to lose approximately $260 million in back taxes and about $7 million a year in current tax revenues.

“Although I am proud and honored that New York City is home to the United Nations, I am deeply concerned about the impact this court ruling will have on local revenue and the message it will send to other nations,” said Councilman Nelson. “I recognize the right to exempt certain properties occupied by foreign governments from paying property taxes yet I firmly believe this should not apply to properties that are used for anything other than diplomatic purposes. Therefore, it is more imperative now than ever that the State Department reverse its policy.”

An elderly Chinese couple are fighting back against the city’s attempt to dump a stiff penalty on them for a driveway that is too wide.

But, according to the family, sloppy city contractors built the driveway, not them.

According to CBS2, Tim Sit’s family and neighbors said the change to the driveway was made by city-hired contractors after working on an underground pipe. In repaving the curb, they altered its original size to make it wider. The family received a summons from the city and may be ordered to pay for the construction to repair the curb.

Councilman Michael Nelson jumped into the fray, and is urging the city to drop the summons against the Sit family.

The Department of Environmental Protection acknowledged to CBS that a city job was done outside Sit’s home in 2003, and the city is now looking to see if the family’s claim holds up.

Councilman Michael Nelson’s office sent us a note last night that they got word from the Department of Transportation that the Operation Iraqi Freedom Way sign should be back up by the end of the day on Monday, February 22.

The stalled construction site at 2820 Avenue Z that imperils children remains dangerous. Eleven days after the Department of Buildings declared it in “Emergency Condition” and nearly two months after the fence first fell, leaving it open to children from P.S. 52 down the block, nothing has changed. We’ll be watching this one closely. There’s no reason the developer couldn’t nail up a $50 piece of plywood for the time being, and there’s no reason the city should allow this to go on for as long as it has.

Councilman Michael C. Nelson is pushing a new bill that would give a free pass to recipients of parking tickets that have wracked up late fees. You can read the press release below.

I’m not a driver, so I don’t have parking tickets. My general reaction to this is that it’s plainly unfair to give forgiveness to people too irresponsible to pay their bills on time. Parking tickets are a problem in this city, for sure, and the city could use the immediate revenues this would produce. But none of this is a real solution. Instead, it seems to me the city should lean on those who haven’t paid and get every penny the taxpayers are owed. Simultaneously, there should be reform in the way parking tickets are given out to reduce excessive and abusive ticketing processes.

But again, I’m not a driver, so maybe it looks different from your side of the windshield. I welcome your opinion.

Here’s the release:

Councilman Nelson Introduces Parking Violations Amnesty Program Legislation

(City Hall) – Council Member Michael C. Nelson proudly announces the introduction of legislation which, if passed into law, will initiate a forgiveness program for parking violation penalties. Introduction 22-2010, which is co-sponsored by Public Advocate Bill de Blasio, is modeled after the same concept as the ECB forgiveness program implemented by the Council last year. The ECB bill provided an opportunity for individuals, who were issued violations by various city agencies (Department of Buildings, Consumer Affairs, Sanitation, etc.) and were currently in default to eliminate their debt with the city by paying only the base fine, thereby avoiding all penalties.

Click to keep reading the release

We wrote about Councilman Michael C. Nelson’s new office location on Voorhies Avenue last month. The councilman’s office sent out an official release last week. Here’s that release:

(City Hall) – Council Member Michael C. Nelson proudly announces the location of the new District Office at 1605 Voorhies Avenue, first floor. In our new more spacious and more conveniently located district office, our staff will be better able to accommodate the many constituents that frequent the office for assistance.

The new location, easily accessible via two major subway lines (B, Q) and several popular bus routes (B-4, B-36, B-49), is located in the heart of Sheepshead Bay across from the Municipal Parking lot, directly off Sheepshead Bay Road.

“The Sheepshead Bay Road area is quite the hustle and bustle location,” said Councilman Nelson. “I am excited to be in this area and relieved that my constituents, especially seniors and individuals with disabilities, can now better reach my office should they need any type of assistance as the new office is so easily accessible via many modes of public transportation. My office will continue to provide the same quality constituent services as we did in the previous location.”

Constituents can call Councilman Nelson’s office at (718) 368-9176, Monday-Friday from 9a.m. – 5p.m, send a fax to (718) 368-9160 or email to Michael.Nelson@council.nyc.gov.

Nelson's Nostrand Avenue office, all packed up (Courtesy of Nelson Aide Steve Zeltser)

Nelson's new Voorhies Avenue location

Community members served by 48th District City Councilmember Michael C. Nelson will be pleased to hear that the new year also brings a new headquarters.

Previously located at 3810-A Nostrand Avenue, the office lease went up December 31, motivating Nelson’s camp to search of a new home. The councilman’s office now occupies the first floor of 1605 Voorhies Avenue – conveniently located in the heart of Sheepshead Bay.

Apart from the expired lease, another factor contributing to Nelson’s decision to relocate was to be near the center of his district, as opposed to sitting on the border of Councilman Lew Fidler’s and former Councilman Kendall Stewart’s districts. Now situated close to trains and buses, the ease of access to Councilman Nelson’s HQ has significantly increased.

The phone number remains the same, but may change as the office is set up.

Manhattan Beach's private security forces are hampered by economy, selfishness, and politics(Photo courtesy of davidsonscott15 via Flickr)

Manhattan Beach’s private security force needs to see commitments from at least 150 more households if it expects to continue service in 2010, officials from the non-profit told Sheepshead Bites following Monday night’s Manhattan Beach Neighborhood Association meeting.

Hours before the meeting, Beachside Patrol Director Albert Hasson blasted an e-mail to all contributors warning of the service’s impending suspension in the face of financial difficulties. Hard copies of the letter will be mailed to all residents of Manhattan Beach in the coming days.

But though the patrol’s fate may be clear, reasons for dwindling support among neighborhood residents remain murky. Some supporters point to the city’s faltering economy, others believe their neighbors aren’t interested, and at least one City Councilman points the finger at a long-standing feud between two Manhattan Beach civic organizations.

Continue Reading »

There were no surprises in the local City Council races, as incumbents Lew Fidler (46th District) and Michael C. Nelson (48th District) bested their opposition in this year’s races by a wide margin.

Fidler picked up 79.23 percent of the vote (17,101), leaving Republican opponent Gene Berardelli with 19.46 percent, or 4,201 votes. Libertarian candidate Derek Sacerdote took the remaining 1.31 percent (282). Nelson’s lead was larger, with 89.83 percent (12,528), versus Conservative candidate Stephen Walters, who collected 10.17 percent (1418).

As readers of Sheepshead Bites know, the race for the 46th District was spirited, with often heated back-and-forths between Berardelli and Fidler on this site (here and here), culminating in a taped debate. At issue were term limits, discretionary funding, and negative campaign tactics.

In the end, Fidler attributed his win to running a positive campaign, telling Yournabe.com “negative campaigning isn’t tolerated” in the 46th district, a dig at Berardelli’s website, TheFidler.com.

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On an editorial note, this hardly passes as news, as Democratic candidates are almost never ousted in Brooklyn. Just take a glance at Yournabe.com’s front page, and you’ll see headlines – probably written days before – like this: “DeBlasio wins in landslide…”, “Gentile has easy win…”, “Williams coasts to victory…”, and so on.

Such headlines are so predictable, even before campaign season starts, that it’s ingrained into the mind of every voter, candidate, and reporter from the outset. So when Fidler attributes his win to the other side’s negative campaigning, we have to wonder if it has more to do with self-fulfilling prophesy.

This year was the first time I’ve ever reported on campaigns. And as I followed the fights, it became obvious to me that I was the only one that did. Except for token articles about scandalous claims – like the “anti-semitism” debacle – even the local media didn’t bother reporting the opposition. And for that, we all suffer.

Brooklyn needs real elections to fix its problems, and for that, it needs more media covering the opponents. I’m not saying the Democrats need to be voted out, but elections – especially City Council elections – are a time for discussion about a community’s future. When the opposition isn’t taken seriously, the people are deprived of that discussion, and the incumbent slips by with little accountability.

During various times in our reporting, Fidler intoned – though never said – that Sheepshead Bites’ coverage was biased towards Berardelli. I think Fidler would’ve considered biased any coverage of Berardelli that didn’t lampoon him. And I don’t blame him, candidates in Brooklyn are not used to seeing their general election opponents taken seriously, so any attempt to is cast in a light of suspicion.

That needs to change. Not to the detriment of Fidler or other incumbents, but to the benefit of us all. Courier-Life editor Ken Brown told one caller who asked about more coverage for the opposition, “Republicans aren’t newsworthy.” That needs to change. When anyone – civic group, blog, or business – holds a debate between all the candidates and it doesn’t get a lick of coverage, that needs to change.

Sheepshead Bites was proud of our part in reporting on the 46th District campaign. We wish we had the resources to have covered the 48th District – and others – better. And we’re also proud that a councilman like Lew Fidler, who believes in communicating with his constituents and engaging his opponents, represents an area we cover.

But our pride is tempered by the realization of a failure of an entire industry to even partially fulfill its raison d’etre. News media exists to inform the public. This elections proved to me just how cataclysmically they fail at that. And they wonder why their future looks as grey as the paper they print on.

Local leaders pressed MTA officials and the agency’s contractor for proposals and promises from the authority this morning, but the biggest payoff appears to be for residents of Gerritsen Beach and communities east of Sheepshead Bay.

“Did a magic bullet appear? No,” said Councilman Lew Fidler of the meeting. “The thing that probably will come out of it – and we’re optimistic will come out of it – and it doesn’t affect a whole lot of people, but it does affect Weinstein’s constituents and mine – there was some willingness to consider reversing some of the service cuts on the BM3 and BM4 buses. That’s the thing we’re most optimistic will happen, but obviously it doesn’t help the vast majority of people affected by the construction.”

It appears the MTA came unaware of the demands and complaints awaiting them.

“They were there to tell their side of the story, and I think that’s all they thought they were there for,” said George Broadhead, president of the Gerritsen Beach Property Owners Association. Broadhead said they came to discuss the construction plans, not alter them. However, the meeting changed direction when Broadhead brought up the recent service changes to the BM3 and BM4 buses, which provide alternative Manhattan-bound service to Gerritsen Beach and the eastern portion of Sheepshead Bay. Those bus routes now leave many riders with only the handicapped B/Q line.

The MTA officials present only represented the subway service, and according to sources at the meeting, they were unaware of the bus division’s actions and dismissed it as the other branch’s responsibility.

“[State Senator Carl] Kruger blew his top,” said one source who asked not to be named. “[The MTA was] there to really apologize for all the bullcrap. But I think they got a taste of it from Kruger.”

Kruger scolded the MTA for its dismissive attitude towards bus alternatives, reportedly saying, “We bailed you out with billions of tax-payer dollars, and now you’re telling me the right hand doesn’t know what the left hand is doing?” Continue Reading »

Today the area’s elected politicians are meeting with MTA officials. On the agenda? The B train.

One full week after the B train kicked off its two-year hiatus – though it’s three weeks if you count the unannounced termination of service before that – the area’s leaders are gathering at Assemblywoman Helene Weinstein’s office on Nostrand Avenue with MTA officials. In attendance are Councilmen Lew Fidler and Mike Nelson, Assemblymen Weinstein and Maisel, State Senators Carl Kruger and Marty Golden, as well as Community Board Chairperson Theresa Scavo. An invite has also been sent to Congressman Weiner’s office.

The gang of seven-ish is hoping to press the MTA to seek alternatives to the current plans, which will see the B train running local until late 2011.

“We want to hear from them on what they want to accomplish. They’re inconveniencing a lot of people,” Fidler said. He added that he’s looking for assurances that they’ve looked into alternative plans. “There’s got to be a better way. I’d like to hear there’s an option that’s more convenient for the public.”

Assemblyman Maisel said he hoped the gang could gain some ground with the agency by airing the community’s grievances. However, he also noted the MTA isn’t required to accomodate the group’s demands. “They’re called the authority for a reason,” he said, and pointed out that the authority system has been a troubled one for decades.

As the only unelected party in the group, Theresa Scavo was more blunt with her assessment. “I don’t think anything’s going to get accomplished,” she said. “I think they’re basically going to ignore us.”

Sheepshead Bites will check in later with the pols to see how it went. Stay tuned!