Thursday, July 19, 2007

CB5's double standard

The Queens Ledge is such a godsend. They actually did a rather fair piece on the happen- ings at last week's CB5 meeting up until the last 2 paragraphs:

For his part, Arcuri said he had been reacting to words that could have been construed the wrong way, upsetting people. But he also said he would not condone personal attacks. "Personal attacks shouldn't be made in a public hearing," he said.

CB5 Treasurer Kathy Masi, meanwhile, supported Arcuri's judgment. "I am very proud to work with a chairman who has the ability to recognize the difference between freedom of speech and blatant defamation and hatred," she said.


Gallagher Out Of Sight, Not Out Of Mind

"Vinny should be commended for protecting CB5 from participating in supporting anyone who would use our public forum as a platform for their own personal agenda," Masi added.

No quotes from the people who yelled "freedom of speech", eh?

Earth to Kathy: The public forum is where people come to promote their own personal agenda, not to recite poetry.

The statements made in the paper by Mr. Arcuri and Ms. Masi are interesting considering that that on April 11, 2007, Councilman Dennis Gallagher appeared at CB5 and handed out his own written personal attack on members of the group fighting to save St. Saviour's Church. Distribution of written info is "done only with the permission of the Board, or of the Chairperson, with the consent of the Board" (Article VI, item I, CB5 rules). That night, apparently Mr. Arcuri lost his fantastic "ability to recognize the difference between freedom of speech and blatant defamation and hatred". Ms. Masi also voiced no objection to the content of that letter. In fact, there was no screaming or beating of tables in protest at that meeting. So, it appears there is a double standard at community board 5. Attacks on constituents by politicians are acceptable, but criticism of elected officials by taxpayers is not.

17 comments:

Anonymous said...

Excellent letter written by Gallagher to defend himself against the JPCA exec committee mudslinging.

JPCA executive board: Defend your hypocrisy. The community demands a point-by-point refutation of Gallagher's letter accusing you or revisionism.
You're a nasty bunch.

Anonymous said...

Good point Crappie.

Everyone knows that many community boards are not very fair particularly the further west in Queens that you go, the more they act as clamps on people rather than reflect the people's will.

Actually this is a poor reflection on boro hall for not only training them, but explain to them that the days of Bull Conner is long in the past. You do not club those who you disagree with.

They are petty little people who, when given a piece of action use it to lord over people.

Anonymous said...

Sad, but true. Those morons of course are too clueless to know that the world has changed and blogs like Crappie gleefully display that dirty laundry.

Bit by bit they are losing their hold on people....

Anonymous said...

You have nothing to complain about, Vinnie 'Big Mike' Donoto, the ex gym teaher but now local bigshot got his nickname from the way he treats the public by shouting down any disagreable people that interfers with his community board's smooth sailing or endangers their assigned quitting time/agenda.

Anonymous said...

Like to hear from anyone else mistreated or muzzled from their free speach rights by their community board.

Anonymous said...

Don't you know, they are there to serve those who put them there.

Freedom of speach?

I guess every generation has to relearn democracy or why we fought the Revolution?

Anonymous said...

Isn't that guy that runs the Queens Ledge also on the community board?

Isn't there a conflict of interest, and if so, how can the public be served?

An issue for the ACLU?

Anonymous said...

Let's break this down:

Sanchez published the Queens Ledge, a lickspittle fawning rag for Gallagher. The Queens Ledge, even on today's page 1 "Big Story" misspells the very simple word "trees" as "tress" in the page 1 photo caption. This is ordinary. He cannot be shamed, though the rampant misspelling, failed page numbering, omitted sale price has been brought to his attention a multitude of times.

Sanchez is just a simply stupid moron with ink.

So, Sanchez sends an employee (did you pay his Social Security, Walter? Check the records, Phil Guie!) to interview CB 5 newly elected treasurer (how beholden are you to Sanchez, Masi? How beholden to Gallagher?) Kathy Masi and CB 5 Board Chairman Vince Acuri, whose attachment to Gallagher and Sanchez is well known.

Now, the paid reporter knows where his bread is buttered, as do both Acuri and Masi.

The reporter gets no quotes from Sanchez, the 1st Vice Chairman of the Board, but gets quotes from the Chairman and Treasurer.

Oddly, the reporter gets no quotes from those who believe that it was wrong - illegal - for a publicly financed organization to censor a speaker.

All those who believe that Christina's right to free speech was violated must have fled town to avoid being interviewed.

Here's Acuri with his delicate ears: He said he had been reacting to words that could have been construed the wrong way.

Thank Gawd! Can you imagine the stomach churning misery caused by hearing the word "rape"? To Acuri, the fact that he was the one who misconstrued Christina's use of the word "rape", was good enough to violate her speech rights.

Could it have been that Acuri actually believes that Gallagher raped the victim, but, to keep paying off his debt to Gallagher, only pretends to be offended when the words Gallagher and Rape occur in a single sentence?

Did that possibility occur to Phil Guie? It's such an obvious possibility that an actual reporter would have pounced to ask the question. Why not, Guie?

Then we have Masi. She so "proud to work with a chairman who has the ability to recognize the difference between freedom of speech and blatant defamation and hatred". She probably failed to make that simple distinction herself when she implicitly accuses Christina of blatant defamation and hatred.

Masi proceeds: "Vinni (Acuri) should be commended for protecting CB5 from participating in supporting anyone who would use our public forum for their own personal agenda."

Wow. What a string of moronic assertions. "Our public forum"? The phrase is self contradictory.

A public forum is a government financed setting is not "Ours - as in CB5's" It is exactly what it is called: A public forum, belonging to all taxpayers.

It is Vinnie's (Acuri) job to DEFEND and PROTECT the CONSTITUTION. Not the CB's delicacies. Is Masi far too delicate to hear what Christina has to say? (And, is Masi also guilty of secretly believing that Gallagher is guilty of RAPE, but would rather protect him than protect the public from him?)

And, how does Masi determine that the saving of St. Saviour's for conversion into a park - as Christina has promoted for probably two years - become Christina's "personal" agenda?

Get some balls, Masi! If you're implying that Christina has some personal or financial stake in such an accomplishment, say it!

Otherwise, spell out how saving St. Saviour's is anyone's "personal" agenda.

To sum up: What did Sanchez say? What attachments do Acuri and Masi have to Gallagher and to his hope that they and the other lickspittles will vote to rape the property where St. Saviour's stood for such a long time?

Do citizens have a right to free speech during the public forum period of each Community Board Meeting?

Do elected/appointed members of any community board have any right to censor free speech?

Where are those rules spelled out?

Do you various Gallagher lickspittles realize how Gallagher and Sanchez mousetrapped you into taking the heat for the blatant violation of Christina's free speech rights?

When this is litigated - which is inevitable - watch how far Sanchez and Gallagher flee from the branch you're on. They'll cheerfully cut it off with you on it.

Anonymous said...

Pinky's letter to CB5 puppets just another smokescreen spin that puppets believe.

Pinky doing so much spinning, he thinks he's back in the taxpayers office upstairs playing spin the bottle....only this time, it's a new game....beat and rape a grandmother!

Like a worm exposed on a hard rain, Pinky is trying to wiggle his way out of this one.

Besides campaign money of $150k, $10k of Brian "before I go to jail" money, under the table development money to ruin this community of another $100k, and money from his puppets of $17k, Pinky has $277k.

Oh, let's not forget his $112k salary that we pay for, but get nothing, but deep throat (no pun intended).

So, Pinky has nearly $300k to pay off his sex attacked grandma.

Now Mr. Publius.......I mean moron, what did you say about who should defend what?

As far as that other slob, Kathy Masi, she fits right in with the rest of the bimbo's from Pinky's domain.....she should play the scarecrow in the next Wizard of Oz......if I only had a brain. Her tongue is right up......

Folks, these people care less of John Q. Public from this town, they are greedy and money hungry. They have and will continue to destroy this community.

The new CB5 board arranged by the rapist is filled with criminals. Yes, criminals who support the rapist! So, criminals support rapist and visa versa!

Folks, you better take a more active role and see what's going on here, before your most prized investment, your house loses the value from these people who are in bed (no pun intended)with builders, banks and lobbyist!

Thank Pinky for that Sunday afternoon, because the shit hit the fan!

Anonymous said...

Doesn't Kathy's civic receive money from Dispicable Dennis Gallagher? Didn't he give her an award? Are we supposed to believe she is some objective third party?
How nice that she continues to suck upon Gallagher's ass.

Those at the 'Ledge' must think their readers are as mentally deficient as the rag's editor. Save your $.35 for a homeless man.

Anonymous said...

Community boards need to be elected, not appointed by political a-holes. Only then will you find people who actually care more about the community than some parasite's political agenda.

Then we won't have the Vinnys and Kathys and especially not trash like Slumchez.

Anonymous said...

God,

I love this blog. Thanks for fighting the good fight.

Anonymous said...

Kathy Masi is a political opportunist who hasn't got a sincere bone in her body.

She defends a rapists councilman because he funded her. Now with Gallagher in trouble she latches on to Vincent Arcuri, a man she has been bad-mouthing to anybody who would listen.

She's always opening her mouth before thinking.

Anonymous said...

"Could it have been that Acuri actually believes that Gallagher raped the victim, but, to keep paying off his debt to Gallagher, only pretends to be offended when the words Gallagher and Rape occur in a single sentence?
Did that possibility occur to Phil Guie? It's such an obvious possibility that an actual reporter would have pounced to ask the question. Why not, Guie?"

Hey, if you're gonna insult Phil Guie, let's at least point out how short, thin and ugly he is, too. Show some guts.

Anonymous said...

I ONCE SPOKE AT THE COMMUNITY BOARD MEETING ON MYRTLE AVENUE. I WASN'T ALLOWED TO FINISH MY STATEMENTS AND NOTHING WAS DONE ABOUT MY NOISE AND TRAFFIC COMPLAINTS.

TO MAKE MATTERS WORSE MOST OF THE PANEL WASN'T EVEN PAYING ATTENTION TO MY COMMENTS. IT WAS A HUGE WASTE OF TIME AND NOT WORTH THE EFFORT.

Anonymous said...

Hey Speaker -

Don't waste your time at those meetings.

The CB5 is now filled with Pinky criminals who answer to their master. Besides being criminals, they are really stupid....I mean really stupid, borderline retards!

Only problem is that once Pinky goes to jail, these moron puppets will be totally lost!

This is what represents our community, ouch!

Anonymous said...

the community board is an extention of the council office, like Gallagher they should be flushed down the toilet