Op-Ed from the Queens Courier:The Power of the Position
BY CLAIRE SHULMAN
Why the borough president, I am asked.
The 1989 Charter has the council voting on both land use and budgets, so what do you do to warrant the existence of the office?
I will tell you.
I can best describe it by telling you what we did before and after the 1989 Charter revision.
My staff and I were determined to make a difference in Queens.
Before 1989 we had to negotiate for money; after 1989 the borough president got five percent of the enhancements in the expense budget and five percent of the capital budget. Queens got 33 percent of the five percent capital money, which enabled us not only to build, but to influence the construction of the following institutions:
Queens Museum of Art
New York Hall of Science
Queens Hospital Center
Flushing Town Hall
Family Court
Civil Court
Queens Theatre
Queens Zoo
Roy Wilkins Park and Recreation Center
Creedmoor Educational Company
Flushing Library
P.S.1
Townsend Harris High School
SE552, $100 million sewer project to relieve flooding in SE Queens
American Museum of the Moving Image
Flushing Meadows swimming pool and ice skating rink
BP and the mayor’s office get Fort Totten from the feds
These are just a few things we accomplished which makes the borough president’s office one of the best bargains in New York City.
We helped to enliven the cultural life of Queens, thereby creating a harmony in a very diverse population. We were involved in so much, none of which was mentioned or prohibited in the Charter.
For example we spent five years saving non-eviction conversion co-ops, thousands of units that helped cooperators, renters and neighborhoods survive.
There are many people currently running for this office because they want to continue the effort.
This is a big city and one cannot know everything, so local government, the planning boards, the council and the BP’s office are our good government.
Together we help deliver services through the Borough Cabinet where it is needed and deal with land use issues and budgets through the Borough Board.
If borough presidents didn’t exist it is my opinion that Manhattan would walk away with all the resources that currently cover major projects in Queens.
I will continue to advocate for the office of borough president and the relative autonomy of our great borough.
Don’t fool yourself — if you are elected by a county of two million people, that’s power and everyone listens!
25 comments:
And I luv Queens Crap too!
"Why?" You ask.
Becuz I'm fulla crap too!
"If borough presidents didn’t exist it is my opinion that Manhattan would walk away with all the resources that currently cover major projects in Queens."
Easy fix: pass a law in the Council that every borough receives a minimum, but that most of the funds be distributed impartially based on population and median income.
That's a groggy Sunday morning idea from a nobody. You couldn't come up with anything after serving in the office and reflecting years later?
"Don’t fool yourself — if you are elected by a county of two million people, that’s power and everyone listens!"
Couldn't agree more. Time to get rid of the BP.
Claire, we love what you did for the RKO Keith's Flushing Theatre. You assisted your crooked boss, Donald Manes, in sandbagging it into oblivion!
Those are not the wrinkled lines of age.
Like the picture of Dorian Gray, corruption is engraved all over Shulman's face.
She's a lying treacherous cur, and looking very much like a poke sack full of assholes.
If you are elected by idiots in a 2 million population borough....which still amounts to nothing in the vast fabric of NYC.
WE DON'T NEED BOROUGH PRESIDENTS.
Manhattan will get the lion's share, with or without borough presidents.
Manhattan is the epicenter of the tourist corridor.
Queens will always be the boondocks to world travelers...except for passing through its airports.
Didn't she also have the Aquacade demolished after saying she wouldn't?
Yes,
Shulman was responsible for the destruction of the Aquacade. She helped scuttle the historic RKO Keith's before that.
I once had a meeting with a businessman, who had raised enough money to refurbish and promote the Aquacade, as a venue for light pop and classical music.
It could have become a tourist attraction for Queens--bringing money into our borough.
He told us the sordid story of how Shulman lied about wanting to save the Aquacade, and exactly how she went about crushing his efforts to do so.
Shortly afterward, the Billy Rose Aquacade was quickly demolished, on the pretext that it was asbestos contaminated.
Shulman is a nasty faced, mean spirited cur, who cannot be trusted.
She was Donald Manes' lap dog, and has since graduated into becoming, an accomplished snarling liar on her own.
Thanks for that new civil court where tenants can be rail roaded from a building with windows and where building violations abound.
Why isn't that ugly, bovine bitch not in jail by now?
BRING IN THE FEDS!!!!!
Jerry Rotondi said...
Yes,
Shulman was responsible for the destruction of the Aquacade. She helped scuttle the historic RKO Keith's before that.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
She was also one of those who sabatoged my efforts to convert Flushing Airport into a facility for airships over a decade ago!!! I was an honest, but naive, businessman. Perhaps if I slipped her a few bucks under the table...?
What a mug! Look at her eyes. Those bags look like they're packed for a quick getaway!!!
Just missing Basil Fawlty-in the hospital here, as he gazes at Claire- "My God, you're ugly". It's not just about physical appearance,either,btw....
That's it! Forget about my prune laxative remedy!
Claire's prune face moves me beyond telling!
The reason, I suspect, cud chewing Claire sandbagged your blimp port effort Alan, was that she and her crooked friends couldn't have a piece of it.
In Queens--kickbacks are king!
Most likely, Shulman and Manes skimmed off the top of every major development project that went down.
That Bovine critter gives new meaning to the term cash cow!
Shit face Shulman...
living proof that YOU CAN stuff 10 lbs of crap
into a 5 lb bag!
PHEW...and that's not just the stench of corruption!
Caution...stay upwind when she passes you by.
I wonder,
what size "granny panties" does this flatulent behemoth wear?
How in hell did this crud bag ever become borough president?
You dumb ass voters elected her. That's how!
Vote for Vallone, and Shulman will look like a saint compared to Don "junior" Pete.
Vote for Katz and you hand over your nabe to developers.
The only choice is Avella for borough president.
Don't forget that you hold the power in your hands to change things in the upcoming November primary!
Jerry Rotondi said...
The reason, I suspect, cud chewing Claire sandbagged your blimp port effort Alan, was that she and her crooked friends couldn't have a piece of it.
In Queens--kickbacks are king!
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
When I started advocating for the blimp port, there were about 75 available acres which shrank to about 28 acres after federal wetlands designation. Because of the strong local support for my concept, I thought the project was a lock. At the 1st developers' meeting, I was surprised to see at least a half dozen to a dozen other groups interested in Flushing Airport.
When it became apparent that the EDC screwed me by 1) not providing an RFP in a timely manner and 2) shortening the response time by several months, others saw the merit in some of the components for my plan, specifically the aviation museum and perhaps enough space for a one blimp operation. Two developers peaked my interest. We were all taken aback by the mayor's final choice...a Korean wholesale/warehousing facility!
So now the property still sits vacant and no property taxes are being collected. The best thing for the Flushing Airport property is to make it a natural wetlands preserve. Any further development in College Point would surely cause increased traffic and pollution. We can all thank Claire Shulman for allowing this to happen!
"which enabled us not only to build, but to influence the construction of the following institutions:
Queens Museum of Art
New York Hall of Science
Queens Hospital Center
Flushing Town Hall
Family Court
Civil Court
Queens Theatre
Queens Zoo
Roy Wilkins Park and Recreation Center
Creedmoor Educational Company
Flushing Library
P.S.1
Townsend Harris High School
SE552, $100 million sewer project to relieve flooding in SE Queens
American Museum of the Moving Image
Flushing Meadows swimming pool and ice skating rink
BP and the mayor’s office get Fort Totten from the feds"
-----------------------------------
Is she taking too much Ambien and the years are blurring together? Most of these were built when she was a little kid and most of the rest were started before 1989!
If there was such a major sewer system overhaul why didn't give sewers to Willets Point?
Thanks Queens Crap, now I'm going to have nightmares tonight after looking at that photo of Shulman.
If there was such a major sewer system overhaul why didn't give sewers to Willets Point?
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She was too busy destroying Queens (RKO Keith's, Aquacade, etc.)!
PS Is it me or does she get uglier in every photo?
She was too busy destroying Queens (RKO Keith's, Aquacade, etc.)!
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You forgot about Willets Point!!!
Nobody forgot Willets Point.
Shulman's connection to f----g up WP is obvious and current. Her boss Donald Manes tried the same shit there years before her.
It seems that no crooked idea ever gets shelved.
The next succeeding borough president picks up the ball.
Which end are we looking at here...Claire's ass or her face? Clearly, it looks like she ran out of toilet paper in any case.
Ugly is, as ugly does!
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