In his endorsement, announced by the Crowley campaign on Tuesday, Barnwell specifically cited her opposition to last year’s plan to convert the Maspeth Holiday Inn Express into a homeless shelter as a reason for his support.
“For the last eight years, Elizabeth Crowley has been a tireless fighter for our community. She stood with us against the Mayor to oppose the disastrous homeless shelter proposal for the Maspeth Holiday Inn,” Barnwell’s statement reads. “This is the kind of leadership that Elizabeth Crowley brings to the Council, and I’m proud to endorse her re-election and stand with her on the issues that matter to our families.”
The lawmaker had told the Chronicle multiple times since Holden announced his candidacy in April that he didn’t expect to officially support anyone in the race.
And his endorsement of Crowley represents something of a departure from his rhetoric during his successful Democratic primary campaign against then-Assemblywoman Marge Markey last year.
Barnwell was present at nearly every nightly protest for over a month, speaking to the crowd of angry constituents multiple times — even being introduced by Holden on some occasions.
And in at least two of those brief speeches, Barnwell took swipes at Crowley for not attending any of those protests.
“Is Liz Crowley here? Who’s that?” Barnwell asked the crowd on Aug. 19. “The fact is [Crowley, Markey and state Sen. Joe Addabbo Jr. (D-Howard Beach)] haven’t showed up to give us an update and it’s atrocious.”
“You guys stopped this. The elected officials didn’t stop this,” Barnwell said on Sept. 10, after the city announced it would not convert the entire hotel into a shelter. “They haven’t stood with us. And it’s not the first time they haven’t stood with us.”
The assemblyman defended his past statements in a Tuesday interview with the Chronicle, saying Crowley deserved credit for bringing a lawsuit against the city over the shelter plan.
“She brought a lawsuit and it was dismissed for a lack of standing. So as a legislator, I brought up a bill that would give us standing,” Barnwell said. “How many other politicians have ever brought a lawsuit against Mayor de Blasio?”
Actually, Letitia James has sued de Blasio multiple times and Rory Lancman has as well. And let's not forget that little lawsuit that saved FMCP from having a shopping mall developed inside it.
Now it's been confirmed that Crowley knew about this shelter months before the community did, and she failed to show up at any of the protests that were held, so this Barnwell statement is a bit suspect.
It's more likely that Barnwell is being threatened with a primary challenge and therefore was "forced" to endorse Dizzy Lizzy and acquiesce to having this statement attributed to him which was obviously written by the Crowley camp. Meet the new boss. Same as the old boss. Only 8 months in and this guy's already crossed over to the Dark Side.
It must really be terrifying to a pol to be faced with the prospect of having to find a real job.
58 comments:
So much for his credibility...
What a slithering snake. But he does make P&B sandwiches for the needy. (sarc) And that will be the extent of helping constituents.
How does a Barnwell endorsement even help Elizabeth Crowley? Now that we know that he's just another machine politician who is a liar and a fraud, his endorsement is worthless.
Second Anonymous posting, I thought I was in charge of the sarcastic commentary, if you need to announce the written intent, you are not invoking the proper and true depth of sarcasm. Work on it! You have potential.
The SWAMP is more like a clogged sewer, and is deeper than anyone can imagine!
What could you expect from this young boy?
I am sure a "deal" was made.
Just wait until he is in full support of the Glendale shelter...
Welcome my son, welcome to the machine
What did you dream?
It's alright we told you what to dream
The Deplorables are revolting. For whom the bell tolls?
Tony Nunziato should be shaking his head and laughing right now.
People in the 30th AD had the chance to send a true representative to Albany, instead they chose a wimpy little backstabbing lap dog for the corrupt Crowley political crime machine.
"Fetch Brian fetch but don't bark or bite the hand of your master and mistress."
What a shit-bone!
Pols are either naive crusaders or machine crooks.
He has that crooked look.
Alas, the two-party-machine-failed duopoly is finally crumbling, and it's LONG overdue!
What truly angers and saddens me at the same time is how ALL of these 300% false, fake and monstrously failed politicians (not public servants), are just now getting the memo (and feigning disbelief), regarding how ancient Babylonia ended more than 5,000 years ago.
What a criminal disgrace, over which We, the People have had ZERO say and approval over the last, publicly unauthorized raise that locked in an obscene pay bump for these low level, politically organized crime goons, when every single one of their fed up and disgusted constituency are languishing in low pay, beggary and obscurity. But, why should anyone be surprised, when the LAST pay raise by Bloomberg sycophant, Czarina Christine Quinn disobeyed public referendum in 2009 (at least we HAD a public hearing!), and appointed herself and the entirely criminal city council organization with money that was not publicly organized——you know, just like how organized crime family rings operate! Working for the city council is like having an uncle in the Mafia!
When will these public fools ever start to work for a living, exactly like their overburdened constituents, all of whom are STILL at the mercy of a taxation without representation system that now devalues honesty itself?
ALL politicians are unaccountable: They pander to REBNY (their rightful OWNERS), arm themselves with a 'Friends & Family' public payroll, and then they train their worthless staff members to create a hostile, equally unaccountable environment that leaves constituents like me to our own devices, that eventually lead to lawlessness, violence and vigilantism——as we pay the ultimate price for their apathy, dereliction of public duty, sloppy cover-ups and totally failed leadership, as they are paid from our tax dollars, where the system itself is now a padded cell of abject failure and societal collapse!
Why cant it be possible that Barnwell and Crowley actually like working with each other as elected's instead of always some nefarious deeds? Ugh enough with the conspiracy theories and grow up, this site is worse then Trump
Hmmm, what could Elizabeth Crowley possibly do for - or to - him in order to get his endorsement? The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind; the answer is blowin'...
So much for "unknown" Barnwell, which was always a farce. He worked for a councilman, and obviously had plenty of help from the machine during his campaign. Probably had consultants putting words in his mouth and on paper. He's a younger, less powerful version of Markey who stands with Joe Crowley at events. Hope it doesn't take twenty years to get rid of him.
I voted for this guy, but I won't the next time. It doesn't take long for politicians to show their true colors. He's just like the rest of them. Such a shame. I thought better of him. I'm sure the party is strong-arming him. If we could get rid of "Virginia Joe," perhaps the Queens Machine wouldn't be so corrupt. If Dizzy Lizzy loses the election, her cousin will find her another job in government. Term limit all of them. We are so done with Career Politicians.
Let's remember that he lied about joining the military. He said he had FLAT FEET. The military does not turn you down. He lied.
Ask who was his recruiter. I bet he there isn't one.
dig.
>Pols are either naive crusaders or machine crooks.
Most seem to start as the former and slowly morph into the latter.
Barnwell's transformation in such a short time might be a new record.
Wow what a disappointment, this guy came and spoke at Juniper Civic meetings led by Bob Holden all during his campaign against Markey.He stood with Holden at all the rally's against the homeless shelter and even put Crowley down for not attending. I could see remaining neutral but endorsing Crowley makes me sick, what a phony politician he turned out to be.
the guy disagrees with bob Holden and somehow that equals being a sell out. Perhaps it was something Holden did. Holden is somehow perfect? You treat him like a king. The kid ran against the machine and won. The machine backed markey. Saying he had help from the machine is pretty comical. The guy does one thing you don't like and he's the new machine. All these anoymous people. Nice courage you have. Pretty silly.
Flat feet? I know for sure he had back and neck surgery. Look at that bad looking scar on his head. Now you are just lying.
You folks are sad.
Looks like Barnwell learned well from De Faustio's poseur populism at the LICH protests.
How is the "machine" strong arming him? He beat the machine. Why would he cave to the machine if he showed he could beat them?
>I'm sure the party is strong-arming him.<
How? By threatening to run a primary opponent against him? No money from the machine? No more support from the unions and lobbyists? This kid was elected to stand up to them, not grovel to them in order to keep his job. His response to his endorsement- which was to attack Holden and call him a liar while singing the praises of Lizzy- makes me sick. He had me fooled. No more.
Brian Barnwell is an awesome assembly man who won't cave into the bullying by the Holden campaign . He choose a candidate to support so just accept it .
He works very hard and don't need to be treated like this . Grow up and act like an adult and accept that he endorsed her for whatever his reason was .I support Brian Barnwell 100%
Boy oh Boy, so many have something to say yet can't show face. Hmm, bet all these posts are from a select few and most of us know who they are. I don't understand how so called adults can act in such a way. Such an embarrassment to our neighborhood. I am not ashamed to give my name, Genevieve Fricano. Some people really need to grow up.
A slithering snake. A vicious verminous viper.
"the guy disagrees with bob Holden and somehow that equals being a sell out."
No, what makes him a sellout is writing fawning praise of Dizzy Lizzy and her lawsuit when in the past he said her lawsuit was a joke. He's got the nerve to tell the people who protested along side him who are now his constituents that she stood with them after he made fun of her at the protests for not showing up? Really?
When you are desperate to become part of the permanent government, you'll say stupid shit like that and most of the district will recognize the hypocrisy but the bored housewives of Maspeth will somehow find a reason to defend it. I'm still trying to figure out what makes him an "awesome" assemblyman. His office actually responds but THAT'S THEIR JOB. It's amazing how little you need to do to impress some people.
One post dedicated to poking fun at Barnwell and his supporters lose their shit. I didn't realize he was a god. Pols are supposed to be able to take the heat, if he's worth his mettle, he'll be able to take it.
Brian Barnwell was in the room when Steve Banks dropped the bombshell that Crowley knew about the shelter months in advance. His jaw dropped. He left the meeting telling people that he was shocked she would do that.
A year later she gets an endorsement from him for standing with the people against the shelter. I know for a fact that most of his supporters are not ok with that and his endorsement is not changing a damn thing for her. Instead it's damaging him.
This would be funny if it wasn't so sad.
Brian Barnwell has been contacting his disappointed constituents one by one and telling them that he had nothing to do with the quote or press release even after defending it in the Chronicle. What does that tell you?
Bottomline, vote for Robert Holden. He's an outstanding community activist who has earned the seat. He's done so much on his own for no compensation. Imagine what he can do once he is dedicated 100% to improving the community. Again, he's earned it. No false promises, no connections, and he's a local guy. His track record is full of decades of accomplishments. It's a no brainer. Those who voted for Barnwell and are not happy with his Crowley endorsement will be able to speak with their vote the next time he runs. Maybe Mr. Holden will run for his seat then or someone else who has been fighting with him all these decades for our community. Holden all the way!
Brian Barnwell has been contacting his disappointed constituents one by one and telling them he had nothing to do with the quote or press release....
Are you serious? Does that mean that he doesn't endorse Elizabeth Crowley? Or is that his idea of damage control? I gave him a chance, but was always a little concerned that he wasn't ready for prime time. His letters eased my concerns and seemed genuine. What happened to him? Typical politician, or is this just a one time mistake? Whatever it is, he needs to go back to whatever he was doing when he was running and right the ship before it sinks.
Brain Barnwell sold out the community, the Maspeth homeless protesters and his constituents by praising Elizabeth Crowley who never showed by at all to the protests. He'll be forever remembered as a traitor AND a liar. I hope someone runs against him, I will volunteer time and money.
"Bottomline, vote for Robert Holden. He's an outstanding community activist who has earned the seat."
Yes, most fair minded intelligent people would agree. It's no contest between Holden and Crowley. I can't understand how anyone who knows Rob Holden's history and what he's done for the community would even think about voting for Crowley. The Crowley and Barnwell defenders are either dishonest or clueless.
I know I can call the kid at 10pm and give him constituent complaints and it gets dealt with. The kid works 24/7 that's why he's good. Don't agree with the endorsement but he works hard
Showing up doesn't mean work wasn't done on the lawsuit or talking to different government agencies about the shelter. You know absolutely nothing
Benedict Barnwell has morphed into a Mini-Me to Virginia Joe. How's that for an image Crappy?
" I know I can call the kid at 10pm and give him constituent complaints and it gets dealt with. The kid works 24/7 that's why he's good. Don't agree with the endorsement but he works hard."
Give it time, he's becoming Marge right before our eyes.
If Holden loses to Crowley, he needs to run against Barnwell. Brian has proven himself to be nothing but a liar and now he is owned by the machine. He may work hard, but I won't ever trust him again. Considering his record-setting transformation from anti-establishment pol to establishment pol, how long before he starts ignoring us like Markey did? Wake up, the kid is a huge disappointment and it is only going to get worse. We were all duped.
"Showing up doesn't mean work wasn't done on the lawsuit or talking to different government agencies about the shelter."
Oh we know she talked to government agencies about the shelter - back in MAY and then she acted surprised in August at the secret library meeting. The 3-page shelter lawsuit she brought was thrown out for lack of standing so how much work did she really do? It was her office lackey, Jeff Mailman, also running for city council, who filed that on her behalf.
The kid backs a different candidate and somehow he's a traitor & establishment. Again stupid endorsement but owned by the machine? Listen to yourself. You guys assume he will be markey based on an endorsement yet admit he works hard. You do know endorsements mean zilch. Wonder how many of you bashing him have already been helped by him?. I told him how upset I was at his endorsement. He has helped me many times already. You guys seriously need to grow up. The kid made a mistake. Have you ever made one before?
comparing him to markey already? haha listen to yourself. Markey never worked a day in her life..........Barnwell works all the time and Bc he didn't back Bobby boy he's the devil. Is this for real?
comment by Barnwell doesn't make him a liar. Some disagee with statement but i agree with it. I went to protests almost every night. Crowley should have been there but doesn't mean she didn't do anything. Seems one side is inflaming the situation. How do YOU sleep at night? I hope other people are kind to you
Oh boy, the Barnwell Brigade has found their way here. He must be in panic mode.
The only reason Barnwell endorsed Crowley was to keep that machine money coming his way so he could be re-elected. It was no "mistake". I believe Holden's account of what happened over Barnwell's, and then he goes out and trashes Holden, who helped him win. Backstabbing liar. He can work 24/7, but his loyalty is to Joe Crowley, not the people who got him into office. Sound familiar?
The Holden brigade. The Barnwell brigade. All brigades. He "trashed" Holden? Show us where he "trashed" Holden? In fact I believe he has always said Holden does great work. And he should say that because Holden does great work.
It's nice to hear from the kids family members. I'm sure if you call him at 10pm he'll take out the trash or walk the dog.
Please.
Working 24/7 helping his constituents is helping the people who got him into office. That's the very definition of the job. Endorsements have absolutely nothing to do with the job. Put down the biased juice and face reality. The kid works for his constituents. Even the people who now hate him for his stupid endorsement agree he works hard for the people.
The scar on Barnwell's neck is where Joe Crowley pulled his spine out.
Stop, he isn't working 24/7. No one does except for firefighters and the military. Which he is neither.
You people should stop bashing Brian Bentwell who I might add is more than a little inarticulate version of me - he did a great thing supporting my cousin. Liz many be dumber than dirt but at least she'll do what we say.
Classic resorting to arguments that avoid the truth (re Barnwell's family/ re Barnwell doing work)It's nice to hear from the Holden camp in response. I'm sure if you call him at 10pm he's doing work as well. Just like Barnwell. That's why I'm for Holden. And that's why I'm for Barnwell .But pretending Barnwell doesn't work for the constituents is laughable. Classy about Barnwell's scar. You are a good person. Why don't you reveal who you are when you say such wonderful things.
"It's nice to hear from the kids family members. I'm sure if you call him at 10pm he'll take out the trash or walk the dog.
Please."
Any time you can't refute something the person resorts to saying it was from someone's family or friends. Nope. Pretty sure he's dealing with a constituent complaint at 10pm. I speak from experience calling his phone at 1027pm and receiving help.
Even his new enemies have stated he works hard for the community.
Barnwell trashed Holden in his response to Holden's claim that Crowley threatened him. He said that the timing was iironic and questioned why he didn't come out with the claim before now. That's calling Holden a liar in order to protect Elizabeth Crowley. Of course she or cousin Joe threatened to blackball him, does anyone doubt this? And he caved, because keeping his job was more important to him than keeping his credibility.
At least now we all know who Brian Barnwell really is. We sent a message to the machine last year and need to keep doing it until we get the right person in there. And for those of you Barnwell loyalists who just keep repeating that he works hard, he works hard... remember, he is working hard for the machine, too.
My cousin who knows someone in the Queens Democratic Party said that Barnwell was set up by Joe Crowley and his buddies who were still seething over the Markey defeat last year. Their plan was to split Barnwell away from the Holden crowd. They accomplished that with lightning speed. Now watch what happens. Barnwell will definitely have a primary challenge from Crowley next year. The kid is already in trouble.
"The scar on Barnwell's neck is where Joe Crowley pulled his spine out."
HAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAAHAHAHAHAH
How long are you folks gonna be at this? I'm getting bored with this one.
Money talks.......no reason to bitch. If you want Holden in,send a check,tell your friends and get out and vote.
Hey crappy,you a bar well guy?
I go to bars occasionally.
Barnwell was the hero to you guys on this page 8 months ago... now that he endorsed Crowley, he's your public enemy #1 of the week.
Congratulations, you guys. You just played yourself.
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