Restler's stupidity gets press attention, de Blasio & Cuomo apparently okay with it

From the Daily News:

One Facebook friend called the sign inappropriate. “There are good White People, and you are not going to make me feel guilty that I am,” the man wrote.

A second person wrote: "And you represent our mayors office?"

Restler, who makes $107,625 at City Hall, took the post down. He could not be reached for comment.

De Blasio spokesman Eric Phillips said the mayor was not initially aware of the posted picture and doesn’t believe it’s appropriate.

Phillips said Restler’s sister was apparently protesting white supremacy. “No doubt the message was inartful and not clear enough in its intent and that’s why Lincoln took it off his page,” he said.

Restler was spoken to but not sanctioned. “He understands why people took offense to it and it certainly didn’t represent his views,” Phillips said.

But in his own Facebook post Monday night, former City Councilman James Gennaro, who now works for Gov. Cuomo at the Department of Environmental Conservation, resurrected the item and blasted the fact it came from someone connected to the mayor.

"It seems that to the Mayor's senior advisor, hate is okay as long as the right people (or the right racial “state of mind,” if that's what is meant by “whiteness") is hated," Gennaro wrote.

He also criticized Restler for taking the post down.

After seeing the Daily News story, Cuomo spokesman Richard Azzopardi said that "Jim Gennaro's online writings do not reflect the views of the governor's office."

Meanwhile, Maspeth took to Driggs Avenue to protest Restler where he lives:



Lincoln was seen several times peering out at the protest.

Brinckerhoff Cemetery still needs help

From the Queens Courier:

A preservation group is trying to save a colonial-era burial ground in Fresh Meadows from fading away.

The Brinckerhoff Cemetery was designated a landmark in 2012 by the city. But the small plot of land is privately owned by Linda Cai.

“If we didn’t fight for the cemetery this could have been developed and the grounds desecrated,” said Yolanda Dela Cruz-Gallagher, president of Friends of the Brinckerhoff Colonial Cemetery. “And we could have lost the historical essence of our forefather.”

Dela Cruz-Gallagher and her preservation organization are raising money to buy the property. The current owner is asking for $150,000.

“We have no money,” Dela Cruz-Gallagher said. “And so we’re asking the public for support.”

Dela Cruz-Gallagher and other Queens historical groups believe there are over 70 tombstones in the cemetery, but none of them are visible due to the overgrowth of weeds and a lack of maintenance.

The Queens Preservation Council doesn’t have any plans to financially support Friends of the Brinckerhoff Colonial Cemetery. But Grubler said that doesn’t mean they won’t help in the future.

In 2012, when the site was designated as a historical landmark, former City Councilman James Gennaro lobbied hard to win the site’s landmark status, according to earlier reports.

Gennaro also said that a nonprofit group with the financial ability should buy the property. While Dela Cruz-Gallagher’s preservation group is a nonprofit, they aren’t close to the $150,000 needed to buy the property.

Council Member Rory Lancman has promised to fund the acquisition.

Because what Queens really needs is more strip malls

From The Forum:

A Forest Hills real estate developer mapped out plans for a new shopping center in Ozone Park.

The site, located at the intersection of Cross Bay Bouelvard and North Conduit Avenue, will soon house a one-story plaza with up to 10 tenants, developer Platinum Realty said. Work on the site was expected to be finished by Dec. 1.

Potential tenants at the site included a new supermarket among other community establishments, Platinum Realty said. No official tenants have been announced so far.

From the Queens Courier:

Work on a two-story mall in Fresh Meadows on 164th Street is weeks away from completion, according to the owner J&H Management Corp.

About four years ago, former Councilman James Gennaro assisted in changing the zoning of the lot to commercial to clear the way for the shopping center.

J&H, which filed to demolish the auto repair shop on the lot in 2012, started construction last year and was expecting the shopping center to be completed in the spring. The more than 13,000 square-foot retail mall will have 13 tenants and 38 parking spots.

Gennaro gets a new job

From Capital New York:

Former city councilman Jim Gennaro, an outspoken fracking skeptic who chaired the Council’s environmental protection committee, is joining the Cuomo administration.

Gennaro, who was term-limited from the Council at the end of 2013, is joining the state’s Department of Environmental Conservation as a deputy commissioner for New York City sustainability and resiliency.

Final Bloomberg photo caption opportunity

It's New Year's Eve. The final 24 hours of Bloomberg. Let's send him off by captioning this photo from the Daily News.

Styrofoam & e-cigs banned by Council

From the NY Times:

In its last scheduled legislative session of the year, the New York City Council passed major health and environmental regulations on Thursday, establishing a ban on plastic-foam food service containers, extending the city’s ban on public smoking to cover e-cigarettes and requiring composting at large restaurants.

The plastic-foam measure was a final victory of sorts for Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, though it came with a caveat. In his State of the City address this year, Mr. Bloomberg said the plastic-foam containers were virtually impossible to recycle, and environmentalists have long complained that the foam cups, trays and containers, stained by beverages, grease and food, were needlessly clogging landfills.

In response to concerns that small businesses would be hurt by switching to costlier alternatives like paper and plastic, the bill allows small establishments and nonprofit organizations to apply for a waiver from the ban.

E-cigarettes, which use a battery to vaporize a nicotine solution, have grown in popularity based on a perception that they are a safer alternative to regular cigarettes, but the health implications remain in question. The bill limiting their use, pushed by two departing council members, James F. Gennaro of Queens and Speaker Christine C. Quinn of Manhattan, bans e-cigarettes wherever smoking is now prohibited, including restaurants, bars, parks and office buildings. The Bloomberg administration supported the measure.

Proponents cited the potential, if not yet fully known, health effects of e-cigarettes and their secondhand vapor, and said e-cigarettes confused bartenders and others who had to enforce the existing ban.

Thanks for what, exactly?

The Queens Tribune goes above and beyond the typical pol ass-kissing by a Queens weekly, seeing fit to "honor" 4 term limited Queens pols in their latest issue, and also at an awards ceremony.

Apparently the fact that all 4 ran for a 3rd term against the wishes of the voters does not mean much to Mr. Nussbaum, et al.

"Thank you" for what? Giving us the middle finger?

Gennaro now a DeBlasio fan

From the Politicker:

Councilman James Gennaro, once a fierce backer of Council Speaker Christine Quinn and an even fiercer critic of her old rival, Bill de Blasio, is now one of the presumptive Democratic nominee’s biggest fans.

“So the people really want change. And they want it now. And they want their agent of change to be Bill de Blasio. Period,” Mr. Gennaro, a term-limited Queens councilman, declared in a jubilant statement titled, “It’s a New Day in NYC- Congrats to de Blasio!”

“On the number one issue of change, it was a rout for de Blasio. In the overall vote count, it was a rout for de Blasio. Highest favorability rating? De Blasio. Lowest unfavorable rating? De Blasio. You get the idea,” he added.

While many of Ms. Quinn’s former backers have turned to Mr. de Blasio, the words are especially notable coming from Mr. Gennaro, who was once one of Ms. Quinn’s most aggressive attack dogs, bashing Mr. de Blasio on issue after issue. As the public advocate pressed Ms. Quinn to pass paid sick leave legislation earlier this year, Mr. Gennaro shot back, for instance, that Mr. de Blasio was simply “on a quest for relevance.”

Because Gennaro is on a quest for a new job.

Security cameras coming...eventually

From the Queens Courier:

Police will install new sets of eyes in parts of Briarwood, Jamaica and Pomonok, according to a Queens lawmaker.

Seventeen NYPD security cameras are coming to the area’s high-traffic locations thanks to $600,000 in funding secured by Councilmember James Gennaro.

They can be found around Rufus King Park in Jamaica, near Archbishop Molloy High School and along Hillside Avenue, Jamaica Avenue and Parsons Boulevard, officials said.

Installation is slated to be completed by the city’s police department within two years.

It takes 2 years to install cameras?

Quinn's asskissing presser features Queens councilmen

From the Politicker:

It was mostly smiles for Council Speaker and mayoral candidate Christine Quinn under the burning sun outside of City Hall this afternoon.

She accepted new endorsements from two council members from Brooklyn, Stephen Levin and Michael Nelson, as well as two from Queens, Mark Weprin and James Gennaro--all of whom spoke to her established record, which they contended distinguishes her from the other candidates running for office.

"Let me get right to it," Mr. Gennaro said. “Whatever you care about in New York City, whatever issue you care about in New York City, Chris Quinn has a record of accomplishment--a record of solid accomplishment in whatever issue you care about. Not a phrase, not a slogan, not a word picture. An actual record of leadership."

"Madam Speaker, I look forward in seven months to calling you Madam Mayor," Mr. Levin said to a beaming Speaker Quinn who graciously kissed him on the cheek afterwards. And so on for Mr. Weprin and Mr. Nelson.

The endorsements today were largely unsurprising. Mr. Gennaro, for instance, has been functioning as an informal attack dog for the Quinn campaign on a variety of issues. And Ms. Quinn was previously endorsed by the Queens County Democratic organization, and loyal members like Mr. Weprin were likely to follow suit. Nevertheless, it's a component of Ms. Quinn's larger strategy: steadily and slowly growing the list of colleagues backing her bid for Gracie Mansion.

Ms. Quinn, however, didn't strike exclusively positive notes this afternoon. Asked about former Gov. Eliot Spitzer nearly tearing up during an appearance on Morning Joe this morning (she appeared shortly after), Ms. Quinn said she hadn't seen a clip, but launched into a critique of both Mr. Spitzer and another scandal scarred pol, former Congressman Anthony Weiner, one of her main rivals in the mayor's race.

"I, as much as anybody else, believe in second chances. None of us are perfect. In every way, but particularly in elected life, you need to earn a second chance. So the question is what have Anthony Weiner and Eliot Spitzer done to earn a second chance?" she said, echoing comments she made yesterday. "What have they done with their time since their fall from grace that would earn them this second choice--chance. I would say not very much."

Does anyone remember Miss Quinn calling for Weiner and Spitzer's resignations? I don't. Now they're dirt because one of them is running against her?

Gennaro-Quinn lovefest

From The Politicker:

Although Council Speaker Christine Quinn has largely avoided tearing into her electoral opponents as she campaigns for mayor this year, the same can’t be said for everyone in her legislative chamber. Councilman James Gennaro, notably, has repeatedly and aggressively attacked her rivals on a wide range of issues, earning a reputation as a reliable “attack dog” for her campaign.

The list of examples is long. Mr. Gennaro accused Public Advocate Bill de Blasio of being on a “quest for relevance” during the paid sick day debate. He hit Mr. de Blasio again for his call to end horse-drawn carriages in Central Park. On the environmental front, Mr. Gennaro, the chair of the Council’s environmental protection committee, called Mr. de Blasio and another Gracie Mansion hopeful, Comptroller John Liu, “panderers” for opposing the construction of a waste transfer station on the Upper East Side. “I applaud Speaker Quinn for facing the critics,” he added.

A term-limited member who has represented portions of central and eastern Queens since 2002, Mr. Gennaro is widely known as a close Quinn ally. Although she has already been endorsed by Council lawmakers like Domenic Recchia, Diana Reyna and Julissa Ferreras, no one has stepped forward as aggressively as Mr. Gennaro.

Why has Mr. Gennaro been so bold? One Queens Democratic source, who said he was familiar with Mr. Gennaro’s plans, said the councilman is interested in landing a plum job in a future-Mayor Quinn’s administration.

“Jim is term-limited and because of that, he’s saying, ‘What the hell am I’m doing next year?’ And I think if Jim was offered a job in new administration of Christine Quinn, he would love that,” the Queens Democrat said. “He has a great environmental background, he could maybe be [Department of Environmental Protection] commissioner or a deputy commissioner candidate. I think he’s becoming a little bit of an attack dog for Chris and he figures he has nothing to lose, everything to gain.”

Flooding bill too little, too late

From the Times Ledger:

A bill that would help prevent flooding after intense storms — an increasingly common scourge of many homeowners in some areas of Queens — was passed by the City Council last week to the applause of a Queens councilman.

The legislation, passed Feb. 6, requires the city Parks Department to identify types of vegetation it could plant that would help absorb stormwater before it could overwhelm storm sewers, causing a mix of polluted rainwater and sewage to overflow.

Councilman James Gennaro (D-Fresh Meadows), chairman of the Council’s Committee on Environmental Protection who drafted the legislation, applauded the bill’s passage Monday.

“In Queens, we know the challenges of managing stormwater all too well,” Gennaro said. “Several areas in our borough, and in the rest of our city, are prone to flooding with rainwater after heavy storms.”

Areas of Fresh Meadows, Forest Hills and other parts of the borough are particularly vulnerable to flooding, with many area residents saying their homes become inundated by a mixture of stormwater and sewage during intense storms. Some have complained that as soon as they fix the damage from flooding the next storm will hit and they will be deluged again.

Flooding is also occurring more often in recent years as intense storms happen more frequently than in the past, a development that Gennaro has attributed to climate change.

Gennaro said the flooding is also due in large part to the urban transformation of the city, with large portions of the previous natural vegetated landscape morphed into swaths of concrete, which does not absorb rainwater.

Oh? And who allowed that to happen?

Gennaro may actually put money toward Brinckerhoff this time

From the Times Ledger:

A committee formed to preserve Brinckerhoff Cemetery, a colonial cemetery in Fresh Meadows that was recently named a landmark by the city, is hoping the City Council will buy the burial ground from its private owner.

“The city made an error when it sold the land several decades ago,” said James Trent, member of the Brinckerhoff Memorial Committee, referring to when the city sold Brinckerhoff in a series of moves starting with a public auction in the 1950s to pay off tax debts. “The city should reverse the wrong decision it made.”

Trent is also the president of the Queens County Farm Museum, an organization that has been on the forefront of advocating for Brinckerhoff’s designation as a landmark.

City Councilman James Gennaro (D-Fresh Meadows) said he would be willing to use his discretionary funds in order to buy the cemetery.

“My role is to put up the money and hope that City Hall can talk to various parties and make this happen,” he said.

But he said there are potentially many roadblocks to making the plan a reality. The city Office of Management and Budget would have to approve using Gennero’s descretionary funds to buy the cemetery, and even if approval is granted, it is not clear whether the cemetery’s owner, Linda’s Cai Trading, will want to part with it.

So then the City can condemn it the way they did back in the 1950s. Problem solved.

City Council votes to designate Brinckerhoff Cemetery a landmark

From the Times Ledger:

The City Council voted to designate Brinckerhoff Cemetery, the burial site of several of Queens’ first settlers, as a landmark Monday despite an attempt by the cemetery’s owner to claim hardship and thus prevent the designation.

“With the landmarking of the Brinckerhoff cemetery, an irreplaceable part of Queens’ history will be preserved in perpetuity,” said City Councilman James Gennaro (D-Fresh Meadows), whose district includes the burial site. “After more than a decade-long legal struggle, this hallowed ground, which was used as a cemetery for more than 200 years, is preserved.”

...Le Dan Cai, of Linda’s Cai Trading Inc., the current owner of the cemetery, had testified in front of Land Use’s Subcommittee on Landmarks, Public Siting and Maritime Uses Dec. 4 that a landmark designation would pose a hardship for her because she did not know when she bought the property that it was a cemetery.

A landmark designation protects the land from development and previous owners of Brinckerhoff had said they wanted to build there.

Let's remember that the interior of the RKO Keith's of Flushing was landmarked, as well. Landmarking protects the property from being legally altered. Illegally is another story.

So when are the electeds going to get the money together to buy it?

Rory comes roaring back

From The Politicker:

Assemblyman Rory Lancman, who lost a Democratic primary to Congresswoman-elect Grace Meng earlier this year and declined to run for reelection, now has his sights set on a new chamber of elected office: New York City Council.

“There’s a tremendous turnover in city government next year, including the City Council itself,” Mr. Lancman told us yesterday afternoon. “So I think there’s a real opportunity for someone with experience and energy to have a big impact in shaping the city in the next 4 to 8 years. That’s something that this time didn’t really exist for me in the State Assembly but will in the City Council. It’s exciting to be a part of it.”

Mr. Lancman intends to run for term-limited Councilman Jim Gennaro’s seat in eastern Queens. And, unlike his congressional campaign where the local Democratic establishment had aligned against him, they appear to be fully at his back this time around, at least if his campaign kickoff invitation is any indication. The event is headlined by the borough’s Democratic chairman, Rep. Joe Crowley, while Ms. Meng and a plethora of local elected officials are members of the host committee. Also included are representatives from a number of labor heavyweights, including UFT, RWDSU, SEIU 32BJ, SEIU Local 199, Hotel Trades Council and more.

Seeking Fresh Meadows flooding fix

From the Times Ledger:

A week after torrential rain caused major flooding in several areas of Fresh Meadows, City Councilman James Gennaro (D-Fresh Meadows) was scheduled to meet with the city Department of Environmental Protection this week to discuss how area sewers can be improved to prevent similar problems in the future.

The DEP recently concluded a flow monitoring study of city sewer system in Fresh Meadows, which an official with the agency said was overwhelmed last week because of the intensity of the storm, causing water to spill into the streets.

Gennaro, the chairman of the Council Committee on Environmental Protection, and the DEP were preparing to meet this week to discuss the results of the study, which could possibly lead to new capital construction projects that would increase sewer capacity at certain locations.

Lame pols continue to do nothing for Brinckerhoff Cemetery

So the Brinckerhoff Cemetery story has finally made the evening news. Notice the council member and wannabe assembly member in this report talk about how they're sure the LPC will do the right thing but neither of them pledges to raise money to purchase the property. We've had decades of empty words from empty suits.

"I believe at the end of the day that the city is going to landmark this property. That's what they really, really want to do." - Jim Gennaro

And they haven't for 47 years because...?

How much have you set aside in the latest budget for its purchase? Let me guess...$0 again?

More trash in Jamaica

Dear Councilman Leroy Comrie, Councilman James Gennaro, Councilman Ruben Wills, Queens Borough President Helen M. Marshall, Senator Malcolm Smith, Assemblymember Rory Lancman, Assemblymember Vivian Cook, Iggy Terranova, Community Board #12 Members and Other Concerned Individuals:

Finally after so long of complaining about the empty lot at the NW corner of 170th St & 90th Avenue (and surrounding sidewalks), the owner came out and cleaned everything, the surrounding sidewalks and the lot itself. But how long is this going to stay this way and what are you going to do about this irresponsible and negligent owner of this property? So far, he has come out twice, June of 2011 and June of 2012. What are you going to do to see that the owner of this property (who does not even live in Jamaica) comes out on a regular basis to clean this area? I know all about the red tape, bureaucratic BS involved, but this type of negligent owner needs to be held accountable and if that means changing the system, then change it - you are the leaders in the community, so do something about this, because this is a major problem in Jamaica.

For example, attached are photos of another property, an abandoned house surrounded by a not too steady wooden fence, which has a ton of garbage all over the surrounding sidewalk. The property is located at the 170-05 Cedarcroft Rd (corner of Cedarcroft Rd & Homelawn St). I have brought this to the attention of DOS. This property has been like this for over a year if not more. Not only is it an eyesore, but the building itself does not look too safe, not to mention that part of the fence can be opened and anyone can go inside the lot, which I looked and can tell people have done that. This property is in a very visible area and residential/business area. Again another irresponsible and negligent property owner, one of hundreds who are destroying Jamaica by tearing down nice 1 family homes and leaving the property abandoned to look like an eyesore or building a cheap, 3-4 story eyesore of an apartment building that destroys the quality of the neighborhood and attracts questionable individuals to these type of properties who in turn bring Jamaica down several notches.

The abandoned playground (not city owned, but privately property) at 109th Avenue and 171st St is a major eyesore, which has garbage in the inside and all on the outside of the property. Why is this allowed to be like this for so many years in a residential area? Why is the empty lot at Merrick Blvd and Foch Blvd right across from beautiful Roy Wilkins Park allowed to be a dumping ground for all kinds of garbage for so many years? Why is the 170th Street LIRR Tunnel continually allowed to be a notorious dumping ground? Can any of you answer this? Do any of you want to actually address these problems, find solutions and solve this? This is totally unacceptable for these situations to be allowed to stay this way for such a long period of time. Again I say that this would not be allowed to happen in Long Island City (and before it was developed), Forest Hills, Kew Gardens, Astoria and Rego Park. So why Jamaica? It seems to be a combination of the kinds of people who live here, the absentee property owners and a true lack of leadership concerning this issue. It is like Jamaica is the Wild Wild West where people and property owners can pretty much do whatever they want without little retribution.

I do know that many of you are attempting to do something about this garbage/litter/dumping problem but you really need to come down with the hammer of Thor on this issue. You will never attract the kinds of businesses and people of quality with the current situation here in Jamaica. Right now Jamaica just seems to be attracting more and more of lesser quality people and businesses that do very little for Jamaica except to make it a place where you do not want to live and that is a shame considering the rich history of Jamaica and the possibilities that Jamaica has.

Sincerely,

Joe Moretti

City to allow development of colonial cemetery

This is Brinckerhoff Cemetery, a burial ground for the Brinckerhoff family, Dutch settlers who owned a nearby farm for some 150 years. The earliest grave dates to about 1730. In 1919, a survey was completed that found 72 headstones, which have since disappeared.

In 1957 and 1960, a nearby resident purchased the 2 lots from the City, which had condemned it due to non-payment of taxes. (Why would a cemetery be taxed in the first place?) It turns out that the City had illegally sold the property.

Descendants of that owner have petitioned a court to declare the cemetery abandoned in order to clear the way for a sale to a developer who wants to build 2 homes on the property.

In 2000, the LPC calendared the property in anticipation of declaring it an official NYC landmark. Also in 2000, a judge ordered the sale of the property to the Queens Historical Society for $100,000, but only gave them 14 days to come up with the money. They failed to do so.

Elected officials representing the area, including Toby Stavisky and James Gennaro, have called on the City to preserve the property as a public memorial or park, but have not allocated funding toward its purchase by either the City or a non-profit like QHS.

In 2010, the property was resold to a developer for $105,000.

Last week, the LPC sent out letters stating that they will be holding a hearing on 5/15 to decalendar the property.

And there goes another piece of Queens history due to hack politicians who say all the right things, but don't back up their words with action. Do we still have a Queens Borough President? Anyone seen her around lately?

Why did pols give this no-show doc tons of cash?

From the NY Post:

The city spigot of cash for a questionable Queens charity may be turned off.

The city Health Department said it was reviewing three contracts worth a total of $13,000 with Angeldocs after the The Post reported last week that the charity’s health center was often shuttered and that the founder and sole staffer, Dr. Dorothy Ogundu, refused to reveal how many patients she treated or whether she had malpractice insurance.

The taxpayer cash, secured by City Councilmen Leroy Comrie, James Gennaro and Mark Weprin, was supposed to fund Ogundu’s public-access television show on health topics and to generally “improve prevention of diseases.”

After The Post raised questions about Angeldocs, Weprin’s brother, Assemblyman David Weprin, pulled legislation he had proposed that would allow Ogundu to apply for a retroactive property-tax break on the health-center building.

She owes the city $300,000 in back taxes.