Let’s start with that old adage “Tell me who your friends are and I will tell you who you are.” If you buy that then we can make our case very simply.
Platta’s buddy, and campaign consultant, is none other than former City Councilman Dennis Gallagher. You remember him: In the middle of his second term he was forced out of office because in a drunken rage he sexually assaulted a woman he had coaxed into his district office after which he burned her body with a cigarette.
But okay, let’s say it’s not fair to judge Platta on the basis of who his good buddy is.
In May 2017, Platta was arrested and charged with aggravated harassment after a female doctor threatened to expose his marital infidelity.
“If you tell anyone about my cheating, I will kill you and your family and ruin your life; I will send a patient to your practice to make false reports against you and ruin your career.”
That’s a direct quote from Platta straight from an official court document: The People of the State of New York, Plaintiff, v. Platta, Slawomir, Defendant.
In order to get on the ballot for the upcoming primary, Platta circulated a petition for a third party line called the No Homeless Shelter Party at a homeless shelter rally. The problem is that Platta told unsuspecting rally attendees that they were signing a petition to speak out about stopping Mayor de Blasio from creating any more homeless shelters.
When one such signer, Scott Jordan, realized he had been duped, he decided to become an objector to the petition at the NYC Board of Elections because the signatures were obtained through fraud and misrepresentation. Platta’s answer to that was to put out a media hit piece against an innocent constituent of the district and muddy his good name by circulating it through the district and on social media.
By the way, did we mention that Platta was collecting signatures personally, yet when the volume was submitted to the BOE, none of the sheets he carried were witnessed by him—a fatal flaw in the petition process.
These revelations are the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Mr. Platta, who was kicked off his bogus "No Homeless Shelter" party line by the BOE yesterday. Naturally, he was endorsed by the Queens Ledge.
Disgraced former City Council Member Dennis Gallagher — who beat criminal charges of raping a woman in his office — scored another big victory when an appeals court threw out the same claim in her lawsuit.
The judge ruled Wednesday that Gallagher was not liable for rape in the civil matter because he didn’t plead guilty to that charge in his sensational criminal case.
In August 2007, the married father of two was indicted on charges that he raped and beat Jacqueline Morrow, 52, in his Middle Village, Queens, office. The two had first met at a bar.
Morrow, a grandmother who worked as a cook in a Queens Catholic church, said the attack left her with torn cartilage in her knee, bruises all over her body and emotional scars.
A judge threw out the rape charge and Gallagher pleaded guilty to misdemeanor sex charges and had to have alcohol counseling.
Morrow quickly filed the civil suit claiming that Gallagher had raped her and asking for unspecified damages, including medical expenses.
In early 2013, a Queens Supreme Court judge found that Gallagher could still be found civilly liable for rape, but the appeals court has overturned that ruling.
“This decision vindicates him from that heinous and false allegation,” Gallagher’s attorney, Keith Sullivan, said in a statement.
Some advocates for women are saying state Senate candidate John Messer should dump disgraced former City Councilman Dennis Gallagher as a political advisor.
Gallagher, who pled guilty to sexual abuse in 2008, is currently fighting a civil lawsuit filed by his victim.
Messer has launched an aggressive primary challenge to state Sen. Toby Stavisky for the Democratic nomination.
“This, in my opinion, shows incredibly poor judgement,” said state Sen. Liz Krueger. “I don’t know Mr. Messer but I know quite a bit about the history of Mr. Gallagher. He continues to argue that the woman he violated shared some responsibility for that action.”
Messer’s supporters downplayed Gallagher’s involvement in the campaign — saying he has no direct role.
“Why would you want someone like that working for you?” asked Ann Jawin of the Center for the Women of New York.
Messer and Stavisky will have a rare joint appearance on Wednesday night at a forum sponsored by the Queensboro Hill Civic Association.
The event starts at 7 p.m. at New York Hospital Queens.
While the women's objection is nothing more than a 3rd party attack on a guy trying to upend the Queens Democratic machine, the reality is that voters really do need to think twice about anyone seeking advice from Dennis Gallagher. Why haven't Jawin and Krueger called out Peter Koo for also employing Gallagher?
Former Brian McLaughlin, Alan Hevesi, David Weprin and Morton Povman staffer, Jeff Gottlieb, expected to enter the race for congress in the Meng district according to political consultant Jay Golub. Gottlieb will clearly split the Jewish vote with Lancman making county choice Grace Meng a walk in to win.
Jay Golub, who is a consultant for Jeff Gottlieb's congressional run to split the vote in the 6th, is president of GSP consultants. Golub GSP Consulting was paid $4,500 by the Ragusa faction of the Queens GOP against the Haggerty faction. Steven Graves was running in the 25AD for State Committee as part of the Ragusa faction in 2009. Also working for GSP is Dennis Gallager, who the NYP calls the "Perv pol." Gallagher, who stepped down in 2008 after pleading guilty to sexual-abuse charges stemming from accusations that he raped a woman in his Middle Village office, is listed on a city government database as an “additional lobbyist” with GSP Consulting. Gallagher, a Republican, confirmed that he does consulting work with Golub and that he’s done consulting for Councilman Peter Koo (R-Queens) but said he hasn’t done any work for Republicans in Queens “on a paid basis.” Michael Nussbaum, Meng's campaign consultant, also worked on the 2009 Peter Koo campaign. Golub also worked on the campaign for Issac Sasson. In both the Koo campaign and the Sasson campaign, Nussbaum's Multi Media company did the printing.
And speaking of Gallagher, guess who he was hanging out with on Easter eve?
None other than Council Member and GOP congressional candidate Dan Halloran! Dan was hosting karaoke at a Whitestone pub, and posted photos of the merriment on Facebook. For some reason, the last photo was mysteriously deleted from the Councilman's page early on Easter Sunday. Too bad for them that I had already seen it and downloaded it.
Queens Dems & Queens GOP: it's just one big embarrassing hack orgy, isn't it?
He is currently an employee at the Board of Elections, a patronage position. And the Flushing resident has literally has come out of nowhere to run for Congress: He has no federal campaign account, no campaign website and waited several weeks into petitioning into order to begin.
In addition, Queens Democratic sources said that before Gottlieb entered the race, Meng backers attempted to recruit Matt Silverstein, a Democratic state committeeman who is also Jewish, to run for the congressional seat in order to split the Jewish vote.
Disgraced ex-Councilman Dennis Gallagher now works with a Queens consultant who’s under attack for trying to strong-arm GOP candidates into hiring him, The Post has learned.
Gallagher, who stepped down in 2008 after pleading guilty to sexual-abuse charges stemming from accusations that he raped a woman in his Middle Village office, is listed on a city government database as an “additional lobbyist” with GSP Consulting, a Sunnyside-based firm run by Jay Golub, a dentist.
Gallagher, a Republican, confirmed that he does consulting work with Golub and that he’s done consulting for Councilman Peter Koo (R-Queens) but said he hasn’t done any work for Republicans in Queens “on a paid basis.”
Robert Hornak, executive director of the Queens GOP, said Gallagher “has never been a hired consultant for the Queens GOP.”
This is kind of old news. Wonder why this is just coming out now?
Queens DA Richard Brown, who once prosecuted former City Councilman Dennis Gallagher on charges of sexually abusing a woman in his office, now finds himself joined with the former lawmaker again -- on election petitions for the Sept. 13 GOP primary.
The Queens Republican Party cross-endorsed Brown, a Democrat, in the GOP primary, putting his name on the same election form as Gallagher, who is running to keep his county committee seat in the 14th Election District.
Gallagher was accused of raping a woman in his campaign office in 2007. He pleaded guilty to a lesser misdemeanor sexual-abuse charge and resigned his council seat to avoid jail time. But he isn't barred from running for a party post.
In an ironic twist, the Queens GOP collected signatures for both Gallagher and Brown -- whom they've cross-endorsed in the past -- in a petition submitted last week to the local Board of Elections.
Gallagher faces a contested race in September in what is turning into an all-out civil war among Queens Republicans -- with the Democratic district attorney caught in the crossfire.
Since his departure from the council, Gallagher has been doing consulting work. He did not respond to a request for comment.
The Queens Republican Party paid for a mailer suggesting the brother of indicted campaign operative John Haggerty was involved in a scheme to steal $1 million from Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
Bart Haggerty is facing a Republican district leader primary challenge in the 28th Assembly District from Patrick Gallagher, the son of former Council Member Dennis Gallagher, who has the backing of the Queens Republican leadership.
The party paid for the negative mailer – which suggests Bart Haggerty was involved in his brother’s alleged scheme - that recently landed in mailboxes in Forest Hills, Queens.
The Haggerty brothers have long sought to overthrow Ragusa and are actively supporting Ognibene, while Dennis Gallagher is a Ragusa ally. Gallagher himself resigned from office in disgrace in 2008 after pleading guilty to misdemeanor sex abuse charges.
Ognibene said going after Bart Haggerty was completely out of bounds.
“Bart Haggerty has never, ever been accused of anything improper in his life,” Ognibene said.
A spokesman for Ragusa declined to comment, saying the mailer speaks for itself.
Bloomberg’s money has been a centerpiece of the battle for control of the party. Ognibene says he is running against Ragusa in part because the current chair failed to secure enough money from Bloomberg when the mayor was seeking the Republican ballot line in 2009.
“It is not our job to extort money from people,” Ragusa replied.
There's a pathetic bunch of hacks in the GOP. In the Democratic party, too, but the GOP wins the prize. Is this the best they can come up with?
The word on the street is that disgraced former Republican City Councilman Dennis Gallagher from Middle Village is advising the campaign of (??Democrat??) Nick Comaianni for State Assembly...
Gallagher has proven himself to be a misogynist, miscreant and a criminal...Is this the type person the people of the 38th Assembly District deserve to have advising their candidates..?
Since he resigned, Gallagher, a Middle Village resident and father of two boys in college, has conscientiously kept a low public profile. In an exclusive interview with the Chronicle last week, he detailed his family-focused life outside the scandal-drenched spotlight. Gallagher works for a national insurance company and continues to sell vintage collectibles and memorabilia, a business his father started.
“The idea of putting in a nice, hard day’s work and coming home to dinner with the family is something I’ve come to relish and enjoy,” Gallagher said, adding that keeping himself and his family out of the public eye has been a priority.
“I could never see myself again running for public office,” he confidently declared. “When you go into politics and government, it takes a lot of time out of your life.”
But the Republican has not completely exited the political arena. Gallagher has remained a volunteer consultant to Councilman Peter Koo (R-Flushing) after helping the pharmacy magnate in November win the District 20 seat vacated by Democrat John Liu, who is now city comptroller.
“Dennis is a friend and was a great asset to the campaign,” said James McClelland, Koo’s press secretary.
Gallagher explained that he helped devise Koo’s campaign strategy, briefed him on legislative issues and aided in his transition into office.
“I respect and admire Peter Koo for giving me an opportunity,” Gallagher said. “I’ve always been impressed with him. His story is the story of the American dream. Somebody like that is a symbol of what the Republican Party should be looking for.”
Gallagher said he still keeps in touch with several colleagues on the City Council and in the local and state GOP.
“These types of friendships span beyond politics,” he asserted.
While he doesn’t follow the city political scene as closely as he used to, Gallagher was quick to point to burgeoning leaders like Councilman Eric Ulrich (R-Ozone Park) as future fixtures in municipal government.
“He’s a very impressive young legislator who has grown into the role better than anyone could’ve anticipated,” Gallagher gushed.
Gallagher said he stays informed of the civic events and issues of Middle Village and surrounding communities. He admitted that he misses “the activism and involvement with the community more than the elected role,” and that he’s looking forward to sharing his political expertise.
“I’d like to do, somewhere down the line, political consulting of some sort, but not full time, though,” Gallagher concluded.
QUEENS CRAP ROVING REPORTER #2 -- DATELINE APRIL 1, 2010 FINAL CB7 LAND USE COMMITTEE & VOTE ON FLUSHING COMMONS
Unfortunately, it was not an April Fool’s Day gag. CB 7’s Land Use Committee wasted a whole evening to, in the end, approve every single one of the many exceptions to land use policy requested by Rockefeller/TDC (Michael Lee) and Bloomberg’s EDC. Some committee members apparently think that total capitulation gives them leverage in further negotiation with the BEEP’s office (she thinks it’s wonderful, boys) and the city (which has already shown how much it gives a crap). Yeah, like capitulation gave Czechoslovakia so much leverage with Hitler.
On the other hand, when has this community board ever voted against ANY development in downtown Flushing? Some of them complained it was too big-- a total of 69 stories and 1 million square feet-- and a couple thought the Macedonia Church affordable housing project should have been a separate vote (aaaand actually, it is! Keep reading...), but mostly they were your average lemmings.
A great deal of time was spent creating stipulations to be added to the city’s agreement with Michael Lee & Rockefeller, which recapitulated the terms of the letter by then-Deputy Mayor Doctoroff and then-Councilman Liu. Even those had some trouble being approved. One of the key conditions added in by CB7 was putting the capped parking rates back in. Rob Goldrich of the Deputy Mayor’s office assiduously took notes (or at least scribbled a lot) but of course, once he gets back to City Hall, they’ll just tear it all up, and why not, since anything a community board says is just advisory anyway.
Flushing BID chair Jim Gerson is a member of the CB7 land use committee. When Gerson raised the issue of the number of parking spaces (1,600) being less than previously agreed by John Liu and Dan Doctoroff (2,000), and also said that he had personally spoken to Liu to confirm this, committee chair Chuck Apelian told Gerson, "Liu did not tell you that", insisting that nowhere within the Liu-Doctoroff agreement are 2,000 parking spaces explicitly required for the project as presently contemplated. Apelian repeatedly insisted "that is mistaken".
Also, when Gerson later pointed out that the DEIS is predicated upon a proposed one-way Flushing traffic pattern which NYCDOT has recently decided not to implement, and that the DEIS therefore does not accurately depict the traffic conditions that will result from the Flushing Commons development, Apelian said "I don't care what an EIS says. I don't care about it. I go by my gut." So, per Apelian, it is acceptable to approve a project which generates significant adverse traffic impacts, even though there is no EIS on the record which relates to the actual conditions that relate to the proposed project.
Also, as currently proposed, rates to park will become market rates after 5 years. They are not capped in perpetuity as was to be the case under the aforementioned agreement.
And, although CitiField is to become a detour location for long term MuniLot parking, and the City's EDC representative mentioned that the rate there is $4.00/day, the fact that parking there on game days costs $19.00 was never mentioned. Drivers who divert from MuniLot 1 to CitiField are going to be in for a very rude awakening, when they discover that they will pay $19.00 to park at CitiField on game days (already an increase of more than 5% in less than a year).
Here's the real deal about the parking:
During the RFP process, the developers kept raising the # of parking spaces that they would provide, with the winner, TDC, and two others bringing it to 2,000.
Part of the reason that it was 2,000 spaces is that the original proposal that was won by TDC had less apartments and more retail/commercial, which would have generated more required parking.
When they changed the mix - added over 100 apartments but removed several hundred thousand square feet of retail - the net loss of parking spaces correlates closely.
The problem is that they can't arbitrarily change the mix without rewriting that pesky contract.
One more thing: The topic of converting the existing YMCA into a school came up. A letter from Deputy Mayor Robert Lieber apparently addresses this, by making vague reference to a different school that is to be built as an element of another "nearby development" which the letter does not identify. During last week's committee meeting, when the letter was discussed, someone asked Bob Goldrich, representing the Deputy Mayor's office, if this different school to which the letter refers is the school that will be built at Willets Point. Goldrich appeared disturbed, as if the site of the school was not supposed to be identified at this time. He may not have explicitly answered the question, but said "A school in a development that will be nearby". I was left with the impression that EDC is saying that you don't need to convert the YMCA building into a school, because residents of Flushing Commons/Macedonia will be able to attend the school in Willets Point.
Perhaps, they will walk across the pedestrian bridge connecting downtown Flushing with Willets Point, to do this...
However, with the Willets Point project in limbo (and with the school possibly not being in "Phase One" anyway), is it prudent to rely on Flushing students attending a Willets Point school? It is likely that development of the MuniLot site will be complete (and the YMCA ready to be repurposed) long before a Willets Point school is available, if it ever is?
And what will happen when the Wilpons build on the Citifield Municipal Parking Lot, which everyone seems to forget is part of the Willets Point Redevelopment plan? Apparently the CB7 land use committee forgot to ask about that little detail.
THE VOTE
The only three who consistently showed some spine among the jellyfish, consistently voting NO, were Yang-Hee (Sunny) Hahn, Jim Gerson and Ikwhan Rim.
Voting YES, over and over again, were Land Use chair Chuck Apelian, Arthur Barragan, Tyler Cassell, Bob LoPinto, Kim Ohanion, Millicent O’Meally, Terence Park, Lynda Spielman, Linna Yu, Raymond Chen and Gene Kelty. John Byas’s and Pablo Hernandez’ YES votes are pending legal approval, since they are with the church and the Y respectively, which might be conflicts of interest (ya think?).
Basically, just like every other moronic development decision they have made, they voted yes when they meant to vote no so as not to piss off the City. However, they are supposed to be watching out for the community, not for the government or developers. Clearly, it is time to flush the crap out of CB7 of Flushing!
CB 7 Chair Kelty vented some after the vote, complaining that once more, the city had given the board no time before the ULURP clock started counting down. Rob Goldrich gave him the classic civil servant's impassive, "screw-you" look. TDC’s Michael Meyer spent the whole evening with a shit-eating grin on his face, diddling with his...cell phone.
James McClelland, Councilman Peter Koo’s chief-of-staff, made two revealing comments. Early, he asked that the evening be short, as he had to get to confession before Holy Thursday mass: “I have a lot to confess.” When the discussion went to whether DOT Queens Borough Commissioner Maura McCarthy would try CB 7’s one-way plan if her traffic test failed, someone commented that she took her orders, after all, from Manhattan. Said McClelland, “Now she takes her orders from us.” Meaning McClelland, Dennis Gallagher, and Councilman Koo... If the EIS is uncorrected by the time this gets to the Council, that fact alone may be a fatal flaw. But why is the City promulgating a project using an EIS that does not contain a proper traffic study? And why is CB7 not calling them out on the carpet for that? Just because the board feels the outcome is inevitable doesn't mean they can't take a stand against a bad project in their district.
- CB7 will make a long list of demands for approval...Check - TDC will add the extra parking deck and that will be enough to placate CB7...Damn, I was wrong here. (That's how lame Chuck is as a land use chair, he couldn't even find the balls to ask for this.) - CB7 will approve it...Check!
Now, look closely at the application status report for CB7. The Flushing Commons/Macedonia developments have a number of applications for actions that must be taken in order for this project to proceed. CB7 could vote only for Macedonia's plan by voting yes on application C100207 ZMQ (last item on page 3) for the rezone of the entire block but no on all the rest of the items before them.
Will they do that? Certainly not. They will do what they are told in order to keep their pathetic status as the "voices of Flushing". And TDC will laugh all the way to the bank.
Being psychic, this reporter predicts that on Monday, April 5, the community board as a whole will approve every detail of Flushing Commons, down the line. Usher them into the Invertebrates’ Hall of Fame.
Ah, excellent reporting by #2! This type of B.S. coming from Apelian and CB7 is nothing new, as readers of this blog know full well.
QUEENS CRAP ROVING REPORTER #2 – DATELINE MARCH 24, 2010 CB7 LAND USE COMMITTEE MEETS AGAIN ON FLUSHING COMMONS
Well, the vote of the full Community Board will be Monday, April 5. The final land use meeting will be tonight, Thursday, 4/1 – April Fool’s Day! Since the mayor wants the project, we know it will go through regardless, but give the members credit for staying late at lots of meetings.
Don’t give them credit for asking the right questions this night let alone understanding the issues. Maybe they realize it’s all a sham and just can’t be bothered anymore. Exception: CB7 chair Gene Kelty, who asked astute questions and wouldn’t take bullshit for answers.
And credit to Land Use chair Chuck Apelian, who must have been having a frustrating evening, as members completely missed the point over and over. Several thought the letter of agreement between the City and then-councilman John Liu stipulated keeping the same exact parking rate forever. Wrong. As it says in the letter – a “cost of living” elevator or 3% annual increases are built in under the cap. Duh, guys.
But no one even seemed sure what document had been the template for CB7’s initial approval of the City’s proposal for Muni Lot 1. Was it the letter? Or…what? If not, what had CB7 spent 2 years’ work on?
And why didn’t most CB7members at the table care about the city abrogating a signed agreement? If Bloomberg’s cabal break their word on this, what can you ever trust them on? Why isn’t that a problem?
Another issue that apparently didn’t rate discussion: the impact on school overcrowding. One thing that did come out: the Environmental Impact Study is specifically designed NOT to measure any impacts that matter or might be negative. That’s why, over and over, the EIS said a one million square foot project would have no impact on the nabe. Oh, and check this out – that measly $2M for the poor, screwed local merchants? They might never see a dime; it may all go to consultants for “an advertising campaign to bring in shoppers.”
It seemed to occur to 2 or 3 folks that the Y will get a sweet deal selling off its Northern Blvd property (to TDC?) and the community will offer Flushing the same programs it offers anywhere else. None of the money the Y gets from the City will be specifically targeted for Flushing. Plus, the Northern Blvd site is as-of-right, so, as Apelian said, CB7 could inherit a problem there, with layout, design and parking concerns. Paul Christian of the Y assured everyone that “the Y knows you’re concerned and we will make sure you are heard during the process.” Uh-huh.
And look who crawled out from under a rock, representing Councilman Koo: James McClelland, ex-councilman Dennis Gallagher Anthony Como’s chief-of-staff. You remember Como...he replaced Dennis Gallagher who was arrested for raping a grandmother in a room above his district office, and copped a plea (to avoid having to register as a sex offender) for “forcible touching.” Nice company you keep, Koo!
Hey remember this Whitestone POS from a post 2 years ago? Well it's not quite finished yet, but Council Member Dan Halloran has opened his district office here. And if you think the outside exemplifies ugliness, the inside is even worse... Turns out he put a Dennis Gallagher confidante on his payroll despite multiple warnings from people begging him not to. And over in Flushing, Peter Koo is paying Gallagher for advice! Looks like the Queens GOP really wants to self-destruct.
QUEENS CRAP ROVING REPORTER -- DATELINE: MARCH 22, 2010 - CB7 PUBLIC HEARING
So you folks are probably wondering by now exactly what the hell happened at the Flushing Commons hearing on Monday night. It was an exhausting experience which kept me out of the house until the wee hours of Tuesday morning, so it took me awhile to regroup my thoughts to write this.
First of all, the room that this hearing was held in was way too small - the activities room of a nursing home on Union Street. More than half the people in attendance were forced to stand for hours. It was crowded and felt like a sauna due to the humidity. Down the road stand both Flushing High School and Flushing Town Hall. An auditorium would have been a more appropriate venue for this event, which was expected to draw a large crowd. But this site was chosen intentionally to make attendees uncomfortable and discourage public participation. This was perfectly clear.
TDC’s presenter, Michael Meyers, spoke like a smarmy, insulting dolt. His female assistant at one point flipped the bird to a political cartoonist when she vainly assumed that he was trying to take her photo. (He wasn’t and didn’t even know she had done that until he was told afterward by spectators.) I hope someone caught that despicable display on film because it represents the contempt that this organization has for Flushing and its people.
Meyers basically spoke as though this was a done deal, that presenting and answering questions was a waste of his time, and that the people against any aspect of the plan were a pain in his ass. During his presentation, he said there could be more parking added to the project but that their analysis showed that it wasn’t required, spoke some nonsense about how "stackers" were going to be employed to take care of the cars, and that people who own condo units would be guaranteed parking in the lot, but not a dedicated space. So when you go to work, your space can be rented out to a transient shopper until you get home. None of this gobbledygook made any sense but he compared it to the situation at the Museum of Natural History.
The most unintentionally revealing statement coming from Meyers was, “TDC is also involved with the Willets Point project.” In case you had any doubt about who was going to land that cash cow, you now have it straight from the horse’s mouth.
Some of the elderly people who had been standing during the three hour farce looked like they were going to pass out. Then the Flushing YMCA and Macedonia AME Church presented their proposals.
TDC’s ace in the hole is the fact that their zoning change has been linked to the Macedonia AME Church’s application [see #C100207 ZMQ on page 3] to build affordable housing on their property. In other words, you can’t vote for one without voting the same way for the other. And if you vote against a black church with a centuries-long history in the community, that had their land taken away via eminent domain decades ago and a parking lot built on top of their cemetery, then you are going to look like a major league asshole. No one at the hearing expressed any concern whatsoever about the church’s project. Everyone who had an objection only had it with TDC. (There is a way to get Macedonia's project through but not TDCs. But I will save that explanation for a later post.)
Peter Koo spoke (from index cards written by Dennis Gallagher) about how he can’t imagine voting against this project when so many people are out of work. He also claimed it would become the crown jewel of the community. How a condo tower with chain store retail at the bottom, without the promised movie theater, bookstore or business hotel and with a crowded central green could become a crown jewel of any community was lost on most attendees. But when you’re best friends with the owner of the development company you tend to see his projects through rose-colored glasses.
Councilman Dan Halloran spoke about how he was in favor of development at the site, but screamed that since TDC admitted they could build another deck of parking, THEN THEY SHOULD JUST DO IT. He received rousing applause.
The first member of the public did not get to step up to the podium until after 11pm. Surprisingly, most of the attendees stayed until the end.
There was a large group of people, mostly Korean merchants from Union and other streets, who were opposed to the project because of what it is expected to do to their businesses. Jim Gerson, head of the Flushing BID, expressed similar concerns. The Koreans held up protest signs and spoke passionately about how they worked day and night to make their businesses prosper and now this bad plan was being forced upon them without any assurances that it won’t negatively impact them. The truth is that this plan will most likely destroy them. But I got the impression that this is by design. This seems to be developing into a “Chinese vs. Korean” fight (choose your side). The Chinese are trying to throw out the newcomers and keep Flushing Chinese. Sounds familiar, eh?
And of course, also testifying were union members with their sob stories about being out of work. One of the supposedly unemployed members pulled out an ultrasound photo of what was supposedly his unborn child. Predictably, the unions booed and tried to intimidate anyone who didn’t say they supported the project. (They really should get some new shtick.) They seem to have no problem putting other people out of work so long as they have theirs.
Of course, the members of the Macedonia church also came out in full force in favor of the project.
Myra Baird Herce handed out a support letter allegedly from the Flushing Chamber of Commerce. The Flushing Chamber’s website was sold to Flushing, IL years ago and the letterhead she used for her testimony listed people who were dead or out of business, like Genovese Pharmacy, Gloria’s Pizza, etc., so I have to wonder who makes up the Chamber these days. Wait let me guess – Peter Koo, Terence Park and TDC? Herce is a pathetic leftover from the Manes administration and really needs to be put out to pasture already.
Terence Park, after being exposed on this blog, asked “tough” questions during the CB questioning of Meyers, but when it was time for the public hearing portion of the night, couldn’t say enough about how great the project was, screaming with the fervor of a minister. Pretty funny, considering the Korean Press wouldn't even come to his press conference the same day. “Flushing needs to move forward” was his mantra.
The most eloquent speaker was Flushing resident Cheshire Frager, who pointed out that TDC would be making millions off the project on public property, with tax abatements, while not being forced to pay into the school, sewer, or electrical systems or to upgrade transportation. Basically, it’s a public land giveaway to a private developer with limited public benefit.
No one, with the exception of Willets Point United’s traffic analyst, Brian Ketcham, even made mention of how this project will help bring Flushing traffic to a standstill and bring bus travel through the area closer to an impossibility. He spoke near the very end of the evening and ended his testimony with, "In the absence of any revised and corrected DEIS, Community Board 7 lacks the necessary information on which to base any approval of the Flushing Commons Project, and in that case must reject the application."
The final speaker didn’t finish until well after midnight.
The entire hearing was a sham, an insult and an embarrassment to the people of this city.
Two days later, Dennis Gallagher’s consulting company was pumping out a media advisory about a press conference with Koo and Queens DOT Commissioner Maura McCarthy about the Flushing traffic plan. (Of course, the advisory has the name of James McClelland on it, who has denied an affiliation with Pinky, yet they just coincidentally both happen to work for all the same clients.)
Bottom line:
Whether you think this is a good thing or a bad thing for Flushing, Queens, or the City as whole, the fact of the matter is that a contract was signed back in 2005 between then-Council Member John Liu (representing Flushing) and then-Deputy Mayor Dan Doctoroff (representing the City) for 2,000 below market rate parking spaces, a movie theater, bookstore and other amenities. These things would have actually brought more business to the Korean merchants. The development was dead for 3 years. Now that John Liu is out of office and TDC needs to prove competence in order to sink its teeth into the Willets Point project, the City has given its blessing for TDC to come forward with a plan that meets none of these criteria.
Prediction #1:
CB7 will make a long list of demands for approval. TDC will add the extra parking deck and that will be enough to placate CB7, and they will approve it. Then it will sail through the rest of the ULURP process. Just like Willets Point.
Prediction #2:
The reneging on the agreement and lack of transparency mean that this is likely to end up in court and won’t be built for years, if at all. Just like Willets Point.
Will a knight on a white horse ride in this time to save the day?
QUEENS CRAP ROVING REPORTER -- DATELINE: MARCH 22, 2010
Peter Koo held a meeting about the Flushing Commmons project this afternoon. Who should walk in the door and take over the meeting at the end but Pinky - that's right - DENNIS GALLAGHER! He not only ran Peter Koo's campaign but he's apparently working behind the scenes right now.
Another fire in the iron is the fact that Michael Lee (the real developer and head of TDC) is best friends with Peter. So Dennis + Michael = Oh Fuck!!!
Apparently, Terrence Park and his group were taken care of this weekend, so TDC is going to do a presentation at 5pm. This way, Koo has cover and can say that he has community support for the project.
The Korean merchants on Union Street are apoplectic.
Tonight is going to be very, very interesting...
Will send update after meeting. _____________________________________________
5:30pm Breaking News: Just got word that the Korean Press "got Terrence's number" and refused to go to his press conference, so he cancelled...he's supposedly going to do it tomorrow, but we'll see.
Got a robocall tonight. A young male voice said that they were representing the Gay and Lesbian Coalition and urging me to vote for Liz Crowley because she is the only candidate in the 30th district council race that is 100% for gay marriage.
TRUTH: There is no Gay and Lesbian Coalition.
TRUTH: There is another robocall going out saying not to vote for Bloomberg and that Crowley is pro-gay marriage.
TRUTH: These calls came courtesy of the Ognibene campaign in an effort to score points with older voters.
TRUTH: Dennis Gallagher is working on Ognibene's campaign and his fingerprints are all over this. His blog is also encouraging violence against Crowley.
The following is an excerpt of a complaint filed with the 104th Precinct against former Councilman Dennis Gallagher:
"On September 15th I was at Lutheran Church on the official business of being a certified Poll Watcher (pursuant to provisions of Section 8-500 of the Election Laws of the State of New York), on behalf of City Council candidate Michael Cohen.
At approximately 9:15 PM at the Trinity Lutheran Church – in use as a primary election polling site – Dennis Gallagher pushed past me while saying, “get out of my way, you f---ing jerk.” Once in front of me, he then turned his face to me and we had a “staring contest”.
Gallagher had me squeezed between himself and a chair or table behind me. I felt very threatened. I know Gallagher, his criminal history, and consider him to be dangerous.
So, I said to him: “Get your f---ing face out of my face.”
He continued his threatening stare for a moment or so, and then moved away. Whereupon he called back to me that he was going to kill me.
City Council Candidate Tom Ognibene was present and helped remove Gallagher from the site. I do now know what he witnessed.
I am filing this statement as a formal criminal complaint against Dennis Gallagher, and will testify under oath against him at any subsequent proceeding." - Robert Doocey
Why were Dennis Gallagher and Tom Ognibene at a poll site together on primary day after the polls closed?
Was it to watch Rick MetzgerJay Golub get his ass kicked by Bart Haggerty?
FOLLOW-UP:
"Inspector Green,
I've been calling [the precinct] repeatedly for more then 90 minutes with many rings but no answer.
Finally, twice, starting at about 11:20AM, the phone was answered with "104 precinct ~~~ PA ~~~" as the greeting. I responded that I was calling to obtain the complaint # for a complaint I made yesterday.
Then the phone was dead.
After some time on a dead line, the PA spoke again.
The end result?
No handwritten report was submitted for the PA to enter into the computer, therefore, no complaint #.
This is unacceptable.
The two women officers arrived at my house on September 16 at approx. 11AM in response to my 911 call to enter the complaint. They handwrote a report on a form that I saw, and told me to call the above number today to get the complaint #.
Dennis Gallagher, a criminal, made a death threat to me in front of several witnesses - including the officer from the 104th Precinct on duty at Trinity Lutheran Church.
I want to pursue this complaint. Gallagher is a vindictive, violent criminal who must be put under control.
Please have the two officers submit the report they made so I can get the complaint # and pursue the matter.
I've attached the document I provided to the officers. It was signed. This has only my typewritten signature. If necessary, I will sign it and fax it to you."
Lurking at the bottom of the barrel is a “dirty little rumor” that some candidates have reportedly signed on some questionable “help” for their campaigns. Word reached us, from most reliable inside sources that the former councilman and forever sex offender, Dennis Gallagher is back on the political scene in a consulting/advisory capacity. Also rumored is the fact that he was paired with former Como and Ricatto staffer James McClelland.
When we reached McClelland to ask about the supposed affiliation, it took all of two seconds before he was offering complete assurance that there was absolutely “NO PROFESSIONAL RELATIONSHIP” between him and Dennis Gallagher. McClelland did confirm that he is the sole owner and employee of the firm he started in March, J. Mac & Associates Inc. His clients include Peter Koo and possibly Jay Golub, whom he confirmed has in fact enlisted the professional help of Gallagher.
We’re glad that James has averted professional/political suicide by having the good sense to avoid a plague worse than many of biblical proportion. But how about Jay Golub? In fact how about anyone who seeks public office and knowingly takes on someone who disgraced his elected position, broke the law and was banished from his seat for it.
From where we sit that type of poor judgment is a clear and present indicator of who not to elect. We wonder how any candidate could endorse the behavior of a criminal by accepting his professional service or advice. We promise to keep you informed as more information becomes available. We also promise to keep printing extra copies for any that should mysteriously disappear…and yes we’re talking to you.
After being indicted on six counts of assault for allegedly cutting his girlfriend, Senator Hiram Monserrate has new counsel.
Monserrate has chosen Joseph Tacopina to help him prepare his defense for the fast approaching June 26 trial date.
In 2007, Tacopina represented Queens City Councilmember Dennis Gallagher after he was charged with rape. Gallagher took a no-jail plea on lesser charges.
I guess Tacopina is the go-to guy for the violent lawbreakers of the City Council. I wonder if Monster-Rat dialed the Pink Man for a referral. I wonder when Brafman will get retained...
I drove by Elizabeth Crowley's City Council Office today. You probably already know but she took over the office of Como/Gallagher on Metropolitan!!!! Why would anyone want to take over that office? Not only that, but she has campaign signs in the windows! You may know better than I, but isnt that a conflict of interest to have a campaign sign in a city office? If anyone can dig into this and get it noticed, its your blog.
Keep up the good work, have a good 2009!
Concerned member of 79th Street.
Well, considering there is a "for rent" sign in the window, I can only hope that this is a temporary arrangement. But the campaign signs are a no-no.
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