As the stomach turns...

We suggest that you read this informative expose on Kings County Politics so you can get an understanding of how we ended up with Corey Johnson as City Council Speaker and what Joe Crowley is up to these days. It really is an interesting read, even if you aren't into politics all that much. The entire city is at the mercy of congressional members' political ambitions.

BDB losing support among black community

From the NY Times:

Dozens of black ministers, justice reform advocates and civil rights activists and four black members of Congress gathered last Monday at Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem to discuss a delicate matter: What to do about Mayor Bill de Blasio.

Over the course of the morning meeting, attendees voiced a series of concerns: Mr. de Blasio, some complained, seems to have lost his appetite for criminal justice reform. The mayor, they said, has been too slow to take action against the police officer whose use of a chokehold on Eric Garner, an unarmed black man on Staten Island, led to Mr. Garner’s death. Other participants grumbled that Mr. de Blasio and his staff have simply not done enough to communicate with black community leaders on issues like affordable housing.

The unusual congregation of community influencers, convened by the Rev. Calvin O. Butts III, was part gripe session, part strategic huddle, revealing the first hints of frustration with a mayor who won 96 percent of the black vote when he was elected in 2013.

Black voters have been an essential base of support for the mayor, remaining largely enthusiastic about him even as his support has wilted with other groups in the city. The bonds were forged in Mr. de Blasio’s early criticism of stop-and-frisk policing, and reinforced by politically resonant images of his biracial family broadcast during the 2013 campaign.

Yet the perception that Mr. de Blasio, a Democrat, has eased up on his commitment to police reform has plainly begun to rankle some: At a weekend gathering this month at the Rev. Al Sharpton’s National Action Network, Representative Hakeem Jeffries, a Brooklyn Democrat, publicly lamented that “broken windows policing,” the aggressive enforcement of minor violations, was still policy across the city.

Mr. Jeffries, who also attended the gathering at Abyssinian, said in an interview that there was “growing disenchantment with the administration in the black community.”

“The disenchantment relates to policing issues, the mayor’s support of broken windows, his lack of support for banning
chokeholds and his willingness to support making resisting arrest a felony,” Mr. Jeffries said, adding: “We’re very early in the mayor’s first term, and there’s a lot of room for progress.”

Affordable housing welcomed, yet feared

From NY1:

A stretch of Pitkin Avenue in East New York, one of the poorest neighborhoods in the city, could soon be transformed. The area is the first that the de Blasio administration is targeting for rezoning to pave the way for more affordable housing.

"A lot of us out here, we can't afford this high rent," said one resident of the area.

However, while many locals are desperate for better and cheaper housing, there is widespread concern that the development the city wants will not actually be affordable by neighborhood standards and will lead to gentrification.

With that in mind, the Cypress Hills Local Development Corporation is building 60 of what it calls deeply affordable units on a vacant lot. Rents will range from $600 to $1,000 a month, depending on income and apartment size.

"We're really targeting the people that live in the neighborhood now and the rents that they can afford," said Michelle Neugebauer of the Cypress Hills Local Development Corporation.

However, additional affordable housing may come attached to market-rate developments, which worries Rep. Hakeem Jeffries.

"We have seen many neighborhoods in Brooklyn lose the tremendous diversity that make those neighborhoods strong. We don't want to see the same thing happen out in East New York," Jeffries said.

Electeds want rail line restored

From DNA Info:

Two Queens congressmen said they are backing a plan to restore an abandoned Queens rail line, instead of turning the tracks into a High Line-style public park called the QueensWay — and want to to use Hurricane Sandy funds to make it happen.

The move by Reps. Gregory Meeks and Hakeem Jeffries, who represent Brooklyn as well as parts of Howard Beach and Ozone Park, could be a setback to the QueensWay project, which has been gaining supporters during the past several months and received a $467,000 grant for a feasibility study from the state last year.

The derelict Rockaway Beach Rail Line, which closed in 1962, used to connect Forest Hills, Rego Park, Richmond Hill and Ozone Park, but it has since become home to mostly trush and graffiti.

The elected officials argue that restoring the line would revitalize local economy and offer faster commute options to the area devastated by Hurricane Sandy.

“Restoring the rail line would speed up the pace of recovery for residents and local businesses and create hundreds of jobs while laying the foundation for a transportation network that accommodates our future growth,” said Meeks, who represents Far Rockaway and Jamaica, at a press conference held on Sunday in Ozone Park.

Here are the winners of yesterday's primary

From NY1:

In Queens, Assemblywoman Grace Meng was declared the winner in the race for the Democratic nomination for the 6th Congressional District seat.

According to AP numbers as of 12:30 a.m., Meng had 51 percent of the vote with 89 percent of precincts reporting. Assemblyman Rory Lancman had 28 percent, Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley had 16 percent and Dr. Robert Mittman had 5 percent.

"This is an important win for our shared priorities and our shared understanding that what's different about all of us here in Queens is nothing compared to what we all have in common," Meng said.

Queens Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries was declared the winner over City Councilman Charles Barron for the nomination in the 8th Congressional District.

As of 12:30 a.m., with 98 percent of precincts reporting, AP numbers say that Jeffries leads with 72 percent of the vote to Barron's 28 percent.

Looks like the Machine strategy of vote splitting worked!

He meant well, but...

From the NY Times:

It’s one of the oldest tricks in real estate: pretend that a property is in a more desirable neighborhood and demand more rent or a higher sale price. In other words, advertise that an apartment is in, say, Prospect Heights rather than Crown Heights.

When brokers cannot do that, some make up a whole new name, like ProCro for the area between Prospect Heights and Crown Heights. Or they rename places like the South Bronx “SoBro” and South Harlem “SoHa.”

Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries, a Brooklyn Democrat, has little patience for this kind of broker babble. He said he would introduce a bill next week to require a series of approvals for new neighborhood names — from the community board, the City Council and the mayor.

His bill would also punish real estate brokers who promoted property with an unofficial, made-up name. The bill calls for fines and the possible suspension or revocation of brokers’ licenses.

He said he was simply trying to bring order to the chaos out there.

You're gonna have a tough time with that one, Hakeem. It's nice to want to defend neighborhood identity but your proposal violates the first amendment and there are more effective ways to embarrass realtors besides legislation.

Stalled housing may stay that way

Turning Stalled Projects Into Moderate-Income Housing
By Jennifer 8. Lee, NY Times

City and state officials are trying to turn half-filled and half-finished developments into moderate income housing, but the programs are proving difficult to create.

With budgets tighter than ever, there are few financial incentives to entice developers and lenders.

There are the practical challenges of selling apartments to buyers for far less than what their neighbors paid.

One plan, still in its early stages, would offering homebuyers state-financed mortgages for units in buildings where some have already been sold to market-rate buyers. Another program would set aside $5 million for $40,000 grants to 125 homebuyers. And Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries introduced legislation on Tuesday to help developers refinance troubled loans worth up to $150 million in exchange for turning some of their units into moderate-income housing. [NYT]

Central Brooklyn condos in the crapper

From Crain's:

Sixty-five residential buildings in central Brooklyn are financially troubled, on the verge of distress or struggling to sell out remaining units, according to a recent survey conducted by Democratic Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries.

These properties are market-rate residential buildings at least four stories high located in the neighborhoods of Fort Greene, Clinton Hill, Prospect Heights, Crown Heights and Bedford–Stuyvesant. Many are luxury developments in different stages of completion. Some projects are completed and unoccupied, some are stalled and others are occupied but not sold out. Some of the projects’ developers are also defaulting on their construction loans, said Mr. Jeffries.

Mr. Jeffries conducted the survey of new developments in the five Brooklyn neighborhoods he represents as part of his efforts to promote the creation of affordable housing. He is in the early stages of approaching developers and banks behind some of these properties with a proposal to convert the unsold units into affordable housing.

Jeffries & Parker try to head Bloomie off at the pass

From the Daily News' Elizabeth Benjamin:

Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries and Sen. Kevin Parker have made good on their pledges to draft legislation that would require a referendum to change term limits and are now busily lobbying their respective colleagues for support.

"This legislation is the last stand in favor of democracy, as far as I'm concerned," Jeffries said. "We're certainly on an expidited time frame given that we're already in 2009 and this bill calls for a referendum no later than the first Tuesday in March. It's something that would have to be done before the Legislature recesses in February."

Asked if such a rapid timetable is really possible - particularly in Albany, which moves to his own, often inexplicably slow, beat - Jeffries replied:

"I think it's possible. Certainly, I think you know, there's no great sympathy for the mayor in either chamber.