Constituents of the grave

   NY Post

Mail-in ballots were submitted to the city Board of Elections in the name of at least two long-dead Democratic voters in southern Brooklyn — where a tight race is still going on, The Post has learned.

The legitimacy of absentee ballots has become an issue in the close City Council race in the area’s 43rd District, where Republican Brian Fox leads Democratic incumbent Justin Brannan by 255 votes, with at least 1,622 such ballots yet to be counted.

Fox’s shocking lead over Brannan — who has been campaigning to become the next powerful council speaker — appears to be part of the Republican election wave that swept out Democrats in parts of the region and nation.

The district includes the neighborhoods of Bay Ridge, Bath Beach, Dyker Heights and Bensonhurst. 

Board of Elections records show that someone requested a ballot in the name of Francesca Patinella — a Democrat born in 1926 and who died March 24, 2010 — in September for November’s general election.

The city elections agency then wrote on its Absentee Ballot Tracker web portal Sept. 28, addressing the dead woman, “We have your ballot. Your valid absentee ballot was received at the BOE.”

Another mail-in ballot was submitted in the name of Yvonne Absey, who died March 2, 2012. Absey, who also was born in 1926, is recorded as requesting an absentee ballot in September, according to BOE records.

“We have received your ballot,” the BOE responded in Absey’s case Oct. 4.

A day later, the BOE declared that the Absey ballot was “invalid” because the voter was “deceased.”

Philly based real estate lobby's PAC hedging bets on NYC Council Speaker

 

Gothamist

Ahead of the 2021 primary election in June, a prominent law firm whose lobbying arm regularly weighs in on zoning matters and housing bills has poured thousands of dollars into candidates long rumored to be contenders for the next Council Speaker.

The Cozen O'Connor Political Action Committee, created by their eponymous Philadelphia-based law firm, has so far contributed $13,275 to candidates in mayoral, comptroller, borough president, and New York City Council races, according to campaign finance records for the 2021 cycle. While the funds amount to a comparatively small sum when compared to independent expenditures, they stand among the top PACs to contribute funds to 2021 candidates so far.

Benefitting the most from the PAC are council members, including three incumbents who have been rumored to be considering a run for Council Speaker since 2018. The leader of the 51-member Council—currently Corey Johnson, who's term-limited—helps set the agenda by assigning members to all committees and prioritizing bills for a vote, including rezoning proposals in the city. (Outside Council races, the PAC also contributed to Scott Stringer.)

The Council incumbents, all elected to office in 2017, include Brooklyn's Justin Brannan, the Bronx's Rafael Salamanca Jr. (currently the council's Land Use chair), and Manhattan's Keith Powers. While Salamanca Jr. and Powers each received the maximum allowable PAC contribution of $1,000, Brannan received $750. Brannan, who chairs the Committee on Resiliency and Waterfronts, also received $500 from ACEC New York City PAC, another Cozen-tied PAC, campaign records show. Powers also received an additional $500

In a statement, Salamanca Jr. said as Land Use chair for nearly five years his record has shown that "campaign contributions have never influenced my vote." He added that he's "approved over 7000 units of 100% affordable housing, [...] mandated a 15% homeless set aside and got it passed into law" and rejected the "Southern Blvd rezoning because 90% of the empty lots were privately owned and I believed it would of led to displacement of my constituents. I’m also the lead co-sponsor of the Racial Impact Study for rezoning."

In an emailed statement, Brannan said he is not swayed by donations.

"I just voted in favor of Intro 1116-B, which Cozen lobbied strongly against," Brannan said, referring to a bill expanding the number of street vendor permits. "So no, I'm not influenced by donations. That's not how I operate."

A spokesperson for Powers reiterated as much, saying that "contributions have no bearing on any outcome or decision.”

Bill aims to stop car dealership sidewalk parking

From CBS 2:

Dealerships have been parking their cars where people walk, specifically in Brooklyn and Queens.

“I’m basically stepping over the bumper of a car to try and get into the street,” Calvin McGoldrick, of Bay Ridge, said.

In Bay Ridge, CBS2 busted a Hyundai dealer on Fourth Avenue. When it saw our cameras, it moved one of its cars that was illegally parked.

CBS2 also spotted four cars on the sidewalk at the Park Slope Auto Center. Even the image Google Maps snapped of it shows two cars illegally parked.

“It’s more than just an inconvenience, though. I think it’s a safety issue,” said Emily Porro, of Park Slope.

That’s why the City Council is pushing for a bill to revoke car dealers’ licenses if they become repeat offenders.

“Anytime when you have cars infringing on public space and pedestrians space, it’s a problem,” City Councilman Justin Brannan, of Brooklyn, said.
City Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer, of Queens, is sponsoring the bill.

Happy St. Patrick's Day from Queens Crap!

Tickets going fast! Oh wait, there are no tickets. Just a big Irish tweederfest. Who wouldn't want the Tom Manton Irish Person of the Year award?

Shovel shaming

From PIX11:

As the temperature starts to rise, and the snow slowly starts to melt, some New York City sidewalks remain covered by their white blankets - and that's a problem a councilman is working to fix.

City Councilman Justin Brannan hopes to do it by introducing what he calls "Shovels of Shame." He wants fines for failure to shovel to rise. In the meantime, he's started posting pictures of snowfall scofflaws on social media with the Shovels of Shame tag. He's hoping if extra fines won't convince the businesses to shovel, maybe public pressure will.

"When the average small business owner gets out there and shovels, when the average homeowner gets out there and shovels, you would think that some of these big corporate chains can get out there and shovel just like everybody else," Brannan said. "If you're not going to do it, then we're going to put you on blast. That's what Shovels of Shame is all about."

Right now the city requires responsible parties to shovel their sidewalk between 4 and 14 hours after the snow stops falling. If you don't, fines range between $100 and $350. Brannan wants to increase the fines for chain retailers. The new penalties would range from $1,000 to $5,000 and would apply to businesses with 10 or more locations.