Part 2 of Queens Tribune's city council debate

Part 1 of Queens Tribune's city council debate

Featuring: Hiram Monseratte, Rory Lancman, Peter Koo, Alison Tan, Paul Vallone, Paul Graziano, Elizabeth Crowley and Robert Holden

Trib notices that Flushing is dirty

From the Queens Tribune:

...as the area’s population has surged and business is booming, infrastructure and city services have hardly kept pace with the growth. The MTA’s 7 Train, which terminates in Flushing, is severely overcrowded. Traffic is constant and parking is scarce, many roads are in poor condition and the sidewalks are hardly wide enough for the pedestrians that live, work and play in the area.

And the problems aren’t just transportation related. Schools in the area’s District 25 are among the most overcrowded. The sewer system regularly exceeds its maximum capacity and dumps untreated waste water into Flushing Bay.

Flushing residents will say that their quality of life does suffer as a result of some of these problems. And one of the most unsightly of them may be commercial garbage from some of the many restaurants overflowing into the street ahead of pick up time.

One of the worst areas is on 40th Road and Main Street, near the entrance of the Long Island Rail Road station. The high density of restaurants on the narrow street allowed the Queens Tribune, on two occasions, to photograph garbage or recyclables in that area spilling over into from the sidewalk into the street, blocking parking spots.

Elected officials and community leaders have taken note of the issue.

“It’s on our radar every day,” Scott Sieber, a spokesperson for Councilman Peter Koo, said. Sieber said he personally was once driving behind a trash compactor truck that picked up commercial waste when one of the bags popped and juice exploded over his car and several others.

“If the juice leaks out it collects on the potholes in the street,” he added.

They also noticed the overcrowding! Will wonders never cease?

Katz called out at her own speech

From Cleanup Jamaica Queens:

At Thursdays “State of the Borough” by Queens Borough President Melinda Katz, a reader of my blog who was at the event, wrote a comment “When she (Katz) went on and on, some female voice in the audience cried out “When are you going to mention Jamaica”. Right away, I said, has to be friend and comrade-in-arms, Pamela Hazel, since I knew she was going to be in attendance.

My comrade-in-arms, Jamaica resident and community activist Pamela Hazel, is a force to reckon with when it comes to elected officials ignoring and not addressing Jamaica’s quality of life issues, I should know, I have worked with her on several issues over the years. Now Queens Borough President, Melinda Katz, felt that force on Thursday, January 21st at her bullshit “State of the Borough” address, where Ms. Hazel interrupted Katz’s bullshit and hollow speech on Queens, not once but two times on her ignoring Jamaica’s issues.

Considering that the audience was filled with Katz's lackeys and assorted asshole elected officials, here was a fresh dose of reality thrown at Katz and the audience. I am sure she had no idea what hit her since she was expecting accolades from many of the assholes in attendance.

And then there's this tidbit:

"See the guy in the blue jacket with the official Borough President notice to Pamela’s left? That’s Bruce Adler who also doubles as the photographer for the Queens Tribune, Nussbaum’s rag. Seems to me a conflict of interest here, no? Working for a politician and then reporting on them? Visual proof that one hand in Queens washes the other." - George the Atheist

I couldn't have said it better myself

From Cleanup Jamaica Queens:

So the rag Queens Tribune names Queens Borough President hack, Melinda Katz as 2015 person of the year because according to this rag, she is a true advocate and voice for the people in the borough.

Mind blogging how a Queens newspaper can name this hack in a long line of hack Queens Borough Presidents. I guess really not mind blogging considering that the majority of Queens papers are pretty much just puppets of the elected officials and really do not dig deep enough and expose the real truth of what is really going on in Queens and with the many useless and crooked elected leaders that are not held accountable. This list of accomplishments that this rag mentioned are really not accomplishments at all. She was forced to do something in regards to the bullshit at the Queens Library, something she knew had been going for some time. After The Daily News broke the story, she was backed into a corner to do something, otherwise nothing would have happened. A fresh coat of painting on the falling apart New York State Pavilion (that her predecessors allowed to deteriorate for decades) is NOT an accomplishment.

And as a resident of Jamaica and seeing the awful conditions of Jamaica on a daily basis and her office ignoring both my hundreds of complaints as well as community activist Pamela Hazel’s complaints, her bullshit comprehensive plan for the future of Jamaica is as worthless as the paper is was printed on, especially considering that in less than an hour before 2016 began, yet another person in Jamaica was shot and killed, this time a 16 year old from Rosedale, who was shot in the head at Merrick Blvd and 109th, a notorious area for crime. Let’s see how great this comprehensive plan is for Jamaica is in 2016, hell even 2017 for that matter. I have a feeling it is going to be the same old shit and IF, and that is a big IF, Jamaica does eventually turn around, it will have little to do with people like her, Leroy Comrie or any of the other useless fuck leaders in this community. Let’s face it, it is these same leaders, past and present who stood by and allowed a community to deteriorate for decades (probably in hopes that real estate developers would swoop in and buy property and land for dirt cheap at the expense of the people in the community). Same thing that happened after Katrina in New Orleans, same thing that happened in Detroit. Blatant destruction of cities under the watchful eyes of government, big banks, big real estate developers and crooked politicians.

The article ends with “In pushing for a change in state law allowing her to remove and reappoint trustees of the Queens Library, and by changing membership at several community boards, Katz has proven the borough president is anything but “useless.”

So by Katz having the power to appoint who she wants or to remove who she wants on boards proves that she is anything but “useless”…………………………..Yep, that proves she is not useless, but just another crooked politician to control the government process to do whatever the hell she wants as opposed to government of the people, by the people, for the people.

So fuck the whore rag Queens Tribune and their person of the year, another in a long line of hack whore politicians that talk a big talk, but in reality that do shit to help improve the quality of life for the people in the borough. Don’t believe it, just talk to your average Queens resident.

(And in other Queens BP hack news, Katz has appointed yet another lifer to oversee community boards.)

Trib endorses Bob Friedrich!

Queens Tribune

The Queens Tribune has released its endorsement for the 23rd council Democratic district primary and they bypassed county boy Barry Grodenchik and union favorite Rebecca Lynch and instead endorsed Bob Friedrich. Wonder what happened there.

City Council Watch is also calling it for Friedrich.

Trib honors Caliendo

From the Queens Tribune:

Gerald Caliendo’s architecture business started with four employees, but has since grown into one of the premier establishments in the industry.

Caliendo was one of the honorees of the Queens Tribune’s third annual Business Achievement awards, held on Monday at Queens College.

The company, Gerald Caliendo Architects, started in 1994 in Briarwood, looking to get established in the architect business.

Since then, it has grown to about 45 employees and work on projects citywide.

In an interview with the Queens Tribune, Caliendo partially credits that growth to working with Phil Agusta, former commissioner of the Boards of Standards and Appeals.

He said that working alongside Agusta enabled him to learn the ins and outs of zoning and variance laws, something other businesses know little to nothing about.

You can click the tag below containing his name to see his proud Queens Crap history.

This is my favorite Gerry story of all time.

Queens Trib advertises illegal conversions (aka How Not to Publish a News Website)

From the Queens Tribune:

Featured Ridgewood Listings:

64-05 Gates Avenue
A two-story, multi-family home with five bedrooms and two bathrooms, this pre-war brick building just hit the market within the past three weeks. There’s approximately 3,300 square feet of living space in the Colonial-style home, a patio, 11 total rooms, hardwood floors, a full basement with a separate entrance, and a private driveway and garage.

Multi-family? Don't think so. It's a legal 2-family. "full basement with separate entrance" - We know what that means. The Trulia listing features a photo of a garage containing a confederate flag. Classy.

17-43 Grove Street
A two-family home, which has been converted into a three-family, income-generating building, this property could be a steal. It’s been on the market for nearly five months, possibly because it needs a fair share of work done on it. A buyer with the means though might want to take advantage of its availability. The property is on a beautiful, tree-lined street close to mass transit, and has a spacious backyard.

A 2 family home that was converted into a 3? Not legally. Not even a permit filed. Trulia calls it "Beautiful two family home set up like a three family."

The photo accompanying the article really takes the cake. (And I doubt it was an April Fool's joke.)

Queens Tribune forgets what "free speech" means

From a Queens Tribune editorial:

"These families deserve better than to have a mob of people yelling at them to leave or to find a job. They likely already feel like second-class citizens. There was no reason for protesters to take their frustrations with the Dept. of Homeless Services out on the individuals seeking shelter at the empty hotel. The actions of those protesters were abhorrent, and those families who are now housed at the Pan American deserve no less than an apology, not just from that mob, but from the local officials who allowed it to happen."

The "poor families" who screamed out that protesters should "go make chicken wings" and "go back to China" deserve an apology? (You'll notice no mention of the counter-protesters' behavior in either the editorial or the Trib's story.)

And since when do local officials "allow" people to express their right to free speech? Holy crap, I can't believe a media outlet - its very existence dependent on the first amendment - actually wrote this sh*t!

No surprise here: Trib endorsed only Multimedia candidates

From the New York World:

Months after the New York World first highlighted the practice, a pair of Queens community newspapers persisted in handing out endorsements to political candidates who are paying clients of the papers’ affiliated political consulting firm, a review of campaign filings reveals.

In 2013, in competitive primary and general electoral races, all candidates who hired the firm, Multi-Media Advertising, and spent more money than rivals on consulting services and ads in the Queens Tribune and PRESS of Southeast Queens received an endorsement in at least one of the two newspapers.

The endorsements did not disclose the business transactions to readers.

In all, the endorsed candidates and their outside supporters spent a total of more than $268,000 on Multi-Media during the 2013 election cycle. The largest sum came from Republican mayoral candidate John Catsimatidis, who paid Multi-Media $135,000 for consulting services, printing and postage for his campaign.

Five days before the primary, the Tribune’s editorial page endorsed Catsimatidis for the Republican mayoral primary: “Catsimatidis is an approachable billionaire,” it raved. “He loves people and he loves this City…he will bring into his administration bright people.” The other candidates on the Republican ballot, Joe Lhota and George McDonald, were not Multi-Media clients.

Catsimatidis was not available for comment.

The Tribune and PRESS of Southeast Queens endorsed candidates in 19 competitive races on the ballot in Queens. In all nine contests in which a Multi-Media client was in the running, the papers’ editorial pages endorsed the candidate who did the most business with Multi-Media and the publications. (If that candidate was defeated in the primary, the Tribune and the PRESS in some cases endorsed for the general election a candidate with smaller or no business ties with the firm.)

Among the Tribune’s endorsements was one for Reshma Saujani in the public advocate primary. Saujani spent $5,400 on ads in the Tribune and PRESS of Southeast Queens. Rival Daniel Squadron had spent $340 to have Multi-Media print his primary ballot petitions, but nothing on advertising with the paper.

When the World reported the connection between the papers and consultancy last year, the newspapers and the political consulting firm were both owned by Tribco LLC. They continue to share the same address in Whitestone, the Tribune’s website, the PRESS’ website, and a recent ad for Multi-Media show.

The Tribune and PRESS’ editor-in-chief, Steven Ferrari, declined to comment when reached over the phone and by email. Their publisher, Michael Nussbaum, who is also Multi-Media’s president, did not respond to an email and a phone call; The New York World visited the office but was told that Nussbaum was not available to meet.

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?

Nussbaum in, Schenkler out at Tribune?

Crapman:

Where is Schenkler? Completely eradicated from the current Tribune masthead. No trace. No "Not 4 Publication". No nothing. Gone. Into the void? Nussie is in charge? Whore ads still being published. What does this portend? What is going on?

Regards,
GtheA

It's all connected

From the New York World:

Most political candidates in Queens whose campaigns have done business with the political consultancy Multi-Media Advertising from 2009 through 2012 also received the endorsement of the company’s affiliated newspaper the Queens Tribune.

A New York World review of campaign finance records and endorsements found that of the 15 candidates who purchased services from Multi-Media in competitive races for amounts exceeding $1,000, 11 also received a public endorsement from the Tribune in that race.

Of the remaining four, two were sitting state senators who ran for re-election in 2010. That year, the paper — as a political statement against “enemies of reform” of the state’s redistricting process — made no endorsements of incumbents in state legislative races, even as its sister company printed literature at the behest of the two campaigns and carried out consulting for them.

The other two who did not receive endorsements found themselves facing off against other Multi-Media clients in the same races. In both cases, the paper’s nod went to the client who ended up spending more money — in one case, seven times as much as his opponent.

In all, since 2009 Multi-Media has collected $460,000 from the 11 candidates who received the Queens Tribune’s endorsement in the same races, and an additional $281,000 from the remaining four clients.

Both the Tribune and Multi-Media are properties of a company called Tribco LLC. In January, the company announced that the paper had been sold to PFH Media Group, an investment firm based in Washington, D.C, only to pull out a month later as the Department of Labor investigated payroll practices at another newspaper acquired by the investor.

Tribune editor Michael Schenkler and former publisher Michael Nussbaum declined to comment for this story, following repeated emails and phone calls.

Queens Trib headscratcher

Front Cover

Back Cover

Hello Crapper: Did you see the full page ad on the back cover of the current issue of the Tribune? - "The Development of Nanjing and Jianye District" Commie Chinese $ at work? I ask again, just what is going on at the Tribune?

http://www.queenstribune.com/epaper/E-Paper_021413.html


Regards GtheA

Whore ads safe for now

From Port Washington Patch:

The Long-Islander’s announced sale to a Washington, D.C.-based financial holding company is off.

Peter Sloggatt, associate publisher and managing editor of the weekly, confirmed that the deal was dead. "The old masthead will be returning," he said, adding that he had no further information on what had happened to sale.

Michael Schenkler, publisher of The Long-Islander since 2006 and president of Tribco, LLC, had announced the sale of his media holdings to PFH Media Group in early January. He is also deputy mayor of Port Washington North.

PFH Media Group is a subsidiary of investment firm Phoenix Financial Holdings.

The deal included The Queens Tribune, The Record (of Northport), the Half Hollow Hills Newspaper and Dine Huntington, operators of Huntington Restaurant Week.

The sale occurred while the U.S. Labor Department was investigating the handling of employee benefit plans at another publication owned by Phoenix.

Sharon Byron, an auditor for the Labor Department, confirmed to Patch that "an investigation is moving forward for valid reasons" after complaints about payroll and other problems at a publication in Antioch, Ill. She emphasized that the investigation is looking at the handling of those benefit plans, and that those with responsibilities for them may or may not be company employees.

But what about the whore ads?

Friends, please read this which went out as an official press release today. - Michael Schenkler

"Historic Newspapers Change Hands"
As the ball dropped in Times Square heralding the end of 2012 and the beginning of 2013, ownership of one of the Metropolitan area’s most storied publishing companies also changed.

The Queens Tribune, started by Gary Ackerman in 1970, and the Long-Islander, started by America’s poet Walt Whitman in 1838, along with their sister papers, were acquired by PFH Media Group NY, LLC from Tribco, LLC.

Michael Schenkler, President of Tribco, LLC, who has guided the Tribune since 1978 and acquired and became publisher of the Long-Islander in 2006, made the announcement on Jan. 2 and shall remain with Phoenix Media as a consultant.

As the staff returned to work in the New Year, Schenkler introduced Mr. Brandy Williams, Chairman of Phoenix Financial Holdings, the Washington D.C. holding company that now controls the publications.

Phoenix Financial Holdings makes significant investments in profitable small and mid-sized companies in partnership with existing management teams and seeks to generate superior financial returns through the pursuit of growth opportunities and a focus on operational excellence.

Brandy Williams said, “I believe that exciting days are ahead for our new publications, and we look forward to building on their historic, journalistic foundations and growing them in the vital communities which they serve.”

The present staff of both the Queens and Long Island operations is being retained by Phoenix, which shall supplement the present efforts with its business expertise and publishing experience, to take the company’s publications to a new level.

In addition to the Queens Tribune and the Long Islander, the acquisition includes: The Record (of Northport, L.I.), the Half Hollow Hills Newspaper and the Press of Southeast Queens; several legal publications; Multi-Media, (an advertising, promotion and printing company) and DineHuntington, (operators of Huntington Restaurant Week).

Local papers opposed to soccer stadium

From the Queens Chronicle:

Simply put, we cannot understand why the league insists on setting up shop on public property, in a park utilized on any given weekend by thousands of borough residents. This atop a whole litany of lingering concerns.

Questions about the feasibility of building a stadium on a swamp will remain until MLS explains in detail how it will manage to build a stadium in an area where the water table is three feet below the surface at most, according to the 2006 U.S. Geological Survey map. Those concerns are only magnified by the proposed parking facility — not for public use — below the stadium, which we presume will be a wonder of water-repellent engineering.

The league is also ignoring the lack of parking for fans, a problem anyone who frequents the park during the U.S. Open can attest to. While we respect MLS’s traffic advisor, our own contributor Sam Schwartz, his projections that 50 percent of fans will take mass transit still leaves thousands of people driving to games. Where will they park?

Most troubling is the still-unspecified replacement parkland, a major sticking point for many. Yes, the league is required to replace every inch of parkland, but there are no rules mandating it be in our borough. MLS is in the throes of a search, though that process has been closed to public input.

We’re assuming the parkland it ultimately chooses will be safe, clean, close to a populace that will utilize it and accessible. So … why not build the darn stadium there?

From the Queens Tribune:

While Major League Soccer’s proposal for a new stadium in Flushing Meadows Corona Park certainly has its supporters – the throngs of people who came out earlier this week is proof of that – it seems as if those opposed to the plan have had their words fall on deaf ears.

We do not argue the fact that a professional soccer team could draw well in Queens. Soccer is, after all, the most popular sport in the world and Queens carries the banner of being a diverse borough, home to many that follow the sport religiously. But we do question the need to put the stadium in a spot that is meant to be free and open to the public. Are there no other areas in Queens that could benefit from a new stadium?

Flushing Meadows Corona Park is an area that should be cherished and maintained as a place where families can go – for free – and spend the day enjoying the scenery. The parkland, which is at a premium in the City, should not be forsaken for some corporate profit.

How about building it on the contaminated MTA property that MLS is suggesting as replacement parkland? This way it will be next to the Flushing River instead of in it. It would also be closer to the subway and LIRR.

She followed in Donald's footsteps

Wondering what the tie was between all the tweeders and the recently deceased Cecilia Chang, who was on trial for embezzling at St. John's University?

This Queens Tribune article from 2003 is a great reminder:

I write this on Saturday, and three non-related events of the past two days brought into focus the part of Mike [Nussbaum]’s life that is somewhat separate from our business and his family. Although Mike integrates all that he does – his family members have become my friends and mine his – and his outside ventures often become my causes, there is another Mike.

Event 1, Thursday night: Lil and I attended the Queens Jewish Community Council’s 35th Anniversary Terrace-on-the Park Gala in honor of Claire Shulman and Mike Nussbaum.

Event 2, Friday afternoon: We cleared our Tribune office floors to make room for new carpet and in looking into Mike’s office, I noticed various mementos of a peace trip to North and South Korea that Mike had arranged when Congressman Gary Ackerman became the first person since Douglas McArthur to cross the 39th parallel which divides the two nations.

Event 3, Saturday morning: Mike took Senator Chuck Shumer to welcome Taiwan President Chen Shui-Bian to New York and announce Shumer was joining the newly formed Senate Taiwan Caucus to further ties between our two nations.

Yes, Mike brings us Asian clients and friends — but that’s the smallest part. His network includes the very top government officials and business giants in the Far East as well as their counterparts here in our country.

At the Thursday night affair, I met Mike’s old friend Dr. Cecelia Chang, vice president of St. John’s and Dean of the Asian Studies program. In 1980, as president of his own company, Mike helped Cecelia put together the first government and business delegation to visit Taiwan. Queens Chamber Prez, Citibank’s Peg Sweezy, Queens Beep Donald Manes, Congressman Jim Scheuer, Councilmembers Archie Spigner and Ed Sadowsky were a few who went with them. It was that trip which established Queens County and Taipai, the capital of Taiwan, as sister cities.

It also established Mike as a player in the Far East.

From the Daily Mail:

The New York Daily News also reports that detectives investigated Ms Chang in the murder of her husband. From his death bed, Mr Tsai reportedly wrote 'My wife did this!' when questioned by detectives.

He was shot four times in the back while leaving his business in Brooklyn, New York, in 1990. He died later and no one has every been charged in his death.

Tsai's note also suggested that Dr Chang had an affair with Queens Borough President Donald Manes, a neighbor who killed himself in 1986 after being caught in a scandal.

Tribune bucks the status quo

From the Queens Tribune:

The Stavisky family has been exposed to the Albany culture of corruption years before Senator Toby replaced her deceased husband in the Senate. She had gone to Albany with her husband, who had been a member of the legislature for 34 years before his untimely death.

Toby has extended the Stavisky hold on the legislature for the past 14 years.

In the close to 50 years the Staviskys have made their living as legislators, their only child Evan was exposed to Albany and learned very well how to make a huge amount of money by playing the lobbyist game. Don’t get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with lobbying Albany. There is nothing wrong with being a lobbyist.

However, when your mother is chairperson of a committee, there is something wrong with that committee legislating and funding your firm’s clients and their industry or giving grants or member items to your firms’ client. There is something wrong when you profit because your mom is an elected official or she does anything as an elected official to help your firm, its clients or to help you to recruit clients.

But such is the culture of Albany.

Evan Stavisky has run the fastest-growing lobbying firm since its inception a decade ago, and his mom’s elective office is one of the firm’s biggest assets with its Albany clients.

If it’s not illegal, it should be. Either way, it stinks.

Hookers and Hypocrites

Letter to the Editor (Queens Chronicle):

Dear Editor:

Recently I have been discussing with Forest Hills residents the efforts to remove the beautiful statue “Civic Virtue” from Kew Gardens and banish it to a cemetery.

Two pals pointed out letters written in another community newspaper by people in favor of the move. One was a female lawyer, another the founder of the Center for the Women of New York.

The reason I had not come across these letters myself is that I refuse to read this particular publication. Why? A brief glance at the ads in the back of the newspaper is enough to shock and nauseate most women. They are fronts for prostitution in the guise of escort services, party girls and massage parlors. Most advertise Asian women, who might be here illegally and against their will, to perform these services.

It is laughable that these two Queens women are outraged about a statue of mythical beings, yet would allow their letters to be published in an anti-woman newspaper.

Talk about the height of hypocrisy.

Arlene Fava
Forest Hills