The son of the former congressman from the district announced his new office as a political consultant, and clued in his local group of political wonks on news from a recent meeting of district leaders for the Kings County Democratic Party. Here’s a little inside baseball on the Kings County Democratic Party as heads turn to the 2013 local races.
March 1, 2013 Boroughing, Classic, New, State Politics
Hakeem Jeffries must be really dedicated to the youth vote – the state assemblyman and now congressional candidate won’t let the issue of stop and frisk and racist drug policy laws die, kinda.
February 29, 2012 Boroughing, City Politics, Classic, State Politics, The People
The brutal reaction of police towards #occupywallstreet protestors in New York City, of campus police at UC Davis to students, and in many instances around the country have only inspired thousands more to fill American streets with their voices. That inspiration, a reawakening within the spirit and mind, is contagious – in my case, it came at a personal cost many years ago.
November 21, 2011 Boroughing, City Politics, Classic, State Politics, The People
It should come as no surprise that Brooklyn political boss Vito Lopez organized a press opportunity featuring himself and an assortment of political pets claiming to be in solidarity with the occupy wall street movement.
October 26, 2011 Boroughing, City Politics, Classic, Multi/Media, State Politics, Video
Signs advertising government food subsidy programs dot the awnings and windows of the small and decrepit mini-grocers that line poverty stricken streets throughout Brooklyn, where rotting produce and goods packed with corn syrup collect dust. With a new federal cut to food stamp subsidies signed into law this week, how can Brooklyn retailers provide better food to it’s most vulnerable citizens rather than just continue to cut corners?
August 13, 2010 City Politics, Classic, Food, State Politics
Two Census Bureau managers from a Brooklyn field office may face criminal charges for faking more than 4000 surveys. In a hearing Monday morning, the Inspector General of the Department of Commerce stated that he believes the managers violated a federal law that makes it a felony to falsify census records.
July 20, 2010 City Politics, Classic, State Politics
Crumbling sidewalks, car thefts, and the loss of vital bus lines are just a few of the complaints that Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries heard from Prospect Heights residents Tuesday evening during his “Summer at the Subway” evening office hours.
July 15, 2010 City Politics, Classic, State Politics
Brooklyn neighborhoods like Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brownsville and East New York exemplify a surprising food paradox: in the U.S., obesity can commingle with hunger.
June 15, 2010 City Politics, Classic, Environment, State PoliticsIn his third edition of a speech almost unheard of on a district level, Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries took on the federal government, the banking and real estate industries and the criminal justice system.
February 2, 2010 Boroughing, City Politics, Classic, Multi/Media, Real Estate, State Politics, Video
Part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, Race to the Top is a $4.35 billion grant program that rewards states that are making strides in turning around struggling schools and enhancing education standards. Here’s what some of the players in New York’s education system are saying about the state’s application.
January 14, 2010 Boroughing, City Politics, Classic, State Politics, The People
Applying for public health insurance, a process that normally takes up to three months, can now take two weeks or less with Health Plus’s new paperless enrollment. “We all know this is the future,” said Borough President Marty Markowitz at a press conference this week, calling it “a big step toward achieving what we hope will be some form of universal health care.”
December 9, 2009 Boroughing, City Politics, Classic, State Politics, The People
At a local meeting on crime, the message was clear: citizens, engage your community and get involved or these tough times will only get worse.
October 21, 2009 Boroughing, City Politics, Classic, State Politics, The People
Residents, elected officials and family members gathered at the Lafayette Avenue Presbyterian Church in Fort Greene this week to remember Shem Walker’s life – an innocent Clinton Hill resident fatally shot by an undercover police officer – and discuss the implications, policy and the prevention of tragedies like this one.
September 24, 2009 Boroughing, City Politics, Classic, State Politics
The Red Hook Community Justice Center is housed in an old parochial school at 88 Visitation Place and at its core, is a courthouse with Judge Alex Calabrese presiding over cases involving civil, criminal and family law issues. It offers a holistic approach to criminal justice by attempting to redress the underlying cause of the crime and prevent recidivism through social services such as education workshops and mental health counseling. After ten years, why are the Justice Center’s successes still unique in the Borough?
August 18, 2009 Boroughing, City Politics, Classic, Culture, State Politics, The Locals, The PeopleThis just in: an announcement at 10am tomorrow will bring news of the construction of a new pier on the Brooklyn waterfront offering direct ferry service between Brooklyn and Governor’s Island. Elected officials will gather at Pier 6 in Brooklyn Bridge Park tomorrow morning to take pictures of themselves likely in front of shovels, probably wearing hard hats.
On a recent exploration of the island, Brooklyn The Borough had to take a train into Manhattan, where the ferry operates every half hour or so on the weekends. According to a state website, ferry service operates between Brooklyn and Governor’s Island on days when there are scheduled events. This weekend is apparently one of them as ferry service will be offered from Brooklyn’s Fulton Ferry landing.
July 21, 2009 City Politics, Real Estate, State Politics, The Locals
At first sight it’s obvious that the Gowanus Canal is filthy. Yet, residents continue to congregate around it, canoe across it, build vessels to tour it, and wonder if its beauty will ever again surpass its usefulness as an industrial center. Efforts to revitalize expansive industrial lots in the area have advanced, with bars, restaurants and music venues opening along Second and Third Avenues. Artists work in nearby studios, and the BKLYN Yard, a venue alongside the canal, draws young people from all over the city to afternoon dance parties, barbecues and swap meets on summer weekends. However, over 150 years of heavy industrial activity combined with sewage and storm water run-off, and its proximity to factories and gas refineries have made the canal a site of controversy since the Environmental Protection Agency announced in April that the waterway is a candidate for the Superfund National Priorities List.
July 8, 2009 City Politics, Classic, Real Estate, State PoliticsRead what Marty Markowitz, who spent 23 years in the State Senate, has to say about the partisan scuffle in Albany.
June 23, 2009 City Politics, State PoliticsOne of the noticeable differences in Brooklyn since Democrats took over the state senate from Republicans last year, is the increase in discretionary funding doled out by each senator in their district.
The majority party – in control of everything down to the office supplies in each district office – carries more weight than just backroom dealings with the governor.
June 12, 2009 State Politics, The LocalsConservative State Senators from Queens and the Bronx have defected from the Democratic Party and sided with Republicans, leading Democratic Majority Leader Malcolm Smith to call their coup illegal.
June 8, 2009 Classic, State Politics
“It’s not like libraries are over-funded!” said Soledad O’Brien, master of ceremonies for the 12th annual fundraising gala for the Brooklyn Public Library on Thursday. “It’s not like, ‘Trim the fat off those libraries!’ Those are cuts that are going to be very much felt.”
November 14, 2008 Boroughing, City Politics, Classic, Read Features, State Politics, The Original BTBApparently it’s quite controversial to discuss the experience of living in Brooklyn when it comes to the topic of race. A few weeks back, I dared to talk about it and received a lot of flack. But in my hood, Prospect Heights, and anywhere really, race, class and gentrification are heavy topics, and I’m not going to shy away from them.
February 7, 2008 Boroughing, City Politics, Culture, Real Estate, State Politics, The Locals, The People
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