Council Member David Greenfield. (Photo: New York City Council)

City Council Member David Greenfield reacted to criticism by The Brooklyn Daily columnist Lou Powsner regarding Greenfield’s attentiveness – or lack thereof – to his Bensonhurst constituents. Powsner’s article, which was covered by BK Southie as part of a larger critique of the gerrymandering of political districts, addressed at a high level the challenges a neighborhood like Bensonhurst faces when all four of its Council districts are anchored by other communities (i.e. Greenfield’s Borough Park, Vincent Gentile’s Bay Ridge). But Powsner cited Greenfield specifically for being a no-show at community events.

Greenfield replied with a letter to the editor, published on BrooklynDaily.com. It reads in part:

Please allow me to set the record straight regarding Lou Powsner’s recent inaccurate claims that I have ignored the Bensonhurst portion of my district. The fact is that nothing could be further from the truth. No matter how you measure it — meetings attended, constituent cases handled, local group funded or services provided — I have worked hard each and every day to deliver for every corner of the 44th District, including the portion of Bensonhurst that I am privileged to represent.

In the less than two years I have held office, I have allocated hundreds of thousands of dollars to numerous Bensonhurst civic, community, cultural, educational and athletic organizations which play a vital role in making it a great place to live. Either a representative or I have attended countless important civic meetings in the community, including every single community board meeting since I was elected to office. In addition, I have fought on behalf of Bensonhurst residents on issues such as keeping our senior centers open and maintaining our quality of life. In fact, I am currently leading the fight to increase the parking spaces in the development of a nine-story medical office on 61st Street and Bay Parkway. Finally, my office has resolved hundreds of constituent complaints, ranging from potholes that need to be filled to government agencies that are not responsive. One such complaint is the one that was filed by Lou Powsner.

Photo: Gounardes campaign Flickr

This past Saturday outside of Fort Hamailton High School, Democrat Andrew Gounardes officially launched his campaign to unseat incumbent Republican Marty Golden in the State Senate. A 26-year-old attorney, Gounardes works for Citizens Community of New York City, and has previously worked as an aide to Council Member Vincent Gentile and US Senator Robert Menendez.

Sheepshead Bites and Bensonhurst Bean publisher Ned Berke caught up with Gounardes recently and asked a few questions about his run for office.

Mark Murphy will run against Congressman Michael Grimm in November 2012. (Photo source: Mark Murphy For Congress)

Last week, Mark Murphy – son of former Congressman John Murphy and a former aide to Public Advocate Bill DeBlasio – announced his candidacy for the 13th Congressional District, currently held by Michael Grimm. The move generated considerable interest on Staten Island – including strong support from the Richmond County party chairman and some notably less-strong encouragement from elected officials, including Staten Island/Brooklyn State Senator Diane Savino. Reaction from Bay Ridge – roughly one-third of Grimm’s district – was notably absent.

BK Southie reached out to Justin Brannan, the President of the Bay Ridge Democrats political club, to get a sense of the feeling among party activists on the Brooklyn side. Brannan told us:

“We need someone who understands and will fight for local values and put our interests first before the party’s agenda. The current Congressman is simply not in tune with the district he represents. He spends too much time on TV and too little time listening to the concerns of the people. If you’re a leader your #1 job should be to listen; Mark Murphy listens. I’m glad he stepped up.”

Proposed district boundaries for the Assembly and State Senate were released yesterday. At the time of our publishing deadline, there is still no word on the new Congressional districts, which must reduce the number of New York State representatives from 29 to 27. With that reduction in mind, it stands to reason that the new District 13 will need to reach further into Brooklyn than it already does – potentially into areas that have a Democratic registration edge. That prospect, along with the general competitiveness of district and a new poll suggesting Democrats have a chance to take majority control of the House this election, may have the effect of boosting Murphy’s campaign. Working against Murphy is the fundraising head start that Grimm holds over him ($1 million dollars to zero as of the last FEC filing), and the fact that the elder Congressman Murphy left politics in disgrace, marred by an indictment in the Abscam scandal that led to the bribery conviction of five of his House collegues.

The impact of Murphy’s Hollywood career, including roles in my college-era favorite show, Pacific Blue, remains to be seen.

Grimm is currently leading a controversial effort to weaken federal whistleblower protection by directing complaints to in-house reporting mechanisms before federal regulators.

The proposed State Senate District 20 - covering Crown Heights, Sunset Park, and, um... a bunch of side streets between 4th and 5th Avenues.

The proposed Assembly and State Senate districts for elections beginning this November were released yesterday. No one was very happy, especially with the Senate districts.

Queens Councilman Peter Vallone, Jr. called District 12 a “baby alien popping out of a stomach.”

Councilman Lew Fidler, who is running to replace Carl Kruger in a March 20 special election but has has district boundaries redrawn to put his house in Minority Leader John Sampson’s district in November, called the process “disgustingly partisan.”

Governor Cuomo, through a spokesman, promised a veto.

BK Southie, which earlier this week proposed eliminating eight Senate districts (citing general economic conditions and legislative dysfunction), is now suggesting we eliminate the State Senate altogether. OK, we’re just kidding this time, but seriously, District 20. Seriously.

As expected, a new, 63rd district has been proposed, a move largely seen as a move by Senate Republicans to protect their slim majority. Former Mayor Ed Koch complained, “I am disappointed in this result and in the dishonorable lawmakers who openly pledged to do things differently this year, and then reneged when it wasn’t to their political advantage,” specifically referring to a pledge made by legislators in both parties to his movement to allow for redistricting independent of the Assembly and Senate. The same Rochester Democrat & Chronicle article quoted a NYPIRG spokesman saying population deviations exceeded a 3% good-governance guideline in 50 of the 63 districts – only 19 of the 62 districts exceeded such guidelines 10 years ago.

If there’s a silver lining for Bay Ridge and Dyker Heights, its that Senate Districts 22 and 23 – currently held by Republican Marty Golden and Democrat Diane Savino, respectively – aren’t gerrymandered… much more than they have been for the last ten years.

The proposal for District 22...

...as compared to Golden's current district.

Golden’s district will still have most of Bay Ridge and Dyker Heights at its core, with parts of Bensonhurst. He would pick up a portion of Manhattan Beach, carved up from Carl Kruger’s old district. It still goes down a narrow corridor through Sheepshead Bay to reach the friendly confines of Gerritsen Beach.

The proposal for Senate District 23...

...and Diane Savino's current district.

Diane Savino’s district continues to go to great lengths to avoid Bay Ridge. In fact, she would lose most of her existing Bay Ridge constituents. Her district would still hug the Shore Parkway to reach parts of Bath Beach, and she would pick up some ground in Gravesend, Coney Island, and Brighton Beach.

Because of the economic climate, some companies still aren't hiring to replace employees who leave. I suggest we downsize the State Senate, and start by not hiring to replace this guy.

State Senator Neil Breslin, a Democrat whose district includes the capital city of Albany, said something against a Republican plan to add a 63rd Senate district that I’ve suspected for years:

According to Breslin adding an additional seat will cost New York an extra one million dollars. If a new district is what Senate Republicans want, downstate is where it should go Breslin says.

That’s about what I figured – one million dollars for the salary of the elected official, his staff in Albany, his staff in local offices, and other overhead costs.

How many readers worked at an organization that had to lay people off during the latest recession? A lot of people? Maybe even you?  And some of those organizations, I’ll bet, still have a ways to go before they replace all of the jobs they eliminated. Some might even still be laying people off.

When the rest of us were getting downsized, the State Legislature never had to lay anyone off. Funny, that.

No more!

I propose that, instead of adding a 63rd Senate district, we eliminate districts instead. How’s this: with 27 Congressmen, we’ll have one Representative in the House for every 720,000 people. I’d say the upper chamber of the State Legislature should get by with no more than twice that many – one Senator for every 360,000 people. 54 Senators, eight fewer Senators than what we have now. You’re welcome, New York State – I just saved you eight million dollars.

But I’m not done, yet! Why should the rest of New York State have to feel the jobs pinch, but not the Assembly? Do they really need 150 members if the really important legislation comes down to three men in a room? If we laid off 10% of the Assembly workforce, that would still leave us with 135 representatives, yet we’d save another 15 million dollars.

Once again. You’re welcome.

On the contrary. The article didn’t mention Brooklyn until the end, mainly to say this:

Another hurdle — probably the biggest — is that no one Bay Ridge knows who he is. Murphy has yet to introduce himself to voters and many Bay Ridge Democrats are holding back their support until he hones his message — and crosses the Verrazano Bridge.

“I think he’s handsome, but I have no idea what he stands for,” said one Bay Ridge Democrat.

Yikes. I knew the Richmond County bosses – in both parties – hold most of the cards when it comes to official party support. But for Bay Ridge partisans to be completely in the dark? Yikes. Wait – I said that already.

Redistricting could conceivably alter boundaries such that Bay Ridge is no longer linked to Staten Island (much the same way Diane Savino’s State Senate District covers Sunset Park, Bensonhurst, Coney Island, and Staten Island’s North Shore), but it is presumed that the status quo will remain in place.

In related news, NY Observer political writer (and former Brooklyn Politics blogger) Colin Campbell reports Grimm has raised a substantial amount of cash in the last quarter to bring his cash-on-hand total to a touch over $1 million.

WNYC reports that a new contender has emerged for the Congressional seat of Michael Grimm (R-Staten Island): Mark Murphy (D-Staten Island), the son of a former nine-term Congressman.

Murphy, 41, most recently worked as an aide to Public Advocate Bill DeBlasio representing Staten Island, south Brooklyn and northeast Queens. Murphy resigned from the position over a week ago and plans to launch his campaign Wednesday evening at his headquarters in Staten Island.

His father, John Murphy (D-Staten Island), served as Staten Island’s Representative from 1963 to 1981. He lost his re-election bid to a tenth term to Guy Molinari (R-Staten Island) after being indicted for bribery charges.

On the Staten Island side of the district, there’s already some ruffled feathers. As reported by the Staten Island Advance, Richmond County Democratic Chairman John Gulino (D-Staten Island) has embraced the Murphy candidacy. This boost has apparently raised tensions with several elected leaders, including Diane Savino (D-Staten Island), whose North Shore State Senate district reaches into Sunset Park, Bensonhurst, and Coney Island. Of particular note, Staten Island Councilmember Debi Rose (D-Staten Island) has expressed interest in running for the seat. (Murphy declared last summer that he would not challenge Rose for her spot on the Council, possibly as a favor to then-boss Public Advocate Bill DeBlasio.)

To date, the media discussion seems to be absent of any opinion whose name ends with (D-Bay Ridge) or (R-Bay Ridge).

If you think State Senator Marty Golden's district is whack, you should see the departed Mr. Kruger's.

The NY Daily News and Brooklyn Daily have recently published separate-yet-similar editorials regarding one of the pressing issues of the 2012 election cycle – redistricting. The Daily News leads off with horse-trading – the political game that both shapes gerrymandered districts and is caused by it. But they eventually get to the point that Lou Powsner made for Brooklyn Daily – gerrymandering carves up communities.

Powsner focuses on the City Council, and more so on Bensonhurst, where the problem is acute. None of the four Councilmen who serve Bensonhurst residents – David Greenfield (Borough Park), James Oddo (Staten Island), Vincent Gentile (Bay Ridge), or Dominic Recchia (Gravesend/Coney Island) have enough of the neighborhood to consider Bensonhurst part of their core constituency. Powsner sites Greenfield especially for being a no-show at Bensonhurst community events.

The Bensonhurst problem is hardly limited to City Hall… and for that matter, it isn’t really limited to Bensonhurst. Some parts of Bensonhurst are represented in Congress by Upper West Sider Jerold Nadler. Others are represented by Staten Islander Michael Grimm… same as Bay Ridge, incidently. The Daily News article pushed the redistricting plan put forward by Common Cause New York. It wouldn’t help our chances of getting Brooklyn representation, but it wouldn’t carve up our neighborhoods, either.

For that reason alone, given the jokers responsible for implementing it, it probably won’t succeed. But here’s to hoping!

Related: Gerrymandering A Problem For Neighborhood Unity (Bensonhurst Bean)

What seemed to infuriate biked lane proponents most of all was what Recchia had to say on his blog about the matter:

I’m proud to announce that a controversial set of bike lanes proposed to run through Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights and Bensonhurst will not be moving forward.

The bike lanes, running up and down Bay Ridge Parkway, would have created a dangerous situation for pedestrians, motorists, truck drivers, buses and bike riders. It’s a narrow street with a high volume of traffic, congestion and reported accidents. Bike lanes have a place in New York City, but not on Bay Ridge Parkway. People would have been fighting to get around each other, and it would only be a matter of time before somebody got hurt.

Why is all this venom being spewed at Recchia? In the statement above the city councilman doesn’t even say he’s against bike lanes, only that the placement of one on this street wouldn’t be safe. Instead of trying to counter his argument, bike lane proponents are simply attacking him using incendiary language. This in turn alienates the very people bike lane activists should be trying to win over.  Personally, I hate having to defend The Post but it’s the attitude found in much of the current pro-bike lane rhetoric that compels me to. The bike lane crowd should stop being so obtuse. Immature tactics like name-calling are counterproductive and only serve to turn off moderates who might otherwise rally to their cause.

According to Yeshiva World News, Councilman David G. Greenfield has proposed having non-working hydrants painted green in order to signal that parking there is a go. Just how many parking spaces would this plan create?  Councilman Greenfield is quoted in the YWN article as saying, “DEP estimates that, at any give time, over 1,000 hydrants are non-operational. That means upwards of 3,000 parking spaces could be available on city streets.”

Aren’t all these broken hydrants a threat to, you know, public safety??? The rest of the quote reads, ” Not to mention that over 1,000 non-operational hydrants puts New Yorkers at risk. A quick coat of paint will keep New Yorkers and first-responders informed. Hopefully, it will also encourage DEP to keep up with hydrant repairs.” Hopefully, indeed. Now if they could just get around to painting all those broken hydrants…

Councilman Greenfield represents District 44, which includes much of Borough Park , as well as parts of Bensonhurst and Midwood.

Yeshiva World News: Councilman Greenfield Proposes Allowing Parking At Broken Fire Hydrants