Why was Pam Harris Not Present for an Important Vote?

On June 1st, the NY Assembly voted on this healthcare bill.  The votes  for this bill are displayed  as YES or NO for most assembly members on the bill. My assemblywoman, Pam Harris has a vote of ER next to her name which means she wasn’t there to vote.

At first I thought  Ms. Harris was sick on June 1st and didn’t  make it to the Capitol Building to vote. But Harris was present to vote for many other bills that day  (see here, here and here).  

Why was she not present for this healthcare bill vote?  It’s a pretty important bill. 

Maybe Harris didn’t like something about the bill or thought we wouldn’t notice if she didn’t vote. BUT WE HAVE NOTICED SHE DIDN’T DO HER JOB.

Can you imagine if you or I cut out on our job when we felt like it?  We wouldn’t have a job. Has Pam Harris explained why she didn’t vote? Noooo she’s too busy posting selfies. We don’t need that many pictures of you, Pam Harris. We need you to show up for the job you were elected to do. 

Why are we watching Pam closely? Because we Harris represents a gerrymandered district and she hasn’t had much presence here in Bay Ridge. Her office wasn’t opened until a few weeks ago and she didn’t even display her e-mail on the Assembly site. I would love to know how much money was wasted on the rent for a closed office and the personnel to run that office.  It’s our tax money that was wasted by someone who wasn’t motivated enough to get the office open.

Here’s the thing: Why do I have to keep an eye on most of the politicians who represent Bay Ridge? I shouldn’t have to. There’s no reason to keep someone in office if they aren’t motivated to work.

Ms. Harris’ communication with us has been non-existent as we contacted her several weeks ago and we didn’t receive any response from her office. I know she (or her staff) have seen my posts on this blog because magically her e-mail addressed appeared on the assembly site right after I wrote about it.

Topics: Bay Ridge, Brooklyn | No Comments »

Dogs and Tech

A friend sent me a link to a new dog product because she knows I love technology and new dog products for my dog.

Petzi is a webcam that allows you to see your dog on your camera app, talk to him and dispense treats.

This item wouldn’t be good for my dog because he would wait by the machine all day just to get a treat or two instead of playing with his family and living his life.

But for a dog who doesn’t have companions, I bet it would be a lot of fun.

There’s a contest here if you are interested in winning one. I didn’t enter.

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Remembering Aileen Chen

June 4th – 5 years ago.  I don’t remember the dates people died for most people, but hers I do.
Aileen Chen

:(

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Malliotakis and Golden are collecting money in Albany and May Run Unopposed

Bay Ridge and Staten Island Assemblywoman and Senator Marty Golden are having parties in Albany. There’s no mention of this on their social media pages or in the news.

I guess they don’t want us to know whose paying the high priced tickets for these parties.

Malliotakis’ soriree fundraiser in Albany cost $250.00. I haven’t found out who attended yet.

Golden had two events – tickets at one event were $350 each. And at the on February 24th – get this – tickets were $600 each! Can’t wait to see that list of attendees.

Both Malliotakis and Golden think it is fine to get money outside of their district.

Although it is legal to do, it shouldn’t be.

I’m surprised that both may run unopposed.

Topics: Bay Ridge | No Comments »

Reporter’s Truthiness Gets in the Way of Truth in a Brooklyn Community

On a local news website, I saw a strange title.  The author of the piece, Elizabeth Elizalde referred to the politician as a “Hometown Hero.”  I thought to myself,  ‘that guy isn’t from here.‘

Although using alliteration might be pretty writing for a college class, Ms. Elizalde misled Brooklynites with the title of her article.  (For my middle-aged readers who are trying to remember what alliteration means  -it’s is using words that begin with the same letter or sound such as in “Hometown Hero”).

I searched Elizabeth Elizalde up and saw the freelance writer had a Twitter acct. so I  sent her a tweet.  I’ve talked with a lot of young reporters on Twitter in the last year and always had a good experience.

She responded and blocked me.  

Yup.   SMH.   

(For my readers still living in the  ’90’s,   SMH means Shaking My Head)

I’ve never heard of a reporter blocking someone because of a comment. Elizalde is from Bushwick, Brooklyn so she should have a harder shell. Could she not see that her use of these words implied that this politician was a lifelong resident of Sunset Park?  I was concerned that the politician was allowing something false to be printed (other politicians have allowed that to happen in Brooklyn). I wasn’t the only one who saw this:

I shot a private message to the politician and he responded that he would have the article corrected.  BTW, I was a big supporter of his until he turned his back on a large portion of the community. One of the biggest problems he has is that he isn’t from the area and doesn’t live in Sunset Park so when he thinks that he is doing something “fair,”  it’s not because one part of his neighborhood is at such a disadvantage.

Was Elizalde trying to mislead people?   I’m not sure. I think it’s more that she is wrapped up in her own truthiness to be able to understand that even in little local papers people need to be able to read accurate information and not just pretty words.  Her article commends the politician as if he was a god, but a quick quick Google search of his name will show that he hasn’t been connecting with a large portion of his community.  I know  Elizalde knows Brooklyn has grown accustomed to fluff pieces and press releases in our papers, but I haven’t.

I also wrote to the editor of the paper. The woman who is the editor is fierce! I look forward to updates on her other site because her site is one of the few places where the truth about anything political can be found.  Elizabeth Elizalde actually writes well so I’m surprised she would push through an article like that with that editor.  I sent the editor a tweet and she responded positively, but only changed the title and added this to the bottom:

Clarification [June 2, 10am]: An earlier version of the headline misleadingly referred to the councilman as Sunset Park’s hometown hero, although he was not born in New York. We’ve adjusted the headline accordingly.

She should have done better than that because a lie was allowed to be printed. So Cornerstone Media should have don

She wants clicks for the article, but are clicks more important than the truth.  What do I mean by that? She knows, but I will explain for everyone else.

The original article’s link was not changed – here’s the link:

.http://sunsetparkvoice.com/politics/carlos-menchaca-sunset-parks-hometown-hero-brings-voice-voiceless/

On June 1st, a new article article title and link was done:

Carlos Menchaca: Sunset Park’s Councilman Brings A Voice To The Voiceless
.http://sunsetparkvoice.com/politics/carlos-menchaca-sunset-parks-hometown-hero-brings-voice-voiceless/
Elizabeth retweeted the paper: https://twitter.com/sunsetparkvoice/status/738090703272706048

The original remained with a redirect code at first, but now it just stays at that page and when someone searches for that politician and the word hero, it comes up in a search (both through google and their site). If you understand a little code, you can see what they did here: 

Both Elizalde and the editor kept the original link up on Twitter and they are still there days later.

I wrote today’s post because while sometimes it is the politicians who try to play us, it’s also the media that diverts us from the truth. Whether it’s a reporter whose truthiness covers the truth and won’t correct mistakes when they are pointed out OR an editor/media outlet that is just looking for clicks, it’s all the same to me.

Half honest – is that a thing?

Maybe politics is just a topic Elizalde should avoid as pretty words can’t be used to cover the truth.  Words are all we have sometimes.

Update: July 12, 2016: Elizabeth Elizalde reported for the same online news website about a suicide in Bay Ridge. The train motorman had a panic attack and ran down the tracks. That was reported in almost every news piece about the the story, except she didn’t have that in her story. Her story makes it seem like the motorman made a mistake. He did not – it was just PSD.

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Bay Ridge Blooms

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18th Avenue Feast 2016 – Feast of St. Rosalie

The 18th Avenue Feast will take place on August 18th to August 28th (08/18/2016 to 08/28/2016) The Feast of St. Rosalia takes place on 18th Avenue from 68th to 75th Street from 6PM- 11:00 PM in Bensonhurst, but most people go between 8:30 and 9:30 pm.

St. Rosalia is the patron saint of Palermo. On the weekends, the feast is open from 11 AM to 11 PM. If you are interested in the July Italian Feast in Williamsburg, Brooklyn (July 6th- July 17th)- click here

Rides cost: $40 for a book of 40 tickets  and each ride is between 3 and 5 tickets (yes that’s expensive).

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Bay Ridge Memorial Day Parade 2016

The Bay Ridge Memorial Day Parade will take place on 5/30/16 starting at 11:00 AM

The Parade travels on 3rd Avenue from 75th Street down to Marine Avenue. Then they make a left up Marine Avenue and go up to 4th Avenue and over to 101 Street to John Paul Jones Park (aka Cannonball Park)

Great parade to watch and cheer for the Veteran’s – nice hometown feel parade.

Topics: Bay Ridge, Brooklyn | No Comments »

Animal Adoption – June 25th New Utrecht High School 12:00 pm

Sean Casey is having an animal adoption even on June 25th at 12 pm – 3 pm  at New Utrecht High School 80th and 16th Avenue

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Makerspace

This week we created an official Makerspace!

Since I know other people are interested in creating a makerspace as well, I will list what we used to get started.

We made  sign to let everyone know what’s going on here:

We got a table and stools. I will post links shortly.

We bought some materials. (Coming soon)

We used some recycled materials (coming soon)

We printed these signs to hang up in the Makerspace:

Makers Bill of Rights

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Luna Park Discount Tickets – Coney Island

Luna Park 2016 unlimited rides for four hours –   here

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John Catsimatidis Reminds Us that Treyger is Owned

Councilman Mark Treyger loves to post selfies and updates on social media so it was ironic that he  didn’t mention that he was going on Catsimatidis radio show this weekend (no mention on  Treyger’s twitter or Facebook page).

The Cats Round Table radio show is on 970 AM and their page provided a small blurb about  Treyger and the Coney Island’s boardwalk :

“The Brooklyn lawmaker is pressing the city to landmark Coney Island’s iconic boardwalk in an effort to stop parts of it from being converted into concrete and fake wood.”

But neither Treyger or Catsimatidis mention the boardwalk!

There was no discussion about wood planks, preserving the boardwalk or even the boardwalk’s birthday which happened the day of the interview!  Ohhh something is not right here Brooklyn.

Catsimatidis started off the talk by mentioning the upcoming holiday, Memorial Day in Coney Island and then straight out told Treyger that he wants to build high-rises in Coney Island.  Catsimatidis actually said, “I think you know of my interest in Coney Island.”

Was Catsimatidis baiting Treyger to see if he would step up to the billionaire and speak up for the people of Coney Island?  WE THINK SO! Because most people don’t know the full story.

Here’s what most people don’t know:  On May 2nd, Mark Treyger played politics with his community and held a rally crying out that the people in Coney Island needed a community center in a foreclosed property on Surf Avenue (here’s  Treyger’s index finger up in the area posing for us).  Tryeger implied at the rally and to the media that the city should purchase the property. Treyger knew who owned the building and he knew city would have made a deal with them before a foreclosure sale. Anyone who knows what a foreclosure sale is like, knows the developer’s worker are ready to attack the property like wolves.

The City could never compete with the developers money.  Treyger knew this was a done deal.

That week John Catsimatidis bought the property for 7.7 million. On May 12th, this story appeared in the paper.  The paper states that Cats may build. What that tells us is that he may be an intermediate guy. There are several types of players in the property game in NYC. The developers who purchase property and want to build usually have the plans already built and are ready to knock over the builder the next week. Those who plan to flip the property for more money say something towards the effect of, “We aren’t sure what we are going to build.”

The other reason that developers wait to build is that some want to qualify for 421A. Don’t worry Mr. Catsimatidis, Marty Golden is working on that now (he mentioned it several times when he was suppose to be discussing mayoral control of NYC schools). Under 421A, developers get huge tax breaks for including a few low income housing units in the building.

Neither Treyger or Catsimatidis mentioned this property purchase in the radio show conversation. 

Treyger responded with some info about Coney Island that sounded rehearsed and then he gave a speech about FEMA’s delay in giving out money. Treyger used  the radio time to promote himself.

Catsimatidis was mildly interested and asked if Treyger’s voice is what got the money from FEMA.  Treyger didn’t credit anyone else with working to get the FEMA money .  Here’s a picture of some of the people who worked on getting the FEMA Money to Coney Island (pretty impressive group of people to leave out from a public thank you).

Catsimatidis was bored with  Treyger so he  said,  “For a person like me who wants to invest in Coney Island and put up housing, what kind of housing should I put up?” STRAIGHT OUT BOLD.

Treyger didn’t respond to Cats question.   At this point,  Treyger could have said to the billionaire,  “Hey Mr. Catsimatidis – be the hero in Brooklyn and make the John Cats Community Center in Coney Island on the first floor of your high- rise. Or hey John, how about making the John Catsimatidis School on the first three floors of your new high-rise?   The paper stated that Treyger was going to reach out and talk with Cats his plans.  Here’s my problem with Treyger. He’s not honest to the people who are listening to that show – SAY THE TRUTH.

Treyger was silent on the discussion of Cats being an investor in Coney Island even though Catsimatidis made it clear to the audience that Treyger knew of  the real estate mogul’s plans.

I don’t know Mr. Catsimatidis, but I get the feeling that he would love to have a school named after him. Although he may have purchased the property to increase his bank account, Treyger could have put the idea out there.

This past Winter,  I wrote to Councilman Mark Treyger about supporting a business owner in his area who the city was attempting to seize property using eminent domain. Treyger told me that his residents needed a clothing store, senior housing and year round anchors to attract retail shops (those are his words exactly). Yet Treyger  couldn’t say even one of those things to John Catsimatidis this weekend.

Coney Island, you have the wrong person representing you. Get someone who has lived there all their life and loves the area. That person will have the passion to work for you and not just take pictures that makes it look like they are working. And they will be honest with you.

Catsimatidis knew what group gave Treyger the money to get Treyger into City Council.  REBNY  has been clear about investing their money  to influence the NYC Council.

Treyger took the safe road and attacked the City of New York by saying that Coney Island needs more trains and  buses. Treyger even goes on to complain about Deblasio who “shut out Coney Island” of the ferry plan. REALLY?  Did he actually insult DeBlasio who has supported Coney Island?

If a ferry was important to Treyger and the community, why did Councilman Treyger have his community fighting for a community center that he knew would never happen?   I’m not a fortune teller, but even I  predicted that was a DONE DEAL.  Surely, Mark Treyger knew that too.

The radio show ended with Catsimatidis giving Treyger the bum rush off the show. LOL.

The only truthful part of Councilman Treyger’s radio show appearance was when he mentioned that the  people in Coney Island were strong. They will need to be strong as the developers take over their community.

Ironically last week, Catsimatidis was interested in talking about plastic bags with Vinnie Gentile. Treyger also voted against the plastic bag fee, but Catsimatidis never discussed the topic with Treyger. Catsimatidis’ tone with Gentile was a lot different than the way he spoke with Treyger.  Catsimatidis even joked with Gentile about the plastic bags being needed for dog poop. He ended the chat by commending Gentile for his stance against the plastic bag fee.

Topics: Brooklyn, Brooklyn, Politics | No Comments »