U.S. Attorney Subpoenas Working Families Party, and Bill de Blasio and Now Brad Lander Too

This is a developing story:

The Daily Politics

by Elizabeth Benjamin

D

U.S. Attorney Subpoenas Working Families Party, and Bill de Blasio Too

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By Azi Paybarah

December 15, 2009 | 6:46 p.m

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The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York subpoenaed the Working Families Party in connection with work done during the 2009 elections, Liz reported earlier tonight .
"We welcome this inquiry," said Dan Cantor, the head of the Working Families Party, in a public statement. He said the probe will prove "[o]ur work has complied with both the spirit and letter of New York City’s Campaign Finance Law as well as all relevant state and federal election laws, tax and not-for-profit corporation laws."
For more, see link 


http://www.observer.com/2009/politics/us-attorney-subpoenas-working-families-party-bill-de-blasio

Lander Hit With WFP-Related Subpoena »

BY ELIZABETH BENJAMIN

Brooklyn Councilman-elect Brad Lander confirmed he is among the Working Families Party candidates to have received a subpoena from the US attorney's office in its probe of the labor-backed party's efforts in the 2009 elections.

Lander told me his campaign received a call Monday (the same day the WFP itself was subpoenaed) informing him that there was a subpoena with his name on it seeking information about the work conducted on his Council bid by the party's for-profit arm, Data and Field Services.

"They said: 'We have a subpoena for you, please call and tell us where to deliver it," said Lander, who got the document in question via fax on Tuesday morning at his Park Slope campaign office.

"Did I have on my Chanukah list a subpoena from the US attorney? It was not on my Chanukah list. It's a stack of documents to give them. I'm happy to provide them all, and I feel confident that when they review them, they'll find we complied fully with both the letter and spirit of the law.

For more see link 

http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dailypolitics/2009/12/lander-hit-with-wfp-related-su.html

HTTP://WWW.NYDAILYNEWS.COM/BLOGS/DAILYPOLITICS/2009/12/LANDER-HIT-WITH-WFP-RELATED-SU.HTML

TWO THUMBS UP! FOR REP. NYDIA VELAZQUEZ

Hello from CORD:

This in from Dan Wiley, Community Coordinator for Rep. Nydia Velazquez:

 

The following article appeared in the Daily News after the well attended Dec 3 EPA meeting in Carroll Gardens.

 

We salute Rep Velazquez's common sense and commitment to Public Health and

Environment.

 

At the Dec. 3 meeting the EPA mentioned that the next tentative community meeting date to discuss further progress on the gowanus canal/.superfund saga will be january 21st

 

We will advise more details as the date draws closer.

OP-ED: Gowanus needs Superfund status to ensure restoration

New York Daily News – Brooklyn Insert

December 8, 2009

by Rep. Nydia Velázquez

"The Gowanus Canal has earned its place in the pages of Brooklyn
history. First a creek and later expanding into a canal, it served as
a hub for New York’s Industrial Revolution.

Even today, Gowanus stands at the core of local industry. It is an
integral thread in the fabric of our community, and has been referred
to as "the Jewel of Brooklyn."

Neighborhoods like Park Slope and Carroll Gardens could not have been
built without its waters, which ferried wood, brick and brownstone
from New Jersey and the Upper Hudson. With its location just steps
away from the homes of thousands of New York families, it is
critically important that we protect the canal and restore integrity
to its waters.

Pollution within Gowanus is not a new problem. Brooklynites have been
calling for its cleanup since the 1880’s and, by 1911, Mayor William
Jay Gaynor activated a flushing tunnel.

Today, several suggestions have been made for its remediation.

One proposal by the Mayor’s office, which came to light after the
EPA’s Superfund nomination, would use federal funding through the
Water Resources Development Act (WRDA). But those dollars are already
vastly overextended.

In fact, the Army Corps of Engineers has a WRDA backlog of more than
1,000 projects, totaling $61 billion. Gowanus, if approved for WRDA
funding, would go straight to the back of that 1,000 project line.

The canal wasn’t contaminated overnight, and it won’t be cleaned
overnight, either.

In reversing decades of pollution, there is no such thing as a quick
fix solution. At this point, the best thing we can do is identify a
timely, effective plan moving forward--a plan that ensures a clean
future for South Brooklyn, and requires polluting parties to pay their
share of remediation.

That’s why I worked to secure funding for a study to identify methods
for restoring the canal. And that’s why I am calling upon the EPA to
designate Gowanus as a Superfund site.

The Superfund program was established as a means for cleaning the
country’s most hazardous waste sites. Since its inception, it has
helped restore many of our nation’s most polluted areas. With $1.89
billion in authorized funding for 2009, the Superfund budget dwarfs
that of the Army Corps. And, unlike WRDA, EPA resources don’t depend
on tax payer dollars alone.

Rather, the agency has the authority to recoup costs from polluters.
That means the large corporations that contributed to Gowanus’s
contamination will help pay for its remediation. That seems fair.

Despite its clear benefits, not everyone is in favor of Superfund
status. Real Estate developers argue that the term "Superfund" carries
too much of a stigma. They are worried that the name alone will curb
consumers’ appetite for luxury condos in South Brooklyn.

But is a Superfund site, by any other name, less polluted? The fact of
the matter is, Gowanus Canal is toxic--whether it’s deemed a Superfund
or not. As New Yorkers, we need to be focused on restoring Gowanus and
protecting Brooklyn families, not bickering over semantics.

With the comment period for Superfund status now closed, the EPA has
an opportunity to complete its review. I urge the agency to make the
right decision and designate Gowanus a Superfund site. Doing so will
ensure the canal is cleaned up in a safe, timely, cost effective
manner.

Brooklyn deserves no less."

Thank you, Congresswoman Velazquez.

CORD 

For more info please see Pardon Me For Asking Blog  

http://pardonmeforasking.blogspot.com/2009/12/congresswoman-velazquez-make-right.html 

-----------------------------

The CG Front Gardens crisis brought on by "Bill-der-dash!"; and "DeBLasio caught in the act"

The front gardens crisis in Carroll Gardens brought on by Bill DeBlasio's secret support of a change to our 150 year old law protecting ALL of our gardens from construction has been in the Brooklyn Paper all week.  Here are some excerpts and links:

The Brooklyn Paper

DeBlasio caught in the act

The Brooklyn Paper

"And this guy is going to be the public advocate?

This week, Councilman Bill DeBlasio agreed to withdraw an ill-advised attempt to hide a key land-use change from his Carroll Gardens constituents — but the backtrack came only after a reporter from this newspaper and the excellent neighborhood blog Pardon Me for Asking discovered DeBlasio’s secretive move on behalf of a politically connected private school.

Here’s what happened: Thanks to a quirk in city law, the front yards of houses on First through Fourth places in Carroll Gardens are actually mapped as part of the street, which is why houses on those blocks are set back so far from the roadway.

One of those “front yards” is actually a parking lot for the Hannah Senesh School, which wants to build a two-story addition on the land.

But the school can’t move forward unless the city administrative code is changed.

Enter Bill DeBlasio....."

See this above link for more

Bill-der-dash! DeBlasio backtracks on exemption for private school

BY STEPHEN BROWN

The Brooklyn Papere

"Outgoing Councilman Bill DeBlasio has backtracked on his secretive effort to allow a politically connected private school to move ahead with a two-story extension atop of the courtyards that give Carroll Gardens is very character.

DeBlasio’s initial effort to insert an exemption for the Hannah Senesh School into a city administrative code was immediately discovered by local preservationists and bloggers last week, prompting the kind of outrage typically reserved for large-scale development projects, not a two-story addition atop a school parking lot.

But the parking lot in question, along First Place at the corner of Smith Street, is not merely a piece of city-owned land, but an architectural feature that is fundamental to the neighborhood. Indeed, such deep lots along First though Fourth places are what give Carroll Gardens its name.

After widespread complaints that DeBlasio’s exception would set a dangerous precedent, the Councilman, who becomes the public advocate on Jan. 1, withdrew his amendment....."

See this link for more...

DeBlasio carves out exception for well-connected school

BY STEPHEN BROWN

The Brooklyn Paper

"Has Councilman Bill DeBlasio sold out his district in one of his last official acts before becoming public advocate?

That’s what many Carroll Gardens residents are charging, days after their Democratic councilman slipped an amendment into a Council bill that would exempt a well-connected private school — and only that private school — from long-established zoning that protects the front yards of Carroll Gardens.

The amendment would allow Hannah Senesh School, which is on Smith Street between First and Second places, to move ahead with a plan for the additional classrooms on the side lot on First Place, which is currently used as for parking.

It may sound like a simple transfer of land, but that Hannah Senesh side lot is not just a parking lot, but an architectural feature that is fundamental to the neighborhood — indeed, such lots are what give Carroll Gardens its name. And many fear that DeBlasio’s exception — slipped into a bill protecting all the other lots on First through Fourth places — will set a dangerous precedent....."

.See this link for more....

Carroll Gardens Front Gardens Crisis Meeting Number Two

For those of you interested in learning more about the very important Carroll Gardens front gardens issue and what is at stake:

The proposed Hannah Senesh expansion onto a publicly owned front garden that is a unique aspect of our neighborhood here in Carroll Gardens, threatens a change to our 150 year old law that protects these gardens from exactly such a construction.

Toward that end a meeting has been organized for all interested parties at the Carroll Gardens library (Union and Clinton) on Saturday 12/12 at 10 AM.  Tell your friends and neighbors.

Where:  Carroll Gardens Public Library

When:  10 AM

What:  Carroll Gardens Front Gardens

Lander's Statement on CG Front Gardens Issue

This was posted on the CGNA listserve this week:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CGNA/

Statement on Hannah Senesh Community Day School expansion proposal

It was good to see, and hear from, many of you at last night's meeting on

the Hannah Senesh Community Day School's proposed expansion. As I announced
last night (see statement below), the proposed change will not be considered
before the end of the year. Instead, the school will have the opportunity
to propose the change for consideration through the ULURP process next
year.

That process will provide a more full opportunity to get complete
information about the proposal, to consider its impact, to hear from members
of the community in multiple public hearings, and for Community Board 6, the
Borough President, and the City Planning Commission to make recommendations,
before a vote is taken by the City Council on whether or not to allow the
change. I look forward to listening to you during that process, before I
make my own decision.

Please continue to communicate with my office about this project. For now,
you can use the information below. We'll get you official contact
information as soon as we have it, most likely early in the new year.

Thanks,

Brad Lander
City Councilmember-elect, 39th District

brad.lander@gmail.com

Front Gardens In Trouble in Carroll Gardens

On Monday, December 9, a meeting was held at Hannah Senesh School to discuss their proposed expansion onto the public,  front garden lot.  Residents of our community, upset by this idea, had been asking our Councilman, Bill DeBlasio, to NOT submit a bill today facilitating that desired end for the school.  

See CALLING ALL NEIGHBORS! An Open Letter To Councilman Bill De Blasio below

http://carrollgardenspetition.blogspot.com/2009/12/calling-all-neighbors-open-letter-to.html  

The front gardens of Carroll Gardens are unique and protected from building by a 150 year old law that DeBlasio was trying to change.

Here are some of the notes from the Monday night meeting and below, please see the details for a SECOND meeting that will be held this Saturday morning.

According to Tom Gray, DeBlasio's District Director, the bill to change the administrative code removing the restrictions on the Smith and First Place courtyard will NOT be introduced on Wednesday, Dec 9th (today).

Conversations between current Councilman deBlasio and Councilman Elect Lander resulted in a change of plans 

The school will be applying to purchase the courtyard and will still seek to change the administrative code sometime in the coming year. 

The acquisition of the property requires a ULURP procedure and calls for several public hearings.

It is unclear how the administrative code change, necessary in order to remove the no building on a courtyard restriction, will be packaged as part of the bundle. Nor is it clear if and how bundling it changes the process, but more information will be disseminated as it becomes available. 

All of this will now be taking place on Councilman Elect Lander's watch. 

Stay tuned...

For more information: a second meeting will now be held for all interested parties at the Carroll Gardens 

library (Union and Clinton) on Saturday 12/12 at 10 AM.

CALLING ALL NEIGHBORS! An Open Letter To Councilman Bill De Blasio

Hello from CORD 

On Wednesday December 9, we have learned that outgoing Councilman Bill DeBalsio will be introducing a bill that will alter a very old law that protects our front gardens. Link 

Below is a brief letter that we strongly urge you to cut and paste to send to him as well as the additional elected officials below.

For more info please see: Pardon Me For Asking Link 

An Open Letter To Councilman Bill De Blasio Regarding His Introduction Of A Bill That Will Erode A 150-Year-Old Law Protecting Our Carroll Gardens Court Yards:

Dear Bill De Blasio

We are the residents of Carroll Gardens. 
You are still our representative. 
Every courtyard in Carroll Gardens is public land.

We protest what you are doing
and we strongly urge you not to use your power to give our land away. 
Do not introduce this bill.
Do not allow this to be the legacy you leave in Carroll Gardens.

Please make yourself available to the community to discuss this issue with your constituents before Wednesday, December 9th, 2009.

Sincerely,
(Your Name here)

A member of the Carroll Gardens Community

Please send to :

Bill De Blasio, NY City Councilman
email: deblasio@council.nyc.ny.us  
telephone:718-854-9791

Christine Quinn, NY City Council Speaker
email link http://council.nyc.gov/d3/html/members/home.shtml 
telephone: 212-788-7210 

John Liu, NY City Council Member and Chair of the Transportation Committee
email: liu@council.nyc.gov 
telephone: 212-788-7022

Betsy Gotbaum, NY City Advocate
email:ombudsman@pubadvocate.nyc.gov. 
telephone: 212- 669-7200

Brad Lander, Council Member Elect
email: brad.lander@gmail.com