Democratic voters dump Marge Markey

It's been 18 years, and just like that, she's gone.

Desperate times call for desperate measures

From the Daily News:

The opening of a controversial homeless shelter slated for Maspeth, Queens, has been postponed, officials said Wednesday.

The shelter was set to open Oct. 1 in a converted Holiday Inn.

“This postponement gives us the opportunity to continue to bring pressure on the City to change its plan for Maspeth,” said Assemblywoman Margaret Markey (D-Queens).

City Hall sources said the plan will still go forward and the opening will only be pushed back a few weeks.

Compare the coverage above to this coverage from QNS:

The planned opening date of Oct. 1 for the proposed homeless shelter at the Holiday Inn Express on 55th Road has been postponed, Assemblywoman Margaret Markey announced on Wednesday.

After holding phone conversations with both Mayor Bill de Blasio and Steve Banks, Department of Homeless Services (DHS) commissioner, on Sept. 6 and 7, Markey reported that the city has agreed to not move forward with the original opening date of Oct. 1 for the proposed shelter, and will continue to evaluate the plan and the program for location.

“This postponement gives us the opportunity to continue to bring pressure on the city to change its plan for Maspeth,” Markey said. “With [the] Community Board 5 (CB 5) review still underway, we still have not seen answers to our continuing concerns about the location of the facility, the track record of the proposed provider and details about the financial arrangement between the city, Acacia Network and the hotel owner.”

Shortly after the shelter proposal was made in early August, Markey reached out to City Comptroller Scott Stringer to aide her in examining the proposal. Stringer then met with Markey, other elected officials and local civic leaders where he explained that he is responsible for reviewing the contract for any facility once it is submitted. As of today, Markey announced, Stringer has yet to receive a contract for the proposed shelter at the Holiday Inn.

This has set off a bunch of questions which I think we all can answer rhetorically.

• Do we really think that a phone call from Marge ("Why are you booing me?") Markey caused Steven Banks and Bill de Blasio postpone this, or was it the fact that the community held a march shutting down streets and exposing the fact that the owner has a history of bribery?
• As shelter contracts require 30 days written notice to the community, if I was a reporter, I would have called the comptroller's office on September 1, which was the deadline for the receipt of the proposal. Upon finding out that there was no submission, I would have reported that the plan was obviously delayed and investigated why.
• Why were Fox 5 and PIX11 news at the protest last night while the local press was busy crafting a politician's press release into a story?
• Do they all realize that Joe Addabbo told protesters last night that he found Markey's claim surprising being that he and and Liz Crowley didn't receive notification from the city that the plan is delayed?
• Do we think that this "story" is conveniently timed just before the primary coming up this Tuesday to Make Marge Markey look like she is actually doing something?

Crowd turns their backs on DHS Commissioner Banks at shelter hearing

From PIX11:

On Wednesday night a spirited crowd with sharp verbal jabs came out to a Community Board meeting that started with the crowd of nearly 1,000 turning their backs on Commissioner Banks.

"It's a travesty what these politicians do and get away with without having public opinion, that is why we all stand here with our backs to him," said one attendee.

Commissioner Banks took very few questions. He primarily sat in his suit, tie and loafers. The only movement on his body was the slow twitch of his fingers.

His body language did not sit well for many at the meeting.

"He is so ice cold. He sued the city for the last thirty years, reaping our tax dollars. He is insensitive to he whole thing, the man should get kicked out and De Blasio should get a new commissioner put in."

Markey vs. Barnwell at Maspeth shelter hearing

Thought you'd enjoy these. They are quite something. Perhaps a preview of primary day?

2,000 protesters shut Maspeth streets down

Photo by Robert Holden

I was wondering when a community in Queens was going to tell de Blasio to shove it and from the photos and videos coming in, it appears that day was yesterday. Roughly 2000 people poured into the streets of Maspeth to protest BDB's planned dumping of a homeless shelter for "high risk" adult couples on the town.

The protesters assembled at the Holiday Inn Express near Maurice Avenue and marched through the streets of Maspeth, led by civic leaders and State Senator Tony Avella. Several candidates for election, including Democratic Assembly candidate Brian Barnwell, Republican Assembly candidate Tony Nunziato and State Senate candidate Michael Conigliaro participated. In fact, the Queens County GOP sent several reps to march with their banner, but not one cog of the Democratic Queens Machine bothered to show up.

The marchers left the hotel area and entered the heart of Maspeth, heading east on Grand Avenue and shutting it down. After marching through almost the entire length of town, they doubled back and marched up 69th Street, stopping to jeer Marge Markey at both her office and her home. They then walked down to Maurice Park and over the pedestrian bridge back to the hotel.

Yesterday was quite hot but thanks to water donated by Rosa's Pizza and O'Neill's Restaurant, nearly everyone who participated made the full 5 mile round trip.

Although the tweeders, through their lackeys in the media, like to portray Maspeth residents (or anyone opposed to a homeless shelter) as "racist", there were a number of non-white people either marching or cheering the protesters on from their homes. People of all races don't want their quality of life destroyed, their families living in fear, or their property investments threatened by the presence of a facility that even the city admits will cause major problems in the community. And that's what Lincoln Restler, Bill de Blasio and the rest of the tweeders need to understand before they get swept out of office by an electoral tsunami.

However, with responses like THIS, it doesn't appear that Liz Crowley is getting the message:

A light rain was falling as Community Board member Jerry Drake addressed about 200 protesters on Thursday night, August 25th in front of the Holiday Inn Express near Maurice Avenue and the L.I.E in Maspeth. Drake was the last speaker of the night and reported on a meeting he had earlier that day with Council Member Elizabeth Crowley in her Glendale office.

Drake told the crowd that he had asked Crowley if she would attend the giant protest march scheduled for Saturday, August 27th through the Maspeth community to protest the de Blasio Administration's decision to convert Holiday Inn Express into a homeless shelter for 220 adults. Crowley told Drake that she would not attend the march. The news however did not surprise the crowd since Crowley had not attended any of the 9 daily protests that regularly draw between 200-300 protesters. A frustrated Jerry Drake asked Crowley why she decided not attend the protests or the scheduled march to support her Maspeth constituents in a show of unity against Mayor de Blasio. "I didn't like the way I was treated at the Martin Luther School homeless meeting (on Aug. 3rd)," said Crowley. Drake reported that he asked Crowley what he should report back to the protesters. "Tell them whatever you want," she replied.

Crowley then told Drake that the Maspeth shelter was going to happen because the Mayor wants to place homeless shelters in Queens and particularly in the Community Board 5 area that has no shelters. When Drake reminded Crowley that she is up for reelection next year she responded, "I'll cross that bridge when the time comes." Crowley's response angered the protesters with many chanting ‒ "Vote her out!"

Part of secret Maspeth shelter meeting caught on video

Well, well, well. We finally have a look inside the "secret" meeting that was held August 3rd at the Maspeth Library to "inform" elected officials about the conversion of the local Holiday Inn Express into a 110-room homeless shelter for adult couples without children.

In this video you will note:

• The first person heard speaking is Vincent Arcuri, Chairman of Queens CB5. He mentions that the next CB5 meeting is not until September 14th and they need more time to inform the public and study the issue. The city knew this and planned this entire thing for when CB5 was in recess and most board members are on vacation. It's an old trick.


• Marge Markey and Joe Addabbo stay silent (Addabbo actually left the room).


• Lincoln Restler and cohort stating that they have to "plan capacity" (because there is no immediate need but they will be producing more homeless to enrich de Blasio's friends in the homeless warehousing industry). Arcuri points out that they are not "planning capacity" if they are moving people in the day it converts.


• Note that Lincoln Restler planned a meeting at a library knowing full well that there was a children's program scheduled and that they would have to cut it short.


• "This was intended to be a briefing for the elected officials" so he brought them a dozen donuts from Greenpoint. Why not hold it at the CB office one of the electeds' offices?


• Liz Crowley saying "as the council member that represents both Glendale and Maspeth, I feel that you are pitting one part of my district against another and I think that's unfair" - indicating that she is fully aware that a swap is being made.


• No one at the table questioning why 35 rooms would be an acceptable alternative to a 110-unit shelter. Instead they are going to idiotically knock themselves out looking for sites they can mention as alternatives so that the district will end up with an influx of 290 homeless people instead of 220.


• Liz Crowley demanding that no 60-day clock start and instead of answering her, the city reps get up and walk out.


• Someone yells out "So is the clock ticking?" and there's no answer.

Friends in Maspeth, with this type of representation, you are royally screwed.

Interesting signs pop up at Maspeth shelter protest

Will any elected official ever show up? Maybe someone from outside the district?

Day 3 of protests and still no electeds

Screenshot of NY1 website

Hundreds of Maspeth residents have been showing up every night at the Holiday Inn Express to protest against the mayor's plan to dump 220 homeless adults into their community. Noticeably absent are Elizabeth Crowley, Joe Addabbo and Marge Markey, the elected officials who represent the area. Their lack of attendance is one of the biggest topics mentioned every night. You really need to wonder what they are thinking by not showing up to support their constituents.

Several shelters were defeated over the last 2 years

From Norwood News:

In a rare reversal, a Bedford Park landlord has halted a process to convert a significant portion of their seven-story building into a shelter, a win for tenants who are celebrating with cautious optimism.

From the Daily News:

A city plan to site temporary housing for the homeless on residential Taylor Ave. in Van Nest has been scuttled, said one official from the local community board. The decision came days after neighbors railed against the shelter at a hearing in Morris Park.

From Politico:

Gov. Andrew Cuomo's administration has dropped a proposal to convert some vacant buildings at the former Creedmoor Psychiatric Center in Queens into shelters for the homeless, a senior administration official told POLITICO New York Monday.

State Sen. Tony Avella, whose Queens district includes Creedmoor, said he was assured late last week by the governor’s office that the plan was going nowhere.

From Politico:

One day after Councilman Donovan Richards asked the de Blasio administration to reconsider opening a men's homeless shelter in his Rockaway district, the Department of Homeless Services said it has scrapped the plan.

From the NY Post:

Mayor de Blasio has put the kibosh on a homeless shelter proposed for the Upper West Side, the man pushing the project claims.

Anti-shelter pressure came from local elected officials, including Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal and Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, a former councilwoman.

From the Queens Chronicle:

It’s official: There will be no city homeless shelter in Bayside. City Councilman Paul Vallone (D-Bayside) reports that he was officially notified by the Department of Homeless Services that the plan to put one there, announced in October, has been taken off the table.

Questioning Markey's motives

Assemblywoman Marge Markey has claimed that the Bishop of Brooklyn tried to bribe her back in 2010 for $5,000 at Bishop Ford High School in Brooklyn. Then she admitted that she was wrong, it was at the Bishop's Chancery and it was in 2007.

Why isn't the press asking why a public official didn't report the bribery to authorities, who then would have set up a sting to ensnare the bishop? Then there would be no doubt that her story was the truth.

This seems to be a convenient lie concocted by an irrelevant, desperate politician.

Markey sex abuse bill raises questions

From the Daily News:

Assemblywoman Margaret Markey (D-Queens) is pushing a bill to not only eliminate the statute of limitations on child sexual abuse cases, but also to open a one-year window in which victims who can’t sue under current law would be able to.

Markey in 2009 amended her bill to get rid of the requirement giving victims 90 days to notify public institutions of an intent to sue. But she removed the provision two years later after receiving a barrage of opposition from groups representing local governments and schools.

The state Association of Counties in a memo at the time argued that the 90-day deadline “is important to allow the locality to promptly investigate such claims and obtain evidence.”

Notices of claim are filed ahead of all manner of lawsuits, including those involving accidental falls, false arrest, malpractice in public hospitals or injuries at public schools or public transportation. The provision has been on the books in the city for decades, but Gov. Cuomo in 2013 signed into law a uniform statewide 90-day filing deadline.

Markey spokesman Michael Armstrong on Friday called the argument over removing the 90-day provision “disingenuous” and a “red herring.” He said sex abuse at public institutions like schools tends to be exposed earlier on and dealt with quickly.

Of course! Only kids going to Catholic schools repress memories for years and need an extension of the statute of limitations. Public school kids, who make up the majority of school sex abuse victims, get justice right away.

Does anyone else think this woman got lobbied by trial lawyers looking to make a quick buck? She certainly has never fought for anything with this much zeal for her own district.

Marge Markey sends out anti-corruption mailer

I'm not really sure why the Times Ledger felt that an article about Marge Markey's re-election fundraiser was newsworthy without at least mentioning that she has a Democratic opponent in the primary. But she would like her constituents to know that she is not corrupt, as evidenced by this mailer, the fact that she voted with Sheldon Silver something like 99% of the time and has been a Crowley clubhouse girl since 1999.

(She also doesn't represent Glendale, but don't tell the Times Ledger that.)

Markey to have challenger

From the Queens Courier:

Brian Barnwell is looking to be the voice of a district he has called home all his life and one he says needs a big change and new leadership.

The 29-year-old Woodside resident and lawyer has announced that he will run next year for the seat in the state Assembly representing District 30, which covers the neighborhoods of Maspeth, Woodside, Middle Village and parts of Astoria, Sunnyside and Long Island City.

The seat is currently held by Assemblywoman Margaret Markey, who was first elected in 1998.

“I just feel like it’s time for a change. I feel like we need some new energy where people are going to go out and engage the community and bring the community voices into the conversation,” Barnwell said. “Everyone is getting pushed out. The teachers are being thrown under the bus. The students are being thrown under the bus. The middle class is just being destroyed and we can’t take it for granted anymore. So I want to be the voice of the middle class, because I am in the middle class.”

Barnwell’s desire to run for office was fueled recently when he began working as the director of special events for Councilman Costa Constantinides, and experienced many residents coming into the district office complaining about various issues – including affordable housing.

This made him realize that there needed to be a change and he would be that change.

Republican or Democrat? Don't know. They didn't bother to ask and it doesn't matter anyway.

What Queens lawmakers don't do in Albany

From the Times Ledger:

State Sen. Malcolm Smith (D-Hollis) was absent in Albany more than all his colleagues in the chamber, except for Sen. Adriano Espaillat (D-Washington Heights), who was mounting an unsuccessful bid for Congress.

But Smith was among the Senate’s top 10 drafters of resolutions adopted by both houses, the New York Public Interest Research Group’s review of the 2014 state legislative session found.

NYPIRG, a nonpartisan good government group, compiled an analysis of this year’s action in Albany. The report found lawmakers have sent fewer bills to Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s desk than any state executive has received in the past century.

Smith was among seven senators who were absent and excused from at least 100 votes in 2014, NYPIRG’s report said.

Smith, who spent part of the session on trial in a federal corruption case, missed 808 votes. This put him directly behind Espaillat, an uptown Manhattan congressional hopeful who was not present during 891 votes.

Smith’s office said they believed his absences all occurred when he was in federal court and on trial for allegedly attempting to bribe his way onto the Republican line in the 2013 mayoral election.

In the Assembly, NYPIRG said four Queens lawmakers were among 18 who missed at least 150 votes, including Assembly members Aravella Simotas (D-Astoria) with 275 excuses or absences; Andrew Hevesi (D-Forest Hills) with 264; Margaret Markey (D-Maspeth) with 172; and William Scarborough (D-Jamaica) with 168.

No Queens lawmaker made NYPIRG’s lists of Assembly and Senate members who prime sponsored the most legislation that made it through their respective chamber — or both. A prime sponsor is the lawmaker who first backs a measure in his or her house.

But Sen. Tony Avella (D-Bayside) was among 11 senators who prime sponsored at least 150 active bills in 2014, according to the report.

Avella, a member of the Independent Democratic Conference that had split from mainline Democrats and controlled the Senate with Republicans, was only able to get eight of these measures through both chambers, NYPIRG said.

Waiting until the cows come home?

From COMET:

Received a call from Carolina Gill at Assembly Member Marge Markey's office to let me know they have been receiving complaints of youth hanging out at the abandoned house at 52-29 84th Street and had followed up with the Department of Buildings.

Carolina said that she was informed by the Department of Buildings that a court order to seal the building was approved on March 26th. On March 27th, the order was forwarded to Housing Preservation & Development (HPD) who now has to hire a contractor to do the work.

We also heard from Michael Mallon at Council Member Dromm's office to say that he also followed up. I asked him to try and find out how long it will take to hire a contractor. Hopefully it doesn't take several months.

Markey may have primary opponent

From the Queens Chronicle:

Democratic sources are suggesting one longtime member of the state Assembly may face a serious challenge in this year’s Democratic primary.

Dmytro Fedkowskyj, who served as Queens’ member on the Panel for Educational Policy, the city Department of Education’s policy-making arm, from 2008 through 2013, may run for the Assembly seat in the 30th District.

That would put Fedkowskyj, a Middle Village resident, up against 15-year-incumbent Assemblywoman Margaret Markey (D-Maspeth). The 30th District is based in Maspeth, but also includes Woodside and parts of Astoria, Long Island City, Middle Village and Sunnyside.

In a statement, Fedkowskyj said he has not yet decided if he would enter the race, but kept the option open.

Markey was elected to the Assembly in 1998, succeeding Rep. Joe Crowley (D-Jackson Heights), now chairman of the Queens Democratic Party.

Some Democrats see Markey as vulnerable because she has rarely faced a competitive election. Since taking office, she has never had a competitive Democratic primary race and was unopposed by Republicans between 2000 and 2006.

According to several Democratic insiders, Fedkowskyj may be just the first of many Queens Democrats eyeing challenges to incumbents this year.

“Many see the party leadership as being the weakest it’s been in a while,” said one longtime Democratic insider, saying Crowley’s defeat in the mayoral race, in which he backed former Council Speaker Christine Quinn; public advocate’s race, wherein the party initially backed Reshma Saujani who failed to make the runoff; and in the speaker’s election, during which Crowley endorsed the ill-fated bid of Councilman Dan Garodnick (D-Manhattan), may have left the impression that the party’s establishment is weak.

Markey forks over $70K in taxpayer money to the Mets, USTA & Resorts World

From the Queens Gazette:

Assemblymember Margaret M. Markey (D-Maspeth) announced on April 25 that the state of New York has awarded a grant of $70,000 to the Queens Tourism Council (QTC) to help it promote the borough as a destination during the upcoming year.

Markey, who now chairs the Tourism, Parks, Culture and Sports Development Committee, created the first tourism program for Queens when she was a member of the staff of Queens Borough President Claire Shulman and established the Queens Tourism Council. The group currently consists of some 50 entities, including hotels, cultural organizations, restaurants and venues such as Citi Field, the USTA and Resorts World Casino NYC.

When her hometown of Maspeth needed $50K to start ULURP action for a park, Marge came up empty. She's now allegedly "preserving" Astoria's Steinway Mansion by sitting on a committee to save it, but has put no money toward that, either.

Corporations that make billions? No problem finding $70K for them!

And this woman gets returned to the assembly by dopey voters time after time...

Hope springs eternal for Steinway Mansion

From DNA Info:

The sprawling Steinway Mansion, once home to the world's most famous piano-making family, has had a "For Sale" sign perched on its stately lawn for the past several years.

Now a newly-formed coalition of Queens stakeholders have banded together to seek a buyer for the landmarked Astoria property, in the hopes that it could be used as a public museum or cultural center.

"The Steinway Mansion is indeed a place of significance, and should be saved for the benefit of future generations," said Bob Singleton, head of the Greater Astoria Historical Society, which announced the formation of the Friends of Steinway Mansion earlier this week.

The 27-room mansion, an Italianate-style villa situated atop a hill at 18-33 41st St., not far from the Steinway & Sons piano factory, was built in the 1850s. It was home to the Steinway family from the end of the 19th-century until 1925, and declared a New York City landmark in 1967.

Local groups have been calling for a public use of the building for years, Singleton said, but this is the first time an official effort has been launched. So far, the coalition's members include Assemblywomen Margaret Markey, Astoria Assemblywoman Aravella Simotas, the Long Island City-based Artisans Guild of America as well as the Steinway and Sons company itself.

Singleton said the coalition is working to garner public support for their vision, and is hoping a strong candidate will come forward soon to purchase the home for the purpose of a community use.

What about Vallone?

Electeds move to block Maspeth depot

Maspeth Doesn't Need Another Depot!

***MEDIA ALERT***
CITY & MTA IN A RUSH TO DUMP DEPOT IN MASPETH

Council Members Van Bramer, Crowley, Assemblywoman Markey and Local Elected Officials unite with Concerned Residents to Speak out against the Proposed Location

On Friday, March 4th Council Member Jimmy Van Bramer, Council Member Elizabeth Crowley and Assemblywoman Marge Markey will stand with local elected officials and concerned residents to speak out against the city and MTA’s proposed Bus Depot site in Maspeth. The proposed site on 49th Street and Galasso Place would be the third MTA depot in an area that is already saturated with commercial traffic. The rush job in selecting Maspeth as a potential site has raised concerns about the secretive process that gave no notice to the community or to local elected officials. Council Members Van Bramer and Crowley and Assemblywoman Markey are going to unite with local elected officials and residents to protest against the proposed location.

WHO: City Council Member Jimmy Van Bramer; City Council Member Elizabeth Crowley;
Assemblywoman Marge Markey; Local Elected Officials; and concerned residents.

WHAT: Protest City & MTA’s rush job to dump another bus depot in Maspeth
WHEN: Friday, March 4th 2:30PM
WHERE: Corner of 49th Street and Galasso Place

Woodside wall is woefully inadequate

From the Daily News:

A group of Woodside residents has been griping for years about the noise, garbage and exhaust fumes coming from the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway into their neighborhood.

But yesterday's groundbreaking for a new barrier wall that was supposed to bring relief was bittersweet.

The 12-foot-high concrete wall will run 250 feet along Laurel Hill Blvd., an off-ramp on the westbound side of the BQE. But residents said that the wall will only protect a small commercial strip of the road. The residential area farther away will still be vulnerable to the traffic jams that plague the service road during rush hours.

"This is a Band-Aid on a wound that has been festering for many years," acknowledged Rep. Joseph Crowley, who allocated $1.8 million in federal funding for the project. "This is just the beginning, not the end," he said of the sound and pollution barrier slated to be completed next spring.

A total of $2.05 million was allocated for the state Department of Transportation's construction of the wall, with Assemblywoman Margaret Markey kicking in $250,000 in state funds.

But the construction costs will be only $673,000. The $1.38 million left over will go toward modifications and cost over-runs if they arise, said Adam Levine, a DOT spokesman.

The leftover cash won't be enough for a sound barrier on the other side of the road where residents say it is needed most, Levine said, because there is already a large brick embankment there. Building a "structure on top of a structure" could cost millions more, he added.

$1.38M for modifications and cost overruns? Wow.