Interviews with Governor Cuomo Cabinet Officials - April 27th -Capital Tonite

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History Lesson at Cypress Hills Cemetery by Lisa L. Colangelo - NY Daily News

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Bearing flowers, Naomi King went on a Black History Month tour of Cypress Hills Cemetery last week.

Myeisha Nixon stared at the elaborate gravestone for jazz great Eubie Blake as she listened to a brief lecture about his numerous accomplishments.

"It's fun and exciting to learn about new things," said the bubbly 10-year-old as she walked through Cypress Hills Cemetery last week to hear about the famous African-Americans buried on its sprawling grounds.

But the unusual setting made the trip a little more exciting - and eerie, she admitted.

"They can stack graves on top of each other!" she exclaimed, her eyes widening, when she learned that coffins in family plots are sometimes stacked.

The group of Brooklyn youngsters went on the tour as part of a Black History Month celebration organized by Assemblyman Darryl Towns (D-Brooklyn) and Cypress Hills Cemetery.

The cemetery has embarked on a campaign to celebrate its famous permanent residents, which include a number of African-American trailblazers.

Baseball legend Jackie Robinson is buried there, along with writer and historian Arturo Schomburg and Charlotte Ray, the first female African-American lawyer in the nation.

Taliayah Rios, 11, and Marianny Rodriguez, 10, left flowers at the gravesites of Charlotte Ray and Wallace Turnage, a slave whose thrilling story of escape was detailed in the book "A Slave No More."

"I thought it would be really creepy to come here," said Marianny. "But it's fun and interesting."

Towns said he was amazed to discover the rich history in Cypress Hills, a 210 acre site that straddles Brooklyn and Queens.

"I had lived in the community for over 40 years and never knew the treasures we had in Cypress Hills," said Towns.

"When youngsters see that these heroes chose this as their final resting place, it might make them take a second look at our community and remember it deserves respect. It's not a place where you litter and graffiti."

Stephen Duer and Allan Smith, co-authors of a book about the cemetery, served as tour guides answering questions along the route.

Some of the kids were captivated by the colorful, heartbreaking memorials and headstones for infants.

"We're a monument-loving society," said Duer. "In my opinion, every stone in a cemetery is a monument to a life lived and has a story to tell."

Governor Cuomo Taps Towns to Head Big Housing Agency by Daniel Massey - Crain's New York Business

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Brooklyn Assemblyman to Become Commissioner of State's New Homes and Community Renewal Agency that Focuses on Housing

Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Thursday appointed Assemblyman Darryl Towns as commissioner and chief executive of New York State Homes and Community Renewal, the state agency that oversees finance, development and preservation of housing.

Mr. Towns replaces Brian Lawlor, a veteran housing official who last year led a consolidation of the Division of Housing and Community Renewal with nyhomes. As per the consolidation, Mr. Towns will also serve as chief executive of the state’s Housing Finance Agency and the State of New York Mortgage Agency.

A state official said Mr. Lawlor is likely to remain with the agency in a senior policy role.

Since 1992, Mr. Towns has represented the 54th Assembly District in Brooklyn. His father, Edolphus Towns, is a 14-term congressman. Darryl Towns has long been considered a potential successor to his father. It wasn’t immediately clear what his new position says about his aspirations for higher office.

While in the Assembly, he spearheaded the ANCHOR Program, which helped bolster commercial revitalization in residential communities in New York City and support the increase of newly constructed housing developments.

"HCR is an essential agency with the ability to effect real change for the people of New York,” said Don Capoccia, vice president of the New York State Association for Affordable Housing. “Assemblyman Towns will make it his priority to facilitate affordable housing in both urban and rural communities, therefore advancing much needed economic growth in New York.”

The appointment does not require Senate confirmation, a spokesman for the governor said.

Rep Nydia Velazquez Christmas Party on Dec 17th at the Warsaw in Greenpoint Bklyn...

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Rep Ed Towns and Assembly Member Darryl Towns Christmas Party Held at Brooklyn Job Corps Center on December 16th...

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Wal-Mart Meets Resistance in New York City - Video - CNN.com

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CNN's Mary Snow reports activists in New York are fighting plans to bring a Wal-Mart to Brooklyn.

Wal-Mart Tries Again for New York City Store by Elizabeth A. Harris - NYTimes.com

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The New York City Council was supposed to hold a hearing this Tuesday about a renewed campaign by Wal-Mart to open its stores in the city.

But it had to be rescheduled, for January.

“We needed a bigger room,” the Council speaker, Christine C. Quinn, said. “We heard from unions all across the city, small business leaders from across the city. It’s a growing list of people.”

Wal-Mart, an inescapable part of the retail landscape just about everywhere except in New York City, twice retreated on efforts to open stores in the city after fierce community opposition.

Now it is back, and mounting an aggressive campaign to crack the country’s largest urban market. Wal-Mart is looking at properties in each of the five boroughs and has hired Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s former campaign manager, Bradley Tusk, to help coordinate its lobbying efforts.

Bill de Blasio, the city’s public advocate, predicted, “They’re not going to find it easy to get serious public support.”

“As you reap,” Mr. de Blasio added, “so shall you sow, and they’ve had a really bad history. You can talk to people across the spectrum and they’ve all heard something about the problems of Wal-Mart.”

The renewed push by Wal-Mart comes five years after the retailer tried to open stores in Queens and Staten Island but faced furious opposition from community leaders and elected officials. But the retailer and its supporters, and even its opponents, say that the dynamics have changed and that the city has become more receptive to so-called big-box stores, like Target and Ikea.

But perhaps the greatest difference is the economy. With the city’s unemployment rate hovering around 9 percent, any project that promises jobs might find appeal.

“This is a time when the economy is bad and a lot of my constituents are looking for jobs,” said Darryl C. Towns, a state assemblyman whose Brooklyn district includes East New York, one area Wal-Mart is considering. “We have to begin to think out of the box and look at some different opportunities.”

Wal-Mart is the country’s largest private employer, with 1.4 million workers, but it has been a constant target for labor groups who say its wages are too low and its benefits insufficient. The United States Supreme Court recently agreed to hear the nation’s biggest employment discrimination suit, which claims that Wal-Mart has discriminated against female employees in pay and promotion.

“There are some people who say, ‘Well, if Wal-Mart comes in, that means jobs,’ ” said Stuart Appelbaum, the president of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, which supported the efforts to stop Wal-Mart the last time it tried to open stores in New York. “But what it does is, it replaces good jobs with jobs that keep people in poverty.”

Other big-box stores that have gained a foothold in New York, like Costco, provide far better compensation than Wal-Mart, some labor leaders said.

And critics say Wal-Mart would also spell doom for nearby small businesses that could never compete with the giant retailer on price and selection. But some Wal-Mart supporters say protecting businesses that charge higher prices is unfair to consumers, especially when so many New Yorkers are worried about their finances.

“Competition means people have to step up and compete or it’s not going to work out,” said Steven Spinola, the president of the Real Estate Board of New York. “I don’t think government should say that we’re going to make sure people have to pay more or travel farther because we want to protect certain types of establishments.”

This time, Wal-Mart is using different tactics to make stores more palatable to neighbors.

Steven Restivo, a spokesman for Wal-Mart, said the retailer was looking at sites of all sizes, including land parcels that would accommodate stores that — by its standards — are quite small, under 30,000 square feet. Many Wal-Marts are five times that size. The company is working with a commercial real estate broker to talk to property owners.

“There is a business case to be made for our growth in large cities across the country,” Mr. Restivo said. “We know we have customers there, and we know we want to make access to our brand more convenient.”

Wal-Mart might also look to build stores in New York that are small enough to require only a willing landlord and a lease, bypassing the City Council, which must give special zoning approval to projects over 10,000 square feet. About a year ago, the Council defeated a plan, which had been supported by the mayor, to redevelop the Kingsbridge Armory in the Bronx into a major commercial complex.

This year, Wal-Mart has also expanded its pitch, promoting itself as a solution to problems beyond unemployment. Mr. Restivo said that in its hunt for real estate, the company was focusing on areas that were “underserved” both economically and in their access to fresh food. Providing more fruits and vegetables to these so-called food deserts is a crucial issue for both Mr. Bloomberg and Ms. Quinn, the council speaker.

And in an effort that is likely to anger other labor groups, Wal-Mart is working to win the support of one powerful union group, the Building and Construction Trades Council, and is negotiating a deal that would guarantee that some stores would be built by union workers.

But there is still enormous opposition, from unions, community groups and elected leaders, to the idea of a Wal-Mart rising in any city neighborhood.

One union official, Pat Purcell, an aide to the president of the UFCW Local 1500, which represents supermarket workers, said, “This is not a battle, this is a war.”

Mr. Bloomberg, who invested major political capital in trying to win support for the Kingsbridge Armory proposal, told reporters recently that he “would love to see Wal-Mart open here,” noting that many New Yorkers travel to Nassau County or New Jersey to shop at Wal-Mart.

“You’re not going to stop, and nor should you stop, people from having the opportunity to shop where they want to shop,” Mr. Bloomberg said. “The city should not be in the business of picking and choosing who is there.”

Health Disparities Affecting Minority Women Forum - September 23rd, 2010...

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What: Health Disparities Affecting Minority Women Forum

When: September 23, 2010

Time: 8:30 am - 11 am

Where: East New York Northeast Brooklyn YMCA

60 Williams Avenue @ Corner of Atlantic Avenue

Still Not Illegal to Film Police: New York Rep. Towns Brings the Issue to Congress by Martin Hill - LA County Libertarian Examiner

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Rep. Edolphus “Ed” Towns is a 14- term member of the U.S. House of Representatives in New York's 10th District. He has a Masters Degree in social work and is an ordained Baptist minister.
 On July 20th, Towns introduced Resolution 298, affirming the public's right to film police. In his press release, Towns briefly referred to an incident in New York where police beat up a man then falsely charged him with a crime; the man was acquitted after videotape of the beating came to light. (Incidentally, that video has been featured on my youtube channel for years, and has almost 200,000 views. See 'Cops beat the hell out of handicapped man, try to frame him').

Towns should be highly commended for introducing this resolution. It should be interesting to see how many Congressmembers support it.. Yours truly has been involved in this issue for some time. My December article Arkansas State Trooper meets videocamera: It's not illegal to film police includes my video of an Arkansas trooper during a brief traffic stop this past January. (it was also featured on PrisonPlanet.com). The article also includes information on three admirable activists who film cops and other government servants: my friend Greg, the Houston man who filmed and shouted at George H.W. Bush in a pizza place late last year; the webmaster of CheckpointUSA, who films warrantless checkpoints to the chagrin of arrogant officers; and Brett Darrow of Missouri, who has a dash camera mounted in his car and who got at least one rogue cop fired after he went on a rampage, making criminal threats against Darrow. I profiled Darrow in my March article The Brett Darrow Case: a hero in our time . And of course you have the video of the power-starved kook slob of a cop who tried, unsuccessfully, of course, to tell me that I couldn't film him. (See It's NOT Illegal to Film Cops. RESIST ILLEGAL ORDERS- EXERT YOUR GOD GIVEN RIGHTS ).

Here is Congressman Town's youtube channel. Below is an excerpt from Town's resolution:

Rep. Towns Moves to Affirm Citizens’ Right to Photograph Police Activity

WASHINGTON - U.S. Rep. Edolphus “Ed” Towns (NY-10) is taking steps to ensure that citizens who videotape suspicious police activity are not improperly prosecuted. Several recent news reports have highlighted instances where police or security personnel have improperly arrested innocent civilians taking photographs and video footage in public. To help raise awareness about the issue, Rep. Towns introduced H.Con.Res 298, a congressional resolution recognizing that the videotaping or photographing of police engaged in potentially abusive activity in a public place should not be prosecuted in State or Federal courts.

“We are all deeply grateful for the law enforcement personnel who protect our communities every day while respecting the rights of individuals,” said Rep. Towns. “With this resolution, we are making it clear that the rights of citizens are balanced with the rights of those who are sent to protect them. Too often innocent civilians have found themselves penalized for exercising their right to document instances of police brutality in public. With this resolution, Congress recognizes every American’s right to record improper law enforcement conduct in public.”

A number of court cases across the country have misinterpreted the intent of wiretapping laws and are incorrectly prosecuting individuals for videotaping police activities in public. H.Con.Res 298 strikes a balance between the rights of police officers to diligently perform their duties and the rights of citizens, as guaranteed by the First Amendment, to peacefully ensure that law enforcement officers are not improperly harming individuals.

Congressman Towns son Darryl C. Towns is a New York State Assembly Member. Darryl recently fought 'to reform the Rockefeller Drug Laws' in his state's budget. On his website, he said "Most importantly, those laws failed to curb drug abuse... In these tough economic times, instead of spending hundreds of millions of dollars each year imprisoning non-violent drug offenders, some of this money will now be used more effectively for treatment, education and job creation in our communities."

Top Paterson Official Resigns by Nicholas Confessore and Danny Hakim- City Room Blog - NYTimes.com

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The cabinet official who supervises the State Police has resigned in the wake of reports of intervention by the State Police and Gov. David A. Paterson into a domestic-assault case against a senior Paterson aide.

The official, Denise E. O’Donnell, deputy secretary for public safety, issued a statement Thursday after inquiries from The New York Times.

“The fact that the governor and members of the State Police have acknowledged direct contact with a woman who had filed for an order of protection against a senior member of the governor’s staff is a very serious matter,” she wrote. “These actions are unacceptable regardless of their intent.”

The resignation, at 2 p.m., came on a day when New York’s political establishment reeled at the news of Mr. Paterson’s involvement, with some of the beleaguered governor’s few remaining allies publicly suggesting that he should end his campaign for election.

Ms. O’Donnell wrote that she found the breach “particularly distressing” in an administration “that prides itself on its record of combating domestic violence.

“The behavior alleged here is the antithesis of what many of us have spent our entire careers working to build,” she added, “a legal system that protects victims of domestic violence and brings offenders to justice.”

Ms. O’Donnell wrote that the State Police superintendent, Harry J. Corbitt, had misled her last month about the involvement of the State Police in the case, in which the senior Paterson aide, David W. Johnson, was accused of hitting his companion:

Superintendent Corbitt told me the staff member had an argument with his girlfriend, that a domestic incident report had been filed, but that there was no arrest and that the matter was being handled as a local police matter by the New York Police Department.

My immediate concern was what role the State Police would take in the investigation and I was assured by Superintendent Corbitt that the State Police were not involved.

It was only last night when I learned from press reports the contrary details, including the involvement of the State Police.

For these reasons, I am resigning my position as commissioner of the Division of Criminal Justice Services and Deputy Secretary of Public Safety effective today.

Though Mr. Paterson has asked Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo, his likely opponent in the Democratic gubernatorial primary, to investigate the matter, many Democratic officials around the state said on Thursday, even before Ms. O’Donnell’s resignation, that there was little the governor could do to restore confidence in his ability to lead.

While no prominent Democrats have yet called on Mr. Paterson to resign, sentiment appears to be growing rapidly for him to suspend his campaign, regardless of the outcome of Mr. Cuomo’s inquiry.

“I think it’s become apparent that he should not seek re-election and should announce it soon,” said Representative Steve Israel of Long Island, who called Mr. Paterson in the morning to urge him not to run. “There’s a case to be made that he can leave Albany with his head held high, having focused exclusively on the crises that confront the state, rather than facing the distraction of a tough campaign.”

Mr. Israel is a longtime friend of Mr. Paterson’s who was among the governor’s finalists last year to fill Hillary Rodham Clinton’s Senate seat.

Hakeem Jeffries, a Democratic assemblyman from central Brooklyn, said he believed Mr. Paterson should suspend his campaign at least until Mr. Cuomo had finished his inquiry. But Mr. Jeffries also suggested that the results of Mr. Cuomo’s investigation might not matter, politically speaking.

“There is a growing sentiment, even among African-American elected officials, that this latest incident is not just the beginning of the end, but perhaps may be the end,” Mr. Jeffries said. “There’s no other evidence that we need to see. This is not going to work.”

Even some of the governor’s closest allies — including black elected officials and Democratic activists from New York City — believe there is little he can do to salvage his political career.

The Rev. Al Sharpton, one of Mr. Paterson’s strongest allies, said he had called a meeting of black elected officials for Saturday, the day before Mr. Paterson is scheduled to hold a campaign rally.

Mr. Sharpton said that John L. Sampson, the Senate Democratic leader; Senator Eric Adams, a Brooklyn Democrat; and Representative Gregory W. Meeks, a Queens Democrat, would be among those in attendance.

“We’re going to talk about the obvious fallout from this,” Mr. Sharpton said.

Mr. Paterson was not invited to the meeting, Mr. Sharpton said. The minister, whose influence has been widely viewed as one of Mr. Paterson’s few remaining buffers against Mr. Cuomo, would not say what he thought the governor should do next, commenting that he did not want to pre-empt Saturday’s meeting.

Another ally of the governor, Assemblyman Darryl C. Towns, paused and sighed heavily when asked to suggest a course of action for Mr. Paterson.

“I don’t know,” said Mr. Towns, a former chairman of the Legislature’s caucus of minority lawmakers. “I don’t know.”

Assemblyman Carl E. Heastie, who is also the chairman of the Bronx Democratic Party, refused to say whether he still supported the governor or whether Mr. Paterson should step aside.

“No comment, no comment, no comment,” was all Mr. Heastie would say.

“This may be the last straw,” said one person who is close to the governor, but who asked not to be named because of the sensitivity of the issue. “If the governor played any role at all in this scandal, he won’t survive.”

Assemblyman Joseph D. Morelle, a prominent upstate Democratic official and chairman of the Monroe County Democratic Party, said that the facts of Mr. Paterson’s communication with the woman who said she had been assaulted by Mr. Johnson needed to be aired in “days, not weeks and months.”

“If there’s any impropriety, I think it raises serious questions about whether he can continue to serve,” Mr. Morelle said of the governor.

Jeremy W. Peters contributed reporting.

The Ridgewood Reservoir by Blog Contributor Cristina Merrill

Reporter Cristina Merrill at the Ridgewood Reservoir on July 19th, 2009...

Lou Widerka does not think of himself as an expert bird watcher, but he can identify orioles, sparrows, hawks, water fowl, ducks, geese, blackbirds and warblers, all at the Ridgewood Reservoir.

Born and raised in Ridgewood, Widerka, a retired dispatcher for the Metropolitan Transit Authority, has seen the reservoir go through various phases throughout the years, and would like to see the reservoir stay as close to its natural state as possible.

“It’s an oasis in the middle of the city,” said Widerka, 66. “You’re transported from the hum-drum into a different world.”

Widerka is not alone. Community leaders and residents on both sides of the Queens and Brooklyn border are at odds with the Parks Department over proposed renovation at the Ridgewood Reservoir and the attached Highland Park. Both sides are open to making the reservoir more accessible to the public via passive improvements, such as adding walkways, repairing broken lamp posts and fences, and fixing staircases. However, there is disagreement as to what to do with the basins surrounding the natural spring, and how to remedy the run-down ball fields in the park.

The Ridgewood Reservoir consists of three basins enclosed by a perimeter of chain-link fencing. Basin 2 holds the actual reservoir, a self-sustaining natural spring. Basins 1 and 3 are filled with a variety of plants and trees and flowers, giving them a jungle-like appearance.

The reservoir has seen a bit of wear and tear over the years. Fences, stonework, dirt pathways, and even the remnants of an old automobile have long been overtaken by decades of untamed trees and plants. The result is a natural habitat and ecosystem for a variety of plant and animal life, such as fungi, Italian Wall lizards and turtles. According to Steve Fiedler, parks committee chairperson for Community Board 5 of Queens, the reservoir is also an east coast flyby for migrating birds and has over 100 species, 15 of which are on the endangered list.

The educational value is of interest to communities throughout the New York City boroughs. Darryl Towns, Assembly-member for the 54^th Assembly District of Brooklyn, is open to the passive improvements that will make the reservoir more accessible to the public. He sees the reservoir as a “nature sanctuary” that can give residents and students a chance to see what New York City was like before it was all asphalt and concrete. He believes that opening the reservoir to the public would be a great opportunity to “understand how ecology or natural ecology can exist within an urban setting.”

In addition to being a nature sanctuary, the reservoir also has a great deal of history attached to it. It is a pre-Civil War construction, and much of the stonework and fences were built by master craftsmen. The Battle of Long Island during the Revolutionary War was fought within a mile of the area. Attached to the reservoir is the Cypress Hills National Cemetery, which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1997. It holds veterans from the American Revolutionary War through the Vietnam War.

Local members of the community, such as Widerka, see this historical value. He thinks the old pump and gate houses should be renovated into educational centers.

“It’s a unique location that can’t be duplicated,” said Widerka. “It’s an opportunity that’s staring us in the face.”

Contributing Reporter Cristina Merrill has worked for the Queens Chronicle and is currently attending Columbia J-School

Elected Officials and UFT Call for Changes to State Charter School Law - United Federation of Teachers

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Urge amendments to ensure charter schools are open to all, including special ed and non-English speaking students...

Proposed changes would make finances transparent, ban profiteering in publicly financed charters...

State Senate Majority Leader John Sampson talks about FACT - Fairness, Accountability, Choice and Transparency - at the UFT's press conference on Jan. 3rd...

Citing evidence that New York City charter schools enroll far fewer of the city’s poorest students, English-language learners and special education pupils, a group of elected officials, parents and the UFT proposed on Jan. 3 a set of wide-ranging changes to New York State’s charter school law.

The changes are designed to ensure equal access to charters by all students, to increase transparency in charter school finances and operations, and to remove the ability of for-profit operators to use charters as profit centers.

UFT President Michael Mulgrew said, “New York’s charter school experiment has led to some promising innovations, but as a group New York City charter schools have become a separate and unequal branch of public education, working with a far smaller proportion of our neediest students than the average public school.”

“The current law allows charter schools to operate without the transparency in their finances and operations that officials and the public need to judge their success; it also permits charters to become profit centers, paying inappropriate salaries and outsize management fees. Until all these issues are addressed, we are urging the Legislature not to consider any other action on charter schools, including the potential lifting of the charter school cap.”

Mr. Mulgrew added, “Race to the Top guidelines specifically state that charter schools should ‘serve student populations that are similar to local district student populations, especially relative to high-need students.’ How can New York move forward with its Race to the Top application until these inequities are addressed?”

Senate Majority Conference Leader John L. Sampson said, “Charter schools represent an experiment in pursuit of excellence, and we all applaud that intention. But in these tough economic times, those of us in government must demand and extract greater accountability and transparency from every dollar we invest, especially in support of our great asset — the education of our children.”

Assembly Member Darryl Towns said, “I support the UFT’s charter school revisions because they improve balance and equity for students and teachers of the state, as well as better transparency into the finances of these schools, allowing for better oversight by the public.”

New York City Comptroller John C. Liu said, “We have more limited resources than ever before — we have to make sure those resources are in the classrooms and not lining corporate pockets. Charter schools are meant to help make improvements for all students, not a small percentage. As Comptroller, I will insist on the facts, not spin.”

Support Grows for Legislative TV Channel by Support grows for legislative TV Channel By Amanda Cedrone - LegislativeGazette.com

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From left: Sen. John J. Bonacic, Sen. José M. Serrano, Assemblyman Ronald J. Canestrari and Assemblyman Darryl Towns listen to comments about how to expand an existing legislative television channel. Photo by Bob Bennett, Gazette photo.

The New York State Legislature Joint Advisory Board on Broadcast of State Government Proceedings met last week to discuss the future of the current legislative television channel.

The board, which is co-chaired by Sen. José M. Serrano, D-Bronx, and Assembly Majority Leader Ron Canestrari, D-Cohoes, has been appointed the task of expanding the content of the existing New York state Legislative channel. To accomplish this, the board recommends expanding the channel into a fully independent New York state government affairs channel modeled after C-SPAN.

"For too long the inner workings of the legislative process have been shrouded in secrecy," Serrano said. "By lifting the curtain, not just on legislative sessions, but on other important parts of the legislative process, we are providing programming that enables the public to become engaged in the workings of government and to take informed positions on the issues that matter to them."

The existing legislative channel was created in January 2006 when the Legislature sought to increase transparency and provide New Yorkers with greater access to proceedings in the Senate and Assembly chambers.

The channel broadcasts Assembly and Senate sessions. The board recently announced that beginning in January, all legislative hearings will also be broadcast. Serrano said his "highest priority for the channel is that it be completely free of any government appointees" and "completely nonpartisan."

Canestrari noted that the board's goal is to broadcast a full spectrum of governmental affairs content on the channel, including committee meetings, Court of Appeals hearings and hearings by the Board of Regents.

"Now we're not going to do just budget meetings, we're going to do Assembly hearings," said Canestrari.

The majority leader said the channel now remains dormant when the Legislature is not in session. With the expansion of the channel, much more content will be broadcast, regardless of whether the Legislature is in session.

"Why couldn't we [broadcast] Court of Appeals hearings when we aren't in session?" said Canestrari.

Board members hoped to achieve a better idea of the timeline of the project and the cost of the project through the hearings, in addition to soliciting ideas and opinions on how to improve upon the channel from those who testified.

Members of Common Cause/NY, a government watchdog group, have applauded the work of the board "to open up the legislative process with a public affairs channel."

Susan Lerner, executive director of Common Cause/NY spoke at the hearing to offer advice on the expansion of the channel. Lerner emphasized the importance of involving the public in the hearings, saying that it is "crucial they be involved" if the channel is truly to benefit them.

"Often times, the public has strong opinions and good ideas," said Lerner.

Blair Horner, legislative director for the New York Public Interest Research Group, who also spoke at the hearing, emphasized a number of factors important to the success of the channel including that it be accessible to all, involve all three branches of government and be non-partisan.

Tim Rooney, president and CEO of The Cable Telecommunications Association of New York, Inc, answered questions from the board regarding the estimated timeline of the project as well as the cost.

Rooney said that initially expanding the channel will not take long.

"As soon as [the Senate and Assembly] are ready to provide hearings for us we'll put them up," said Rooney.

The cost of the channel has not been estimated as the board is still developing ideas through hearings around the state.

"I know the state doesn't have a lot of spare change to be throwing around on this," said Rooney. "And the business community doesn't either but, from what I've gathered at the meetings I've had to date, I think we're going to be able to have a really dramatically improved product in a little while. You are already producing the content and that's the most expensive part."

Eventually, members of the board hope the channel will be as comprehensive and successful as C-SPAN, though they acknowledge that channel took 25 years to get to where it is today.

"We have to start with the lowest hanging fruit first," said Horner. "We have to draw people into the process to get them to know what's going on."

Serrano also noted that all committee rooms are currently being hardwired for broadcast and that the process should take another four to six weeks.

"We've been able to get away from politics and truly decide the best way to put together this channel," said Serrano.

Other members of the board also include Sens. Andrea Stewart-Cousins, D-Yonkers, David Valesky, D-Oneida, John Bonacic, R-Mount Hope and Assembly members Darryl Towns, D-Brooklyn, Margaret Markey, D-Maspeth, and Jane Corwin, R-Williamsville.

Bill Thompson Opens Campaign Office in Cypress Hills - 2009-10-10

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Rally and BBQ for Bill Thompson in Cypress Hills on Saturday October 10th...

Bill Thompson is opening a new Campaign Office in Cypress Hills, Brooklyn...@ 11 Crescent Street Brooklyn NY 11208 (Corner of Jamaica Avenue and Crescent Street)...On Saturday, October 10th - from 3 pm to 6 pm...

Join Bill Thompson, Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez, Congressman Ed Towns, Assemblyman Darryl Towns and many volunteers to Help Spread the Message that

"Eight is Enough"

There will be a Barbecue - Come Down Meet Bill Thompson and Help Defeat Bloomberg....

For More info on this Event Call Tommy Torres - 718 812 0515

Primary Day with Bill Thompson in Photos...

More Dems Want 'Fair Share' by Elizabeth Benjamin - The Daily Politics - NY Daily News

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As the Senate Democrats prepare to conference the question of tax reform at 6 p.m. this evening, the so-called Fair Share bill being pushed by the WFP and its labor allies is gaining steam in both houses of the Legislature.

In the Senate, two more Democrats - Tom Duane and Martin Dilan - have signed on as co-sponsors of the bill, bringing the total number of supporters to 20, according to the WFP's Bill Lipton.

An alternative to the millionaire's tax that is being championed by Senate Deputy Majority Leader Jeff Klein has yet to be introduced, but the concept has been endorsed by Columbia University Prof. Michael Woodford.

Senate Majority Leader Malcolm Smith has made clear he thinks taxing the rich is "the last thing we should be doing," but also left the door open earlier this week to doing so if it's the route his conference wants to take.

In the Assembly, a same-as bill is being carried by Assemblyman Darryl Towns, chairman of the 48-member Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic, and Asian Legislative Caucus.

Towns introduced the bill earlier this week and has garnered the support of 30 of his colleagues.

"It's critically important that we solve the budget crisis through real shared sacrifice," Towns said in a statement relayed to me by a labor supporter of the bill. "Fair Share Tax Reform will make New York's tax code more equitable and will also raise revenue necessary to protect essential services."

Gov. David Paterson, who has been sending mixed signals on the millionaire's tax, recently signaled he's open to overhauling the tax structure.

New Tax Bill Seeks Fair 'Sharing' For Wealthy by Brendan Scott- NY Post

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A day after Gov. Paterson hinted at plans to soak the rich, a Brooklyn assemblyman announced legislation yesterday to enact the $6 billion tax-hike plan backed by public-employee unions.

Democrat Darryl Towns' bill would enact the Working Families Party's "Fare Share Tax Reform" plan, raising income taxes on taxpayers who make more than $250,000 a year and giving New York the nation's highest top tax rate.

The bill is identical to legislation already introduced by state Sen. Eric Schneiderman (D-Manhattan), providing it crucial two-house support days after Paterson warned the wealthy they would "share in the sacrifice" during budget talks.

Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver (D-Manhattan), who supports a "millionaire's tax," has so far not endorsed a tax hike on those making less than $1 million annually.

Towns said he hopes the revenue can eliminate Paterson-backed proposals to tax music downloads, theater tickets and cable television.

The bill would create three new tax brackets for those topping $250,000 a year.

Those on the bottom of the scale would pay 8.25 percent, up from the current top rate of 6.85 percent. Earners making $500,000 will face a tax burden of 8.97 percent, and those who earn more than $1 million would pay 10.3 percent.

111th Congress/Congressman Ed Towns Ceremonial Swearing-In Starrett City, Brooklyn, NY Sun 1/18/09

Additional YouTube videos of the event...

Ceremonial Swearing-In for Congressman "Edolphus "Ed" Towns - Chairman, House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform

Sunday, January 18, 2009

Brooklyn Sports Club@ Starrett City
1540 Van Siclen Avenue Brooklyn, NY 11239

Deidra C. Towns/Executive Producer
Ana Carril-Grumberg/Executive Producer/Director/Editor
Colin Battiste/Cameraman/Editor/Producer

Some photos...

Big Egos and Ambitions Set To Collide in Prospective Race To Succeed Towns by David Freelander - City Hall News

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Ed Towns reached the pinnacle of a long career last month when he became chairman of the prestigious House Oversight Committee in Washington.

So, naturally, the jockeying to replace him began to heat up back in Brooklyn.

Most of the early speculation around who would replace the 74-year-old, 14-term Towns has centered around a pair of Assembly members from neighboring districts: Towns’ son Darryl, a 16-year veteran of the Legislature who has slowly been climbing the ranks in Albany, and Hakeem Jeffries, a 38-year-old former attorney at the outset of his second term whose future in politics has been the subject of intense speculation for years.

Beyond those of timing, and whether there might be a special election precipitated by early retirement, there are the questions about whether Darryl Towns even wants the seat. The power of dynasty politics being what it is, Towns would be at an advantage in a race to succeed his father, but so far he has not indicated that he prefers the life of a freshman Congressman to that of a senior member of the Assembly.

“The congressman wants his son in there, but Darryl is more of a reluctant warrior,” said Rock Hackshaw, a longtime area political operative. “I don’t think he’s ever been that gung-ho about Congress.”

Also at stake is a question of the state of local black politics, with Jeffries and Towns representing a study in contrasts. Jeffries was roommates with Washington, D.C., mayor Adrian Fenty while both were working towards graduate degrees at Georgetown, and is considered part of the next wave of “post-racial” black leadership, young elected leaders who are educated at top-tier schools and who consciously have distanced themselves from some of the old lions—and their children—of the Civil Rights Movement. Including Newark Mayor Cory Booker and Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, and, of course, President-elect Barack Obama, the group is distinguished not just for glittering academic pedigrees, but for having the kind of crossover appeal that allows them to attract a broad swath of white support.

Jeffries is acutely aware of what sets these politicians apart.

“There is a distinction between legacy politicians and emerging leaders,” he said. “There are certain legacy politicians who come into office following their parents, either into an office specifically or into politics in general, and the door is open to them a little wider because of their parents. Then you have a group of emerging leaders who don’t have a familiar connection to politics and have challenged the existing Democratic machine and broke through the doors and have risen to leadership. A lot of the younger elected officials in Brooklyn, the ones who backed Barack Obama all the way back in the summer of 2007, were those who were elected without establishment support. We weren’t beholden to political figures like Charlie Rangel and others leading the way for Senator Hillary Clinton.”

The younger Towns, meanwhile, represents something of an in-between place within the media narrative of dueling generations of Civil Rights politics. A veteran of the Air Force, Towns graduated from North Carolina A&T, a historically black college. Though only 48, he has already served a decade and a half in Albany, gaining seniority that has made him chair of the powerful Banking committee as well as head of the state legislature’s Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic and Asian caucus.

He dismisses talk of a new, different generation of black political leaders.

“Why isn’t Jesse Jackson, Jr. included in that?” Towns asked. “Because he went to the same college I did, a historically black college? I don’t think we need to label people that you are an elite black, you are an ordinary black as long as we are working towards the same goal.”

The looming congressional race, however, could be shaped just as much by traditional party politics. Darryl Towns is a critic of Brooklyn county leader Vito Lopez, who happens to have taken an early interest in Jeffries.

“He represents a plurality of Democrats,” Towns said, criticizing Lopez’s approach to the job. “He could represent a majority, but I’m not sure he wants that.”

While Lopez did not pledge to back Jeffries should he decide to run for Congress, the county leader stressed that he was in Jeffries’ corner.

“I’ve been supportive of Hakeem on almost everything he’s done,” Lopez said. “If and when he runs, I have a responsibility to look at who he is running against. If it was a vacant seat for Congress, it would be very hard for me not to support him.”

But though Towns and Jeffries may have their differences, they have been united in supporting the elder Towns, despite the many who fault the congressman for what they see as a less-than-energetic tenure and for supporting CAFTA, the free trade agreement which opponents claim hits working class residents of areas like Brooklyn especially hard. Though he has survived both, the dissatisfaction with him in the district has attracted vigorous primary challengers for the past two cycles: in 2006, when he eked out 47 percent of the vote as fiery Council Member Charles Barron and then-Assembly Member Roger Green split the anti-incumbent; and in 2008, when he ultimately cruised to victory over former MTV star Kevin Powell.

Nonetheless, Towns’ vulnerability remains a hot topic in Brooklyn. With the right candidate, many expect, he would easily fall in a primary.

“If there was a halfway decent candidate like Hakeem Jeffries, then Towns would be in mortal danger,” said one veteran of several area campaigns.
Local political observers have been expecting Towns to retire for years now (and point to the fact that he has not as key evidence that his son is not interested in the seat). But with his new chairmanship in D.C., many now believe he will seek re-election in 2010. His office confirmed that he would.

That could put another wrinkle in a prospective congressional race: Jeffries has insisted he will not run against Towns, and if he and Darryl Towns continue to defer while the number of voters frustrated with Towns continues to grow, both could miss their chance.

Barron (D-Brooklyn) has already announced his plans to run for the seat in 2010. The current project, he said, is to work out a deal with Powell to prevent another split vote. But Barron’s candidacy could still be a long shot, given his inability so far to garner support outside of the black, working-class areas that put him in the Council. Middle-class whites have been moving into the area in droves in recent years and could make up as much as 25 percent of the electorate in the next cycle—enough that some have speculated that the right white candidate could in fact win the seat, especially if they are able to make inroads with Hispanic voters and the Hasidic Jews who live in the district’s northern end.

In the meantime, speculation has erupted about the Congressional ambitions of Council Member Letitia James, who would be the only woman in the race. One of the most vocal opponents of Atlantic Yards, her profile has continued to rise in recent months through her leadership of opponents to the term limit extension. However, she is thought to lack the depth of a base in the black community that Barron has, the middle-class base that Jeffries has, or the name recognition of Towns. Ironically, in yet another twist, if James and Barron are both in the race challenging Towns, Barron’s effort to dissuade Powell from entering could hurt him since many believe Powell and James would compete for the same votes in neighborhoods like Clinton Hill and Fort Greene. James herself denied any interest in the seat—which, notably, she could run for without giving up her current job, as Darryl Towns and Jeffries could not.

Regardless of what James decides, some of Jeffries’ supporters fret that Barron could be a thorn in Jeffries’ side, needling him for exactly the reason that so many find him attractive: his crossover appeal to both black and white voters.

In an interview, Barron was relentless in his criticism of Jeffries.

“I was hoping younger people like him would be a more refreshing, independent voice. He has taken some positive positions on the issues, but to me he is still a puppet for the Towns and Vito Lopez machine—and that’s what we need to break up. I lack a lot of respect for him.”

Barron also dismissed the notion that the future of the seat belongs to anyone.

“Heir apparent?” he said. “There ain’t no heir apparent as long as I’m in the race.”