Rep Ackerman: Justice Has Been Done...

Justice has been done. After so many years of effort, the killing of Osama bin Laden represents a huge victory for the United States and proof that no matter how hard they try, our foes cannot hide from us. Osama bin Laden chose to make war against America. And today, we can take satisfaction that we have answered him in kind. The head of the Al-Qaeda worm has been cut off. But we must remember, worms grow new heads.

Although this is a gratifying occasion, and a crucial psychological boost for all Americans, we must remember that our enemies remain determined to attack us, despite this powerful and demoralizing blow.

President Obama, his national security team, and the many intelligence and military professionals who developed the intelligence and executed this operation deserve the thanks of the entire nation. The more we learn about this amazing and daring mission, the more certain it becomes that it will be remembered among the most remarkable feats of arms in 

American history.

As we approach the 10th anniversary of 9/11, I hope this long-awaited success will provide some comfort and relief to those who lost loved ones on that terrible day.

Man Arrested for Aggravated Harassment of Ackerman by Lori Gross - Bayside, NY Patch

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Man made 40 calls “of a rambling nature" to U.S. Reps office, also allegedly threatening law enforcement

A Long Island man was arrested on charges of Aggravated Harassment after allegedly making about 40 phone calls to the Bayside office Rep. Gary Ackerman, according to the Nassau County Police Department.

NCPD’s Special Investigations Detective Squad visited the home of James Guarnaccio, 55, in Hicksville on Thursday after the torrent of calls, allegedly made between Dec. 23 and Jan. 1.

The calls, according to NCPD were, “of a rambling nature and were not threats against the Congressman.”

During the visit, detectives told Guarnaccio to stop phoning Ackerman, or he would be arrested.

That evening through the morning, he made seven more calls to the Congressman’s office, making what NCPD describe as “threats against local and federal law enforcement.”

He was arrested on Friday, and taken to Nassau University Medical Center for evaluation, where he was arraigned at bedside on Saturday.

NY Delegation Split On Tax Cut Vote by Liz Benjamin - Capital Tonight

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Members of the New York delegation were sharply divided on last night’s 277-148 vote to pass the tax cut deal President Obama brokered with the Republicans, with the more liberal members making good on pledges to oppose the measure.

Not surprisingly, the three lone Republicans – Chris Lee, Pete King and the newest House member, Tom Reed – voted “yes.” (They’ll soon be joined by five GOP freshmen, a number of whom have said they would have voted in the affirmative had they been given the chance).

All of the outgoing Democrats also voted “yes,” even if they lean toward the left, which I found interesting.

Here’s how the NY vote broke down:

YES: Arcuri, Bishop, Crowley, Hall, Higgins, Israel, King, Lee, Lowey, Maffei, Maloney, McMahon, Meeks, Murphy, Owens.

NO: Ackerman, Clarke, Engel, Hinchey, Nadler, Rangel, Serrano, Slaughter, Tonko, Towns, Velazquez, Weiner.

Rep. Carolyn McCarthy, a Long Island Democrat, was one of eight House members who didn’t vote.

Waste Transfer Stations Worry Queens Leaders by Ivan Pereira - YourNabe.com

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The city unveiled its updated plans for its new waste transfer stations near LaGuardia Airport and Newtown Creek.

The city Sanitation Department updated Borough President Helen Marshall and community leaders Monday on its plans to build two new transfer stations in Queens, but Marshall said she is still concerned over the facilities’ im pact on the surrounding neighborhoods.

Harry Szarpanksi, a deputy commissioner for the department, showed off a presentation on its construction of the North Shore marine transfer station in College Point and a waste transfer facility in Sunnyside during the Borough Board meeting.

The facilities, which are still years from full operation, were designed to decrease costs and end the use of long-haul trucks that transport waste in the city, according to the commissioner.

“Once these facilities are up and running, there will be no truck trafficking routes out of the city,” he said.

The College Point marine transfer station will collect trash from neighborhoods east of Flushing Meadows Corona Park, load the waste into specially designed containers and ship it off to another facility via a barge, Szarpanksi said.

The facility has sparked concerns from residents and elected officials, including U.S. Rep. Gary Ackerman (D-Bayside), over the ecological effects it could place on the surrounding area, especially LaGuardia Airport. Critics have said the facility’s garbage could attract more birds to the area, which could pose a threat to flights coming in and out of the airport.

Szarpanksi reassured Marshall and various members of the borough’s community boards that when the facility begins operation sometime in 2013, it will be safe and not disturb the community. He showed diagrams and plans of the station, including its high-tech loading and container machinery, and said all operations would be done in an enclosed space to prevent the escape of odors.

The second waste station, located near Review Avenue in Sunnyside, will be using the rail system near Newtown Creek to get the waste out of Queens and leaders have expressed their doubts about the project.

The facility, slated to begin construction sometime in November, would manage, store and transport roughly 2,100 tons of waste a day from western Queens , according to Szarpanksi.

Lydon Sleeper, chief of staff for City Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley (D-Middle Village), said he was worried about the logistics of the station — especially its use of the non-public railroads in the area.

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“We need to have a conversation on what it means to put it on rail and rail it through neighborhoods,” he said. “You wouldn’t want a [garbage] truck and put it next to someone’s home.”

Szarpanksi said preliminary plans include installing a treatment system to neutralize the odor in the building’s exhaust air and the use of airtight containers.

Marshall said she was frustrated by the foot-dragging in getting the facilities up and running since the idea of the transfer stations was in the planning stages when she was a councilwoman.

“What’s taking so long?” she asked.

The sanitation commissioner said several delays and long planning have contributed to the late opening of the facilities, but reassured the borough president that the agency was committed to making them a reality soon.

Thug Bashes Chinese Woman with Pipe, Assaults Her in Queens: Cops by John Lauinger - NY Daily News

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A 23-year-old woman is on life-support in a Queens hospital after a weekend attack by a pipe-wielding rapist two months after she arrived in New York from China, cops said.

Officials are working desperately to get a visa for the woman's mother, who lives outside Beijing, so she can come to Queens to face the awful task of deciding her daughter's fate.

The young woman was returning from grocery shopping in downtown Flushing around 9:30 p.m. Saturday when a drunken Queens man smashed her in the head with a pipe and dragged her into an alley, authorities said.

Once inside the alley along 41st Road, Carlos Salazar Cruz, 28, removed the woman's clothing from the waist down and raped her with the pipe, according to court papers.

Two months ago, the young woman, who dreamed of becoming a lawyer, traveled from her native China on a student visa. She moved in with a distant uncle in Flushing.

"She was working in a nail salon, saving up money. She was going to start attending school," said Assemblywoman Grace Meng (D-Flushing). "She had good grades in China. That's why her parents wanted her to come and expand her horizons."

Now, the woman who once dreamed of a better future is in the intensive care unit at New York Hospital Queens. She suffered a fractured skull, bleeding on the brain and trauma to her vaginal area.

Meng said she and Rep. Gary Ackerman (R-Bayside) are working to expedite a visa for the woman's mother. Cops collared Cruz a few blocks from the crime scene after a witness, who saw him drag the woman into the alley and then emerge alone - called 911. Police later recovered the pipe about a block from the alley.

Cruz, who did not have a criminal record, emigrated from Mexico two years ago and found work at a Manhattan fish market.

He was arraigned late Tuesday on a slew of charges, including a top count of attempted murder. Prosecutors vowed to upgrade charges if the woman is removed from life-support.

Cruz's family said he claims he blacked out drunk and doesn't remember the incident.

"He woke up and found himself cuffed to the hospital bed," said his stunned sister, Patricia Salazar, 26. "He never acted violently....We just don't know why he would do this. We can't explain it."

Rep. Weiner and 27 Members of Congress Call on Agriculture Secretary to End Fingerprinting for Food Stamps Applicants...

Practice is Unnecessary, Discourages Program Participation and Wastes Money

Following reports that more New Yorkers went hungry in 2008 than the year before, Representative Anthony Weiner (D – Brooklyn and Queens), a member of the Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee and 27 Members of Congress called on Agriculture Secretary Vilsack to end the practice of fingerprinting food stamp applicants.

New York, Texas, California and Arizona require fingerprinting for all new food stamp applicants. Despite claims that this protects against fraud and duplicative benefits, according to the most recent USDA data, payment errors were actually higher in the 4 states that fingerprint. Meanwhile, participation rates for all eligible people in those states that fingerprint were lower. In addition, fingerprinting deters many people in need from applying. According to a March 2007 report by the Urban Institute, fingerprinting led to a 4.3% reduction in food stamp applicants because of the stigma associated with such a practice.

In a letter to Secretary Vilsack, Representatives Anthony Weiner (D-NY), Charles Rangel (D-NY), Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), Jose Serrano (D-NY), Joseph Crowley (D-NY), Yvette Clarke (D-NY), Gary Ackerman (D-NY), Nydia Velazquez (D-NY), Bob Filner (D-CA), Ed Pastor (D-AZ), Diane Watson (D-CA), Al Green (D-TX), Pete Stark (D-CA), Grace Napolitano (D-CA), Ciro Rodriguez (D-TX), Sam Farr (D-TX), Barbara Lee (D-CA), Charles Gonzalez (D-TX), Raul Grijalva (D-AZ), George Miller (D-CA), Solomon Ortiz (D-TX), Lloyd Doggett (D-TX), Linda Sanchez (D-CA), Michael Honda (D-CA), Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), Gene Green (D-TX), Howard Berman (D-CA) and Lynn Woolsey (D-CA) wrote: “Eliminating finger imaging would remove significant barriers for residents of these states who need help feeding themselves and their families, which is particularly important during these economic times.”

Meet Your New Members - Karen Koslowitz by Chris Bragg - City Hall News

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Veteran Takes Pay Cut to Return to Changed District...

As Karen Koslowitz ran this year for the Council seat she once held for a decade, her campaign manager encountered an exasperating problem.

Every time Koslowitz was supposed to meet her staff at campaign headquarters, she was always at least 30 minutes late.

Easily recognizable with her curly bob of red hair, Koslowitz, 68, would constantly be stopped during the 15-minute walk from her apartment to Queens Democratic Party headquarters by people looking to talk to her.

“I said to Karen, ‘We’re going to have to start driving over to your place and picking you up,’” recalled her campaign manager, Greg Lavine.

That name recognition helped Koslowitz eke out a primary victory over the WFP-backed Lynn Schulman, giving the Queens Democratic Party one of its few success stories during an otherwise dreary election season. She again defended against Schulman in the general election.

In 2001, Koslowitz deferred plans to run for borough president, and took a job as deputy Queens borough president. For the past eight years, she has quietly bided her time, staying in touch with constituents as Helen Marshall’s point person for community board relations.

Koslowitz is taking a substantial pay cut to return to City Hall.

Though other opportunities arose over the past eight years, Koslowitz never really seemed interested in climbing higher up the political ladder.

“She without a doubt has been waiting over the past eight years to again run for the City Council,” said Michael Reich, executive secretary of the Queens Democratic Party. “She’s told me that it’s the best job she ever had.”

Long a party loyalist, Koslowitz worked her way up through the Queens Democratic Party, first joining the Continental Democratic Club, then serving as an aide to Rep. Gary Ackerman and Council Member Arthur Katzman, whom she succeeded on the Council. She was also very close with Thomas Manton, the now-deceased former boss of the Queens Party.

One major selling point for Koslowitz during the campaign was a pre-existing knowledge of how to work the levers of government. She is also known for an almost obsessive commitment to constituent services. (One of the top issues she wants to tackle on the Council: making sure residents of local senior centers again are served hot meals, rather than frozen ones.)

Since term limits forced her off the Council, the district has grown dramatically more diverse, with Russian, South Asian, and Hispanic immigrant groups streaming into upcoming areas like Kew Gardens, and Rego Park.

In an effort to relate to the new immigrants, Koslowitz would tell the story of growing up in the Bronx as the daughter of Polish immigrant mother. She also can relate to the economic hardships faced by many of her constituents, as a single mother who raised two children in the district.

Koslowitz felt this race was more personal than the previous campaigns she ran for City Council. With more Democratic candidates running than in the past, she decided her best bet was to walk through the neighborhood knocking on doors and asking for votes.

“I didn’t go door-to-door the first time. This time I did, it was wonderful to do, but I think it was funny how people answer their doors,” she said, gasping and letting out a little laugh. “What they’re wearing—sometimes you’re startled.”

JFK Leads Country in Bird Strikes: FAA Report by Philip Newman - YourNabe.com

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U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), who successfully fought for release of information on bird strikes against the nation’s jetliners, has called for a federal program to reduce “a very serious problem endangering anyone who takes to the skies.”

Schumer said John F. Kennedy International Airport was No. 1 in the nation for bird strikes that caused serious damage to airliners.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood ordered the release of Federal Aviation Administration bird strikes information last week at the behest of Schumer.

The FAA reported that airplane collisions with birds have more than doubled at 13 U.S. airports since 2000.

“In New York, there were 1,811 bird strikes at JFK since 1990,” said Schumer, pointing out that Newark had 948 bird hits and LaGuardia 954.

He said the cost of repairs to the planes in these cases was estimated at more than $267 million.

The senator said the federal government should “create a new program that would devote millions of dollars to wildlife mitigation, focusing on reducing bird strikes at New York City airports and airports across the country.”

Schumer mentioned that JFK “is near wetlands, that area breeding ground for birds such as geese.”

The senator was referring to the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, home to as many as 330 bird species.

Schumer has not said whether he sees a proposed waste treatment plant in College Point near LaGuardia as an obstacle to mitigation of the bird problem. U.S. Rep. Gary Ackerman (D-Bayside) and other elected officials have expressed concern that trucks and barges carrying sealed containers of garbage would still attract birds.

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“We all remember that day on Jan. 15 when a US Airways flight flown by the heroic Chesley Sullenberger splash-landed in the Hudson River,” Schumer said.

“That death-defying landing was directly caused by birds coming into contact with the plane’s engines. Bird strikes at New York airports and airports across the country have risen unabated by an FAA that repeatedly swept safety issues like this under the rug and are now unacceptably high,” he said.

The FAA report listed the most bird strikes as having occurred at Denver International Airport with 2,090, although the most with damage occurred to planes at JFK.

The report tracked the period between January 1990 and November 2008.

The agency reported that 97 percent of the collisions were with birds, but there were also dogs, rabbits, foxes, prairie dogs, bats, moose, bats and turtles.

The great majority of birds involved were mourning doves, although there were also Canada geese and many other bird species, the report said.

.“This potential safety crisis is proof positive of the hear no evil, see no evil approach the FAA took to aviation safety for the last eight years,” said Schumer, a frequent critic of the FAA.

Ackerman's Tart Tongue Wins Him Popularity, Scorn by Tom Brune -- Newsday.com

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(CNP Photo)

It was in 1984 during a debate over school prayer that first-term Rep. Gary Ackerman discovered how powerful his tart tongue could be.

"Let's say in the middle of a math test, a student stands up and says 'God damn the teacher, I hope he burns in hell,' " said Ackerman about a bill to deny federal money to schools that banned student prayer.

"If a teacher tells him to shut up, all of Indiana could lose its (federal education) funding."

Recalling that comment Friday, Ackerman, 66, a Democrat from Roslyn Heights, laughs. "I said that on the (House) floor, and my office had an apoplectic fit. People from Indiana wouldn't stop calling."

But now it's television producers who won't stop calling. Ackerman has become the go-to congressman for network and cable news shows looking for someone who can be angry and funny about high-flying executives and inept regulators as the economy collapses.

Ackerman has been on CBS's "Face the Nation," "Hardball with Chris Matthews" and, with some regularity, Fox News.

They sought him out for his glib, quick-witted remarks on Caroline Kennedy's quest for Hillary Rodham Clinton's Senate seat and outraged comments on auto executives' perks and Securities and Exchange Commission failures.

"DNA in this business can take you just so far. You know, Rembrandt was a great artist. His brother Murray, on the other hand . . . wouldn't paint a house," he said on "Face the Nation," making its host Bob Schieffer nearly fall over laughing.

Afterward, he said, his made-up Murray Rembrandt was the most Googled item for days.

At a House hearing, Ackerman ripped the auto execs for flying planes to Washington to ask for a bailout. "Couldn't you have downgraded to first class or something, or jet-pooled . . . to get here? It's almost like seeing a guy show up at the soup kitchen in high hat and tuxedo."

Ackerman has always been funny, smart and interesting, said New York political consultant Hank Sheinkopf and Nassau County Democratic chairman Jay Jacobs. But he's just getting the national limelight now.

"It's like show business," Ackerman said. "You work doing whatever you do, then somebody recognizes you and you become a star."

Sheinkopf agreed, saying Ackerman would remain popular with pundits "so long as he has a fast-moving tongue and a fast-moving set of metaphors."

Over the years, Ackerman has cultivated a flamboyant image, with the fresh carnation in his lapel and a quirky, but often direct, sense of humor.

He asked for a urine sample from an official who argued at a hearing in favor of worker drug testing. He also held up red- white-and-blue socks in a debate on a flag-protection amendment.

Sometimes his acerbic comments create controversy. The town of Utica took umbrage at his comment that "I don't do Utica," on why he wasn't seeking the vacant Senate seat. Kennedy's friends took offense at his comparison of her name recognition to J.Lo's popularity.

"I've been doing it all my life," he said. As a kid in his family, "I was the funny guy."

"It's just me," he said. "Sometimes, I say the funniest things when no one is around. I think something funny, and I start laughing."

When people ask who writes his jokes, he said he replies, "After I say it, everybody."

But now, he admits he feels pressure: "Everybody is looking to me to say something."

Ackerman stressed he also has a serious, studious side, though he acknowledged he won people's thanks for dressing down the SEC for failing to detect Bernie Madoff's suspected $50-billion Ponzi scheme.

"We're going through some serious things right now, with a lot of people going through tremendous angst and pain, and looking for consolation," he said. "But it is also part of life to find humor in things. If you can laugh in the face of adversity, you've got it made."

Queens Chronicle - Remonstrance Welcomed As Beacon Of Democracy by Liz Rhodes

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The 350-year-old Flushing Remonstrance came home to Queens last week, along with 40 descendants of the document’s signers.

The charred parchment (it was burned in the state archives in 1911) is now on view for a month in the Flushing Library, where people can see the first written document proclaiming religious freedom in this country.

Written in 1657 and signed by 29 men, mostly farmers and tradesmen of English background, the Remonstrance was sent to Dutch Gov. Peter Stuyvesant, protesting his ban on meetings by the Quakers.

At an opening ceremony at the library on Thursday evening, public officials and descendants spoke eloquently about the significance of the document and the men who signed it.

Borough President Helen Marshall called the Remonstrance the cornerstone of democracy, while Congressman Gary Ackerman said the signers “stood up to power and stepped up to the plate.”

He added that people today should be inspired by the document to stand up to power and not to deride anyone.



Christine Ward, state archivist, called the document an iconic record, adding, “Your attachment to this document is greatly infective.”

She noted that the document would return to the borough in the spring. It will be at the library through Jan. 7 and in the spring at the Queens Museum of Art from April 6-June 29.

Many in Queens, however, want it to remain here permanently, rather than be locked up in a vault in Albany where no one can see it. State officials say the document is too fragile and could not be kept at the museum on view for any great length of time.

The Rev. Nicholas Tweed, of the Macedonia AME Church in Flushing, is one proponent of keeping the Remonstrance here. “This document is very important especially with the current climate,” he said. “It reminds us this is the birthplace of religious freedom.”

Tweed added that the document should be here and questioned the archivists’ statements. “Tell us what we need to do to make it climate-controlled at the museum,” he said. “The Mona Lisa is a treasure and it’s not hidden away.”

David Oats of Forest Hills, who has worked for years to get the Remonstrance back in Flushing for good, said a document sitting in a vault does no one any good. “They say if you go to Albany, you can see the Remonstrance on a digital photo, but that is not enough. The Declaration of Independence is on view to the public and so should this.”

Bob Bullock, president of the Archives Partnership Trust, defended the state’s position. “The document belongs to all the people in New York state, not just to those in Flushing. And we have never turned down a request to bring it to Flushing.”

This is the fourth time it’s been returned to Flushing on a temporary basis.

Penelope Bowne Parryman, representing the descendants, noted that the signers were “remarkable for being unremarkable.” She called the Remonstrance the first formal resistence in the new world and likened it to the Declaration of Independence.

“Like the signers of the Declaration of Independence, these men all took great risks and suffered hardships, but they are largely forgotten.”

Her 10 times great-grandfather was John Bowne, who was banished by Gov. Peter Stuyvesant for allowing Quakers to meet at his home. Bowne pleaded his case with the Dutch West India Company and won. He returned with a letter instructing Stuyvesant to grant religious freedom for all.

At a luncheon the next day for descendants, sponsored by the Flushing Marketing Task Force and the Flushing Business Improvement District, many guests said they were in awe over what their ancestors had accomplished.

James Thorne travelled to Flushing with his daughter, Corrie, from their home in Walla Walla, Wash. “We are actually descended from six of the signers but our main relative was William Thorne,” he said. “It’s nice to be connected to such influential history.”

Thorne added that he was very proud of his heritage. “I am overwhelmed with what they did. They stood up to the toughest thing.”

Lewis Thorne of Eugene, Oreg., is James Thorne’s cousin. Reflecting on the signers, he noted that they were reacting to what they thought was right. “Their ideas were strong and organized. It’s amazing how closely James Thorne’s beliefs paralled mine.”

Ralph Hart and his sister, Bonnie, travelled from Virginia. They are related to Edward Hart, who wrote the Remonstrance. Ralph Hart noted that his ancestor was jailed for three weeks for his “sedition” and forced to apologize for it. “After he got out of jail, he moved his family to Westchester. Hartsdale is named after them.”