City Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer (pictured) was near the top of his class, according to the Urban Justice Center's Human Rights Report Card, whereas Councilman Peter Vallone's score indicated he could use some tutoring.

City Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer (D-Sunnyside) is going to have to make some room on his fridge.

The chairman of the Council Committee on Cultural Affairs, Libraries and International Intergroup Relations had the best record of the Queens delegation on human rights issues last year, according to the Urban Justice Center’s 2011 Human Rights Report Card.

The report card identified 72 bills introduced over the past year that focused on housing, voting, disability and workers’ rights as well as issues concerning criminal and juvenile justice, health and government accountability.

Each Council member was graded on his or her votes and sponsorship of these bills as well as their response to a questionnaire.

Van Bramer voted in favor of eight bills, sponsored 52 — including two he was the primary sponsor of — and returned his questionnaire, all of which earned him an “A-.”

He fared particularly well when it came to housing rights and government accountability.

On the other end of the spectrum, Councilman Peter Vallone’s (D-Astoria) score of 12 earned him a grade of “D+,” the lowest in the borough.

Vallone was the primary sponsor of two human rights bills and sponsored three others. He voted in favor of four bills and did not respond to the questionnaire.

The councilman criticized the methodology of the report, calling into question the voting records of other Council members who scored higher than he did.

“Apparently, supporting brutal and repressive dictators gets you an ‘A’ from this supposed human rights group. I’m proud to be at the bottom of any list Charles Barron is at the top of,” he said.

Councilman Barron (D-Brooklyn), who praised the late Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, earned an “A” on the report card.

Council members James Sanders (D-Laurelton) and Julissa Ferreras (D-East Elmhurst) both received a “B-” and Councilman Daniel Dromm (D-Jackson Heights) got a grade of “B.”

Receiving a grade of “C” were Council members Karen Koslowitz (D-Forest Hills), Elizabeth Crowley (D-Middle Village), Dan Halloran (R-Whitestone) and Leroy Comrie (D-St. Albans).

Councilmen Peter Koo (R-Flushing), Eric Ulrich (R-Ozone Park) and Mark Weprin (D-Oakland Gardens) each scored slightly lower: a “C-.”

Councilman James Gennaro (D-Fresh Meadows) got a “D+” and Councilman Ruben Wills (D-Jamaica), who took office last November, did not receive a grade.

While the report assigned each Council member a grade, its primary criticism was of the political power of the speaker and the Council’s failure to challenge that power.

Of the 72 bills introduced, only eight were brought to a vote, and the report implied this was because Council Speaker Christine Quinn (D-Manhattan) did not support them.

Quinn’s office did not respond to a request for comment.

The report cited two rules that allow the Council to advance the process of legislation that does not have the speaker’s support.

“There are no clear reasons for the Council’s reticence in taking advantage of these two rules. However, based [on] reports that the speaker readily wields political power internally, and on conversations with advocates, we speculate that failure to do so is linked with the desire of most Council members to maintain a relatively friendly relationship with the speaker,” the report read.

“However, given its impact on human rights in New York City, business as usual is not sufficient to protect our human rights. Council members should act — individually and as a collective — to challenge the status quo even in the face of political reprisals,” it continued.

The state Department of Environmental Conservation says the city's drinking supply will be spared from hydrofracking by the use of a buffer zone, but two Queens members of the City Council say residents should still be concerned. AP Photo/Mike Groll

The state Department of Environmental Conservation released regulations last week concerning the controversial process of hydrofracking that calls for a 1,000-foot buffer zone between an upstate New York shale formation and the city’s watershed.

Two Queens city councilmen criticized the regulation for being too soft and said the 1,000-foot zone is not enough to protect the city’s drinking water supply from hydrofracking.

Hydrofracking, or hydraulic fracturing, is a controversial method used to drill for natural gas that leads to toxins becoming trapped in the rock formation, which opponents say can travel into the city’s watershed.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo is in favor of the gas drilling and supporters say the drilling will lead to more jobs upstate.

Councilman James Gennaro (D-Fresh Meadows), chairman of the Council Environmental Protection Committee and a geologist, said the DEC’s draft regulation ?“brings us one step closer … to the possible unprecedented contamination of New York City drinking water and other drinking water supplies throughout the state and the degradation of a large swath of our state through the irreversible industrialization of ‘hydrofracking.’”

Hydrofracking has been taking place in Pennsylvania and the documentary “Gasland” shows how the gas drilling method polluted water in the state, with some homeowners being able to light their drinking water on fire using a match.

Gennaro said the 1,000-foot buffer proposed by the DEC does not even stop hydrofracking from within the buffer, but triggers a notification to the city Department of Environmental Protection that a drilling application was filed and that the state agency has final say as to whether the drilling will be allowed.

Councilman Peter Vallone Jr. (D-Astoria), chairman of the Council Public Safety Committee, said the DEC’s regulations “do not sufficiently protect our water supply from the dangers of ‘fracking.’

“The state must act quickly to change this proposal, as well as provide a guarantee that if city water is harmed, state money will be used to fix it,” Vallone said.

Assemblyman Rory Lancman (third from l.) presents a proclamation to Jimmy Bua (fourth from l.) of Local 3 during a news conference where he thanked the union and Con Edison employee's for their clean-up work following Hurricane Irene. Photo by Howard Koplowitz

State Assemblyman Rory Lancman (D-Fresh Meadows) presented a state proclamation Tuesday to electrical workers and Con Edison, thanking them for their efforts in removing downed trees and restoring power in the aftermath of Hurricane Irene.

Lancman, chairman of the Assembly Subcommittee on Workplace Safety, said Con Ed and members of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 3 operate under “often dangerous conditions” and noted there were no serious injuries as they did their jobs following the hurricane.

“It’s the focus at Local 3 and other places … who go out there and do some dangerous work,” the assemblyman said. “That result is not by accident or happenstance. It is a commitment to workplace safety.”

Jimmy Bua, business representative for Local 3, said the fact that nobody got hurt “is just a testament to the training that the IBEW does.”

George Reinhardt of Hawkeye Construction said the linemen, who inspected downed power lines to see if they were live, had a dangerous job.

“These people put their lives on hold for 16 hours a day to restore your power,” he said.

Lancman said there were 32,000 power outages in the borough — the most in the city — after Irene and that 95 percent of those without power had it restored within three days of the hurricane.

The assemblyman said 346 Con Ed crews were deployed in Queens along with 47 mutual aid crews, or workers who were brought in from other jurisdictions, and they repaired 442 primary or secondary power lines.

Richard Bagwell, director of employee and labor relations for Con Ed, said the storm “hammered our service territories.”

City Councilman James Gennaro (D-Fresh Meadows) also thanked the workers.

“This was an opportunity for the city to see Local 3 and what they’re made of,” he said.

Briarwood residents (l. to r.) Andrea Veras, Stephanie Coker, Patricia Brierre and Sillia Goldsen complain about trash and broken car windows along Main Street in Briarwood. The city Department of Transportation says it will install street lighting to prevent the vandalism.

After a rash of assaults and incidents of slashed tires and broken windows last month in Briarwood, the city Department of Transportation has decided to add more street lights in parts of the neighborhood, City Councilman James Gennaro (D-Fresh Meadows) announced.

The lights will mostly be installed around the Briarwood Library, the councilman said.

The decision came after Gennaro held a meeting with the DOT to discuss the possibility of installing additional lighting along Main Street as well as the Queens Boulevard bridge and subway construction site, his office said.

Capt. Mike Coyle, commanding officer of the 107th Precinct, said the lighting will lead to a decrease in vandalism.

Maura McCarthy, the Queens borough commissioner for the DOT, said the new lighting will be installed during the last three months of this year.

“I am pleased to announce to the residents of Briarwood that additional street lights are headed your way,” Gennaro said in a statement. “I want to thank the DOT, NYPD and the Briarwood Community Association for their cooperation in this matter.”

“We are pleased to be working with Councilman Gennaro and the community to improve the neighborhood’s street lighting,” McCarthy said. “We inspected this location and found that additional lighting was needed and have placed this project on our implementation schedule.”

Briarwood Community Association President Seymour Schwartz, a Community Board 8 member, applauded Gennaro and the DOT for helping to make the neighborhood safer.

The community had seen an increase in armed assaults, slashed tires and broken windows last month.

“While these acts of vandalism and assaults in our communities are unpredictable and random, the Briarwood Community Association, together with Councilman Gennaro and the 107th Police Precinct, are bringing to bear all possible resources and countermeasures to resolve these unacceptable issues,” Schwartz said.

Gennaro and Schwartz said they were also asking the Police Department to install surveillance cameras in the neighborhood.

But if funding is too low for the NYPD to install the cameras, they said they would speak to the Queens borough commander to find another way to fund installation of the cameras.

“We are beefing up our presence during the times which we believe the break-ins ?are occurring,” said 107th Precinct Community Affairs Officer Tom Motta.

A Briarwood resident said items were not being taken from the cars that were broken into.

Coyle said the precinct has instituted increased patrols in Briarwood, including an undercover detail, and said the vandalism is most likely a string of random acts.

The precinct may also start bicycle patrols, Coyle said.

The commanding officer asked Briarwood residents to report any suspicious activity to the precinct’s community affairs desk at 718-969-5973.

U.S. Rep. Anthony Weiner announces his resignation from Congress in the same Brooklyn senior center where he started his political career. Photo by Christina Santucci

After three weeks of media frenzy surrounding Weinergate and a curt final press conference last Thursday, U.S. Rep. Anthony Weiner officially left Congress Tuesday, creating a unique political vacuum in his district that stretches across much of Queens into Brooklyn.

The Forest Hills Democrat submitted his official resignation letter Monday and was out at midnight Tuesday. His staff will continue to operate his offices for the time being, but the names of several Queens prospects are already being tossed around as replacements for the disgraced lawmaker.

Elected officials like City Council members James Gennaro (D-Fresh Meadows), Eric Ulrich (R-Ozone Park), Elizabeth Crowley (D-Middle Village) and Mark Weprin (D-Oakland Gardens) as well as state Assemblymen Rory Lancman (D-Fresh Meadows) and David Weprin (D-Little Neck) have already been mentioned as possible successors to Weiner.

Republican Bob Turner, who ran against Weiner last year, and former Council members Melinda Katz and Eric Gioia, both Democrats, have also been mentioned as possible replacements.

Most on the list could not be reached for comment by press time, but talk about the vacant seat has increased now that Weiner has ceased to make headlines around the country and draw a hoard of photographers who followed him from home to office and even to the Laundromat. The frenzy culminated with last Thursday’s press conference, where scores of reporters gathered and a heckler interrupted his farewell speech.

“It is a great privilege to serve as a member of the City Council and as chairman of its Committee on Environmental Protection, and I have been very fortunate to have had my environmental work recognized nationally. And, as the only prospective candidate for the 9th Congressional District who has a national profile on any important issue, it makes sense that I consider this opportunity, which I am doing,” Gennaro said in a statement. “But I cherish my current job, and have not yet made a decision.”

Gov. Andrew Cuomo will ultimately decide how the seat will be filled. Cuomo can call a special election, which must take place 70 to 80 days after the announcement.

If the governor wanted to hold the election on Primary Day, since voters will already be out and machines set up, he would have to call the election no later than June 24. Alternatively, Cuomo could choose to leave the seat vacant until 2012.

According to political insiders familiar with the situation, the seat will most likely be in existence for one year only.

After each census, state lawmakers appoint a committee to redraw the lines of electoral districts to reflect any shift in population. ?Since New York will is set to lose two seats, congressional and state politicians from both parties will each decide one seat to eliminate. Since nobody is likely to volunteer, Weiner’s seat was basically served on a silver platter, sources said.

Because of the position’s limited lifespan, Democrats must be careful not to endorse anyone too ambitious, sources said. If the seat is eliminated, the newly elected lawmaker, now out of a job, might try to run against other party members to gain a seat again, sources said.

But Democrats cannot put up too weak of a contender, other insiders said, since the Republican Party had a strong candidate last year in the form of Bob Turner.

Turner garnered 41 percent of the vote and has publicly expressed his desire for the seat.

“This is more than a place holder,” Turner said. “I think there will be many important points that Congress will make running up to the 2012 election of the president.”

But for each party, picking the right candidate right after a scandal also proves complicated, sources said, which is why a woman might do well to take constituents’ minds off the scandal.

Y. Philip Goldfeder is believed to be the favorite to land the Democratic nomination for former Assemblywoman Audrey Pheffer's seat.

Y. Philip Goldfeder, U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer’s (D-N.Y.) director of intergovernmental affairs, is expected to run for the seat vacated by former state Assemblywoman Audrey Pheffer (D-Rockaway Beach) and has the inside track to become the Democratic nominee in the yet-to-be announced race, a source close to Goldfeder told TimesLedger Newspapers.

Goldfeder, who declined to comment, has been Schumer’s director of intergovernmental affairs for 2 1/2 years and previously worked as the Queens director of Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s Community Assistance Unit.

Pheffer’s seat became vacant after she accepted the position of Queens county clerk last month.

Political insiders say Gov. Andrew Cuomo wants the special election to replace Pheffer to take place on Primary Day, Sept. 13, which means he is expected to announce the contest June 24 at the earliest.

Under previous law, special elections had to be held within 30 to 40 days of the governor’s announcement, but the law was tweaked to 70 to 80 days in order to accommodate ballots from overseas.

Before his position with Bloomberg, Goldfeder, a Rockaway resident, worked for City Councilmen James Sanders (D-Laurelton) and James Gennaro (D-Fresh Meadows).

Democratic district leaders in the Assembly district decide who makes it on the ballot as a Democrat, with two of the leaders — Lew Simon and Geraldine Chapey — expected to run in the race.

But the source close to Goldfeder said he is expected to be supported by the other two district leaders — Jo Ann Simon and Frank Gulluscio — which would be enough backing for Goldfeder to make the ballot on the Democratic line.

Jo Ann Simon, who was Pheffer’s chief of staff, declined to run and Gulluscio is also not expected to be a candidate.

The source said Goldfeder is close to Simon and noted he worked on Gulluscio’s failed Council campaigns and the two district leaders are said to be backing him.

On the Republican side, district leader Jane Deacy is a candidate for the seat and she has the backing of Councilman Eric Ulrich (R-Ozone Park).

The source said Ulrich’s criticism of Goldfeder — he said Goldfeder is virtually unknown outside of Rockaway — was a “silly statement,” pointing to Goldfeder’s career working for two councilmen, Bloomberg and Schumer.

“Phil has spent his entire career working from within the diverse borough of Queens,” the source said.

State senators passed a bill last week that would ban companies from drilling in the upstate watershed. AP Photo/Mike Groll

Queens legislators cheered the state Senate’s passage of a bill that would place a moratorium on drilling for natural gas in the upstate watershed, which provides drinking water for 9 million city and Westchester County residents.

Elected officials passed the legislation sponsored by Sen. Joseph Addabbo (D-Howard Beach) Aug. 4 that would temporarily stop all gas drilling in the watershed until the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency completes its study of the effects of natural gas drilling on water and public health. The study began in March and is expected to end within two years.

The Assembly is expected to vote on the measure in September.

The legislation would rule out the possibility that companies could use hydraulic fracturing, a process of extracting natural gas that entails injecting up to 5 million gallons of water laced with chemicals into the ground at high pressure to break the rock. Officials have long criticized the process, saying it poses health risks to the water supply and residents.

“I believe this bill provides a rational, prudent approach to the practice of hydrofracking,” Addabbo said. “This drilling process has possible short- and long-term health and safety implications and is the subject of a pending report, which needs to be reviewed and evaluated.”

Assemblyman Steven Englebright (D-East Setauket) is sponsoring the Assembly’s version of the bill.

“The passage of the hydraulic fracturing moratorium bill by the New York State Senate is an historic victory for all New Yorkers,” said City Councilman James Gennaro (D-Fresh Meadows), chairman of the Council Environmental Protection Committee. “For two years, [Council] Speaker Christine Quinn and I have advocated relentlessly against the environmental perils of hydraulic fracturing and demanded that the state take strong measures to protect New York City’s drinking water supply watershed.”

According to a report prepared by Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer, seven states in the country have experienced serious incidents of water contamination and explosions near hydraulic fracturing sites.

The method has been criticized by city government officials and environmentalists, who often cite a 2008 report from the U.S. Land Management Bureau that said groundwater in Sublette County, Wyo., which has one of the country’s largest natural gas fields and where hydraulic fracturing was commonly employed, was contaminated with benzene, a substance that has been linked to cancer and nervous system disorders.

“Hydraulic fracturing is an extremely haphazard practice that stands to put the city’s drinking water supply and, in turn, the lives and welfare of New York City residents at great risk,” Quinn (D-Manhattan) said. “It is critical that we put an end to this practice immediately, and at least until the practice has been studied in far greater detail and the questions concerning its potential threats have been answered.”

Councilman James Gennaro (l.) speaks at a biodiesel plant in Brooklyn about his bill that is expected to reduce air pollution and create green jobs. Photo courtesy of William Alatriste

A bill sponsored by City Councilman James Gennaro (D-Fresh Meadows) and slated to pass the Council Thursday is expected to reduce air pollution, promote the use of alternative fuels and create green jobs in the city, Gennaro and Mayor Michael Bloomberg said this week.

The legislation, Intro 194-A, will require that buildings burn less No. 4 heating oil — one of the dirtiest types of fuel. Additionally, it mandates that the No. 4 oil will be phased out when buildings need to replace their heating system equipment, which city officials said will help to create environmentally friendly jobs.

“New York City consumes 1 billion gallons of heating oil annually — more than any other city in the United States,” said Gennaro, chairman of the Council Environmental Protection Committee. “Our legislation will annually replace 20 million gallons of petroleum with an equal volume of renewable, sustainable and domestically produced biodiesel. We are already home to what will be the largest biodiesel processing facility in the country, as well as a growing grease collection industry, and we expect to see more and more green-collar jobs and green economic growth as a result of our legislation.”

Intro 194-A will require the amount of sulfur in some heating oil to be capped at 1,500 parts per million, reducing the current cap by half. About 9,500 city buildings burn the dirtiest grades of heating oil, Nos. 4 and 6, according to a report by the Environmental Defense Fund, a nonprofit. The report found that buildings burning Nos. 4 and 6 heating oils release more soot pollution than all cars and trucks on the city’s streets combined.

The pollution created by this heating oil contains heavy metals and other pollutants that damage lungs and hearts, contribute to asthma and decrease life expectancy, city officials noted.

“We all know the most cost-effective way to remove pollutants from any fuel is to never burn them in the first place,” Bloomberg said. “But the reality is that New Yorkers burn more than 1 billion gallons of heating oil each year. By changing the type of oil we use, we will reduce pollutants and spend less money on maintaining and operating our heating systems while simultaneously reducing our dependence on overseas sources of energy.”

Environmental advocates also cheered the bill.

“It’s a great day for the health of all New Yorkers, but especially for children, senior citizens and people with respiratory illnesses who are particularly vulnerable to soot pollution,” said Andy Darrell, New York regional director and deputy director of the Environmental Defense Fund’s national energy program.

“Twenty years from now people will look back at the vote on this landmark legislative package as the moment when city government, critical stakeholders and concerned citizenry came together to transform our buildings into centers of environmental innovations, showcases of engineering excellence and engines of economic revitalization,” said Gennaro, chairman of the Council’s Environmental Protection Committee and one of the sponsors of the legislation. “These bills are transformative for our environment, a boon to our economy and a beacon to other cities on the journey to environmental sustainability.”

The four bills, known as the Greener, Greater Buildings Plan, passed Dec. 9 .  One bill will require owners of existing buildings over 50,000 square feet to conduct energy efficiency audits every 10 years and mandates that city-owned buildings also do audits and complete energy retrofits that pay for themselves within seven years.

Another bill creates a city energy code that existing buildings will have to meet whenever there are renovations, and a different piece of legislation mandates that large building owners annually analyze energy consumption so owners, tenants and potential tenants can compare buildings’ energy usage. Additionally, owners of large commercial buildings will now be required to upgrade their lighting and sub-meter tenant spaces over 10,000 feet.

Gennaro, Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Council Speaker Christine Quinn (D-Manhattan) touted the merits of the bills, saying they will reduce the city’s carbon footprint by about 5 percent, create 17,880 jobs and save consumers $700 million annually in energy costs.

“While New York already has the lowest per capita carbon footprint of any major city in America, we recognize that every city must take action to fight climate change,” Bloomberg said.

The Greener, Greater Buildings Plan includes two programs that will train workers for new construction jobs and help finance energy-savings improvements using $16 million in federal stimulus funding.

Environmentalists and elected officials across the country, from California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to U.S. Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), praised the Council for passing the package.

“Coming during the first days of the Copenhagen climate summit, this package will send out a ray of hope to a world increasingly worried that the challenges of climate change are simply too great for our leaders to meet,” said Sierra Club President Carl Pope. “The bills passed in New York are the most comprehensive and aggressive local legislation undertaken by a major city in America to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.”

Schwarzenegger said New York’s bills are a “great example of how cities and states are leading the way in development emissions reduction strategies.”

Community Board 8 District Manager Marie Adam-Ovide (l. to r.), Councilman James Gennaro, Samuel Field Y Associate Executive Director Rick Lewis, and Centro Hispano board member Eduardo Barahona launch their coat, food, and toy drive outside Gennaro’s office Tuesday. Photo by Anna Gustafson

City Councilman James Gennaro (D-Fresh Meadows) kicked off his annual toy, coat and food drive Tuesday, saying this year’s collection is especially important for his constituents facing difficult financial times.

“During these tough economic times, it’s critical that we do everything we can to help our neighbors in need,” Gennaro said.

Gennaro was joined by Community Board 8 District Manager Marie Adam-Ovide, Samuel Field Y Associate Executive Director Rick Lewis and Centro Hispano board member Eduardo Barahona at his office to launch the drive. The community board, Samuel Field Y in Little Neck and Centro Hispano in Jamaica are all helping to collect items for the second-annual drive that will last through Dec. 21.

“Judging by the résumés we received for the part-time job that was open earlier this year, there are a lot of people out of work,” Adam-Ovide said. “There’s a big need for this drive.”

Toys, coats and food will be collected at Gennaro’s office at 185-10 Union Tpke. Food will also be collected at the Jamaica Muslim Center and St. Nicholas of Tolentine Roman Catholic Church in Jamaica. Individuals may bring toys to Centro Hispano, and food, toys and coats may be dropped off at the Samuel Field Y.

The food will be donated to both St. Nicholas and Samuel Field Y. Toys will be given to the local chapter of Toys for Tots and coats will be donated to NY Cares.

New or gently used coats may be donated and food should be non-perishable.

Lewis echoed Adam-Ovide’s sentiment that the drive is especially needed in the rough economy.

“We’ve seen the need for warm clothing and food go up significantly in the past year,” Lewis said.

Khwaja M. Hassan, president of the Jamaica Muslim Center, also said goods are especially needed this year.
“We need more of such activities during these hard economic times,” Hassan said.

Gary Bagley, executive director of New York Cares, urged borough residents to donate coats.

“The economic crisis has hit low-income families especially hard, so the need for coats will be especially great this year,” Bagley said.

Sgt. Henry Kelcinski, spokesman for Toys for Tots NYC, said toys for families in need are important during the holidays to help boost families’ morale.

“We know from the smiles on the children’s faces and the grateful appreciation of their parents — that simple gift of a shiny new toy, something many take for granted, can make a tremendous difference in the life of a child,” Kelcinski said.

The appeal comes after a public hearing chaired by Comrie last week during which Andrew Eiler, the director of legislative affairs for the city Department of Consumer Affairs, said the DCA did not agree with the bill.This effectively meant Gennaro, who sponsored the bill, and Comrie, who chaired the hearing held by the Council Consumer Affairs Committee, would have to rework the bill’s language and receive the green light from the Bloomberg administration before being able to bring the legislation to the Council for a vote.

“Every November, on the day after Thanksgiving, shoppers dash through stores throughout the city to find the best bargains heading into the holiday season,” Gennaro said. “These Black Friday sales generate billions of dollars for the city’s retail businesses, but the anxious, competitive nature of these door buster sales creates unsafe situations for both the patrons and employees when careful safety measures are not implemented.”

Gennaro crafted the legislation, which would require retail stores to apply for a license at the DCA at least 60 days prior to a door buster sale by submitting a detailed crowd control plan, in response to the death of Jdimytai Damour, a Jamaica resident and employee at the Valley Stream, L.I., Wal-Mart.  He was crushed to death after a throng of early-morning shoppers knocked him down and stepped on him as they rushed into the store at 5 a.m. to take advantage of Black Friday sales.

Eiler said while officials at the DCA “appreciate the purpose of this bill,” the legislation does not take into account that small businesses do not plan such sales as far in advance as 60 days.

He further argued the department may not have the needed to staff to “effectively evaluate whether any proposed plan would be adequate to ensure the safety of shoppers” and that estimates of the number of people attending the sale may be wrong, “rendering the plan inoperative.”

Eiler said there could be unintended legal disadvantages for individuals injured in a door buster sale because store owners could possibly argue that “the presence of a license absolved the store owner from legal responsibility for any injuries in civil actions against retailers who followed an approved plan that proved to be inadequate for the actual sale.”

Gennaro and Comrie disagreed with Eiler’s statements, saying it was crucial to try to anticipate massive crowds that could pose dangerous to customers and store employees. Comrie agreed with Eiler that the department does not have the manpower to be the lead agency regarding the permits, but he said they never intended for DCA to be the sole group involved in the process.

“We wanted businesses to go to them to apply for a crowd permit and then have other agencies look at the plan,” Comrie said.

The Council members said such agencies could include the Police Department and the city Department of Transportation.

Edward Gersowitz, who is representing the Damour family in their lawsuit against Wal-Mart, supported the bill at the hearing.

“These steps are important to ensure that the retail leviathans, such as Wal-Mart, are vigilant to protect those persons who are invited onto their premises for the purpose of profit,” he said. “Unfortunately, greed and a lack of concern for the public welfare demonstrated by the corporate giants too often accompanies the holiday shopping season. This legislation will compel retailers to consider the safety of their customers first, instead of only their bottom line.”

Nassau County police have said the store did not have enough security personnel on site to deal with the 2,000 people waiting to enter the store. Wal-Mart officials said they had prepared for the sizable crowds with plenty of security.

“It is not an overstatement to say that this is the most important issue facing the city of New York right now,” Gennaro said. “Our water supply is our most precious capital asset and it is absolutely irreplaceable.”

The state Legislature passed a law in July 2008 that allows wells tapping into gas deposits across upstate New York to be located more closely to one another than previously permitted, making it economically feasible for wide-scale drilling to begin near the city’s drinking water reservoirs.

Should drilling be allowed in the 1 million-acre watershed that provides drinking water for more than 8 million city residents and 1 million people in Westchester and other counties, Gennaro has said the city would be forced to construct a water filtration plant that probably would cost $10 billion to construct and about a billion dollars annually to operate.

While unlikely, Gennaro said water contamination was a possibility.

“If contamination did make it into our water supply, we would not be able to adequately filter it out,” he said.
At the end of September, the state Department of Environmental Conservation released its draft environmental impact statement on the natural gas drilling activities in the Marcellus Shale formation, which runs for about 600 miles through New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Virginia.

The statement did not ban gas drilling, but it did set rules as to where wells may be drilled and requires gas companies to publicly disclose which chemicals they use while extracting the gas.

In addition to calling on Albany to ban drilling within the watershed, the Council resolution passed Monday asks the federal government to better regulate the practice of hydraulic fracturing, a process of extracting natural gas that entails injecting up to 5 million gallons of water laced with chemicals into the ground at high pressure to break the rock.

The method has been criticized by city government officials and environmentalists.

“History has shown us the consequences of putting the acquisition of fossil fuels ahead of environmental concerns,” Council Speaker Christine Quinn (D-Manhattan) said. “We simply cannot afford to jeopardize the health and financial well-being of New Yorkers by allowing the natural gas industry to undertake large-scale development in the Catskill and Delaware watershed.”

Last summer the U.S. Land Management Bureau documented that groundwater in Sublette County, Wyo., which has one of the country’s largest natural gas fields and where hydraulic fracturing is commonly employed, had been contaminated with benzene, a substance that has been linked to cancer and nervous system disorders.

“As the Council’s Environmental [Committee] chairman, I want to continue working with my partners Mike Bloomberg to fully implement PlaNYC, his visionary environmental sustainability plan that is cleaning our air, reducing asthma, protecting our water supply and reviving our economy by creating thousands of green jobs and growing a thriving green economy,” said Gennaro, who did not endorse Bloomberg in 2001 or 2005.

“But we also need Mike Bloomberg for much more,” he said. “We need him to build on his phenomenal success in improving our schools, to continue his national leadership in reducing crime and getting illegal guns off our streets and to keep improving our quality of life as no other has in my 27 years in government.”

Gennaro represents the Council’s 24th District, which includes Briarwood, Fresh Meadows, Hillcrest, Hillcrest Estates, Jamaica Estates, Jamaica Hills, Kew Gardens Hills, Utopia Estates and parts of Forest Hills, Flushing, Jamaica and Rego Park.

He is one of a list of Democrats who have thrown their weight behind the mayor, including U.S. Rep. Gary Ackerman (D-Bayside), former Mayor Ed Koch and Newark Mayor Cory Booker.

Bloomberg and Booker made the rounds in Queens and spoke at several Queens churches Sunday morning, including Mount Moriah AME Church, Greater Allen AME Cathedral and New Jerusalem Baptist Church — all in Jamaica.

Gennaro and Bloomberg have worked together on green initiatives in the city and on Earth Day this year, Gennaro joined Bloomberg to launch a six-point plan to make existing large buildings energy-efficient through retrofits. The two said the plan will create 19,000 green construction jobs and reduce the city’s greenhouse gas emissions by 5 percent.

In November 2007 the Council passed the Gennaro-sponsored Local Law 55, which was supported by the mayor and aims to reduce citywide greenhouse gas emissions by 30 percent below 2005 levels by 2030.

“Jim has been a key partner in our effort to green New York City,” Bloomberg said. “Together, we have worked to retrofit our city’s buildings, end antiquated city practices and transform the way we approach environmental protection. Jim shares my belief that green jobs are the jobs of the future and together we will keep New York City a national leader on environmental issues.”

Gennaro praised Bloomberg’s PlaNYC, a master plan for building an environmentally sustainable New York which, like Local Law 55, lays out initiatives for cutting the city’s greenhouse gas emissions 30 percent by 2030. The plan’s efforts include incorporating hybrid cars into city fleets.

The Thompson campaign has pointed out throughout the city comptroller’s run for mayor that he has worked hard on environmental efforts, including attempting to stop natural gas drilling within or near the city’s upstate watershed, which provides drinking water to the city’s residents; calling for the preservation of wildlife space in the Ridgewood Reservoir; and issuing a report documenting the impact of airport congestion at the city’s three major airports; and the rise in airport runoff, especially the flow from Kennedy Airport into marshes in Jamaica Bay.

Reach reporter Anna Gustafson by e-mail at agustafson@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 174.

The march, which drew a number of high-profile office holders at the city, state and federal level, walked along the boulevard Saturday afternoon, prompting store owners and employees to step outside and cheer them on.

Queens Democratic District Leader Danny Dromm led more than 250 marchers, who wore “Stop the Hate” T-shirts, in a chant: “Jack Price is under attack. What do we do? Stand up, fight back.” Price’s family, including his brother, sister-in-law, cousins and nieces, walked at the front of the procession.

“Everyone in College Point knows my brother,” said Joseph Guarneri, Price’s brother. “He’d give the shirt off his back to anyone who needed it. Nobody should have to walk around worrying that they’ll get beat up.”

Guarneri said his brother probably would be in the hospital for another week as he waited for one his lungs to heal.

Joanne Guarneri, Price’s sister-in-law, said Price, 49, was once again speaking and joking with family members.

“He’s holding his own,” she said. “He’s a fighter, he’s going to make it.”

On Oct. 13, Price was kicked and punched repeatedly in the middle of the street after buying cigarettes at a 24-hour deli on College Point Boulevard around 4:30 a.m., He suffered a fractured jaw and ribs, a damaged lung and a lacerated spleen.

Two College Point men — Danny Rodriguez, 21, and Daniel Aleman, 26 — have been arrested and charged with assault and robbery as a hate crime in the incident, Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said.

During last weekend’s procession, the marchers stopped at College Point Boulevard and 18th Avenue, where Price was attacked, for a moment of silence.

“We are here today to say enough is enough,” said Dromm, who is also a gay rights activist. “Anytime anyone does this to a member of our community, we will fight back. Don’t you dare raise your hand to us.”

City Council Speaker Christine Quinn (D-Manhattan), who is openly gay, said she was glad to see the community united in support of Price.

“They didn’t beat him because they didn’t like Jack,” she said. “They beat him because of who he is.”

Councilman Peter Vallone Jr. (D-Astoria) said he was pleased the march drew not only members of the borough’s various ethnic communities, but also elected officials from other boroughs and from differing political ideologies.

“I think it’s great that the people on this side of the microphone are just as diverse as the people on the other side of the microphone,” he told the crowd.

Queens Democratic District Leader Danny Dromm (r.) speaks at a rally for College Point’s Jack Price, who was brutally beaten. Price’s sister-in-law Joanne (l. to r.), niece Christina Guarneri, Councilman Peter Vallone Jr., City Council Speaker Christine Quinn and Councilman John Liu were among the hundreds of people in attendance. Photo by Christina Santucci

The marchers included U.S. Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-Forest Hills), city Comptroller William Thompson, state Sen. Toby Stavisky (D-Whitestone) and state Assembly members Nettie Mayersohn (D-Flushing) and Mark Weprin (D-Little Neck).

Also in attendance were Queens Borough President Helen Marshall; Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer; City Council members Quinn, Vallone, Tony Avella (D-Bayside), John Liu (D-Flushing) and James Gennaro (D-Fresh Meadows); as well as Democrat Kevin Kim and Republican Dan Halloran, who are candidates for Council District 19, which includes College Point.

A small group of supporters for Rodriguez shouted at the marchers from across the street, wearing stickers that read “Free Danny Rodriguez.”

“It wasn’t a hate crime,” said Marcel Gelmi, 26, of College Point. “Those cameras didn’t pick up sound. It was an assault but not a hate crime. Danny has gay friends. They’re blowing this out of proportion.”

One of Rodriguez’s supporters sported a large tattoo on his arm which read, “Thou shall not lie with a man as one does with a woman. It is an abomination: Leviticus 18:12.”

But Price’s family and supporters vowed they would be vigilant in preventing future attacks.

“We’ve been in the community for 23 years,” Joanne Guarneri said. “My brother got beat up for simply going out for a pack of cigarettes. We have to take back the streets.”

Reach reporter Nathan Duke by e-mail at nduke@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 156.

Councilman James Gennaro sprays over graffiti on the wall of The Corner Deli located on 164th Street at 69th Avenue. Photo by Christina Santucci

When City Councilman James Gennaro (D-Fresh Meadows) arrived at the corner of 164th Street and 69th Avenue in Fresh Meadows last week, a wall on The Corner Deli was covered in red graffiti. Gennaro put on a pair of gray work gloves and held a spray gun and less than 15 minutes later the graffiti was gone.

“Graffiti is a plague on the community and I’m happy to do my part in removing it,” said Gennaro, who had help Sept. 24 from City Solve employee Raymie Neptune in removing the cartoon-like lettering that did not spell anything recognizable.

“When the vandals decide to tag again, we’ll clean it again, breaking their resolve, each time attacking it as a disease until my district is cured of graffiti,” Gennaro added.

The Fresh Meadows councilman has partnered with City Solve, a group that has worked with officials throughout the borough and city to remove graffiti.

City Solve President Bruce Pienkny said his group plans to power wash or paint over graffiti at four major shopping hubs in Gennaro’s district, including Kissena Boulevard between the Long Island Expressway service road to Union Turnpike, Union Turnpike from Main Street to Francis Lewis Boulevard, 164th Street from Union Turnpike to the Long Island Expressway service road and Parsons Boulevard from Hillside Avenue to Union Turnpike.

“Graffiti negatively affects quality of life,” Pienkny said. “Graffiti begets more graffiti. Graffiti begets other crime. By cleaning the graffiti, we find there’s less vandalism.”

After City Solve removes the graffiti in the shopping areas, group officials will conduct monthly maintenance in the areas to ensure they remain free of graffiti. Pienkny and Gennaro also encouraged residents to call the councilman’s office with information about graffiti in the area. Once a complaint is made, City Solve will tend to the problem site and remove the graffiti.

Peter Au, who works at The Corner Deli at 164th Street and 69th Avenue, said he was relieved Gennaro and City Solve have taken on the fight against graffiti. Au said the deli has repeatedly removed graffiti from its wall, only to have vandals return time and time again.

“As soon as you clean it up, they come right back,” Au said. “I’ve never been able to catch the guys. They do it late at night.”

Pienkny said City Solve also works with police to give them information about graffiti hot spots to help them catch the vandals.

“Police are taking the issue of graffiti much more seriously than they have in the past,” Pienkny said.

Schulman is one of six candidates vying for Councilwoman Melinda Katz’s (D-Forest Hills) seat representing Forest Hills, Rego Park, Kew Gardens and parts of Richmond Hill, Maspeth and Elmhurst.

“Lynn brings more than 30 years experience as a community activist, health care advocate, and nonprofit leader to the city Council,” said 1199 Political Director Kevin Finnegan. “That is the sort of progressive leadership we need. Whether it is working to safeguard the health care of New Yorkers or fighting for working people in her community, Lynn has the experience and commitment we need in the city Council, now more than ever.”

Schulman said she was “honored” to receive the endorsement.

“Access to health care is one of the primary issues in this district, and I know that with the support of 1199, I will be able to provide our neighborhoods with affordable, quality health care and ensure that our caregivers receiving a living wage and job security,” Schulman said.

Gennaro has no opponents in his re-election bid to represent the 24th Council District, which includes Fresh Meadows, Briarwood, Hillcrest, Jamaica Estates, Jamaica Hills, Kew Gardens Hills, Utopia Estates, and parts of Forest Hills, Flushing, Jamaica and Rego Park.

“During these difficult economic times, we need strong leaders who can help working families meet the challenges of living in this city and providing for their families,” said George Gresham, president of 1199 SEIU.

James Gennaro

City Councilman Tony Avella (D-Bayside) criticized some of his fellow Queens lawmakers who have not shown up for numerous committee meetings over the past fiscal year, saying the politicians should drop out of the committee rather than continually miss meetings that typically occur once or twice a month.

Councilmen James Sanders (D-Laurelton) attended 61 percent and James Gennaro (D-Fresh Meadows) 66 percent of their fiscal year 2009 committee meetings, according to documents obtained by the New York Post. Sanders’ record was the second-worst in the Council, following Bronx Democrat Maria Baez. Gennaro’s number of absences landed him the third-worst performance as far as committee meeting attendance.

“Showing up is part of the job,” said Avella, who achieved perfect attendance. “It’s very important you not only attend meetings to do the voting, but you go to committee meetings. When members don’t show up, it affects the effectiveness of the body.”

“If you’re on three committees, maybe you have three meetings a month?” Avella added. “That’s not a lot. If you can’t make the meetings, you can ask to be taken off the committee.”

Donovan Richards, a spokesman for Sanders, said the councilman missed the meetings because of a serious car accident in November during which he said Sanders was nearly paralyzed. The city’s fiscal year ended June 30.

“The doctors were saying this man possibly wouldn’t walk again,” Richards said. “He was in the ICU for almost a month and then he was going to therapy. The accident took him out for maybe four months, and he’s still recovering.”

Richards pointed out that he attended some of the committee meetings to report to Sanders what was discussed.

“I think that people are frankly more interested in what I bring home and not how many meetings I go to,” Sanders said.

Gennaro missed about one-third of his committee meetings, which his spokesman Brad Groznik attributed to a family situation.

“Sadly, for the last seven months, Council member Gennaro has had to dedicate much of his time to the care of a seriously ill family member,” Groznik said. “The Council member regrets that this situation has caused him to miss committee meetings, but he has kept up his schedule at his district office and the Committee on Environmental Protection, which he chairs.”

Avella and Council Speaker Christine Quinn (D-Manhattan) were the only two Council members to achieve perfect attendance at committee meetings. Avella, a Democratic candidate for mayor, chairs the Zoning and Franchises Committee and sits on the Fire and Criminal Justice Services, Higher Education, Housing and Buildings, Land Use and Veterans committees.

Sanders sits on the Juvenile Justice, Technology in Government, Women’s Issues and Community Development committees.

Gennaro chairs the Environmental Protection and sits on the Civil Service and Labor, Consumer Affairs, Finance, Mental Health, Mental Retardation, Alcoholism, Drug Abuse and Disability Services, Public Safety, Sanitation and Solid Waste Management committees.

The CLC said it would endorse candidates in the Ulrich’s race and the other six disputed Council races in Queens after its candidate screening process, which will take place July 8. Jack Ahern, president of the 1.3 million member CLC, issued this statement regarding endorsements:

Today’s early endorsements recognize the strong support and positions taken for working people by these City Council Members.  Each has shown a keen awareness and understanding of the issues, needs and concerns of working men and women, and have voting records that support  the health, safety and well-being of workers in our city.

The candidates endorse by the CLC are listed below:

District 21   –    Julissa Ferreras
District 22   –    Peter Vallone Jr.
District 24   -    James Gennaro
District 25   -    Helen Sears
District 27   -    Leroy Comrie
District 28   –    Tom White
District 30   –    Elizabeth Crowley
District 31   –    James Sanders

Hiram Monserrate

One of the state’s most powerful lobbies, the real estate industry, has been dealt a favorable hand amid the chaos in Albany with rent regulation bills up in the air.

But a representative from one landlord lobbying group said the industry had no influence over setting the state Senate coup in motion, let alone information that the takeover was in the works.

State Sen. Pedro Espada (D-Bronx), who, along with state Sen. Hiram Monserrate (D-East Elmhurst), sided with Republicans to give Republicans control of the Senate before Monserrate switched back to the Democrats, was coming under pressure from Democratic leaders to bring rent legislation to the Senate floor as chairman of the Senate Housing Committee when the coup took place, The New York Times reported last week.

The paper said it was likely Espada had been heavily courted by the real estate lobby for his influential control in determining whether rent legislation came to the floor, but it could not be determined how much money he received from such groups because he had not submitted his campaign finance filings as of earlier last week.

A state Elections Board spokesman said Espada handed in eight campaign finance forms Friday, but the board had not received a check as of 5 p.m. Tuesday from the senator to pay fines for not giving it the filings on time.

A TimesLedger Newspapers review of Monserrate’s state campaign finance filings since 2006 showed about 8 percent, or at least $65,200 of his contributions came from real estate interests. Reviewing his most recent campaign in 2008, about 7 percent, or $29,900, came from real estate interests.

By comparison, City Councilman James Gennaro’s (D-Fresh Meadows) campaign against Sen. Frank Padavan (R-Bellerose) had about 20 percent, or more than $181,000, in donations from real estate interests.

Monserrate has also been a leading opponent of vacancy decontrol, which would allow rent stabilized apartments to be moved to market rate,, further supporting the argument the real estate lobby did not factor in his decision to briefly align himself with the Republicans, who routinely side with landlords on rent issues.

Monserrate spokesman Peter Marin said the senator did not have an immediate comment and did not respond to an e-mail request.

Frank Ricci, director of governmental affairs for the Rent Stabilization Association, a landlord lobbying group, said the coup took the real estate industry by surprise and that the influential lobby did not facilitate the takeover.

“Where [the chaos] is going, I really don’t know,” he said.

Ricci said the issue was more about organizations such as ACORN and the Working Families Party pressuring Democrats to get rent legislation passed to further their own interests than the rent lobby pressuring legislators not to pass such bills.

“This has always been a political issue, not a housing issue,” Ricci said of the organizations’ motives.

He said the organizations perpetuated a “myth” that there was an urgency to pass such legislation when in reality rents are going down, tenants are not in danger of losing their apartments and rent regulation laws expire two years from now.

“I think they sold this issue on the importance of it when it really just affects affluent residents in Manhattan,” who are not part of ACORN’s and the Working Families Party’s constituencies, he said.

“It was truly a pleasure working for Councilman Avella and serving the constituents of the 19th Council District,” Troise said in a brief e-mail announcing the switch.

Troise, who was known for sending out press releases by the half dozen while with Avella, joins Gennaro’s staff as he looks towards re-election in the 24th Council District in central Queens.  Gennaro is not expected to face a substantial challenge in the race, but will likely challenge state Sen. Frank Padavan (D-Bellerose) to a rematch in 2010 after narrowly losing to the Republican stalwart in last year’s election.