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.

District Leader Martha Taylor (l.-r. front row), Assemblywoman Grace Meng, U.S. Rep. Carolyn Maloney and City Councilwoman Karen Koslowitz through their support behind Assemblyman David Weprin's (c.) Congressional campaign last week. Photo by Rebecca Henely

Many female elected officials at the city, state and federal levels endorsed state Assemblyman David Weprin (D-Little Neck) last Thursday at a news conference in front of Queens Borough Hall in Kew Gardens, saying the Democratic candidate for the sprawling congressional district is a tireless advocate for women’s rights.

“Some of the most impassioned speeches supporting women and children have come from David Weprin,” said Assemblywoman Aravella Simotas (D-Astoria).

Joined by his family — wife Ronni Weprin and daughters Stephanie Weprin and Lori Friedman — Weprin picked up the official support of electeds from Queens and beyond in his campaign to fill the seat left vacant by the resignation of U.S. Rep. Anthony Weiner two months ago amid a sexting scandal.

Most said they supported Weprin over Republican candidate Bob Turner because of Weprin’s support for abortion rights and access to birth control.

“I will be a strong advocate for the women of the 9th Congressional District as well as our state, city and country,” Weprin said.

Britta Vander Linden, a spokeswoman for Turner’s campaign, said in a statement responding to the endorsements that district women would vote for Turner due to his platform to cut waste, lower taxes and improve the economy. She said the ability of American women to manage their families’ household budgets has been made impossible by “career politicians like Mr. Weprin.”

“Jobs and young people are fleeing New York because of the taxes and debt these politicians have piled on us,” Linden said. “These are the pocketbook issues women in Queens and Brooklyn care about.”

Those who endorsed Weprin included Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-Astoria), state Sen. Toby Stavisky (D-Whitestone), Simotas, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn and Councilwomen Karen Koslowitz (D-Forest Hills), Elizabeth Crowley (D-Middle Village), Diana Reyna (D-Ridgewood), Julissa Ferreras (D-Jackson Heights) and Margaret Chin (D-Manhattan).

Weprin said he was “a little speechless and a little overwhelmed” by the endorsements.

Koslowitz said the members of Congress who have represented the Forest Hills district, from Weiner going back to as far as former Rep. Joseph Addabbo Sr.,? who began his career in the House of Representatives in 1961, have been pro-women’s rights.

“Every one of them helped women. They believed in women,” Koslowitz said.

Others said they were supporting Weprin for his other policy positions. Maloney praised Weprin’s work as chairman of the Finance Committee when he was in the Council and said his financial aptitude would be a boon in Congress.

“I wish he was the chair of the Finance Committee in Congress,” Maloney said.

Ferreras said she hoped the multitude of endorsements by women politicians would encourage women voters to vote for Weprin.

“Every time we send a Republican to Congress, we lose rights as women, we lose rights as families,” Ferreras said.

Turner has received high-profile endorsements from former Mayor Ed Koch and Rep. Peter King (R-Massapequa Park).

City Councilwoman Karen Koslowitz collected both a pension and a salary from the city last year.

A report disclosing financial information found that City Councilwoman Karen Koslowitz (D-Forest Hills) gets both a retirement pension and a salary from the city, a controversial practice called “double dipping.”

She makes $122,500 as a Council member, but also receives a $60,000 pension, the document from the city Conflicts of Interest Board ?said.

Koslowitz began receiving her pension in 2001, after newly instated term limits forced her out of office. Previously, she had served on the Council for 10 years.

But Koslowitz never stopped receiving the pension when she came out of retirement in 2009 and began pulling down a six-figure salary.

Koslowitz declined to comment for this article.

The practice has been labeled unethical by other Queens lawmakers.

State Sen. Tony Avella (D-Bayside) is a vehement critic of double-dipping politicians.

“To double dip at the taxpayer’s expense is just wrong,” he said. “We are asking the average New Yorker to cut back, pay more taxes and get less services … we should be held to the same rules.”

In February, Avella introduced legislation into the Senate that would seek to end the practice in Albany.

The bill states: “It is unfair to the general public and ethically inappropriate that an elected official who is eligible to receive a pension can retire, collect a government pension and still be re-elected to another position and collect an additional salary for the newly elected position.”

Another Queens councilwoman was still paying off student loans, according to the Conflict of Interest Board reports,

Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley (D-Middle Village) made roughly the same salary as Koslowitz in the Council last year and took out money from her personal IRA.

Crowley owed between $5,000 and $43,999.99 for a car loan from Ford, and between the same amount for a student loan.

She also made between the same amount in interest on two retirement accounts.?

City Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley (r.) chats with Jonathan Bayne at Maspeth Town Hall about a robotics program in 2009.

Western Queens nonprofits serving youth organizations and the elderly breathed a sigh of relief after City Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley (D-Middle Village) doled out her discretionary spending items for the 2012 fiscal year along with a grant that will go toward building a park at the St. Saviour’s site.

In her capital spending grants, Crowley allocated $1.1 million to go toward a park on the site of St. Saviour’s church.

And for many of the non-profits, such as Maspeth Town Hall Community Center, would not have been able to continue a lot of their programs without additional money from the city.

“Let me put it this way,” said Eileen Reilly, executive director of the center. “Without those dollars, we would not be able to have an after-school program at all.”

In addition to programs for seniors and youth the center, at 53-37 72nd St., also runs four after-school programs in western Queens. The programs include gang resistance education, sports and even a Lego robot competition.

“You want to make sure those children are in a safe environment instead of on the street,” she said. “There is no substitute for that.”

Crowley gave $30,000 to the center for children’s programs.

“I believe Maspeth Town Hall improves the lives of our children — and not just in Maspeth — but over all of Queens,” Crowley said, adding that the majority of her discretionary funding goes toward programs for senior citizens and youth.

She also funded many sports programs, including $3,500 to girls’ basketball organization Shooting Stars of Queens and $12,000 to Ridgewood, Glendale, Middle Village and Maspeth Little League.

For the elderly, Crowley doled out cash to several organizations including $20,000 to Ridgewood Older Adult Center and Services Inc. to fund upkeep and services in the building and $20,510 to Peter Cardella Senior Citizen Center, which provides meals for roughly 250 seniors a day.

She also gave more than $20,000 to Queens Multi-Service Center in Glendale. The center is tied to the Ridgewood Bushwick Senior Citizens Council, which is currently the subject of a federal financial probe and associated with embattled state Assemblyman Vito Lopez (D-Brooklyn), a leader in the Kings County Democratic Party.

But Crowley said she has visited the center and verified it provides essential services to the elderly community.

“I know Queens Multi-Service gets the money I put in,” Crowley said. “My seniors depend on it.”

In the city’s capital budget, Crowley focused heavily on schools and parks.

“Every school in the district receives capital dollars for programs, basic updates for computers or smart boards or upgrading facilities such as playgrounds,” she said.

Addae Oliver (r.) and William Reda, both of whom work on the city's 311 service, spoke to Maspeth residents at a meeting last week about how to effectively register a complaint. Photo by Rich Bockmann

Maspeth residents frustrated with dialing 311 got their information directly from the source last week.

At the bequest of City Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley (D-Middle Village), representatives from the city’s non-emergency information service and a handful of the municipal agencies it frequently contacts on behalf of callers met neighborhood residents at Kowalinski Post, at 61-57 Maspeth Ave.

In 2003 the city launched 311, which offers callers daily information, such as alternate side parking rules and school closings as well as taking complaints, categorizing them and filing them with the proper agency.

Not one hand was left down when 311 spokesman Addae Oliver asked the 20 or so in attendance who had filed a complaint with the service before, and with that segue in place he proceeded with his pitch to get callers to switch over to using the service’s website, which was launched in 2009.

“If you would prefer to call, that’s fine. Just keep in mind the option is available,” he said, adding that the website averages about 3,500 complaints a day, compared to the call center, which fields more than 35,000 calls a day. “Which would you rather choose?”

When Content Operations Manager William Reda mentioned 311’s Twitter feed, several members of the crowd could be overheard asking what a Twitter is.

“I understand what they’re trying to do,” said Maspeth resident Richard Gundlach. “The presentation was … I mean, a tweet? To a neighborhood of elderly residents?”

Gundlach came with reports in hand he had printed out from 311’s website concerning an issue he said he had called about at least 12 times since October.

“I reported it to 311. I tried online once, but it was not easy. I don’t like to have to play around,” he said.

Gunlach said he was specific with 311 operators when he called to register a noise complaint about an 18-wheel semi-truck with a loud refrigeration unit that parks off of 51st Avenue on 72nd Street. The NYPD, however, does not have a noise complaint category for refrigeration units, so the 311 operator has to categorize the noise as an idling engine.

“Therein lies the problem,” Gundlach said, reading a report detailing the department’s response. “The police come down and the engine isn’t idling. The status is, ‘Police responded, police action not necessary,’” he read.

Reda said this particular situation is what 311 calls a “content gap,” and protocol is for call center managers to work with agencies to develop the best ways to categorize and prioritize complaints.

“I’ve been at 311 for three years, and I haven’t seen that complaint,” he added.

Ivan Mossop said he had called 311 several times about potholes on Calamus Avenue, and although he finds the service to be effective, he understands that the overwhelmed agencies are not always able to respond.

“You can’t shoot the messenger,” he said.

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.

Borough President Helen Marshall (front) congratulates her colleagues Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley (from l.), Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe, Rep. Joseph Crowley, Assemblywoman Marge Markey and Mayor Michael Bloomberg, on helping to create the recently completed Elmhurst Park. Photo by Joe Anuta

Officer Joy of the NYPD watches for trouble outside a jungle gym at newly christened Elmhurst Park during the mayor's visit. Photo by Joe Anuta

Mayor Michael Bloom­berg visited Maspeth to officially open a new park Monday, but some civic leaders accused lawmakers of joining the celebrations when they actually hindered the park’s progress.

“It’s a wonderful space,” Bloomberg said of the $20 million, 6.5-acre Elmhurst Park. “It is difficult to recall what this industrial site used to look like.”

But City Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley (D-Middle Village), who was also on hand, remembers exactly what it used to look like.

The parcel of land used to be home to the Maspeth Tanks, large red cylinders 275 feet in diameter that housed natural gas for the area. They were owned by Keyspan, which later was purchased by National Grid.

Even as a child Crowley wanted the space to be used for the entire neighborhood.

“I used to imagine that the gas tanks could be swimming pools,” she said. “However, a new generation can appreciate this space in a whole different way.”

The tanks were removed in the 1990s and a complicated series of events resulted in Keyspan selling the plot to the city for $1.

U.S. Rep. Joseph Crowley (D-Jackson Heights) called the park a “wonderful, wonderful victory” and state Assemblywoman Marge Markey (D-Maspeth) said “great things happen when the government and the community work together.”

But some members of the community wondered why Crowley and Markey were there in the first place.

According to activists Tony Nunziato and Robert Holden, president of the Juniper Valley Park Association, the congressman and the assemblywoman stood in the way of the community’s quest to obtain the park.

“It’s tough to see some of the people here that didn’t lend a hand and told us not to continue,” Holden said.

Holden and the civic campaigned extensively for the city to buy the park and brokered a deal with Keyspan to hold off on selling the property until they could raise enough money.

But he said that before the agreed-upon time had elapsed, Crowley met with Keyspan and found out the company planned to develop the property instead. But Crowley never told Holden and the civic.

“It set us back two months,” Holden said.

And Markey told the two men Keyspan owed it to its stockholders to develop the property and advised Nunziato and Holden to stop advocating for the park after it appeared hopeless that the civic would get its wish, according to Nunziato.

“She is riding our coattails,” Nunziato said. “But when the champagne is popping, she is right there to pull out a glass.”

But they wore “Thank you Mayor” stickers on their suits with complete sincerity.

“This is one thing that he did that was great,” Holden said.

Bloomberg was instrumental in getting Keyspan to turn over the property for $1. Markey and Crowley also negotiated with the energy company for the property.

City Sanitation Commissioner John Doherty addresses City Council members at a contentious hearing Monday afternoon in Manhattan on the city's mishandling of the response to last month's blizzard. Photo by Connor Adams Sheets

The City Council held the first of a series of hearings into the city’s slow response to last month’s blizzard Monday afternoon.

The packed event in Manhattan was the first chance Council members had to publicly and directly question and chide apologetic city officials about their handling of the storm, which Mayor Michael Bloomberg had described as “inadequate” and “unsatisfactory.”

A focal point of the inquiries was the city’s failure to sufficiently address the snow removal needs of the outer boroughs, including those of Queens, which had many unplowed streets several days after the snow stopped falling, multiplying emergency response times and leaving thousands of residents stranded.

“At some point you’ve got to realize they weren’t plowing,” City Councilman Peter Vallone (D-Astoria), chairman of the Council Public Safety Committee, told city Sanitation Commissioner John Doherty during a heated exchange. “They may have been on the highways, they might have been in Manhattan, but they weren’t in Queens, they weren’t on Staten Island, they weren’t in Brooklyn.”

Doherty, Deputy Mayor of Operations Stephen Goldsmith, city Fire Commissioner Salvatore Cassano and city Office of Emergency Management Commissioner Joseph Bruno made up the public face of the Bloomberg administration at the hearing.

The officials recounted the events that transpired in the days before, during and after the storm, repeatedly admitted mistakes and failures the administration, introduced ways to ensure they do not take place during future storms, and found themselves defending their jobs.

“Today’s hearing will ensure the city learns the right lessons from this painful experience,” Goldsmith said. “We didn’t do the job New York City residents deserve …. Mayor Bloomberg and I are fully committed to understanding what went wrong and addressing those issues.”

Goldsmith then presented a six-part breakdown of key areas where “the city’s response was inadequate”:

• The decision not to declare a snow emergency.

• A city’s lack of ability to track its response efforts in real-time and adjust accordingly.

• Insufficient and delayed deployment of city assets.

• Failure to procure and deploy sufficient private resources, such as private tow truck operators.

• Insufficient internal and external communication.

• Problems with emergency communications and response.

The outline also detailed the city’s plans to address the issues through a litany of changes, such as technological upgrades, improving communications and boosting its ability to quickly deploy resources.

The city’s failure to declare a snow emergency and delay opening the city’s command center angered many Council members who believe those decisions were the root cause of many other problems.

“I appreciate the recognition that the failure to declare an emergency or a snow emergency, which was well within the mayor’s ability, was a mistake,” Council Speaker Christine Quinn (D-Manhattan) said. “On Dec. 25, when [the National Weather Service] declared a blizzard watch, was the time when we should have gone to looking at a snow emergency.”

Goldsmith admitted that making such a declaration “could have yielded a better response” and said the city is evaluating new protocols for deciding when to do so.

Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley (D-Middle Village), chairwoman of the Council Fire & Criminal Justice Committee, effectively called for more heads to roll. As of Tuesday afternoon, only one citwide official, John Peruggia, chief of the FDNY’s Emergency Medical Service, had been demoted and none had been fired in the snowstorm’s wake.

“The responsibility to declare a snow emergency does not fall on his shoulders, so why is he the only one who got the demotion? Why is he the fall guy?” she asked the administration panel.

Another major focus of the hearing was on the the storm’s impact on emergency response times. The normal average response time to the most severe 911 calls is under six minutes, according to Bruno. During the height of the storm, he said, average response times were as long as 55 minutes, a result in large part of unplowed streets causing more than 100 ambulances to get stuck in snow

In a release, Addabbo called Miller “a champion for Queens families.”

“Whether it is protecting our children from sexual predators, working to increase the availability of affordable housing or fighting to expand access to quality healthcare, Mike has been the hardworking leader Queens families deserve.  For the residents of the 38th Assembly District, there is no better choice for the state Assembly than Mike Miller,” Addabbo said.

Crowley said in a release Miller had a “depth of experience and the fresh ideas we need.”

“Since his time in the Assembly, Mike Miller has been one of our community’s strongest voices for better schools, more affordable housing, improved public safety and creating jobs right here in Queens,” Crowley said.

Miller also received endorsements from various other civic leaders in the community.

“I am proud to have the support of these local Democratic elected officials and civic activists from every corner of our community,” Miller said in a release. “This support shows that the momentum is on our side.”

City Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley (c.), joined by Councilwoman Karen Koslowitz and Councilman Dan Halloran, speaks in Maspeth about her recently introduced legislation cracking down on illegally operating commuter vans. Photo by Rebecca Henely

City Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley (D-Middle Village), flanked by Council members Karen Koslowitz (D-Forest Hills) and Dan Halloran (R-Whitestone), announced at Calamus Avenue and 72nd Street in Maspeth Friday the new legislation she has introduced, which calls for crackdowns on illegal commuter vans.

“This is a public safety issue,” Crowley said.

Crowley said she wrote the bill in response to complaints from local residents, who protest the use of both unauthorized and uninsured private companies operating vans in Maspeth, as well as legitimate commuter van companies coming into the community when they are not authorized to operate in the Maspeth area.

“There’s not a need for them to be here,” said Roe Daraio, a lifelong resident of Maspeth and president of the civic group Communities of Maspeth and Elmhurst Together. She said the area is in the vicinity of five bus lines and two train routes.

Crowley said hundreds of commuter vans work in the area without permits and insurance. In response, she introduced a bill in the Council last Thursday requesting the city Taxi and Limousine Commission to conduct training sessions with the city Police Department at a minimum of two times a year about how to recognize unlicensed commuter vans.

Local residents, such as Richard Gundlach, a member of Community Board 2 and COMET, said congestion is part of the impetus behind the bill.

“We get so many vans going down side streets,” he said. “It’s ridiculous.”

Yet Koslowitz and Halloran said that while there is no need for commuter vans in Maspeth, their districts can benefit from commuter sources independent of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

“We are far from mass transit,” Koslowitz said. “People get tired of waiting for the buses.”

Yet Koslowitz wanted those who ride as passengers in the vans and get in an accident to be properly compensated.

“We need to make sure that those are authorized vehicles playing by the rules,” Crowley said.

Halloran said two bus lines have been cut in his district and that people need alternatives.

“This is not about stamping out the free market,” Halloran said.

But he also said this bill was a “bipartisan effort” to make sure the commuter van drivers are competent, insured and held accountable if they get in an accident.

“This legislation is aimed primarily at education,” Halloran said.

Crowley said she expects to have a hearing on this bill in the fall.

Metropolitan Transportation Authority Chairman Jay Walder listened to an hour of public speakers, most of them pleading for a delay in the vote and scolding transit officials Dec. 16 and afterward said: “This is the beginning, not the end.”

“We may be able to look at it,” Walder said. “We may be able to do a little bit better.”

The board approved by a vote of 12-0 the proposal to shut down the W and Z subway lines, shorten the G and M lines, end service on at least 21 bus lines and end free MetroCards for schoolchildren.

“How low can you go?” asked City Councilman Charles Barron (D-Brooklyn), referring to the proposed end of free transit passes for schoolchildren. “What do you wanted to do? Have them jump the turnstiles and turn them into criminals?”

Queens Council members Elizabeth Crowley (D-Middle Village) and Leroy Comrie (D-St. Albans) assailed the cutback plan, especially the abolition of student passes.

Walder told the board members that “you are not being asked to make a final decision here today,” adding that public hearings in early 2010 and another vote were required before carrying out the cutbacks, which would not take place until July.

Walder also suggested that more could be done to reduce costs within the MTA.

“In the two months that I’ve been here, it’s apparent to me that we don’t operate in a way that ensures that every taxpayer dollar that we receive is being used as effectively as possible,” Walder said.

“In short, we need to take this place apart. We have 70,000 people working in this agency and 5,000 of them in administration is too many.”

The MTA board was obligated to vote Dec. 16 because the panel was required by law to come up with a balanced budget by the end of 2009.

Whatever the outcome, the vote was a blow to multitudes of straphangers, who saw the specter of longer waits between subway trains and buses, severely reduced service overnight and curtailed service for the disabled who depend on the Access-A-Ride program. In some cases, entire bus lines would no longer run on weekends.

Residents of the Rockaways in Queens would lose their rebate on tolls when using the Cross Bay Bridge and three lines of the Long Island Rail Road would lose trains.

The plan also includes a 10 percent pay cut for MTA management, including Walder, and 700 layoffs, most of them maintenance workers.

The bad news that forced the MTA to come up with the plan came in little more than a week earlier when Gov. David Paterson took back the state’s $143 million contribution to the agency and it was discovered that the revenue from a 12-county payroll tax for the MTA turned out to be $200 million less than predicted.

A judge also upheld an arbitration ruling that upheld a 11.5 percent pay raise for thousands of transit workers — a pay raise MTA officials said was more than the agency could afford.

The result was a $383 million deficit.

It was little more than a year ago that the MTA issued a “doomsday” plan of shutdowns and service cuts. But the cuts were never carried out because of a bailout by the state Legislature.

The Queens Civic Council called the plan “unthinkable” and said the coalition of more than 110 organizations “insists the MTA look at other parts of its budget.”

Could the Obama administration come to New York City’s rescue?

Federal Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood mentioned no figures but talked that way last week on NY1.
“This is a priority of President Obama,” LaHood said of mass transit, “and we’re willing to work with the state of New York, with the governor, with the mayor and the Legislature to make sure that New York has a first-rate transportation system.”

The lot at 61-50 Metropolitan Ave. is the site of an abandoned newsstand and convenience store. Plans to develop the property date back to the 2003 fiscal year and an item was included in the MTA’s current five-year capital plan, Crowley’s office said.

“For the past decade this abandoned old newsstand has invited graffiti, vandalism and traffic,” Crowley said. “As one of the busiest intersections in Queens, beautifying this corner will help ease traffic tension, reduce crime and attract consumers to surrounding businesses.”

Crowley’s office said more details about the project would emerge in January, noting the councilwoman is working with state legislators to secure capital review board funding and will meet with the city Parks Department to try to help find funding sources.

The total cost of the project is expected to be about $100,000 she said.

The community use of the property is not expected to be affected by the MTA’s announcement of impending budget cuts to close a $383 million deficit, Crowley’s spokeswoman said, noting they expect any state funding to come from legislators and not the LIRR.

The park area will probably be temporary since Community Board 5 District Manager Gary Giordano said the city Department of Transportation had plans to refurbish the bridge carrying Metropolitan Avenue over the LIRR tracks, postponing the railroad’s plans for the site.

Crowley brought the lot to the LIRR’s attention in September when the Metropolitan Transportation Authority held hearings on its 2014 capital improvements plan.

“I am pleased to see that the MTA is willing to improve their property that has been a blight on the area for years,” state Sen. Joseph Addabbo (D-Howard Beach) said in a statement.

“Improvements to this area will benefit local businesses and the entire neighborhood,” state Assemblyman Mike Miller (D-Glendale) said in a statement.

In winning, Crowley, 31, has reinforced her hold in a district that has had a Republican in the Council for nearly two decades.

She took in 11,227 votes, or 59.4 percent of the turnout, compared with Ognibene’s 7,686, or 40.6 percent, according to preliminary figures from NY1.

Crowley’s office did not respond to requests for comment by press time Tuesday night.

Ognibene, 65, who held the Council seat from 1991 until 2001, was gracious in defeat.

“The people said, ‘Ognibene, you’ve done a nice job, but it’s time to move on,’” he said. “I just think that there was no rationale to put Ms. Crowley out of office. I just get the sense talking to people that there was no rationale to vote for me.”

The race was quieter than others, but had its fair share of barbs and arrows.

Ognibene accused Crowley of being in the pocket of construction unions. Crowley accused Ognibene of accepting bribes from developer Robert Lattanzio while in the Council.

After agreeing to cooperate with investigators in 1998, Lattanzio said he bribed Ognibene in return for calling the city Department of Buildings to advance certain projects. Ognibene was never charged with any crime in the incident.

“I know it was nonsense, the DA knows it was nonsense,” Ognibene said. “It’s kind of sad that it comes up again.”

The pair were well-matched in fund-raising. Ognibene spent a good deal of his funds on billboards

Cost-of-living adjustments are tied to the Consumer Price Index, which declined this year because of the economic downturn, but U.S. Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-Forest Hills) and City Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley (D-Middle Village) believe that national statistic puts seniors living in higher-priced urban areas like Queens at a disadvantage.

“To say that the cost of living hasn’t increased at all is to misunderstand what’s going on in the world,” Weiner told seniors at the Middle Village Adult Center Monday, noting housing, health care and food had become more expensive for seniors in the city over the past year.

Weiner and Crowley gathered signatures supporting a bill that would change how the Social Security Administration calculates the cost of living nationwide and give New Yorkers an advantage.

The COLA Fairness Act would create a new regional cost-of-living adjustment to allow for differences in prices between Queens and other areas of the country, like rural Montana. If the bill passes, it would provide New York’s senior citizens with an extra 2.1 percent increase in Social Security benefits over five years. It was introduced March 5 and awaits hearings in several different committees within the House of Representatives.

Weiner also noted another proposal being floated: U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) is among those pushing a plan to give seniors an extra $250 this year. But some at the meeting Monday said that amount would not cover the increase in Medicare expenses they have incurred.

“These federal dollars will help make sure millions of New York seniors, people with disabilities and veterans can continue to pay bills and put food on the table,” Gillibrand said in a statement.

Under the plan, Queens would receive the second-highest allocation of funds in the state, with $82.3 million going to 329,413 Social Security recipients. The only county receiving more would be Brooklyn, which would get $95 million for 380,066 recipients.

Reach reporter Jeremy Walsh by e-mail at jewalsh@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 154.

Crowley, 31, first ran for the office in 2001, losing to Dennis Gallagher. But when Gallagher resigned from the Council in 2008 after pleading guilty in connection to a sexual assault charge, Crowley had another chance.

She ran in a special election for the seat in June, losing by 38 votes to Anthony Como, a former aide to former state Sen. Serphin Maltese.

Crowley then returned to the ring that November when the seat was next up for grabs. With what Crowley admits was a boost from enthusiasm over the presidential race, she cruised to victory over Como.

But after the 2008 win, the seat was up for grabs again in the citywide elections the following year.

Crowley grew up in Middle Village and attended the Fashion Institute of Technology. She received a master’s in city planning from Pratt Institute.

She started work repairing and refurbishing historic buildings, where she became involved in a construction union. She said the union encouraged her to run for office in 2001.

“I didn’t have the public’s support that time,” she said, noting departing Councilman Tom Ognibene, who is facing her Tuesday, threw his weight behind Gallagher that time. “Gallagher had shored that up before I even thought about running.”

Crowley said that after the tough defeat, she focused on community work like helping set up worker training classes in all five boroughs through her union. She chalks up her special election loss in 2008 to low voter turnout.

But she is also loath to credit President Barack Obama’s popularity for carrying her on the ballot.

“There were places [in the district] where Barack Obama didn’t get 40 percent of the vote and I got nearly 60 percent of the vote,” she said.

Now Crowley believes she will once again face an unmotivated voting public, estimating 30 percent lower turnout than last year.

“As much as I try to convince and get my message across as a Council member, at the end of the day … it’s usually the top of the ticket that brings the vast majority out,” she said, referring to mayoral contenders Mayor Michael Bloomberg and city Comptroller William Thompson. “Right now I think that people are not happy with either of the candidates.”

In her 10 months in office, Crowley said she is most proud of fast-tracking the rezoning of 300 blocks of Glendale, Maspeth and Middle Village.

“It moved along faster than any other zoning resolution in the history of the City Council of New York,” she said. “And that’s an accomplishment I can take credit for.”

If re-elected, Crowley said she would focus on building more community centers for after-school programs and working to ensure the now-closed St. John’s Hospital in Elmhurst is replaced by another hospital.

The hospital property recently sold at auction to a large realty firm in Brooklyn, and Crowley foresees development rebounding.

“The free market … is coming back up to speed where we could see a project that would be over half a billion dollars,” she said. “Something over $700 million is what would take to build a new hospital.”

Reach reporter Jeremy Walsh by e-mail at jewalsh@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 154.

The 66-year-old former city councilman is running against incumbent Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley (D-Middle Village) in the hopes of preventing a redistricting two years from now that could eliminate the relatively conservative population in the neighborhoods as a voting bloc.

“If I’m not elected … come 2011, I know the people at City Hall are not happy with having fair fights,” he said. “They’re not happy with me being here. They’d just as soon redistrict us and break us up.”

Ognibene, 66, grew up in Manhattan. He moved to Glendale in 1969 after being discharged from the U.S. Army, in which he served as a tank commander. He moved to Glendale in 1970, enrolled at Brooklyn Law School and soon became a protege of Serphin Maltese, who was then an instrumental operative in the Conservative Party.

In 1988, Maltese was elected to the state Senate and Ognibene served as his counsel, following him over to the Republican Party in 1990. Ognibene became a Republican district leader and after a redistricting in 1989 resulted in the creation of what Ognibene called a Republican council district, Maltese asked him to run.

Ognibene served in the Council until 2001, when he was term-limited out of office.

“At one point you have the world in your hands,” he said. “You know you can exercise your power for the good of the community, and the next moment you’re a citizen, and that’s it, and I went about my business.”

Ognibene went about his business until 2005, when Mayor Michael Bloomberg ran for re-election. Though Ognibene said he supported Bloomberg in 2001, he ran against the mayor four years later because he did not think he represented core Republican values.

Though Ognibene was kicked off the Republican ballot and ran on the Conservative Party line that year and lost solidly to Bloomberg, he called it “one of the great experiences in politics.”

“At that time, everybody kind of distanced themselves,” he said. “People want to be with the winner. I used to go to meetings and the people would say, ‘Mr. Ognibene, we love you, but can you beat him?’ I’d say … ‘I can’t beat him, but what do you believe in? Do you want to be with a winner or do you want to be with somebody who is philosophically identifiable to you?’”

Ognibene said the Council was more moderate in the 1990s, when there were seven Republicans instead of three today.

“We were a tremendous buffer because the left wing could never get a foothold,” he said. “They had to get 26 votes. Sometimes they couldn’t get that. If Rudy [Giuliani] didn’t like what they passed, they had to override it, they had to get 35 votes. They couldn’t get it unless we went along with it.”

Ognibene also criticized Crowley over the Council’s approval of a new high school for Maspeth without concessions for neighborhood children and a curb cut for buses, suggesting she could have won the concessions from the city School Construction Authority if she had consulted more Council members behind the scenes before the vote.

Crowley was one of the few Council members to vote against the school plan.

“I talked to other City Council members and they said, ‘Tom, she never came to me,’” he said. “But I used to do that.”

Reach reporter Jeremy Walsh by e-mail at jewalsh@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 154.

Thanks to a bill pushed by state Sen. Joe Klein (D-Bronx) and state Assemblyman Rory Lancman (D-Forest Hills), any updates to the Megan’s Law database of sex offenders near a subscriber’s neighborhood will be e-mailed as alerts.

Gov. David Paterson signed the bill into law two weeks ago. Klein said the e-mails would start within 90 days of that date. To access the service, residents must log on to the Megan’s Law Web site and sign up for notifications from up to four different ZIP codes.

“This is a fast, easy and free way to keep tabs on who’s moving in and out of your neighborhood,” Klein said, noting the e-mail alert system will piggy-back on the existing emergency alert system run by the state Department of Homeland Security.

“If I know there’s a sexual predator in my neighborhood and Halloween is coming up, maybe I don’t let my kids trick-or-treat on that block,” Lancman said.

The e-mails will contain the names, addresses, crimes and photos of registered sex offenders, Klein said. He indicated the e-mails would not include a notice warning recipients not to use the information to harass the sex offenders. The Megan’s Law Web site includes a disclaimer indicating such behavior is against the law.

“That’s the way the government should work,” state Sen. Joseph Addabbo (D-Howard Beach) said.“Delivering information in an easy way.”

The new law got the thumbs-up from one City Council member, too.

“All too often sex offenders become repeat offenders,” said Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley (D-Middle Village), who represents Ridgewood and Glendale.

Queens was home to 1,132 sex offenders, Klein and Addabbo said. Three of the top five ZIP codes were in southeast Queens. Far Rockaway was first, with 63, followed by Jamaica with 61. St. Albans was third with 55, Ridgewood and Glendale were fourth with 54 and Corona was fifth with 42.

News of Ridgewood ranking among the top borough ZIP codes for sex offenders did not sit well with several of the parents who came to the conference.

“In a way it is scary,” said Gianni Morales, 40, of Ridgewood. “We have kids of any kind of ages here.”
Crowley pointed out that the 11385 ZIP code comprises more than 60,000 people, making it much larger than some other postal areas in Queens.

Reach reporter Jeremy Walsh by e-mail at jewalsh@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 154.

Crowley defeated former Councilman Anthony Como in the 2008 election after Como won a special election earlier that year to replace disgraced Councilman Dennis Gallagher.

She faces Republican Tom Ognibene, an attorney and Gallagher’s predecessor in the office, in a district where Democrats heavily outnumber Republicans but often vote conservatively.

The groups gathered Oct. 5 at the Juniper Valley Park bocce courts, which Crowley allocated $352,000 to help repair.

From the release:

“Elizabeth Crowley’s support for the Italian-American community has been unrivaled.  Her leadership as City Council Member is just what our community needs in order to grow and to improve our quality of life. Elizabeth has been a strong fighter on behalf of our community and we need to keep her voice in the City Council for the next four years,” said Mario Malerba, Chair of the Italian-American Federation of Brooklyn and Queens.

…

“I believe Elizabeth Crowley is the best candidate for job and I fully support her re-election to the City Council to represent our community,” said Peter Cardella of the Italian Federation of Greater New York.  “As Council Member for only a short time, she has done a terrific job to improve the quality of life and to protect our seniors. I encourage people to vote for her so she can continue the work she has started for the next four years.”

“I am honored to have the continued support of the Italian-American community, particularly from Mario Malerba and Peter Cardella, who have demonstrated incredible leadership within our community,” said Council Member Elizabeth Crowley. “In City Council, I will continue to stand up for the Italian-Americans, who contribute to the richness and diversity of our neighborhoods, and I promise to continue to deliver results.”

City Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley speaks to members of the MTA board in Manhattan last week about a property in Ridgewood. Photo by Philip Newman

As the MTA puts together its next five-year capital plan, elected officials in Ridgewood are calling on the agency to let them turn a neglected piece of property into green space.
Temporarily, at least.
City Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley (D-Middle Village), state Sen. Joseph Addabbo, state Assemblywoman Catherine Nolan (D-Ridgewood) and Assemblyman Michael Miller (D-Glendale) gathered last Thursday to ask the Long Island Rail Road to allow them to convert a derelict property near the corner of Metropolitan Avenue and Fresh Pond Road until the agency gets around to redeveloping it.
The news conference was held the day after Crowley made her case to members of the MTA board of directors, whom she said promised to survey the area and consider her proposal.
“While our plans to redevelop the site remain on hold, the LIRR welcomes suggestions for its interim use,” LIRR President Helena Williams said in a statement. “We certainly support beautification options and would like to meet with community representatives to hear their suggestions.”
Crowley said the plan would benefit the community, which is short on green space.
“If there is a question of funding, we will raise the needed monies for a contractor to take down the structure and clear out the debris,” she said in a statement. “If there is a question about who will do the labor, there is a legion of volunteers ready to maintain the upkeep of the green space.”
Addabbo agreed, calling the derelict building “a property that has probably very little value to them but a lot of value to us.”
The lot at 61-50 Metropolitan Ave. is the site of an abandoned newsstand and convenience store. Plans to develop the property date back to the 2003 fiscal year and an item was included in the MTA’s current five-year capital plan, Crowley’s office said.
A glance through the agency’s capital plan document does not mention the site specifically, but a “demolition” category does set aside $1.6 million to “demolish abandoned structures along the [right of way] that pose a potential danger to employees and customers and are eyesores in the communities where they are located.”
Community Board 5 District Manager Gary Giordano said that any improvements the LIRR had planned for the property were put on hold about five years ago when the city Department of Transportation unveiled a plan to refurbish the bridge that carries Metropolitan Avenue over the railroad tracks. A DOT spokeswoman was unable to provide further information by press time Tuesday.

Problem is, Baldeo said in a phone interview he was “in the process of talking to (Crowley and Addabbo) to get their support” — a far cry from a solid endorsement.

The press release was headlined “Albert Baldeo’s State Assembly Candidacy Rakes In Endorsements And Broad Based Support,” and said, “Baldeo has won such widespread support that Congressmen, elected officials, unions and community leaders… pledged their support for his candidacy to fill Seminerio’s seat.”

After a quote from Baldeo is a photo, dated October 3, 2008, with Baldeo posing with state Sen. John Sampson (D-Brooklyn), Dr. Philip Baldeo, Crowley and Addabbo.

Assembly candidate Albert Baldeo (fourth from l.) with state Sen. John Sampson (l. to r.), Dr. Philip Baldeo, then-City Council candidate Elizabeth Crowley and then-City Councilman Joseph Addabbo in October 2008.

Baldeo did say he had Sampson’s backing, which he said was finalized Tuesday.

He said he did not intend for the release to suggest he had Crowley’s and Addabbo’s endorsements but he wanted to highlight his “grassroots support” for his campaign from church groups, civic organizations and political clubs.

He said he has the support of the Richmond Hill Ozone Park Democratic Club and the New Americans Democratic Club.

Addabbo could not be reached for comment as of Wednesday morning.

Since Seminerio resigned late last month, a day before he pleaded guilty to honest services mail fraud charges for taking roughly $1 million in corrupt payments from entities seeking his influence in Albany, a crowded field has emerged to replace him.

Besides Baldeo, other contenders include Community Board 9 member and Community District Education Council 24 President Nick Comaiainni, Forest Park Senior Citizens Center Exeuctive Director Donna Caltabianno, Community Board 5 member Michael Miller and Glendale resident Paul Gagliardotto.

It is unclear whether Gov. David Paterson will call a special election to fill the vacancy. State law allows the seat to be filled through primaries and the general election this November even though Assembly and state Senate seats are not up until 2010.