Stop and Shop?


New York City Council
Rita Joseph, Member
Representing District 40
930 Flatbush Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11226
Call 718-287-8762
Web: https://council.nyc.gov/district-40/

Facilitate a discussion with the New York City Planning and HPD, EDA, and so on regarding development activity in the area (such as new housing, redevelopment of the Sears location in relationship to the Lowe’s Theater complex, and anything else concerned residents would like to know about the impact (positive and negative) of new development.

U.S. Congress
Yvette D. Clarke
Representing District 9
123 Linden Boulevard, 4th Floor
Brooklyn, NY 11226
Call 718-287-1142
Web: Brooklyn Office

Advise on obtaining State and Federal support for eliminating food deserts and help understand the owner’s position regarding long-term development plans for the property, if any. Federal intervention and resource processes take time and leverage. The community and other stakeholders might as well explore ASAP.

Stop & Shop Plans to End its Lease December 31, 2022 (Reviews)
(Other News) 1009 Flatbush Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11226

Primarily concentrated in the northeastern United States, Stop & Shop has a positive reputation. [It’s a] massive supermarket with a relatively decent selection of products and reasonable prices compared to Prospect Heights. The meat department isn’t deficient, and the deli area is large and staffed by accommodating people who will go out of their way to help you. Source

The following data is public information on the ownership and land use of the property. Persons interested in conducting research on properties in this area are sought. The vacant land resource offered in this location is a highly prized commodity.

window sign

What if the new market isn’t an improvement?

New stores should be told one truth. The community may be low and moderate-income, but 60% to 70% of their market will be found in just 30% of households. Know that selling to them is fair to everyone. That is why we shop there or do we?

OwnerFLATBUSH DELAWARE HO
Land UseCommercial & Office Buildings
Lot Area107,142 sq ft [? 1 hectare, ha]
Lot Frontage292.08 ft
Lot Depth224.75 ft
Year Built1995
Years Altered1998, 2020
Building Class Store BuildingsOne-Story Retail Building (K1)
 
Number of Buildings1
Number of Floors1
Gross Floor Area141,599 sq ft
Total # of Units4
Building InfoBISWEB
Property RecordsView ACRIS
Housing InfoView HPD’s Building, Registration & Violation Records

Use the links above for additional detail regarding the representatives of this property, its owners, banks, and creditors linked to the area. Interested researchers, please have a look around. For example, the BISWEB and ACRIS data includes multiple page records of business transactions.

The market area for this location is extensive. A thorough look and the economic power held by the community is based on fair food prices and investment in the community’s future. The responsibility of all property owners is to see well beyond their bottom line. This community’s retail district depends on continuously maintaining and producing affordable housing along with a viable, hardworking, well-organized business association.

Block:5126 Lot:1
Police Precinct:
70
Owner:
FLATBUSH DELAWARE HO
Address:
1007FLATBUSH AVENUE, BROOKLYN 11226
Lot Area:
107142 sf
Lot Frontage:
292.08′Lot Depth:224.75
Year Built:1995
Number of Buildings:
1
Number of Floors:
1
Gross Floor Area:
141,599 sf (estimated)
Residential Units:
0 Total # of Units: 3
Land Use:
Commercial and Office Buildings
Zoning:
C4-2
Commercial Overlay:
Zoning Map #:
22C

Source: http://maps.nyc.gov/doitt/nycitymap


Interested participants seeking a detailed understanding of the development issues posed by this site are encouraged to leave a reply for coordination with other researchers on this issue.


Triangulation is a common practice in large market areas. The strategy of franchise corporations such as Stop and Shop is to place three in an area, manage the inventory among them, measure profitability and dump the least of them.

Using multiple sources of data or multiple approaches to analyzing information is a means designed to enhance profitability. There are twelve Stop& Stop locations on the map (right). Three are in Brooklyn.

  1. What is the history of openings and closings across the New York Metro Region?
  2. Is there a history of backing away from market areas experiencing stress?
  3. What role does the property tax on this multi-million dollar property play in negotiations?
  4. What government actions are possible to eliminate the disruption anticipated?

The following map is from the Department of City Planning (DCP) Population FactFinder.  It details the 8.8 million New Yorkers counted in the 2020 Census.

A typical market area for a grocery store can range outward and stay within a half-mile radius. Thereafter the data is altered by overlapping competition and other factors. The full range of households attracted to this location is best determined by a survey of customers, the nearest intersection of residence, a shot at getting income in a range, and the average amount spent monthly for comparison with 2020 Census data – specifically household median incomes.


Primary Market Area by CT                                                                             

10 Tracts | Brooklyn: 790.01, 792.02, 510.01, 790.02, 792.01, 794, 512, 510.02, 514, 516.02          

Garden Walls

The garden walls of Albemarle Terrace represent many additions since they were constructed. The following illustrates some of the designs inherited or constructed by individual households.

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Revokable Consent: is described (here). It is a pdf. Review for application.

This is a flawless wall solution.

AKNA’s IT History

Background

In 1996, the New York Public Service Commission (PSC) deregulated telecom services in NY, promising that increased competition would bring down prices for cable, internet, and phone service and improve service, including bringing high-speed internet to all New Yorkers. Instead,  20 years later, New Yorkers are paying too much and getting too little while a digital divide based on access to information grows, and good-paying jobs are lost. The PSC has started a proceeding to evaluate the state of telecommunications in New York State by issuing a report by its staff  (the report is called Staff Assessment and can be accessed here).  They have set up public hearings throughout New York State in July and August 2015  (See Update in Oct 2015 here)

The New York City hearing Wednesday 15 July 2015 (See AKNA Testimony)

Common Cause/NY urged anyone concerned with the state of telecommunications (internet, cable, and phone) to testify.  A robust turn-out by public and tech community members will get the PSC smart to the real state of telecommunications in New York.  If Verizon lies to us, why not to the PSC?

Goal: reliable, affordable high speed internet, cable and telephone service

Following is some of the experience at the AKNA

In early 1972, the telecom schematic for the south side of Albemarle Terrace was drawn as part of a general order to document telephone installations.  This is followed by three orders #21710 (1976), #96727 (1982), #27483 (1994), and a final notation to the schematic made in 2001 that looks like the phrase expressed by the term “SNAFU.”  

In the Fall of 2001, Verison installed a splice in a good shaft on the gable wall of 2126 Albemarle Terrace was installed.  It seals telecom lines for the south side of the terrace (buildings in the photo above on the right).  There are no further revisions made to the Tabular Record for Account Code 32C, Tax District 500 P for C.O. Area Brooklyn 050 Division. This is the last recorded project. The result of the reconstruction of “Ragga Muffin,” a retail clothing store on Flatbush Avenue, led to the removal of phone lines on their roof to the roof of the adjacent Kentucky Fried Chicken.

In the Spring of 2011, Cablevision (Optimum) was rolling out 75 Ohm drop cable to the two terrace blocks and sent a representative door to door to pre-sign up customers. They were offering to buy out any Direct TV subscribers who had contracts.

They started, but some of the neighbors (mistakenly) asked them to stop because Cablevision was cutting into the sidewalks and patching them with asphalt. Some homeowners were concerned that they would then be open to Landmark violations because of the damage to the sidewalk and/or responsible for the cost of repairing or replacing the damaged sidewalk sections.

Note: the NYC Landmarks Commission would be concerned, but their jurisdiction is limited to the facades of buildings on the Terraces.  Violations to the facades of the district would be the subject of a lien on the property by the City of New York on the property that would have to be cleared before a sale.  As for all the rest (gardens, and so on), our care and sensitivity are expected.

Eventually, Cablevision repaired the sidewalks with cement, but Cablevision stopped the fiber rollout.  A tragic circumstance of blaming the victims and lack of public leadership in basic enforcement of franchise agreement. Nick and Raina (of Kenmore) called Cablevision several times, trying to get them back.  Getting past the customer service reps is impossible, and they have no idea and cannot help.

In the Fall of 2013, AKNA conducted a survey to use the information to lobby for assistance.  The lesson learned here was to have the lobbying strategy in place before taking the survey.  See the survey data here.

In the Fall of 2015, two Optimum technicians put a ladder up the gable wall of 2126 with a huge spool of 75-ohm drop cable to serve their commercial clients.  And in the Spring of 2015, a series of Verizon technicians entered the south side of Albemarle Terrace (even numbers) to repair landlines.  The story on the north side of the block is long and needs to be told.  I put a brief video presentation for AKNA here to describe our deplorable telecom conditions.

In the Summer of 2015 residents of the south side of Albemarle Terrace managed to get the attention of a Verizon Engineer who after considerable analysis presented a plan for moving forward for the south side and for all of the Terraces with one caveat — the permission of residents to move forward.

The “right of way” process was completed for the FTTP (fiber to the premises (image here) and the details of it are here.

As the Summer of 2016 began to fold over the hope of a Spring installation suggested on the “right of way” documents we signed, a draft was a letter written.  The intent is to send it to everyone our small band of patient believers could influence.  The first draft read as follows:

We are 390 people in 140 households that have bent over backward to get Cable Vision, Time-Warner or Verizon to provide us with service. We recently completed a project led by Lourdes, Engineering (NJ) in contract with Verizon Engineering with all of the forms required of us to assure the provision of service.  Like Cable Vision and Time-Warner, Verizon remains unavailable for comment or the courtesy of a response due to ‘contractual issues’, and franchise agreements all seen by us as the haze of the telecom wars, union/corporate misdirection coupled with the ineptitude of public agencies and political representatives.

I hope you have staff on this or committees put to the task but first find out who is buying their lunch as nothing is happening, information is not flowing and in a democracy, only one group of people pay the price of failed leadership in the brave new world of too big to fail.

In closing, we remind you of Margaret Mead and her point about not doubting the ability of a small group of people to change the world, as it is the only way it ever has changed.  We, therefore, leave you with this one thought that we are just 140 households, and given our history of patience, we are now very interested in creating change.  Look us up.

Sincerely yours,
The Residents.

Winter 2016

Then as winter settled in we received this note:

Dear resident,
The local deployment team has indicated that construction is underway.
Barring any unforeseen delays, service will be available in January 2017.
You will receive confirmation when you can place an order for service.

Representatives from the local deployment team met with Mr. Rex Curry,
the owner of 2126 Albemarle Terrace, and went over different design plans.
He indicated that he will be in contact with all of his neighbors and will
relay information to the association. You might want to check with him for
more specific information.

Thank you and best regards,

Will Freshwater
Verizon FiOS TV | Sr. Consultant, Contract Management
Video Franchise Management Team
One Verizon Way, Basking Ridge, NJ 07920
william.freshwater@verizon.com

Rex Curry did meet with some of the guys from Lourds, but not about schedules or sharing update information.  But, as you all know we are beg for forgiveness kind of group. The first rule of management Will be, information weakens as it moves toward the top, while decisions remain best when made closest to the source of the relevant information.

The Hopeful Prologue

Well, who knew it would take so long to get service? Our work ranges from being super polite and meeting some really nice people from V to conducting work with enraged groups of researchers trying to find out what is going on.  We may never know what worked or didn’t work, but we can always ask for forgiveness.

P.S. if you care to respond, please do so through the website so that all our residents can participate. Anyone wishing to add something about the “existing condition” of your phone, satellite, or internet service, please do so in the  COMMENTS section below.

A summary of the communication and data services currently in use by house number would also help us assess needs and/or compare costs. This data was )compiled. Those willing to share ISP provider data (DSL modem, satellite, and so on) and the monthly cost say so, and IT team will follow up directly.  It will be used to update the first AKNA Survey

No Limits Preservation

Review the designation reports and a citywide map of all city landmarks (here).

Report PDF (here)

On September 18, 2007, the school at 2274-86 Church Avenue became a New York City Landmark. The designation report includes “The Town of Flatbush,” “Public Education in Flatbush,” and a description of the campaign to build the now-demolished school. The information also includes a brief biography of the building’s architect John Culyer whose contribution to the development of New York City is unquestioned. That vanished historic structure is in the upper right corner of the map at Church Avenue and Bedford Avenue. Except for the image (above) and the designation report (here), the building became a story, not a place in 2016. Its future as a place that respects the past is now in question.

On March 2, 2016, Sarah Crean wrote its brief epitaph, “Demolished: Landmark Flatbush District #1 School” (here). Although the building lost its structural integrity, the cause of its demolition was a deficiency of interest from potential investors coupled with the lack of initiative by its city government managers.

The Albemarle-Kenmore Terraces Historic District is part of this community’s historical legacy. However, the building loss speaks to what it takes to save a landmark. In late 2021 the construction of Nine DeKalb Avenue (Brooklyn’s First Supertower) neared completion at 73 stories. It will offer over 400 condominium apartments for sale and occupancy in 2022. It seems unlikely that this massive structure would express historic preservation values, but there is a story here.

In 1932, the architects Halsey, McCormack & Helmer designed the hexagonal structure of the original building on the site as a bank. Due mainly to the building’s impressive atrium and the decade in which it is a part, it became a New York City Landmark in 1994. With the permission of the city’s Landmarks Commission, the new architects  (ShoP) integrated the bank into the final design. The initial debate on this development is whether integrating the original design into the building is appropriate.  From an architectural critic’s point of view, it has succeeded.

Nevertheless, from a “development as social change” perspective, the debate could not be more heated or significant. Turn the page.

Albemarle-Kenmore Terrace

The Albemarle-Kenmore Terrace Historic District was designated by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission on July 11, 1978. The designation was due to the work of the Albemarle-Kenmore Neighbors Association (AKNA). A brief history of this effort will be found (here).

If you have an interest in the preservation of the buildings that comprise this district please subscribe. If you are a participant in the ongoing debate on the role of the NYC Landmarks Commission as a conservation partner in the city’s land-use development you are welcome to subscribe. The members of the AKNA will consider participation in support of your interests.


Chapter 74 of the New York City Charter (here) empowers the eleven-member commission to designate a landmark, landmark site, interior landmark, scenic landmark, or historic district. The membership of such commission shall include at least three architects, one historian qualified in the field, one city planner or landscape architect, and one realtor. The membership shall include at least one resident of each of the five boroughs.

Rainfall Flooding

“Hurricane Ida devastatingly impacted our area, the urgency to understand this kind of threat and determine the risk it poses became abundantly clear.”

RPA

Use the link below to see a full version of this map and the article. A strategy to protect the community from the likelihood of more intense rainfall is available now. Question the integrity of the E21 Street catch basins due to recent construction. (E21 Post) This is a reasonable first step. Would you explore Portal 311 (here) on this issue?


Source: RPA Measuring Flood Risk in New York City Housing and Basements

About 180,000 small residential buildings in NYC are vulnerable to rainfall flooding – 168,000 have basements, 123,000 below grade. In addition, the community is susceptible to “nuisance flooding,” however, the city’s data is incorrect regarding the “below grade” data.

Issue: The community has been made more vulnerable due to concrete and other material dumped into the catch basins at Kenmore and Albemarle. As the map suggests nuisance and deep flooding surround the historic structures of the community, along with new multi-story construction. An investigation may be needed. Mitigation may be essential. However, AKNA, the school, and whatever the new Church-Bedford site will yield ad “development” would likely be at the lower end of a very long list of remediation actions under the heading of flooding resiliency for this city. Assurances are needed with all new construction.

A 311 Portal is available to call out this problem. A good first step has been to question the data. Note the new build (existing and proposed) is not on the map, and second, call out trouble with the catch basins on the East 21st. Street and wherever you see a problem. I have observed three dumping acts that could have compromised catch basins along E21 Street. They were, 1) during the construction of the new building on E. 21st. 2) during construction on Albemarle Terrace and 3) during sidewalk repairs along with the Dutch Reform Church. Only the new E21 construction was reported.

Take a Moment to Examine the Big Picture

Focus on Priorities

Historic AKNA

The Montagues & The Chobans

I was a director of a community service department at Pratt Institute when I first came to Albemarle Terrace in the early and late 1970s. My students and I were conducting land use and building condition surveys for the Flatbush Development Corporation. At that time, there wasn’t a block in Flatbush that did not carry the burden of a vacant or abandoned building. The survey helped to prioritize the energy of a community-based nonprofit development corporation in its preservation efforts.

I also knew the area in our work for Irving Choban to produce an architectural details record of Flatbush Town Hall (Synder). As a lawyer and historian, he was tenacious in saving this High Victorian structure (more here), getting it on the National Register to prevent demolition in the late 60s. It became New York City Landmark in 1966. He was a tenacious man. He lived on Kenmore Terrace. He is why we live in a historic district.

In 1998, I brought my wife to see Albemarle Terrace and meet with Richard and Dorothy Montague. They raised their two boys and decided to move to upstate New York and sell their home on Albemarle Terrace. I knew Richard as a writer for the New York Post. The day Rupert Murdoch took it over, he and Roberta Gratz, author of “The Living City,” left the Post to its dust and grime. Along with Roberta, Richard’s greatest joy in writing is to chronicle moments directly in front of all of us. He wrote the following article about our little part of New York as an editorial for Newsday. I hope you enjoy it, and it is a beautiful bit of writing.  It describes what it was like in 1978 when they learned they had succeeded in sustaining a part of Brooklyn’s history through its architecture. 


Two Short Blocks of a Great City’s Past

Richard Montague (1931-2018) Newsday Sunday, July 23, 1978

Like any place else, New York’s essential characteristics are rooted in times past.”

Nathan Silver, Lost New York

A little after 8 o’clock on a recent Wednesday evening, a Brooklyn lawyer named Irving Choban and his wife, Rosalind, had an open house for their neighbors.

The house is an attractive two-story brick structure on a dead-end street in northern Flatbush.  It is older than either of the Chobans; it is 59.  Along with 30 other similar buildings close by, it has been designated the day before by New York City’s Landmarks Preservation Commission as a part of a new “Albemarle-Kenmore Terraces Historic District.”

So, for the next couple of hours, in the Chobans’ comfortable living room at 2118 Kenmore Terrace as full of cheerful people, all members of the terraces’ block association, celebrating their official recognition.

That was a landmark for everybody too.  Represented by Choban, who is the official historian of Flatbush, and Donna Sanft of Albemarle Terrace, the association began asking its first hopeful questions about how to go about obtaining “landmark status” five years ago this fall.

The new Albemarle-Kenmore historic district is one of the smallest in New York.  There were 31 others Brooklyn Heights, for instance), plus 526 individual landmarks, 13 interior landmarks, including Radio City Music Hall, and five scenic ones, of which Central Park is the best known.  The commission has sought out, examined, and designated them all in only 13 years.

Sometimes the choices are easy, undisputed, and without commercial implications.  Other times, as demonstrated by years of litigation in the Grand Central Terminal case just decided – in favor of preservation –by the U.S. Supreme court, there could be intense, expensive contention.  In either case, the values involved are always appreciably more than financial.

The new Brooklyn landmark is “historic” because, as a commission survey puts it, the terraces built between 1916 and 1920 are “part of the general history of Flatbush.” They exhibit well cared for examples of the “neo-Federal” style;  include designs that developed from the English Garden City movement (adapted to Forest Hills Gardens in Queens in 1903); and were among the earliest row houses to have garages, setting a style that is now standard in many parts of New York.

But there are other features to be appraised; the languorous sway of the tree branches in the vagrant winds of idle summer afternoons; the cascades of red and yellow leaves and bouncing acorns from the oaks under the blazing blue sky of fall; the door wreaths, lights and family carolers at Christmastime, and the small back yards in spring, with their moist flowerbeds, budding shrubs and secret corners hiding moss and violets.

In his book of photographs and thoughts on “Lost New York,” the vanished buildings were torn down over the years, architect Nathan Silver quotes Lewis Mumford: “in the city time becomes visible.”  Silver thinks, “Architecture provides the only measurable way to discover the past in the urban environment.”

Discovering the past doesn’t interest everybody. Landmark designation is not automatic preservation of either monuments or neighborhoods. Some have subsided into decay.  Others have been daubed with graffiti, chipped, and hacked at, even hauled to scrap metal dealers.  Those that have escaped that kind of abuse are not always decently cared for.  There has not been a surplus of money for maintenance in recent years.

Nevertheless, the landmarks everywhere in the city serve honorable, dignified, and particularly today, invaluable purposes.  They are as different as possible from the fast-food architectural style common in much of New York construction.  They were created and built with care, imagination, and civilized intelligence.  They are sentinels of a kind, guarding tasteful traditions that are sometimes neglected as the landmarks themselves.  They have the artistic durability to reward admiration and care, no matter how long it has been deferred. 

Consequently, they are essential to New York’s recovery and restoration as belated fiscal reforms, a revival of industry, accessible jobs, and schools worth of the name.  It is inevitable that other monuments and buildings will join “Lost New York.”  The vitality of the living city depends a great deal on how many more are found, appreciated, and saved.


A pdf of The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission designation of the Albemarle-Kenmore Terrace Historic District on July 11, 1978. A copy is available (here). The photo is dated 1917.

If you would like to participate in the ongoing preservation efforts please subscribe (here).

My Neighborhood

Introduction

Everyone’s neighborhood is the representation of national issues. The issues reported here describe how it affects me personally, my family, and my neighbors. Those issues can be explored and arranged in the carousels below. The benefits of content management systems used by websites and weblogs such as this one are “tags and categories,” In this case, the content is organized under the parent heading “My Neighborhood.” Sub-categories can then be assigned, such as Internet, politics and plans, and several others that examine issues that reflect my experience, that of my family, friends, and neighbors.

I live in a tiny place on a closed street with just twenty-two, three-story, brick buildings completed before 1920. The New York City Landmarks Commission accepted the residents’ application for designation as a historic district in 1978 (more here).

All of the following are arguments, so before exploring “the neighborhood” The Report recommends reading the basics first (here)

RLC


Local to Global Politics

The political structure of dense urban areas reveals the sense of position. It is similar to what a person knows as proprioception. Similar to a person, a political body can be professedly unknowing and still have the capacity to produce decisions and consensus. In effect, accepting faithful democratic leadership allows large populations to take steps up a metaphorical ladder without examining each rung.

Democratic leadership can call people to heroic efforts built on little more than intuitive knowingness of a good purpose. Don’t get this wrong, it can also lead people to bitterness and cynicism. Today, the problems of urban life require a deeper understanding of the ways political science links to the environmental sciences involved in running a city and making its neighborhoods capable of enduring and defeating stress.

The evidence that human beings can change their physiology by thought and intention is growing (here). Moreover, the way we care for ourselves is similar to the practice of managing and building cities. Medical research calls it an interoceptive focus. Urban anthropology calls it Anthropocene. These terms help encourage greater environmental intent in deciding how and where humans re-build the earth from the material of its crust and the goodwill that is natural to our souls.

The “activism” link below will take you to a page (image left) and an opportunity to conduct research and report on issues of importance to you, your community, and our common future in this unique part of the world.

Below, you will find descriptions of our political body as geographically associated with districts of representation. Following that a set of post/article carousels that sketch out ideas that interact with law, politics, and science from the “neighborhood up.” Please participate and enjoy.

Activism

Stop and Shop?
New York City CouncilRita Joseph, MemberRepresenting District 40930 Flatbush AvenueBrooklyn, NY 11226 …
CD Choice
Examine Choices On June 26, 2018, the residents of the Ninth Congressional …
Club Democrats
Take a look at all of the "political clubs" in Brooklyn.  Rarely …
Connect the Council
City Council The relationship between the city, the state, and the national …
Connect Senate
Connect Senate Members & CD9 NYS-63 Senators The relationship of constituents to …
Connect Assembly
Assembly Members NYS-151 Assembly MembersYou know where you live.  Use the map …
Connect Community Districts
Seven Community Districts share the geography, interests, needs, and concerns of the Ninth …
Connect School Districts
There are three school districts that share a portion of the Ninth …

My Neighborhoods (new to old and old to new)

Stop and Shop?
New York City CouncilRita Joseph, MemberRepresenting District 40930 Flatbush AvenueBrooklyn, NY 11226 Call 718-287-8762Web: https://council.nyc.gov/district-40/ Facilitate a discussion with …
AKNA’s IT History
Background In 1996, the New York Public Service Commission (PSC) deregulated telecom services in NY, promising that increased competition …
Activism
We must, indeed, all hang together or most assuredly, we shall all hang separately. AND You don't make …
No Limits Preservation
Review the designation reports and a citywide map of all city landmarks (here). Report PDF (here) On September …
Albemarle-Kenmore Terrace
The Albemarle-Kenmore Terrace Historic District was designated by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission on July 11, …
Historic AKNA
The Montagues & The Chobans I was a director of a community service department at Pratt Institute when …
CD Choice
Examine Choices On June 26, 2018, the residents of the Ninth Congressional District had an opportunity to test …
Caduceus Erroneous?
Caduceus Erroneous? Geopolitical challenges such as a pandemic or the multiple impacts of climate change instruct humanity's genius …
New Building on 21st
The map (left) is clipped from the NYC zoning maps 16d and 22c to show the location of …
A Better Deal
The total estimated annual payroll for seven Congressional Districts with significant employment in health care and social assistance …
Wireline 2017
It was a busy April morning in 2017 when three clean Verizon Cable trucks rolled onto the Terraces …
VZ Engineering (Com-Hydra)
Verizon Engineering is likely to be the only Incumbent Local Exchange Carrier (ILEC) that decides not to upgrade …
#WAITING4FIOS
Corporate Verizon In 2008, Verizon promised New York City people that it would wire all corners of the …
AKNA Broadband
Letters to Verizon and our political representatives were mailed 7.17.2015 The image above represents our first set of …
DoITT Report Summary
Corporate Verizon The findings of the report are as follows: Verizon is not in compliance with its agreement …
Investigations
The videos posted below were taken just for fun… But, then again, they are a record of the existing …
Throttled?
Will The V-Shoe Drop? An excellent Wikipedia summary of Bandwidth throttling describes the intentional slowing of Internet service by …
Columbia’s Manhattanville
Regulatory Taking and Columbia University Columbia Manhattanville (Rendering RPBW/SOM) Over the last …
INWOOD: Just another zoning change…or is it?
The Re-Zoning Sherman Creek and Inwood The rezoning of the Sherman Creek …
Earthdays
Metro = Megacity/Megacorp + OBDCEarthday, urban land use, and management in the …
The Urban Challenge
Best summary of the global urban challenge is by Bruce Katz "and …
Form-Base Miami
Density is a central factor in creating the experience of urban intensity, …
Seven Years to Develop 22 Acres with 22 Left
The New York State Supreme Court in Brooklyn on Monday, March 1, …
Waterfront 2020
The details on a Reach by Reach basis are well worth some …
Planet of Cities
This history of human settlements is a story of continuous growth and …
One Bryant Park
In thoughtful research reporting, the requirement, to sum up, should become a …
Zoning GHG
New York City's newest set of proposed zoning changes will re-write rules to …
AIA for Mayor
The American Institute of Architect's New York Chapter (AIANY) released a mayoral …
Doomed to be Tiny
The Art Students League and The Resistance As the proposal stands now, …
Town Prospector
The New York City Master Plan – published in 1968, presented the …
Limited Expansiveness
Sirius, 2006, by Lita Albuquerque, photo by Jean de Pomereu (Domus) From …
Networks
Human cognitive mapping abilities are well documented. The addition of GPS devices …
The Unlimited Inside
Unrestrained Outside & Unlimited Insides. How does density save the wilderness, support …
Representatives
Invite representatives to be aware of your IT issues and concerns. A letter …
Broadband Map
A click on the map above (or HERE) will take you to …
AKNA Tech
Platforms like Mindmixer, ShareAbouts, ChangeByUs, ioby, and others offer new ways to define …
Throttled?
Will The V-Shoe Drop? An excellent Wikipedia summary of Bandwidth throttling describes the …

Urban Politics (new to old and old to new)

Methods
"We think too much and feel too little. More than machinery, we need humanity; more than cleverness, we need kindness and gentleness. Without these qualities, life will be violent and …
Extinction
Extinction "The purpose of this section is unified by one-word 'extinction.' It is a daily event all over the earth. It is a difficult word to absorb as a part …
Reasons
The Charter Revision of 1977 created community planning boards in NYC when the decentralization of authority was a popular idea. It aligned with social change forces seeking civil rights and social justice, …
The Fairness Doctrine
What are additional efforts needed to curb the American Super Power to make fools of ourselves? I came across Tech Against Terrorism that might be useful. It is an international …

Representatives
Invite representatives to be aware of your IT issues and concerns. A letter for comment on how to get their help (a …
Furious Yet, Effective
The growth of corporations in energy production, manufacturing and finance will continue to produce great wealth and pain, cover-ups and obfuscations. …
Privacy Politics
So what, if a few people get stopped and if they refuse to respond to a lawful order to give …
Revolution
Clip of the Chicago Seven. Raised fists had value at the 1968 Democratic National Convention Tom Hayden died in October …


Getting Internet (new to old and old to new)

The first issue was recognizing that getting access to high-speed internet was going to be difficult. But, it was vital for my kid and essential for me to work that became extremely important in 2020.

Caduceus Erroneous?
Caduceus Erroneous? Geopolitical challenges such as a pandemic or the multiple impacts of climate change instruct humanity's genius to bring about systemic change …
Privacy
So what, if a few people get stopped and if they refuse to respond to a lawful order to give up the data …
Survey Visit
Chris of By Byers Engineering Company 285 Davidson Ave., 203 Somerset, NJ 08873-4153 Chris of By Byers Survey visit “for right of way” occured …
What to Expect
I'll believe it when I see it. Expectations are difficult to manage and different for everyone as everyone needs will vary. I found …
Verizon’s Political Contributions
The Center for Responsive Politics keeps a record of corporate dollars for political representatives. The table and map (below) looks at the House of …
Verizon Timeline
The strike over the next few weeks is as good a reason to begin the clock on how long it will take to …
VZ Engineering (Com-Hydra)
Verizon Engineering is likely to be the only Incumbent Local Exchange Carrier (ILEC) that decides not to upgrade a single strand of wire …
NYS Attorney General
As we keep our fingers crossed about Verizon's accountability to AKNA and NYC, please take a moment to add this squeak to our …
Community Forum 11.17.15
On November 17, 2015, AKNA attended the FiOS Rollout Forum conducted by Common Cause NY led by Susan Lerner, and the Consumers Union …
#WAITING4FIOS
Corporate Verizon In 2008, Verizon promised New York City people that it would wire all corners of the city with high-speed fiber optic …

Broadband Map
A click on the map above (or HERE) will take you to a website that illustrates all of the broadband …
Throttled?
Will The V-Shoe Drop? An excellent Wikipedia summary of Bandwidth throttling describes the intentional slowing of Internet service by an ISP (Internet …
Verizon
Corporate Verizon June 18, 2014, DoITT Report Slams Verizon DoITT is the agency responsible for a level of review.  Please …
Investigations
The videos posted below were taken just for fun… But, then again, they are a record of the existing and rapidly …

District Mapping (new to old and old to new)

Stop and Shop?
New York City CouncilRita Joseph, MemberRepresenting District 40930 Flatbush AvenueBrooklyn, NY 11226 Call 718-287-8762Web: https://council.nyc.gov/district-40/ Facilitate a discussion with the New York City …
CD Choice
Examine Choices On June 26, 2018, the residents of the Ninth Congressional District had an opportunity to test leadership in Congress on …
Club Democrats
Take a look at all of the "political clubs" in Brooklyn.  Rarely are these outfits exposed as nonviable components of local leadership, …
Connect the Council
City Council The relationship between the city, the state, and the national government is complex. A close examination of issues that confront …
Connect Senate
Connect Senate Members & CD9 NYS-63 Senators The relationship of constituents to the State Government's 63 members of the NY Senate can last …
Connect Assembly
Assembly Members NYS-151 Assembly MembersYou know where you live.  Use the map and report your Assemblymember in the comment section below.  Before …
Connect Community Districts
Seven Community Districts share the geography, interests, needs, and concerns of the Ninth Congressional District.  The map and links below seek participants. Engaging …
Connect School Districts
There are three school districts that share a portion of the Ninth Congressional District. How will changes in Federal and therefore state …
Election Districts
I am interested in working for elected leaders by organizing election districts closest to polling places. I've moved the d-base driven map …
9th Congressional Data
The Ninth Congressional data is very revealing and worthy of spending the time to understand it by size, shape, and its many …
Indivisible Brooklyn
The idea of a CD Nine Indivisible faded into Indivisible Brooklyn (IB). Despite the failure to build a CD by CD network, …
26 June Summary
Same old Congress, and same old story for District 9 Democratic Primary CANDIDATEVOTEPCT.Yvette Clarke*14,80451.9%Adem Bunkeddeko13,72948.1% 28,533 votes, 99% reporting (528 of 532 precincts) The …
The Clarke Record
The analysis that follows is part of a long-term effort to establish an independent group of observers and analysts who live or …
Affordable Housing
We can dream and have goals, but it is impossible to think things into existence. Direct action is required to be creative. …
Ranked Choice Vote
It is possible to be represented differently. FairVote is a reform idea calling for multi-member districts. Voting could be about ranking the …
Election Districts
Steven Pinker’s Enlightenment Now: The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism, and Progress, says the world is getting better, and from a “regression …
Bunkeddeko vs. Clarke
Should Clarke have lost June 26, 2018? Yes, but she won. Is Clarke’s record of deep blue co-sponsorship for the Democratic Party …
CD9 Stress
Exploring the following group of analysts will produce one of the more fascinating introductions to key indicators of economic stress. Have a …
Representatives
Invite representatives to be aware of your IT issues and concerns. A letter for comment on how to get their help (a set of …
Representatives
Invite representatives to be aware of your IT issues and concerns. A letter for comment on how to get their help (a set of …
CD9 Stress
Exploring the following group of analysts will produce one of the more fascinating introductions to key indicators of economic stress. Have a …
Bunkeddeko vs. Clarke
Should Clarke have lost June 26, 2018? Yes, but she won. Is Clarke’s record of deep blue co-sponsorship for the Democratic Party …
Election Districts
Steven Pinker’s Enlightenment Now: The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism, and Progress, says the world is getting better, and from a “regression …
Ranked Choice Vote
It is possible to be represented differently. FairVote is a reform idea calling for multi-member districts. Voting could be about ranking the …
Affordable Housing
We can dream and have goals, but it is impossible to think things into existence. Direct action is required to be creative. …
The Clarke Record
The analysis that follows is part of a long-term effort to establish an independent group of observers and analysts who live or …
26 June Summary
Same old Congress, and same old story for District 9 Democratic Primary CANDIDATEVOTEPCT.Yvette Clarke*14,80451.9%Adem Bunkeddeko13,72948.1% 28,533 votes, 99% reporting (528 of 532 precincts) The …
Indivisible Brooklyn
The idea of a CD Nine Indivisible faded into Indivisible Brooklyn (IB). Despite the failure to build a CD by CD network, …
9th Congressional Data
The Ninth Congressional data is very revealing and worthy of spending the time to understand it by size, shape, and its many …
Election Districts
I am interested in working for elected leaders by organizing election districts closest to polling places. I've moved the d-base driven map …
Connect School Districts
There are three school districts that share a portion of the Ninth Congressional District. How will changes in Federal and therefore state …
Connect Community Districts
Seven Community Districts share the geography, interests, needs, and concerns of the Ninth Congressional District.  The map and links below seek participants. Engaging …
Connect Assembly
Assembly Members NYS-151 Assembly MembersYou know where you live.  Use the map and report your Assemblymember in the comment section below.  Before …
Connect Senate
Connect Senate Members & CD9 NYS-63 Senators The relationship of constituents to the State Government's 63 members of the NY Senate can last …
Connect the Council
City Council The relationship between the city, the state, and the national government is complex. A close examination of issues that confront …
Club Democrats
Take a look at all of the "political clubs" in Brooklyn.  Rarely are these outfits exposed as nonviable components of local leadership, …
CD Choice
Examine Choices On June 26, 2018, the residents of the Ninth Congressional District had an opportunity to test leadership in Congress on …
Stop and Shop?
New York City CouncilRita Joseph, MemberRepresenting District 40930 Flatbush AvenueBrooklyn, NY 11226 Call 718-287-8762Web: https://council.nyc.gov/district-40/ Facilitate a discussion with the New York City …

CD Choice

Examine Choices

It has never been more important.

On June 26, 2018, the residents of the Ninth Congressional District had an opportunity to test leadership in Congress on criteria established by voters. Clarke won by a slim margin. Challenged again in 2020 she won again big time. Adem Bunkedekko was the closest rival, capturing 17% of the vote among four other bird-dogging candidates – all democrats.

Political leadership has gone to hell. New York leaders are useful when they respond to an urgent condition on a single issue. There is no outright fear for democracy, because better than most, they know it is practically gone. None of that is occurring. The only live-die-repeat is incumbency and the dead ones are the challengers.

Step One

Have a good long look at the candidates and their “watchers.” (See examples: Inside Elections, Sabato’s Crystal Ball.) Ballotpedia’s fine details are here. Money equals victory. A national watch group, Open Secrets has the data to prove it, including the outliers that illustrate exceptions. The deep end of the data pool is with reports at the New York State Board of Elections.

Leaders with skills in critical thinking, creativity, responsiveness, and obedience will do well. Proof of unselfish giving is through service that includes a record of judgments publicly specified with grace and dignity. After reviewing the public expressions of our federal leaders, are challenges within the party positive and optimistic? Does the officeholder or the challenger have a bias toward getting results? Finally, good leaders know how the practice of listening to be heard gets their constituents to help themselves do the hard stuff.

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Adem and Yvette

Adem Bunkeddeko Lost in the first race by a slim margin, and he machine tanked him in the second


He got more votes the second time, yet adding votes from the three additional not really serious, probably “bird-dog” candidates, he would have still lost. The third time is the charm, I said. Off years are best. I hope he will write a review of the loss. Meantime, he now works as an Executive Director for CORO. He has been cultivating young leaders who seek to make a difference in our city and tackles the complex issues affecting New Yorkers. Please drop him a line at info@ademforcongress.com and if you want to know more before you do that, visit Adem’s Website and Facebook and Twitter accounts. He also has Instagram and Snapchat if you must.  If snail mail is your thing, you can write them to this mailing address: Friends of Adem, P.O. Box 130-427, Brooklyn, NY 11213.

Yvette Clarke
Drop the candidate a line on the federal website. She has Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube accounts. To write via snail mail the local address, 222 Lenox Road, Suites 1 & 2 Brooklyn, NY 11226, and a D.C. address, 2351 Rayburn HOB, Washington D.C. 20515. I would be amazed if you get an answer beyond stat and pat. She is a guaranteed tow-the-line Democrat, so there is that, I suppose.

Step Two

The national Campaign Finance Institute confirms the long-term success of this legislation in its testimony to the NYC Campaign Finance Board in 2017. (The Act). After thirty years, the NYC CFB has protected voters. Perhaps the best example is NYC representatives sustain the “F” rating from the NRA in their demand for stringent legislation regarding the use and purchase of weapons for war. That is where the feds (your representatives in Congres) come into the picture to confront and confirm national policy.

In NYC, the Campaign Finance Act has kept the local government on the side of working New Yorkers for the last three decades. A $6-to-$1 match of small donations turns a $100 donation into $700. The law has strict contribution limits and an outright ban on all corporate money, and an excellent enforcement record.

Political Action Committees

The Political Action Committees (PAC) come into the picture today as a permanent part of federal election campaigns. They represent almost 40 percent of an elected candidate’s campaign funding. A challenger is far less likely to be supported by a PAC.  The PAC phenomenon began in the 1950s, but since then, their corrosive influences over Congressional Representatives reflect the concentration of wealth in the U.S. and the rule that corporations have a right to political speech as people and that money is speech.

Unlike people, wealthy corporations can live forever. Corporate outfits such as the NRA and the Koch brothers have a large bag of political tricks designed by well-paid political operatives to protect specific interests, not including the bot/troll issues that confuse voters further. It was a sign of real trouble when New York’s Senator Chuck Schumer asked his constituents to help fight against Koch Brother attack ads against a fellow Senator, Joe Donnelly (D) from Indiana with a help him Keep His Seat! Email blast.

Representative Government, Election Waves, and Money
Three Republican Congressmembers (Faso, Tenney, Katco) in NYS may have “toss-up” elections in 2018. To keep things in perspective Faso’s 2016 spending was: $2,904,089, Tenney’s was $885,895, and Katco’s was $2,384,152. These races could contribute to a wave-election referendum on the chaos in the Executive Branch and the House of Representatives and shift as many as 25 seats to Democrats. (See NY Mag summary here). The 2018 mid-term election might have a single issue.

Peter King, a member of the Republican Party, is completing his 14th term in Congress, having served since 1993, and he quit. Clarke has been there twelve years and barely serves and runs on “good attendance” and perks from PACs.

Federal Committees of NY Senators

By way of Ballotpedia

Chuck Schumer is a Member of:
Joint Committee on the Library
Joint Committee on Printing
Committee on Intelligence (Select)
Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control

Kirsten Gillibrand is a Member of:
Committee on Aging (Special)
Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, & Forestry
Committee on Armed Services
Committee on Environment & Public Works

THANKS FOR PICKING ONE AND FOLLOWING THE $$

Participants were able to produce a slim margin in 2020,

Club Democrats

Take a look at all of the “political clubs” in Brooklyn.  Rarely are these outfits exposed as nonviable components of local leadership, and when they are it seems to matter little. Those who have a detailed understanding of the inner workings, tips, and tricks of a Board of Elections system needs to be understood by the ordinary person in much greater detail.

The Report

Congress Member for Life

There are nineteen political clubs in Brooklyn that attempt to decide what issues candidates can speak to with credibility. For the candidate, they will examine records of accomplishment of their opponent and coach on the hot buttons of the day (i.e., health care costs, immigration, DACA).

The political clubs and their candidates are the up-from-the-grassroots owners of a process that makes the top-down discussion of congress members, senators, and judges come alive as constitutional actors. It is in these settings where ordinary people determine who runs and how. The analysis continues by district and office from local to federal that allows participants to compare incumbents to a challenger. But why are incumbents 98% successful in defeating possible challengers. Why is AOC the outlier? The answer is made obvious below. Review with the knowledge that there are over 300,000 registered voters in this CD9! The focus of our analysis is on the one percent. Ironic.

Why did the founders make representatives every two years if we get them for life? I have a “legacy” representative in Congress with a “D” rating. So The Report supported an alternative candidate (Adem). His candidacy sought the office for two congressional election cycles. He almost won the first time, got the “club” attention, and got crushed the second time. Is an incumbent representative the best option of the clubs? Yes. Why then do primary elections become chock full of opposing candidates. Does it seem obvious that diluting the field with multiple unknowns is used to assure the status quo?

Why Does the Democratic Party Sustain Incumbency as a Priority? Is the System Broken?
JUNE Primary 2018 and 2020 – In Brooklyn, a Primary Win is a Win in November.

Democratic Primary June 2018: Fundraising efforts increased to get out the vote after this close

CANDIDATEVOTESPERCENT
Yvette Clarke*14,80451.9%
Adem Bunkeddeko13,72948.1%
Four Candidates Assures IncumbencyVOTESPERCENT
Yvette Clarke (Incumbent)37,10662.3%
Adem Bunkeddeko10,64717.9%
Chaim Deutsch5,6229.4%
Isiah James5,5769.4%
100.00% of precincts reporting (532?/?532) (source)

Once the choice of candidates for a political office or a judicial appointment is complete and aimed at the next election cycle, the value of local issues in the form of votes is exposed. An incumbency win is therefore easily recognized as a big money win on the issues and far less so on the issues affecting people’s lives. What do you think about 50% of every dollar you pay in federal taxes is paid to the military people, but the medical and science people have to fight for scraps in the battle for the other half? Are the big-money interests dangerous? Are they looking out for you?

A candidate does not have to be rich to be a leader, but improving the grassroots knowledge of the problems of wealth, power and government is a starting point of high value on every question related to the quality of public life. The cash from a PAC and other significant funding sources compare directly with vote capture and the percentage of contribution from ordinary citizens and public matching remains a token.

The capacity of civic engagement to get results is being pushed toward, well-known as well as unexpected breaking points. The big paying interests only have one interest in mind — to keep the government as a predictable entity, not an honest one, or fair or even one that cares. With this level of power, it is not possible to see a difference between the availability of cake and day-old bread. That is the terror of it.

Connect the Council

City Council

The relationship between the city, the state, and the national government is complex. A close examination of issues that confront NY City Council Members include allocations that the state and federal government share. A focus on how well they apportion allocations from the ground up is on the eight members of the City Council within the Ninth Congressional District. Think of it as an experiment in the idea of common ground. The New York City Council has 51 members with limited terms. We will be focusing on the 40th, but we will happily accept offers to follow the other districts within the congressional envelop. All contributions are held in confidence. We are grateful, we are thankful, we are watchful.

The Report

Have a look at the financial data links and council links below. Other than bits of corruption among the former members, the most notable event was the rise to power of Brad Lander (39th District) to the Office of the Controller.

 

WikiNameOperationsNotes
District 35Crystal HudsonCampaign
District 39Shahana HanifCampaign
District 40Rita JosephCampaign
District 41Darlene MealyCC Site
District 44Kalman YegerCC site
District 45Farah LouisCC site
District 46Mercedes NarcisseCampaign Site
District 48Inna Vernikov
District Members

Do they share issues and an interest in common problem-solving?  It is challenging to tell, but one fact is clear a large percentage of their constituents can be reached on issues.

The City Council’s Fiscal Year Budget provides a “show me the money” view for constituents. For example, it illustrates how and where discretionary funds are spent in City Council Districts. It averages over $1 million per councilperson, and the city council website lists millions in disbursements under the discretionary line that Councilmembers use to help local organizations have a look (here). The image below illustrates the process and that further analysis can be conducted via Excel.

Get download (here)

Have a look here as well: (2017) (2018) (2019) (2020) You get the picture. It is all about the Benjamins. Usually, in June, the Council authorized NYC’s FY Budget. It involves investments in youth, education, support for immigrant communities, strengthening our City’s reserves, and so on. Two other resources can give citizens a way to explore the entire $80+ Billion used to operate this great city.  Contribute your analysis or lead us to the work of others as it affects your City Councilmember.

An excellent source of information and analysis is the Independent Budget Office. If you are interested in diving into the deep end of the “Benjamin” pool, go to Data Download for Expense Budget Analysis and a Revenue Analysis (here).

Thank you for your support and guidance.

Connect Senate


Connect Senate Members & CD9

NYS-63 Senators

The relationship of constituents to the State Government’s 63 members of the NY Senate can last a long time. They have two-year terms but there are no limits. This section seeks information that contributes to a better understanding of issues that confront our state representatives that share a portion of the Ninth Congressional District.

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Senate Districts in CD9
  • In 2016 Senate District 17 voted for Trump.  Details are here.

Do they share issues and solve problems?  It is difficult to tell.

For example, an analysis by participants in an effort to reform the Brooklyn political machine came up with this analysis by the New Kings Democrats. Is your Senator working for you or not?

SDSenatorPartyOpen States
17Simcha FelderDemocraticBills Positions
18Martin Malave DilanDemocraticBills Positions
19Roxanne J. PersaudDemocraticBills Positions
20Jesse HamiltonDemocraticBills Positions
21Kevin S ParkerDemocraticBills Positions
22Martin J GoldenRepublicanBills Positions
25Velmanette MontgomeryDemocraticBills Positions

Connect Assembly

Assembly Members

NYS-151 Assembly Members
You know where you live.  Use the map and report your Assemblymember in the comment section below.  Before selecting your Assemblymember within the Ninth Congressional District take a moment to review: Session Four “How to Sustain the Resistance Long Term” presented by New York Assemblyman and DNC Vice Chair, Michael Blake. Look for his talk at the Resistance School April 27, 2017 (HERE). Tweet @resist_school #resistanceschool #resist

41Helene WeinsteinDemocraticBills Positions
42Rodneyse BichotteDemocraticBills Positions
43Diana RichardsonWorking FamiliesBills Positions
44Robert CarrollDemocraticBills Positions
45Steven CymbrowitzDemocraticBills Positions
46Pamela HarrisDemocraticBills Positions
47William ColtonDemocraticBills Positions
48Dov HikindDemocraticBills Positions
49Peter Abbate Jr.DemocraticBills Positions
50Joseph LentolDemocraticBills Positions
51Felix OrtizDemocraticBills Positions
52Jo Anne SimonDemocraticBills Positions
53Maritza DavilaDemocraticBills Positions
54Erik DilanDemocraticBills Positions
55Latrice WalkerDemocraticBills Positions
56Tremaine WrightDemocraticBills Positions
57Walter MosleyDemocraticBills Positions
58N. Nick PerryDemocraticBills Positions
59Jaime WilliamsDemocraticBills Positions

Connect Community Districts

Seven Community Districts share the geography, interests, needs, and concerns of the Ninth Congressional District.  The map and links below seek participants.

Engaging residents in a relationship that links local development activities to investors’ money in community improvement (or not) dates to the 1950s with the formation of Community Planning Councils. The most recent change in this practice occurred in 1989 when the Charter Revision Commission changed the structure of NYC government and increased the role of residents by establishing Community Boards in the environmental (CEQA) and land-use review process (aka ULURP) that affects their communities. There are 59 Community Boards in NYC, and eighteen are in Brooklyn and a third of them are in Congressional District Nine.

Connect School Districts

There are three school districts that share a portion of the Ninth Congressional District. How will changes in Federal and therefore state and city policy affect schools in these districts? The objective would be to identify parents, the primary self-interest group.  There are not links (yet) to these constituents. The start of developing this idea is here: Office of Family and Community Engagement remembering one key element. The parent constituency is brief and overlaps rapidly in roughtly two groups of parents – those with kids in PreK-8 or High Schools. Just finding those taking the time to lead is difficult.

District 17, 18 and 22
Parent Leadership Schools: Parent Associations/Parent Teacher Association and School Leadership Team
Districtwide
Presidents’ Council, District Leadership Team or Community Education Council.
Citywide: Leadership in Citywide Education Councils, The Chancellor’s Parent Advisory Council and the Panel for Education Policy
Parent Leader Times
The Chancellor’s quarterly newsletter for Parent Leaders

Election Districts

I am interested in working for elected leaders by organizing election districts closest to polling places. I’ve moved the d-base driven map to a “view only” link. If you are interested in becoming a strategic partner, using a digital toy (graphic below) let me know. If any of you have political skills let me know and read about the idea below.

Doing more in connection to the political people that have power over billions of dollars for NYC and NYS means getting more people to pick their number ED polling place. If you would like full access to this data, get back to me. (Contact)

All you have to do is request a link to enlarge this map, locate where you live, identify the name and location of the polling sites near your home. Vote and get out the vote, because at this point we need real change.

Again: locate where you live, identify the name and location of all the polling sites near your home just in case you feel like organizing more people especially if you are interested in a little canvassing party near where you live or work.

Use this Poll Site finder for a quick look at where you would vote based on your address and if there is an early voting location in the future. Ranked Choice is also in our future.

Brooklyn voters are electing new representatives to the United States Congress – they will be fighters, free of corporate domination and responsive to our needs in housing, health, and community economic development. Vote in the 2020 primary, and we will have a chance and all of our networks will fold into the other. There will be strength and resilience.

Recommend a candidate for any office. (State Board of Elections Deadlines)

Comment below and I’ll ask you to help by sharing your thoughts, stake out some election districts and put a person in The United States Congress that can do more than ride high percentages of incumbency into office based on our complacency.

Volunteer Here for the Ninth Congressional District

  1. Find Election Districts you can work and get your data.
  2. Go to the City Data Map HERE if the one above is difficult to use.
  3. Share that information using the form below and work the district for voters.
  4. Build a canvassing plan with us. Your polling place, and key nearby locations
  5. Find and motivate more people. The average in EDs is around 800 Dems.
  6. Get voters out on Primary Day. That is the election.
  7. Get voters to vote Tuesday, November 3, 2020 for the win back the Presidency!
  8. Develop a schedule to convince voters to vote —
  9. You can examine data from your census tract(s) (HERE)

Please drop us a line. Thanks to all who have already. I plan on working the Election Districts around the Erasmus H.S. and the transit stations (B & Q) from Church Avenue south through to the Cortelyou Station. Just waiting for someone to lead.

If you would like to see some AOC type energy for our part of New York – volunteer!!

9th Congressional Data

The Ninth Congressional data is very revealing and worthy of spending the time to understand it by size, shape, and its many places as defined by our representative to Congress.

CD9 & Stress

Exploring the following group of analysts will produce one of the more fascinating introductions to key indicators of economic stress. Have a good long look at the work of the EIG. It will give you an RTC. Put your zip code in the search box and for the Ninth Congressional District, insert NY-9 in the map below.
In NYC, opportunities to become involved in innovation for economic recovery could be the Ninth Congressional District. Find people who have read Section Subchapter Z— Opportunity Zones in the Tax Reform Act.  (pdf is HERE)  Only 25% of CTs (defined as low-income can be nominated by the State.  NYC has several of these ‘zones’ from previous designations.  (EIG explanation).   If anyone has any insight into this EIG outfit, please share.

The Ninth CD is the only one that is all in Brooklyn

go ahead drop me a line or comment below:

New Building on 21st

The map (left) is clipped from the NYC zoning maps 16d and 22c to show the location of the Terraces R5B district concerning the Quality Housing Apartment Building in the R7A District on the west side of East 21st Street. Zoning (Exhibit Record (I, II, III, etc.) CRFN No. 2017000, 2017001)

222 East 21st Street or 571 Ocean Avenue: In a brief look at the past work of this developer and architect, there are concerns regarding the use of materials and the lack of detailing, and the possibility that a brick façade and other contextual elements will be poorly done. If you are interested in doing some homework representing AKNA, use the Contact link.

Two reasons for compiling the following information for review so far:

  1. Do whatever AKNA can do to assure the developer and architect will produce a development that meets or exceeds Quality Housing Standards. (see below)
  2. Establish a relationship with city agencies (HPD, DoB, EPA), local organizations (FDC, CD14, CAMBA), and the City Council to encourage this result.  Why? The quality of the 21st facade is important.

Questions that need answers:

  1. Who at HPD, DoB, will be conducting reviews and inspections?
  2. Will it be 80/20 Inclusionary Housing?  The plan is for 115 Units.
  3. What is the history and reputation of the Developer and the Architect?

More detail is available below. Articles on the project  “The Real Deal”

The New Apartment Building

The reported nine-story, 115-unit mixed-use building image is misleading. Nevertheless, new housing construction will begin soon on East 21st Street through-lot between Church Avenue and Albemarle Road. Search YIMBY news for the story (here).

The project could encompass 102,800 square feet and rise 80 feet in height. The proposed community facility space provides a floor area bonus, and its 58-car parking garage meets the 50% minimum. According to filed permits (building information system), The Real Deal notes that the project’s average apartment size of 712 square feet is indicative of rentals. The reported project height of nine stores exceeds limits defined by the R7A and may be presented this way to produce the appearance of a give back to community objections. (See R7A description below)

Nevertheless, the project could add about 300 new neighbors to the area and add density. The density issue triggers the attention of watchdog allies from the Flatbush Tenant Coalition, CAMBA, and other housing advocates regarding the enforcement of housing quality standards and rental housing affordability. Worthy of digging into the final deal sometime in early 2022 after the building tops off.

According to property records, the developer Bentley Zhao bought the property (through an LLC) in March for $11.5 million. The same developer also filed plans for a nine-story condominium building in Sheepshead Bay earlier this year.

The site (picture above) is cited as a safety hazard. It contains the skeleton of an abandoned construction project. Complaints and violations date ten years and include rusted and leaning steel beams and structurally unsound fencing. According to Property Shark, active violations include working without permits and other construction violations. The site is also described as a hazardous waste generator or transporter with a site address of 571 Ocean Avenue, which would be the address and suggests the hazardous materials issue is not resolved.  Contact Walter Hang of Toxics Targeting.  A particular concern would be asbestos made airborne in site preparation.

Established in 1987, the Quality Housing Program intends to maintain the architectural character of New York City neighborhoods. The program rules concern height, bulk, lot coverage, street line, and more. Quality Housing is mandatory in contextual R6-R10 districts but only optional in non-contextual R6-R10 districts.

The city is constantly upgrading its “zoning manual” but the facts are the same in the table above. The contextual Quality Housing regulations are mandatory in this R7A district. Typically, they produce high lot coverage, seven- and eight-story apartment building, and a blending in with existing buildings in established neighborhoods. R7A districts are mapped along Prospect Park South and Ocean Parkway in Brooklyn, Jackson Heights in Queens, Harlem, and the avenues in the East Village in Manhattan. (The Richard Mier building at Prospect Park?) The floor area ratio (FAR) in R7A districts is 4.0. Above a base height of 40 to 65 feet, the building must set back to a depth of 10 feet on a wide street and 15 feet on a narrow street before rising to a maximum height of 80 feet. To preserve the traditional streetscape, the street wall of a new building can be no closer to the street line than any building within 150 feet on the same block but need not be farther than 15 feet. Buildings must have interior amenities for the residents under the Quality Housing Program. Off-street parking is not allowed in front of a building. Parking is required for 50% of all dwelling units.

Corridor Floor Area Deduction

Quality Housing grants two corridor deductions from the total floor area. Section 28-14 allows a 50% deduction of corridor floor area if there is a 20 square foot window in the corridor. Section 28-31 allows a 50% deduction if the dwelling units served by the corridor are less than the allowance in the section’s table. For instance, 50% of the corridor’s floor area is deductible if a corridor serves ten units or less, offering some design flexibility trade-offs.

Recreational Floor Area Deduction

Quality Housing mandates the inclusion of recreational space as a percentage of residential floor area. For instance, R6 and R7 districts must include 3.3% of the residential floor area as a recreational area. Section 28-21 states that no more than the required amount of recreational space in the table shall be excluded from the floor area definition. Recreational areas can include space like gymnasiums, a popular building asset exempt from the floor area.

For more, see Decoder Story (here)

Other Sources (some may have been moved into digital dust ):(

http://bklyner.com/nine-story-apartment-tower-rise-flatbush-stalled-construction-site/ http://www.decodernyc.com/why-opt-in-to-quality-housing/
https://www1.nyc.gov/site/planning/zoning/districts-tools/r7.page

The architect’s website shows some of the projects first hand and the GC that worked the buildings

SHIMING TAM
S M TAM ARCHITECT, PLLC
5816 FORT HAMILTON PARKWAY M1
BROOKLYN NY 11219 S M TAM ARCHITECT, PLLC
SHIMINGTAMPC@AOL.COM
Business Phone: 718-765-1122Business Fax:     718-765-0813

$43M Sheepshead Bay Condo

Bentley Zhao developed building

Zhao’s New Empire Real Estate Development also operates an EB-5 regional center.  
By Will Parker | March 30, 2017, 8:30 AM
Bentley Zhao and rendering for 2128 Ocean Avenue

Zhao filed an offering plan for a 56-unit condominium at 2128 Ocean Avenue in Sheepshead Bay, an application with the New York State Attorney General’s office shows. Zhao is shooting for a $43 million sellout of the 73,000 square-foot effort after buying the lot from Yu Xi-Liu last June for $3.9 million. The previous owners demolished a one-story garage at the site, but Zhao is yet to file new building permits.

Bentley Zhao’s New Empire

New Empire is based in Sunset Park, where Zhao also operates the New Empire EB-5 Regional Center from the company’s 3rd Avenue headquarters. The investment center’s website shows that the EB-5 portion of 2128 Ocean Avenue’s capital stack is fully funded. Details on the website reveal that unit sizes at the project will average 890 square feet and range from studios to three bedrooms. In addition to EB-5 money, New Empire obtained an $18.5 million loan from Banco Popular North America in September.

Zhao’s ambitions and current portfolio go beyond South Brooklyn, however. New Empire plans a 49-story condo tower at 131 East 47th Street in Manhattan, a 122-unit project. Demolition of 19th-century rowhouses at the site commenced last spring. SLCE Architects is designing the new building, at least partly funded with EB-5. Gary Barnett’s Extell Development sold the site to Zhao for $81 million in 2015.

New Empire is also raising EB-5 funds for a 105-unit condo in Prospect Park South, dubbed “Ocean Tower,” for a condo at 269 4th Avenue in Park Slope and a boutique, seven-unit build at 409 West 45th Street in Hell’s Kitchen.

If you have any questions, please review these Frequently Asked Questions, the Glossary, or call the 311 Citizen Service Center by dialing 311 or (212) NEW YORK outside of New York City.

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Indivisible Brooklyn

The idea of a CD Nine Indivisible faded into Indivisible Brooklyn (IB). Despite the failure to build a CD by CD network, IB has remained keenly interested in Federal, State, and City races using the following resources serving Brooklyn voters. They are interested in putting people on the street, getting them out organizing, and into the voting booths of election districts throughout Brooklyn.

26 June Summary

Same old Congress, and same old story for District 9

Democratic Primary

CANDIDATEVOTEPCT.
Yvette Clarke*14,80451.9%
Adem Bunkeddeko13,72948.1%

28,533 votes, 99% reporting (528 of 532 precincts) The last four put her at 53%. What is that?

* Incumbent


Was this tight margin a wake-up for Yvette Clarke? Yes, she doubled her campaign funds in 2019. Will she enjoy the expense of another challenge in 2020?  Apparently, Adem’s job was difficult, and it remains so. He is as smart as AOC but never says anything so strong from the progressive left that can set your hair on fire the way she can.

Adem is a highly qualified male with the smarts to do the job of a congress member, but that does not defeat an incumbent. In a decade hopefully dedicated to the empowerment of women, this is his most difficult communication problem.  A massive call-out on Clarke’s record that is on the surface reasonably good strategy but requires extensive analysis in a debate covering the obscurity of Congress. If the point shuts down everyone’s brain, there is no point.

First, Clarke’s failures are clear – she has not “brought home bacon,” injected substantial funding into anti-displacement organizations, or protected constituents (especially Haitians) and others from the threat of deportation. These failures will be the legacy of her next two years.  Why? Clarke, her staff, and her utility (gas, elec. trav. corp.) PACs have never written legislation that could get out of committee or put money in District 9 favoring working families facing relentless increases in the cost of living, led by the crisis in housing affordability.

The second lesson is in knowing that in 2018 less than 30,000 votes occurred among more than 300,000 registered Democrats in a District with nearly 800,000 residents. This means one thing, the Congressmember’s staff will continue to ignore “off-list” letters and phone calls and continue to vote with a leadership that has demonstrated an ability to fail nationally until 2018 slapped them in the face. Too little too late, said the little blue state as it looked into the dark, cold eyes of the Senate.

Lastly, our one NYC candidate right out of the Bernie Sanders camp is worthy of further analysis.  She won the 14th District using solid community organizing skills, not political organizing expertise.  It was geographically organized by election district (See District Nine example). In my opinion, I believe the reliance on a Crown Heights base was the failure of the challenger’s strategy in the Ninth District.  A look at the whole district would have produced two the four thousand more votes.  Ocasio-Cortez won with straightforward organizing throughout the entire district.

One person working on getting the vote out in nearly every district (mostly Bronx) was all Alexandria needed in a non-presidential election year. In her district, the threat to the people there was as tangible as it is in CD9 for the threatened people of the Caribbean, but she got that message out.  This is a  huge deal. Crowley was a boss-machine player among Democrats. (Time Mag Story) It was her organizing performance that produced a substantial margin for victory.  Something Democrats seem to forget.

If the pressure for real leadership is to occur one for a challenger, a person will be needed in every ED by June 2020.  See District Nine example


The Big News Maker was: U.S. House District 14

Democratic Primary

CANDIDATEVOTEPCT.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez15,89757.5%
Joseph Crowley*11,76142.5%

27,658 votes, 98% reporting (440 of 449 precincts)

* Incumbent

The rest of 26 June’s pathetic primary voting turnout can be reviewed here

The Clarke Record

The analysis that follows is part of a long-term effort to establish an independent group of observers and analysts who live or work in each of the Congressional Districts of New York City beginning with the Ninth CD.  The boundaries change but you will always be in one of them. It will include a portion or all of city and state political districts.  Organizing this way yields power.  Take it.

This project also recognizes an opportunity to examine the representation of NYS as a whole to include an evaluation of U.S. Senate representatives. Outreach occurs through other organizations and individuals under the heading of @NYDelegation.

Delegation Watch and, Indivisible.  It will be slow but continuous and with some help. Finally, all views are welcome that offer facts, but know these resources are unabashedly Democratic in party affiliation, Progressive in outlook and as independent as an Independent can get on the issues, needs and concerns of everyday people. Here’s an example on the Ninth Congressional District. If you win a Democratic primary for Congress in NYC, you win the election. Yvette Clarke captured most votes in the primary of 2012, but it is fair to say only about 14,000 people voted to elect her to the office. There are over 250,000 registered Democrats in CD9. Yvette took 81% of the vote in 2014 with just 83,000 votes and 92% in 2016 with 214,000 votes. In 2018, the win percentage was barely over 50% with a challenger who fell just 1,500 votes short of taking her seat.

The Clarke Platform and Record of Service

First, the territory of public life comes with criticism. Please accept this summary with the idea that it has the capacity for error. The main source for analysis is GovTrack and while this organization has an excellent reputation, it is still possible to misinterpret the data as provided. Please use the comment section below and dig into the data yourself. The rule is the facts are friendly, as far as “scuttlebutt” goes; it appears the CD9 office staff are known to be unhelpful with difficult questions or unresponsive with challenging problems leading to dead-ends and the need to go elsewhere for advice and help. Personal anecdotes pro or con on the general behavior of the office would be helpful with dates, times, places.

Second, without doubt Yvette’s commitment to public service is a wholesome one, grounded in family tradition and steeped in protecting the rights of her constituents and the responsibilities of public office. That “wrist-slap” from the Ethics Committee dismissed regarding the lack of disclosure of sponsors on a junket to Azerbaijan and Turkey. Her record of accomplishment over the last two decades presents a picture of little more than a loyal Democrat. Rarely missing a vote is proof of party loyalty and that is proving to be insufficient over the need for a far more aggressive legislative initiative in protecting people.

It is fair to say Congresswoman Clarke has become a career politician serving as a New York State Representative for the 11th Congressional District from 2007 to 2012 and as the Representative of the 9th Congressional District beginning in January 2013.  She is completing her 18th year in the United States Congress.  GovTrack lists her name as associated with just 77 pieces of legislation (review here) and the congress.gov site here, shows the breadth of the House activity in the introduction of bills and very little else. Of over 2,000 bills with which she is connected, the following four are the only ones with her name as “sponsor” all are in the 111th Congress (2009-2010), See: H.R.3771: H.R.3771; H.Amdt.560; and H.R.4616.

The co-sponsorship of one act, signed by President Obama called upon the Small Business Administration increase their reporting accuracy regarding public sector procurement by minority-owned businesses. This can be reviewed here..  For an advanced search on all of Clarke’s Legislation click here.  Click the following links for a detailed look at her GovTrack Report Card and her Voting Record since 2007.  It is not a great report or a good record. Please judge for yourself.

The Clarke 2018 Platform

Clarke’s 2018 platform on her website claims the co-sponsorship of three bits of legislation in Energy, Housing and Education none of which became law. The most shocking part of her 2018 platform is a striking omission.  The need for immigration reform and ideas about how to establish a path to citizenship for children is missing. Half of the population in the Ninth Congressional District was born in another country.

The other seven platform issues listed on her website (latest observation: 3.28.19) offer one or two paragraph generalities on the need for justice, fairness and equity. The importance of small business, healthcare reform, the prevention of gun violence and trade with the Caribbean briefly describe existing conditions. There is no sense of urgency in these pronouncements. In fact, she did not vote on an act sponsored by Elliot Engel for improving relations with the Caribbean nations (See: H.R. 4939/114th Congress).

Protecting Education Loans for Underserved Students Act H.R. 4480/113th was not enacted and cleared from the books. It is fair to say these efforts disappear and emerge in different forms. The mention of the Flood Insurance Affordability Act (here) was passed in 2014 to help protect homeowners from insurance price increases by delaying enforcement of an increase. This was also lumped in with a demand for stronger rent regulations in which the federal government has little to offer.

The Clarke 2018 Platform

Clarke’s 2018 platform on her website claims the co-sponsorship of three bits of legislation in Energy, Housing and Education none of which became law. The most shocking part of her 2018 platform is a striking omission.  The need for immigration reform and ideas about how to establish a path to citizenship for children is missing. Half of the population in the Ninth Congressional District was born in another country.

The other seven platform issues listed on her website (latest observation: 3.28.19) offer one or two paragraph generalities on the need for justice, fairness and equity. The importance of small business, healthcare reform, the prevention of gun violence and trade with the Caribbean briefly describe existing conditions. There is no sense of urgency in these pronouncements. In fact, she did not vote on an act sponsored by Elliot Engel for improving relations with the Caribbean nations (See: H.R. 4939/114th Congress).

Protecting Education Loans for Underserved Students Act H.R. 4480/113th was not enacted and cleared from the books. It is fair to say these efforts disappear and emerge in different forms. The mention of the Flood Insurance Affordability Act (here) was passed in 2014 to help protect homeowners from insurance price increases by delaying enforcement of an increase. This was also lumped in with a demand for stronger rent regulations in which the federal government has little to offer.

The Clarke 2018 Platform

Clarke’s 2018 platform on her website claims the co-sponsorship of three bits of legislation in Energy, Housing and Education none of which became law. The most shocking part of her 2018 platform is a striking omission.  The need for immigration reform and ideas about how to establish a path to citizenship for children is missing. Half of the population in the Ninth Congressional District was born in another country.

The other seven platform issues listed on her website (latest observation: 3.28.19) offer one or two paragraph generalities on the need for justice, fairness and equity. The importance of small business, healthcare reform, the prevention of gun violence and trade with the Caribbean briefly describe existing conditions. There is no sense of urgency in these pronouncements. In fact, she did not vote on an act sponsored by Elliot Engel for improving relations with the Caribbean nations (See: H.R. 4939/114th Congress).

Protecting Education Loans for Under-served Students Act H.R. 4480/113th was not enacted and cleared from the books. It is fair to say these efforts disappear and emerge in different forms. The mention of the Flood Insurance Affordability Act (here) was passed in 2014 to help protect homeowners from insurance price increases by delaying enforcement of an increase. This was also lumped in with a demand for stronger rent regulations in which the federal government has little to offer.

Affordable Housing

We can dream and have goals, but it is impossible to think things into existence. Direct action is required to be creative. A leader needs parents and friends that believe in action. A leader needs to be interested in exploring new steps and strategies that will end inequality and injustice.

The action takes courage, ideas, funding, and time. Suppose you would like more of that in the Ninth Congressional District (Map). We are everyone who reads this to share their personal experience, ideas, and actions in response to the issues and responses on housing.

Report on Hot Buttons

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates, Table B25070 (2005-2016); retrieved from American Census.

The map shows the percentage of renter households who spend 50% or more of their income on rent.  In the CD9 area, this represents 27% to 35% of households as Rent Burdened.  It is unaffordable, with over 30% of household income. 

Ranked Choice Vote

It is possible to be represented differently. FairVote is a reform idea calling for multi-member districts. Voting could be about ranking the candidates, not choosing the single best person—a reform called ranked-choice voting (RCV).  Fascinating.

You can read more about this idea and make your own projections for the 2018 congressional elections at Fair Voting.  A small commission is forming to evaluate this choice for voter reform already in use in Maine and Minnesota. If this group interests you let us know.

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Election Districts

Steven Pinker’s Enlightenment Now: The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism, and Progress, says the world is getting better, and from a “regression to the mean” point of view, he is probably right. His book got lots of attention from Bill Gates (his blog) in January 2018. The difficulty with the super-wealthy is their compulsion for optimism despite the preponderance of outlier data. The source for the outlook that everyone else has, the other 99%, is local and highly specific. Averages do not apply. They are voter-irrelevant.

Americans who are poor and low- and moderate-income are struggling but “OK” using “averages,” but this does not alter the perception of unfair conditions that build gaps in people’s experience. Poor safety and the inadequate nutrition of “food desert” neighborhoods are real experiences. The constant media reminder of a vast wealth gap is easy to accept as that gap is easy to define but difficult to eliminate.  All it takes is a good job with a future, a loan for a business or home, fair rent, and good schools for the kids, and affordable higher education. Why does it seem too many people are teetering on the brink of losing these basics? These are public priority investments in people for no other reason than this – they are the ones who are here right now.

There is one more factor in the media experience. When asked how many things could happen to make you better off or wealthier, people will come up with a few choices, ask about things that can make you less well-off or poorer, the list would be longer, much longer. The majority of negative words for emotions in the English vocabulary are well documented. Despite improving quality of life and access to knowledge are correct as an “average,” the result in the big picture describes how the world is getting safely unfair.  That is a problem for a democracy. Steven Pinker puts it this way:

“Americans today have difficulty imagining, valuing or even believing in the promise of incremental system change, which leads to a greater appetite for revolutionary, smash-the-machine change.”

Steven Pinker

The first rule of a good political change remains “all politics is local.” There are 300,000 registered democrats in CD9, about 30,000 voted in 2018. Yes, that’s right, 1%. Prior national votes were massive and with good reason, but the real lesson is the separation of power. Voters give it freely to the top by wealthy districts and mindlessly in the two-year election cycles of Congress.

Interviews with people and data on the Election Districts (ED) surrounding the two Dem candidates for the United States Congress may provide added insight. Where is the appetite for a smash-the-machine change?  A detailed look at Election Districts will help answer that question — top on the list of things to understand why the DNC will not support challengers to incumbent officeholders.  The short answer is money in politics.

The following is drawn from the Board of Elections – DATA NYC  Additional sources are available from the Board of Elections – DATA NYS.  All the pdf documents are here. The numbers change routinely and look like the following from these sites.

EDCOUNTYSTATUSDEMREPCONGREWORINDWEPREFOTHBLANKTOTAL
9KingsActive275,79925,4279556771,5057,3523649453,182365,031
9KingsInactive28,6352,519109832349830056,71739,285
9KingsTotal304,43427,9461,0647601,7398,3353649959,899404,316

Election District Map

The brightness of NYC from space isn’t just electric. Thousands of Election Districts in York City represent the illumination we can get from the vote. The following discussion will focus on twelve of these districts in CD9 for voters and examine voting participation. 

There are several reservations regarding the sanctity of the vote, especially in a blue city that makes NY a blue state. Challenging our sense of trust in our local electoral system is equivalent to an assault on the Democratic Party’s integrity.

First

In round numbers, voter registration data published April 2016 by the New York State Board of Elections says the Ninth Congressional district has 276,000 registered Democrats, 24,000, Republicans and a smattering of Greens, Working Family, Independents, and so on for a total of 365,000 voters, after ” a correction” it went to 326,000. Excellent, the population of CD9 is about 740,000 (See Data). The issues facing the NYC Board of Elections have already caused some stir regarding the need to purge the roles (117,000 in Brooklyn) and its illegality. There is much to understand here for 2018 and as 2020 approaches, but hey, blue city, blue state, right?

Second

In Brooklyn, there are two fronts, the collective efforts of the New Kings Democrats and an examination of one of the greatest, first tier, conflict reducing devices in history – the vote. The right of suffrage is as simple as walking to your neighborhood poll and as complicated as the legislation and litigation surrounding the Fifteenth Amendment – right to vote (background). More on the efforts of the New Kings as needed.  The first task is to take a good look at voting in the blueness of the Ninth Congressional District by ED.

The office address for Adem is 247 Troy Avenue (between Lincoln and St. Johns) Brooklyn, NY 11213.  Six EDs surrounding this office have a total of 5700 registered Democrats. The office address for Yvette is 222 Lenox Road (between Rogers and Nostrand Avenues) Brooklyn, NY 11226.  Six EDs surrounding this office have a total of 4100 registered Democrats. The local office locations of a long-standing representative of Brooklyn (Yvette) and a 2018 challenger (Adem) are available for analysis by Election District (ED).

Counting Votes and Why ADEM Lost.

In round numbers, the total votes in the EDs around Adem’s office can be seen in the 43rd – City Council race held Nov. 11, 2017. The total number of votes was 1,650 with a participation rate of 28%. The Democrat (Cumbo) pulled 1,290, the Republican drew 40, and the more progressive candidate pulled 320.

The total votes in the EDs around Yvette’s office can be seen in the 40th – City Council race held Nov. 11, 2017. The total number of votes was 2,800, with a participation rate of 68%. The Democrat (Eugene) pulled 1,260, the challenger (Cumberland) losing in the Primary pulled 500 via the Reform Party. The Conservative Party challenger (Kelly) pulled 60 votes. In this case, Cunningham was the more progressive candidate. It did not matter.

The number of registered voters and votes cast shows a participation rate through two-year election cycles. The ED locations for each candidate will compare with census tracts for demographic analysis in ten-year periods. This data reflects issues based on people’s experience within walking distance of their Congressional Candidate’s offices.  Adem’s office is in Census Tract 363 (CT) and has 5,161 residents based on the 2010 census.  A review  of census data for the CD will be found here: CD9 in Detail

  • How do the issues outlined by the candidate fit with the experience of residents?
  • What are the relationship between federal services and local capacity to resolve specific issues?

Election Districts

Bunkeddeko vs. Clarke

Should Clarke have lost June 26, 2018? Yes, but she won.

Is Clarke’s record of deep blue co-sponsorship for the Democratic Party leadership enough? That was my question. In 2018 Washington D.C., the Congress, Senate, and the Executive Branch are all Republican, and we of New York’s democratically blue urban world has been seriously challenged.  We need fighters that will force compromise.  Yes? After all, Ocasio-Cortez unseats Crowley in NY-14 shocker that same year. So, yes.

The 9th Congressional District is “Safe Democratic.”

Vote April 28, 2020

Safe means the best voters can hope for is a primary election that will make us smarter as residents. For the lack of reform in national campaign finance, the first thing to follow before any issue is the money. The Clarke money trail (here) for comparison to Bunkeddeko (here) is described below.

First, in 2018 Clarke had a spending trail at just under a half-million, while Bunkeddeko was just over $100,000. The money trail will be worth watching in 2020.  For the first campaign, Clarke’s fundraising was similar to that of Bunkeddiko’s, which means it could have been a good race on housing issues, but no debate. The 2020 strategy for wining is different — Clarke has bills all over the place promising the impossible and bird-dogging her opponent. For the 2020 Race and an election in April 2020, most of the money was raised in 2019, and the following is how it has been reported. For more detail, use the (here) links above to look for yourself. In round numbers, it goes as follows:

From April 2019 to the end of the year, Adem reported $244,000, of which $223,000 were individual contributions. Contrast that with Clarke. From January 2019 to the end of the year, $577,000 was raised, of which $438,000 were “committee contributions.” What are they? Corporations and PACs. Just hit the link above and have a look. The money comes from Wisconsin, Virginia, DC, Georgia, California — many are agents that want something from Congress but very little for the people of CD 9 or Brooklyn.

Regarding the 2018 election year, the average income of a Congressmember is $1million, but the salary is just $178,000? It became very clear that money is an issue but it isn’t money in the way the voters think of it, because we are in the world of retail-politics

  • Can close to 10,000 fifty-dollar donations get a challenger funded this year, and will that help to make the 2020 debate interesting in the deep blue of the 9th Congressional District? Sounds impossible.
  • Should it be even bluer, more progressive, and politically creative with people’s rights to resist and change the current state of political affairs? The answer is yes, and it is now.

Why is this Confrontation Essential?

The 9th is a working-class, truth to power district.
Most members of House of Representatives are millionaires. Not our candidates. A reps salary is $174,000. Clarke reports a net worth of only $105,000 in 2012, an update to 2020 will be exciting for comparison to Bunkeddeko. In the most recent fundraising quarter, Politico reported Adem raised roughly $121,000 — not far behind Clarke’s $164,000. It wasn’t enough. Nevertheless, with the same odds this year – Adem’s non-political, thankful approach and a track record of ordinary smarts, once again I like his chances.

The 9th is an “issue-condensing” district.
The 9th is the only NYC district that is only in Brooklyn. It is the least gerrymandered district in all of New York City, and its lines are drawn less for Red/Blue reasons than to assure voters can produce representatives in Congress that looks like NYC (Draft of Issues in slides). I plan to update these afterwords only because it’s what I do.

The 9th is a district of neighborhoods with mutual interest networks.
To some, CD 9 has the shape of Lady Liberty’s torch; to others, it might be more like a wine glass as it narrows from Crown Heights into Flatbush, Ditmas Park Sheepshead Bay (See map). Continuing to establish this network that moves our needs and interests to the forefront is what politics should be all about. Old school maybe, but better than empty promises.

The 9th is a vote-workable district.
An analysis of the 9th CD’s demography is easy to conduct. It can be analyzed into individual census tracts with election district connections to initiate listening during a canvass. A small network of walkers during the spring with clipboards, V-registration, and interview forms, and the PR Literature has two entire train station networks to work to get listeners. (Statistics pdf draft) Next, a look at the vote-rich districts and the challenges each represents. Half of the election districts and polling sites are covered with people at train stations (See Election Districts). You will find a picture of a Google map with polling sites and train stations for organizing purposes and instructions on how to participate.

The 9th can produce progressive reform narratives worthy of national attention.
The 2018 election was not only about Democrats beating Republicans, and it was about pushing Democrats to get our house in order.  Movements such as Indivisible on the national front have serious concerns regarding the future of the Democracy. (Issues) We are a beautifully diverse district, right down the middle of Brooklyn — from Crown Heights to Bensonhurst, we are the world. OK, so there are some toward the tail end with whom we might disagree. That is where we should be with something positive to say about how these voters feel.

The 9th is a district that can enjoy dialogue and a useful home-based narrative.
The 9th CD has the people and experience that know how to produce mutual benefits, share struggles, and enjoy victories with a deep breath of confidence. There are two reasons. First, this is a debate between Democrats and a few conservatives. It can only elevate the quality of the game. Second, pushing Brooklyn Democrats to get their democratic houses in order will be improved because of this challenge. (See New Kings Dems). A possible benefit might include help in city council races affecting portions of the 9th CD.

Focus on Congressional District 9 in Brooklyn.  Other outfits will play the idea of canceling the POTUS45 show in one term.  As it turns out paying attention to what is in our own backyards is more interesting.  Indivisible Brooklyn has survived.  The plan is to develop a Federal, State and local participant strategy.  This is the local plan and focused on the Ninth and its starts with election districts.  Have a look at the CD9 Map.  See the District Map below and take action.

Brooklyn is a nice solid blue, but if you have an interest in keeping NY State that way, call your friends upstate and say: Change only happens when you get into the fight, so get involved with the state party in New York. Here’s how: https://nydems.org/.  Another reform leadership group is New Kings Democrats.  Have a look.

The democracy is in trouble when you hear the term “Crisis”

Meanwhile, voters living in CD9 are gathering to evaluate their power and ability to conduct rapid communication and event planning.  Anti-corruption groups (example here) have developed strategies to end the corruption of money in local, state and federal politics. A longer term project (here) is an effort to evaluate the entire NY Congressional Delegation. The New York delegation has yet to fail, but the National Democratic Party has in many ways, lost its way.

The Ninth Power

Adem Bunkeddeko is a young professional, a Harvard grad and a first-generation American of Ugandan parents.  Like most of us, he knows that long-standing Brooklyn Democrats such as Rep. Yvette Clarke, have not done enough to promote affordable housing in the Ninth Congressional District.  It is not her fault, this has been a major DNC problem from the top all the way down.

To inject drive and courage into the life of a Congressperson you need a mandate.  Below the mandate for change was set by just 30,522 voters in the attempt to inject drive.   There are about 240,000 registered voters in the Ninth Congressional District of which almost 180,000 are registered as Democrats.  Just 16,200 people decided the future of 800,000 people in the Ninth.

CandidateVotesPercentage
Yvette Clarke (incumbent)16,20253
Adem Bunkeddeko14,35047
Margin1,852?

Again: 16,200 people decided the future of 800,000 people in the Ninth.

Adem lost on 26 June 2018, but I have a feeling 2020 is on his list of things to do.  Perhaps he will study housing and immigration issues more carefully as these are loose-loose issues for the Ninth to date.

Behind the power of the vote is the task of combining our skills of research and analysis on issues confronting the well-being of the Ninth Congressional District.  See CD9 in Detail for the start of our analysis.

With research and analysis, quality change is brought home.  The Ninth will serve as an example of what New York City is destined to be – a place for all people to build community.  A brief summary of who we are as a district will be found throughout this site and summarized here.  Our diversity is our strength unless we are divided.  The district lines will change after 2020 but not the organization that examines its social and economic content.

The indivisibility of the entire New York Delegation is super important in the decade ahead. Political representatives are stronger together, but they are easily divided.   We are gathering friends here to examine the issues of one nation, indivisible.

Think of this exercise as the Trivago of politics. The plan is to find the people who are building systems that will help focus NYC (blue) and with the lessons regarding Congressional behavior learned in 2018 and beyond. The map below will also be found under the menu: “CD9 in Detail.

?Election DistrictsPowered by Socrata

“When there is no trail, the memory your first step will carry you.”

CD9 Stress

Exploring the following group of analysts will produce one of the more fascinating introductions to key indicators of economic stress. Have a good long look at the work of the EIG. It will give you RTC. Put your zip code in the search box and for the Ninth Congressional District insert NY-9 in the map below.

In NYC, opportunities to become involved in innovation for economic recovery could be the Ninth Congressional District. Find people who have read Section Subchapter Z— Opportunity Zones in the Tax Reform Act.  (pdf is HERE)  Only 25% of CTs (defined as low-income can be nominated by the State.  NYC has several of these ‘zones’ from previous designations.  (EIG explanation).   If anyone has any insight into this EIG outfit, please share.

A Better Deal

The total estimated annual payroll for seven Congressional Districts with significant employment in health care and social assistance is just over $275 billion.   

This draft was edited thanks to a little help (March 2018)  This is a damn complicated issue.

A look at the details by Congressional District exposes weaknesses in the strategy of leaving the Affordable Care Act alone due to the failure of replacing/repeal.  

Nearly 22% of Velazquez’s (CD7), 27.6% of Jefferies’s (CD8), and 54% of Clarke’s (CD9) constituent payroll is the health care and social assistance, almost $6 billion. A reduction by a fraction of this can be devastating to the better jobs, more income strategy in NYC’s service economy environment. This part of the health care system is broken, and the debate to let the market drive the system vs. a broad national safety net in a single-payer design is designed to go on forever.

The American Community Survey (ACS) provides details by Congressional District (Ninth) as follows:

Annual payroll ($1,000)ACS Estimate
Total for all sectors CD6 (Meng)$6,774,639
Health care and social assistance$2,614,886
Total for all sectors CD7 (Velazquez)$8,942,565
Health care and social assistance$1,920,162
Total for all sectors CD8 (Jefferies)$5,209,765
Health care and social assistance$1,435,548
Total for all sectors CD9 (Clarke)$4,591,698
Health care and social assistance$2,493,720
Total for all sectors CD10 (Nadler)$73,088,238
Health care and social assistance$4,082,423
Total for all sectors CD11 (Donovan)$5,995,693
Health care and social assistance$2,405,251
Total for all sectors CD12 (Maloney)$170,281,639
Health care and social assistance $10,155,081
Total for all sectors CDs 6 through 12$274,884,237
Health care and social assistance $25,107,071

The seven districts covering all of Brooklyn include Bay Ridge and all of Staten Island, represented by the city’s only Republican. The table (above) also includes a bit of Queens (Meng).  Maloney and Jerry Nadler also have small parts of Brooklyn, but larger parts of Manhattan, and therein lies a surprise.

Of the $275 billion in these districts’ total income, 88.5% is in CD10 (Nadler) and CD12 (Maloney). The incomes of the households in these two districts dwarf the other five that cover most of Brooklyn. Maloney and Nadler represent 11% of the employment in the health and social assistance sector.

More work on this is needed regarding the impact on CD9  where over 50% of the community’s income is in the health sector and the majority of it is Medicaid.


The listing of industry in these areas is in the North American Industry Classification System (here) and reports on Census.gov  examining business & Industry are available in both annual & quarterly service reports (here).

Privacy

So what, if a few people get stopped and if they refuse to respond to a lawful order to give up the data on their phones (little computers really). If you do, you can be detained for because you gave them reasonable suspicion. (Catch 22s are real.)

You say I’ll give my phone up with nothing to hide  They might catch somebody that would blow up a car or something and kill me, members of my family or people I know. Even though,  you know the odds of such an event are better on a lightning bolt. This is not a security vs. privacy issue this is a fear problem.

Remember, President Franklin D. Roosevelt said this is about “fear itself,” for many reasons. Fear is the main lever of Fascism because people in fear become its fulcrum. Fear is a lever that can destroy a country’s financial stability, and it is “nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance.”

Volunteer to summarize the following and to watch this issue over the next couple of years and join others who doing the same.

  • NBC News, “American citizens: US border agents can search your cell phone,”
    March 13, 2017.
    BuzzFeed, “New bill would outlaw warrantless phone searches at the border,”
    April 4, 2017.
    The Hill, “Border agents, demanded searches of US citizens’ phones: report,”
    March 13, 2017.
    NPR, “More travelers are being asked for their cell phones and passwords…”
    April 11, 2017.
    CNN, “Bill would stop warrantless border device searches of US citizens,”
    April 4, 2017.

All of this despite the Supreme Court June 25, 2014, unanimously ruling (9-0) that police may not search the cell phones of criminal suspects upon arrest without a warrant — a sweeping endorsement for privacy rights. Wallets, briefcases, and vehicles remain subject to limited examination by law enforcement.  The C-22 here is clear, go “all the way” in the justice system on the one hand or handing it over for a data upload on the other.

In the House of Representatives Jared Polis (D), Denver CO was elected in 2008 and defeated a Republican incumbent and Blake Farenthold (R) defeated an incumbent Democrat in 2016.  Both along with two Senators, Rand Paul, and Ron Wyden have introduced legislation that would require law enforcement to obtain a warrant before they can search your phone when you, (a citizen) enters the US.

The bill extends the privacy principles clarified in the Supreme Court decision Riley v. California. In that case, the High Court ruled that warrantless searches of electronic devices during an arrest are unconstitutional. Read the complete Protecting Data at the Border Act here, and a summary here. (both pdf).

Thanks so far, y’all are brilliant.