Brennan Bill To Reform Port Authority Vetoed
Kensington Assemblymember James Brennan saw a bill to reform the Bi-State Port Authority that he had championed with unanimous votes of approval through both legislative bodies in New York and New Jersey go down in flames when both Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Chris Christie vetoed the bill.
The legislation would have opened the authority up to Freedom of Information Law requests from reporters, create protections for whistleblowers, obligate employees to report corrupt or illegal activity, require high-ranking Port Authority officials to file financial disclosures, force those officials to recuse themselves from handling matters where they have a conflict of interest and mandate increased transparency in relation to the agency’s finances and toll hike hearings.
“It’s very disappointing that the reform bill was not signed into law. The veto is without merit,” said Brennan in a Facebook post. “The measures included in the bill were no different than those already being applied to other public authorities. Each measure was aimed at providing greater transparency and accountability to an authority that has come under growing public scrutiny over the years, as abuses and scandals accumulated. I vow to continue to work with my colleagues here in NY as well as in NJ to see that real reform comes to the Port Authority.”
Bay Ridge Sen. Marty Golden was the prime sponsor on the senate side for the bill.
Adams Statement at Funeral of Slain Police Officers
Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams, a former NYPD officer mourned the shooting deaths of Officers Wenjian Liu, 32, and Rafael Ramos, 40, at the funeral of Ramos with a call for more understanding between police and protesters.
“”Today, we joined as a city and a nation to bury NYPD Officer Rafael Ramos, an emotional event that some chose to mark with expressions of protest. People across our nation are showing grief for our fallen heroes; unfortunately, that pain sometimes involves a display of misplaced anger. Today, we mourn a father, a husband and one of New York’s Finest. Tomorrow, we all turn toward each other, both police and the communities they serve, to face our challenges together,” he said.
De Blasio Appoints Boro Park Mover & Shaker
Simcha Eichenstein, 31, is expected to leave the office of State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli to join the administration of Mayor Bill de Blasio, JP Updates reported.
Eichenstein has served as a senior adviser for Intergovernmental and Community Affairs for DiNapoli since December 2010, as well as director of political and governmental services for The Friedlander Group.
In his city hall role, Eichenstein will serve as Intergovernmental Affairs for Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services under Lilliam Barrios-Paoli. Among his duties include making sure RFP’s are properly crafted, programs are tweaked where appropriate, and respond to statewide elected officials. He will also deal with the implementation of the universal pre-Kindergarten program (UPK), as it relates to parochial schools and yeshivas.
Eichestein’s appointment is the third appointment of a member of the Orthodox Jewish community in the City by Mayor de Blasio. The others are Pinny Ringel, a senior community liaison at the Community Affairs Unit (CAU), and Avi Fink, deputy director for Intergovernmental Affairs in the office of the mayor, and the broader team.
BHA Exec Director Judy Stanton To Retire
Judy Stanton, Executive Director of the Brooklyn Heights Association (BHA), has announced her decision to retire, effective August 31, 2015, the Brooklyn Heights Blog reported.
From the BHA’s announcement: Since the early 1980’s Judy has served the BHA, first as a member of the Board of Governors and later as its first Executive Director. Known to many as “the face of the BHA,” her tenure reflects an exceptional dedication, integrity and passion for dealing with all issues that concern Brooklyn Heights. Her experience and deep community roots have been invaluable to the neighborhood. She has set a high bar for the BHA Board, and her example will inspire us as we look to the future.
The BHA celebrated its 100th Anniversary last year, and is one of the oldest, if not the oldest civic association in Brooklyn.
