City Council candidate and popular former Assemblyman Alec Brook-Krasny is fighting for both constituents in Council District 47 covering Coney Island, Bensonhurst and Gravesend, and to further clear his good name.
The Russian-American immigrant was first elected to the assembly in 2006 and held the seat covering Coney Island, Brighton Beach, Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights and Gravesend until 2015, when he retired to go into the private sector. After retiring from the assembly, Brook-Krasny was arrested in 2017, along with eight others, on charges of healthcare fraud, including selling prescriptions to opioid painkillers.
Brook-Krasny was promptly trashed in the press, but while others in the case took plea deals, he always maintained his innocence, and in July 2019, was found not guilty on all felony charges against him, a mistrial was declared on misdemeanor charges against him and all remaining charges were dismissed.
And Brook-Krasny’s legal ordeal and life’s journey is the motivation behind his decision to re-enter the public sector and run for the city council.
“Twenty years ago, when I first ran for office, I was not like most other candidates. Democracy was not something I was born into. Instead, I left the country where I grew up and traveled across the world to trade the oppression of the Soviet Union for the freedom of the United States. As a result, when I asked my neighbors to elect me to the New York State Assembly, it was because I wanted to give back to the community and country that had welcomed me with open arms and helped me to achieve the American Dream,” wrote Brook-Krasny on his campaign website.
“Twenty years later, as I now announce my candidacy for the New York City Council, I am still not like most other candidates. But what sets me apart is not just that I had to fight to find freedom. Now, what sets me apart is that I have had to fight to hold onto my freedom,” he added.
Brook-Kransy stated on his website that he did not take a plea because, “Innocence must not compromise. Baseless as the charges against me were, I knew that once a jury heard my case—once my peers sat in judgment—the facts would carry the day.”
But Brook-Krasny said he considered himself lucky to have been in the position to have his day in court. This included finding and having the money to pay great lawyers, who continued to defend him even after he ran out of money.
“Countless others will never have the chance to properly defend themselves. Without access to top lawyers, without resources, without a support system, anyone can fall through the cracks. For those people, the overlooked, ignored, forgotten, I will fight. I will ensure that our justice system provides the necessary tools to help people not need luck. Laws like the expanded right to counsel, discovery reform, and increased funding for alternatives to incarceration are all positive steps towards a justice system that is equal and bent toward compassion for all it serves,” he wrote.
Also in the race is Democratic District Leader Ari Kagan, political upstart Steven Patzer and Joseph Packer.
