Many in the media can trash Assemblywoman Pamela Harris for her ties to the Coney Island Generation Gap (CIGG), the nonprofit she founded in 2003, but don’t count on Kings County Politics to be one of them.
That’s because as a longtime reporter covering Brooklyn, I’ve seen first-hand how Harris has mentored dozens of kids who otherwise may have been lost to the hard-scrabble and often politically forgotten streets of Western Coney Island. These kids, by the way, include all ethnicities and races.
It’s also why KCP has put the word out to Harris and her Democratic District Leader running mate, City Councilman Mark Treyger, as well as several other elected officials throughout Brooklyn, that if they know of any at-risk kids, through CIGG or elsewhere, that want to learn journalism writing and reporting, KCP will mentor them.
The only rules KCP has are a desire to learn, and a willingness to cover neighborhoods other than their own as it both gets them out of their comfort zone and avoids the appearance of a conflict of interest.
The issue with Harris is that ever since establishing CIGG, she has run it mainly out of her modest house on Neptune Avenue. It was there she built a recording and photography studio for the kids in the program, and from where she nurtured them through photography, and film making, as well as to help them find jobs and teach them valuable life skills.
While running the fledgling non-profit she sometimes charged rent for the use of her home, and other expenses as is allowed by law, but nobody bothered her about it. That’s because all the politicians – even her opponent, Kate Cucco, who worked as chief of staff for former Assemblyman Alec Brook-Krasny, knew and continues to know the value and merits of the CIGG. Brook-Krasny and all the electeds also helped fund some of her programs.
Problems arose, however, when Harris ran for and won the assembly seat last year, which meant she had to give up running the CIGG, because of laws in which non-profits are not allowed to get involved in political campaigns. While Harris recognized this and found another executive director to run the CIGG, it was hard to let go because of the mutual love she continues to share with many of these kids.
So today, Harris called a press conference across the street from her home to address the controversy and inform the press that CIGG is looking for a new home for its film, photography and recording studio.
Several possible sites have been identified including space at the nearby Mark Train Junior High School, 2401 Neptune Avenue, and IS 188 at 3314 Neptune Avenue.
While KCP is cutting some slack to Harris, if should be noted she’s had some time to get the non-profit out of her home already, and if she doesn’t fully separate herself from the CIGG’s workings in the near future, it will and should be fair game for KCP.
Additionally, Treyger, as the local city councilman, deserves to be questioned on not doing enough to find another location for the non-profit, especially considering all the empty storefronts in Coney Island. He appears to have both the political clout as co-chair of the Council’s Brooklyn delegation and the discretionary budget to get this done.
But what this column does convey is that at least for now, KCP will give Harris a pass on this. That everything she’s done is because of her love for the kids in the community, and that she’s going through a somewhat long, but heartfelt separation period.
And the offer to mentor kids from CIGG or any other at-risk kids in the art and science of political and government journalism stands. It’s part of our mission.
