Thursday, June 18, 2009 12:16 PM EDT
TimesLedger Newspapers

Via the Queens Campaigner

“This is it: 43-55,” volunteer Jennifer Kim says before rattling off a registered Democrat’s name.

First-time City Council candidate S.J. Jung checks the pronunciation of the resident’s name, flashes a smile and heads toward the door of a single-family home.

“This is my favorite part of the campaign,” Jung says as he climbs a set of stairs and rings the doorbell.

For a moment, silence. Undaunted, Jung rings the bell again.

“What’s your problem?” A man bellows through an open window.

Jung adjusts his gaze toward the window and begins his pitch.

“Hello, my name is S.J. Jung. I’m a candidate for the City Council in District 20. I’m collecting signatures to get my name on the ballot and was wondering,” he starts.

“All right, all right. One second,” the man answers back.

Five minutes later after somewhat heated conversation about Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s tax plan, Jung has the man’s signature and is headed toward another home.

“He was upset, and I can understand that,” Jung said. “That’s exactly why I’m out here. I told him that I’m going to fight for fair share tax reform and in the end he said, ‘OK, I will vote for you.’”

Jung is one of nine candidates vying for the soon-to-be-vacated seat of Councilman John Liu (D-Flushing), each of whom launched drives last week to collect the 900 signatures required to formally be placed on the ballot for the primary election in September. Each candidate has until mid-July to collect and file the signatures with the state Elections Board.

As one of six Democrats vying for the seat, Jung said there is an extra emphasis in starting early, as only registered Democrats can sign petitions and each can do so for just one candidate in each district.

To make matters more complicated, the petitioning process is somewhat of a crapshoot.

As Jung went from home to home Friday afternoon, the results were mixed. Some happily signed, some signed after some cajoling, but about half of the registered Democrats he visited were either not home, did not speak English or did not wish to sign.

Jung, however, said despite these obstacles he enjoys the process.

“For me, this is the best opportunity to connect with the voters,” he said. “I’m very comfortable with approaching people. I am a community organizer and I also started my own business from scratch, which all started from making cold calls. So I actually enjoy it.”

Constantine Kavadas, a 27-year-old Queens College graduate and also vying for the Democratic nomination for Liu’s seat, said he also found petitioning rewarding.

“The voters you talk to, they give you pointers, they bring up issues they have in the community. So you learn, but I also think it’s a form of campaigning. I can listen, but I can also tell them why I am running,” Kavadas said.

While it is common practice for candidates to assemble armies of volunteers to collect signatures for them %u2014 both Kavadas and Jung have their own volunteer teams %u2014 Kavadas said he believes he has gained more by doing much of the work himself.

“I think the candidates should go door to door. The voter appreciates when the candidate comes to the door,” he said. “I think it just shows an involvement in the community and I think it shows that a candidate is willing to take responsibility for addressing the issues people have.”

As he walked away from another Democrats’ home, Jung said he feels similarly and that the process is not only about collecting signatures, but collecting votes.

“Sept. 15, righti” Democrat Edward Romero said, referring to the Democratic primary as Jung moved to leave his porch. “S.J. Jung. I’ll remember that. You’ve got my vote.”

TimesLedger Newspapers
Wednesday, May 13, 2009 7:24 PM EDT

Via YourNabe.com

A letter written by state Sen. Frank Padavan (R−Bellerose) on behalf of disgraced former colleague Brian McLaughlin set off a firestorm of political rhetoric last week.

State Democrats blasted Padavan for writing a letter to the judge who is set to sentence McLaughlin next week after he pleaded guilty to a racketeering charge last year.

Padavan was the only elected official among 47 people who wrote letters for McLaughlin, many of whom asked for leniency when Judge Richard Sullivan sentences the former politician May 20 in Manhattan federal court.

“While I have no direct knowledge of the legal matters involving Brian McLaughlin, I have known Brian for over two decades,” Padavan wrote on his official Senate stationery. “I worked closely with him in advancing important legislation in the Senate and Assembly. In addition, I have known Brian to be a dedicated community servant, an active member of his parish and a loving father.”

Shams Tarek, a spokesman for the state Democratic Senate Campaign Committee, criticized the letter.

“It seems that Sen. Padavan’s campaign slogan that ‘Nobody cares like Frank’ is especially true if you’re a corrupt politician who steals money from little kids,” Tarek said. “Not only does this bring disgrace to Sen. Padavan and his office, but it shows a gross lack of judgment and raises serious questions about what kind of relationship he had and continues to have with Brian McLaughlin. It’s an unholy alliance to say the least.”

Padavan called Tarek’s comments “despicable” and pointed out he never asked for sentencing leniency in his letter to Sullivan.

“They’re calling me a crook. I’ve never seen this kind of horrible rhetoric come out from someone who is clearly working for the majority leader,” Padavan said. “What [McLaughlin] did, he’ll have to pay for that. I did not ask for leniency. I did want to let the judge know that people saw him in this better light, however.”

State Democrats have been gunning for Padavan’s Senate seat as they attempt to bolster their thin majority in the state Senate.

Tarek, who recently was hired as spokesman for the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee, was formerly the chief of staff for City Councilman James Gennaro (D−Forest Hills), whom Padavan narrowly defeated in November to retain his post.

McLaughlin pleaded guilty in March 2008 to federal racketeering charges for stealing millions of dollars from several groups, including his own campaign committee and a Little League.

Reach reporter Stephen Stirling by e−mail at sstirling@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718−229−0300, Ext. 138.

TimesLedger Newspapers
Friday, November 21, 2008 10:24 AM EST

Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s administration spent hours in recent weeks convincing members of the City Council that the redevelopment of Willets Point would an essential part of the city’s economic future. With the Council approval now in the rearview mirror, the city now faces a far more daunting task: Turning its elaborate sales pitch into a reality.

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By a nearly unanimous vote the Council moved 42−2 to approve the project last Thursday, giving the city the green light to begin soliciting bids for its envisioned mixed−use neighborhood expected to feature 5,500 housing units, more than 2 million square feet of retail and office space, an 850−seat school and a 400,000 square−foot convention center.

Bloomberg and the EDC are banking on the project to create more than 18,000 construction jobs, 5,000 permanent jobs, more than $1.3 billion in city tax revenue and an economic impact of $25 billion to $30 billion over the next 30 years.

Just because we are in the midst of an economic downturn and we have to learn to do more with less doesn’t mean that we can afford to walk away from our long−term obligations,” Bloomberg said last week. “Our city made that mistake during the tough times in the ‘70s and it was a near disaster. And we’re simply not going to make that mistake again.”

But the project still faces significant obstacles.

Parcels owned by more than 60 property owners still need to be acquired by the city, and some are already pondering a lengthy court battle to protect their land.

“I ain’t going nowhere, that’s all you need to write,” said Jake Bono of Bono Sawdust and Supply Co.

The EDC warded off one potentially devastating issue in the 11th hour of negotiations ahead of the Council vote, when it negotiated a deal that will allow Tully Construction, House of Spices and Fodera Foods — the three largest property owners at the 62−acre site — to remain at Willets Point for up to 15 years.

The accord, struck the morning of the vote, was viewed as a winning situation for all involved.

For the city, it alleviated the need to spend a large portion of its more than $200 million property acquisition budget on buying up the more than 17 acres of land occupied by the businesses.

The trio of businesses, meanwhile, will be able to continue to operate for up to 15 years at their current sites, taking the pressure off the search for a relocation site and allowing them to sell the land they own directly to a developer once one is chosen by the city.

The EDC said that because the properties are all located on the easternmost portion of the 62−acre site slated for redevelopment, the city will be able to conduct a multimillion−dollar environmental remediation and implement much of the infrastructure improvements — such as a sewer system — needed to sustain the planned development.

The EDC said the deal alleviates the need to conduct costly and perhaps contentious negotiations for agreements itself. How fruitful the city’s negotiations with the remaining 60 property owners at the site, who do not have such an accord in place, remains to be seen.

“Bottom line is, we’re going to continue negotiations,” said Deputy Mayor Robert Lieber. “But we can’t negotiate with ourselves. I have land owners that won’t return my phone calls. We have land owners that won’t return our letters. One way or another, though, we’re going to try to get these people to sign.”

Even less certain is the fate of the more than 200 tenant businesses currently at Willets Point today. With the approval, the EDC said three separate workforce retraining programs — offered by LaGuardia Community College, the Greater New York Auto Dealer’s Association and the Hotel and Motel Trades Council — will begin as early as January while Cornerstone Realty Group has been hired to begin no−fee relocation assistance with the renting businesses.

The workforce retraining programs have received a bristly reception from many of the 1,700 workers in the business community. One worker said he is hopeful he will continue to have his a job in the auto industry he is reluctant to take the city at its word.

“It’s scary, you know?” said Javier Herreras. “I get a job here, I provide for my family and now someone comes and tells me you might not have that in a year or two years or whatever. That doesn’t sound fair to me. That doesn’t seem right.”

Reach reporter Stephen Stirling by e−mail at Sstirling@timesledger.com or by phone at 718−229−0300, Ext. 138.