BENSONHURST'S PREMIER NEWS BLOG

Source: johnforcouncil.com via the Advance Group

John Lisyanskiy, a candidate for the 47th District council seat being vacated by Domenic Recchia, expressed relief that there are no plans to build a casino in Coney Island. The Brooklyn Daily Eagle is reporting that Lisyankskiy praised Governor Andrew Cuomo’s proposal that prohibits the building of any casino in New York City over the next five years.

Cuomo has been active in trying to add casino construction to the state budget, specifically the building of three new casinos somewhere upstate. Cuomo hopes to expand legalized gambling to boost economic growth and tourism upstate. Cuomo said he would not support plans to build a casino in the city itself in the next five years, a move that Lisyanskiy praised.

“Governor Cuomo’s pledge that no casinos are built in New York City for the next five years shows his commitment to protecting our neighborhoods,” Lisyanskiy told the Brooklyn Daily Eagle. “As a community we truly came together with one voice to ensure that our objections to a Coney Island casino were heard.”

Lisyanskiy, who is a City Council analyst, is hoping to win the Coney Island based council seat. The crowded field includes Mark Treyger, Michael Treybich, Todd Dobrin and Brian Gotlieb among others.

Of course, the long-term view of what this means is still murky. Five years is nice and all, but without including siting location in the legislation for the seven new Las Vegas-style casinos that would be authorized – as Cuomo would like to omit – we could very well have a Coney Island casino in six years.

Source: Sullivan for NYC

Andy Sullivan is switching races. The Republican Tea Party activist planned to take on Councilman Vincent Gentile for his Bensonhurst- and Bay Ridge-based seat, but has now decided to throw his hat into the race for the District 47 seat being vacated by Domenic Recchia, who is term-limited and running for Congress.

Sullivan listed several strategic reasons as to why he thinks he will have a better chance winning Recchia’s soon-to-be-vacant chair, believing he can unite “Reagan-era Democrats” and conservative leaning Latinos and Asians. He also sees an advantage in a field dominated by Democratic candidates.

“This is going to be a bloodletting of a Democratic primary, and I think there’s an opportunity for a Republican to get in there and possibly win,” Sullivan told Brooklyn Paper.

Currently, there are five Democrats running for the seat including Mark Treyger, John Lisyanskiy, Todd Dobrin, Brian Gotlieb and Pastor Connis Mobley.

The most likely reason for Sullivan’s move is the lack of a Republican candidate in the race, securing him a primary victory with no opposition. Currently, Sullivan does not live within the Coney Island district but plans to relocate before Election Day.

Sullivan has not yet updated his website to reflect the switch.

Source: Facebook

Councilman Domenic Recchia is getting a lot of help from Washington Democrats in his quest to unseat Congressman Michael Grimm in the upcoming 2014 elections.

The New York Daily News is reporting that the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) has listed Recchia as one of seven “top tier” recruits who are fighting to win competitive districts.

While the amount of aid the DCCC is giving Recchia has not yet been reported, their early support signals the belief that Recchia is one of the best bets to win back a seat for the Democrats in Congress.

Last month we reported that Recchia had already raised a record $410,000 in his first five weeks of fundraising. In contrast, Grimm’s campaign is nearly $500,000 in debt, with $300,000 cash in hand.

Congressman Michael Grimm

Domenic Recchia is rolling in cash while Michael Grimm is drowning in debt. So says Politicker which reports that Michael Grimm’s campaign to defend his congressional seat is deep in the red.

Earlier this week we reported that Councilman Domenic Recchia had claimed to raise a record $412,000 since he announced his candidacy to unseat Grimm late this past February. While the cash situation is looking positive for Recchia, the same can’t be said for Grimm.

According to a Federal Election Commission report, Grimm is almost $500,000 in debt with only $300,000 in cash on hand. Grimm will have a lot of work to do to keep pace with Recchia’s impressive fundraising and also fight off the Democratic Super PACs that are targeting Grimm, who they consider vulernable.

Source: intweetion via flickr.com

The city is giving a break to the operators of Luna Park on Coney Island by extending their lease an additional seven years, according to a report by the New York Post.

Zamperla USA, an Italian-based company, will be granted a seven year extension by the City Council. Councilman Domenic Recchia explained the situation to the Post:

“[Zamperla USA] invested a lot of money after suffering damages from Sandy, so it’s fair to give them more time to recoup their money considering they hired so many people from the neighborhood.”

The original lease, given in 2010, was set for 10 years, but now Zamperla USA will be staying put until the far off futuristic year of 2027; a time when flying roller-coasters will be the norm.

Deno’s Wonder Wheel Amusement Park, run by the Vourderis family, is also getting a seven year extension.

Domenic Recchia. Source: Facebook

Councilman Domenic Recchia raised a whopping $412,000 in the five weeks since he announced his candidacy for the 11th Congressional District, according to a report by SI Live.

Recchia, who is looking to unseat Republican Congressman Michael Grimm, raised all the money from individual donors. The Southern Brooklyn city councilman claims that this is a record for money raised in the 11th District in a single quarter.

Since Recchia announced his candidacy on February 26, he has raised an impressive $12,118 a day, which adds up to $82,400 a week.

“I’m honored to have earned the support of so many people who have stepped up for our campaign because they know that when elected, I will be a powerful advocate for the middle class, job growth, education, Social Security and Medicare,” Recchia said in a release.

Grimm, in response, slammed Recchia in SI Live with a backhanded compliment over the councilman’s ability to raise cash.

“It comes as no surprise that Dominic [sic] can raise money, because he’s not just a career politician, but a career candidate – having seat shopped for almost every elected position in New York City. We’ve seen his latest attempts at borough president and city comptroller; however, I will not allow him to make Staten Island his last resort.”

Source: riacale/Flickr

With Councilman Domenic Recchia term-limited out of his seat and planning a run against Michael Grimm for a spot in the Congress, a mad scramble to fill the District 47 seat has begun. Early candidates include Christine Quinn aide John Lisyanskiy, activist Todd Dobrin, former Community Board 13 Chairman Brian Gotlieb and Assemblyman Bill Colton aide Mark Treyger. One candidate who considered joining the race was 27-year-old Louis Jerome, a young and wealthy real estate scion from JEMB Realty.

According to a report by Capital New York, Jerome has decided not to run for the council seat and is instead forming a Political Action Committee (PAC). Jerome plans to file paperwork this week to get the PAC going and will provide it with a healthy first-round of funding. Jerome will also solicit contributions for the PAC from around the city.

I guess the young Jerome realizes that the pursuit of power might be easier in just using money to buy influence among whichever candidate wins the election, rather than go through the effort and indignity of being the politician himself.

Domenic Recchia Source: Facebook

Councilman Domenic Recchia met with Democratic Party leaders last week to further coordinate and strategize his efforts to unseat Republican Congressman Michael Grimm, according to a report by the New York Daily News.

Earlier in the month, we reported on the targeted ad blitz campaign that painted Grimm as a Tea Party acolyte who was partly responsible for the sequester gridlock mess in Congress. Democrats believe that Grimm is vulnerable as the only Republican legislator coming out of New York City.

Recchia met with Democratic Congressional Campaign Commitee Chairman (D.C.C.C) Steve Israel, local Congressman Jerrold Nadler and Congressman Donna Edwards, a Democrat from Massachusetts. While Recchia’s people declined to discuss the specifics of the meeting, the Daily News speculated that fundraising strategies were the likely purpose.

As the sequester rolls on unheeded, slashing everything from defense spending to Superstorm Sandy aid, a partisan media war is unfurling across your TVs and the internet. Sure, there’s nothing new about that, but the latest ad, unleashed by Democrats, targets GOP Congressman Michael Grimm as being a major cause of the sequester mess, according to a report by the New York Daily News.

As we reported last January, Democratic strategists are targeting Grimm as being one of the more vulnerable Republican candidates seeking reelection. This new ad, which paints Grimm as a Tea Party member and accuses him of “putting millionaires ahead of the middle class,” is one of the earliest efforts by the Democratic Party to take control of his district.

The effort by the Democrats comes as sweet news to Councilman Domenic Recchia, who is seeking to unseat Grimm in the upcoming 2014 elections. In a report by Politicker, Recchia charted his plan to win, an effort that won’t go after Grimm’s various corruption charges.

Instead, Recchia wants to focus on the issues, including Grimm’s response to Hurricane Sandy:

“In my days in working with Superstorm Sandy … I had to worry about my own district, worry about what was going on in the city. Then the [Council] Speaker called me, said, ‘We have to get moving. We need money. Staten Island, Queens, Brooklyn, Manhattan. We need to fund hospitals, we’re out schools.’ We had to move money around. So I’d be working the district, meeting with her at night, going over funding,” the councilman said. “I just came to realize, ‘How are we going to make up this much money?’ We’re relying on the federal government. Then with the Republican Congress, they cancelled the vote. Then John Boehner started to use the [Republicans] of New York so he can get his support to be the speaker. That was unacceptable. I thought that was horrible that somebody would do that. To hear Michael Grimm say, ‘I’m not going to support him.’ Which is great, I’m glad. But then he goes and supports him. That’s unacceptable.”

While Recchia expressed desire to run an issues-based campaign, he didn’t rule out the possibility of all-out mudslinging as election day nears:

“The campaign is a year and a half away, alright?” Mr. Recchia said when we asked if he might change his tune. “I’m sure many issues are going to come up. I really want to keep this about what I have done, my track record. I have a good track record on serving communities, building consensus, working with both sides of the aisle. That’s what we need. I want to do what’s necessary, not what’s easy. That’s why I’m running for Congress.”

Source: angiepontani.com

It’s cold, it’s February and you don’t have work. Perhaps a spanking new job by the beach, courtesy of the Alliance for Coney Island, can snap you out of your winter funk. According to a report by the New York Post, there are hundreds of summer jobs available for those who register now.

This Saturday, the Alliance for Coney Island will begin its fourth annual recruitment drive. They are looking to fill 250 summer jobs with the promise of hundreds more being offered at a later date. The organization will be holding a screening event on February 23 and 24 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Lincoln High School (2800 Ocean Parkway.)

Positions are available at Luna Park, Nathan’s Famous and Deno’s Wonder Wheel but to attend the screening, you must register by visiting www.coneyislandjobs2013.com.

The jobs screening event is a joint collaboration between the Alliance for Coney Island, the HireNYC Program, the Economic Development Corp., Workforce 1, Small Business Services  and Councilman Domenic Recchia.