2001 Council Races Will Spread Support Thin In Crowded Fields

Typical of how political support could be split among many power sources in next year’s elections is the situation in the 24th City Council district in central Queens, which stretches from Fresh Meadows to Flushing to Kew Gardens Hills.

Four of the early bird Democratic hopefuls vying for Councilmember Morton Povman’s post have long standing ties to powerful political figures in the borough and it’s not inconceivable that they could be supported or endorsed by them.

For starter’s, Povman’s chief of staff and close aide, Jeff Gottlieb, has already thrown his hat into the ring. Gottlieb has been a high school teacher for longer than that, also.

Another person eyeing the seat is Barry Grodenchik, who has served in Borough President Claire Shulman’s office for nine years as an administrative assistant. Previously he worked in Governor Mario Cuomo’s administration and prior to that, in Assemblymember Nettie Mayersohn’s office.

The third would be candidate in the 24th Council District is Jim Gennaro, 43, a 10-year member of Council Speaker Peter Vallone’s staff under the title "Environmental Policy Advisor." Previously, Gennaro worked in the Koch administration and for the past five years has been an Adjunct Professor of Environmental Public Policy at Queens College.

Gennaro of Jamaica Estates, is also very active politically. He was installed by Queens Democratic leader Thomas Manton last Thursday night as president of the Saul Weprin Democratic Club (formerly the Independence Democratic Club). A very busy person, Gennaro also serves on Community Planning Board 8 and is a board member of the Jamaica Estates Association.

A fourth person seeking the seat is David Reich, one-time counsel to former state Senator Emanuel Gold and presently counsel to Councilmember Seymour Lachman.

Thus we can easily see what could be a mad scramble for the Democratic Party nomination in a large primary field, which will probably also result in each candidate not being able to raise large sums of campaign cash. It’s likely similar situations will arise throughout Queens since all of the borough’s council seats will be up for grabs next year because the current crop of office holders will not be eligible to run for reelection due to the term limits law.

Slates, always an effective campaign strategy to capture large numbers of voters, will definitely be popular in 2001.

FIRE-SAFE CIG BILL SALVAGED: Three weeks ago, Governor George Pataki vetoed state Senator Frank Padavan’s bill to require fire-safe cigarettes. The Bellerose Republican, who had sponsored the bill for several years, was disappointed but picked himself up and launched a campaign to change the governor’s mind.

Last week, Padavan was able to say, "It seems we finally made it" after a companion bill strengthening criminal penalties for cigarette bootlegging, which Pataki was concerned about, was also agreed upon. In fact, Padavan acknowledged that "with the bootlegging bill, it’s probably a better package than when we started."

Padavan’s bill requires that by mid-2003, cigarettes sold in New York state must be manufactured so that they self-extinguish if not being smoked. Presently smoldering butts are the leading cause of accidental fires in the state, resulting in 48 fire deaths, according to state fire officials.

When he vetoed the bill, Pataki voiced fears the law would lead to large scale illegal cigarette smuggling into the state. To quiet his fears, a bill increasing penalties for bootlegging was introduced in a hurry and will also be passed with Padavan’s bill.

CRACKDOWN ON ILLEGAL APTS: Borough President Shulman had some praise last week for Padavan as she stated that his recently enacted law to strengthen enforcement against illegal apartment conversions "will be a powerful weapon" against the longstanding problem.

Under the new law, judgements imposed for building an illegal apartment that are not settled within a year can be processed as a tax lien against the violater’s property.

Shulman also praised the bill’s Assembly sponsor, Audrey Pheffer (D–Rockaways), saying the new law was "one of several legislative remedies we have supported to assist ongoing enforcement efforts to address the problem of illegal conversions." In 1997, Shulman formed the Illegal Apartment Conversion Task Force to address the problem.