DA Brown Escapes Any Foe In Election To 5th Term

The only public official to run for re-election in Queens this year is District Attorney Richard A. Brown, but prospective voters will be spared the usual barrage of primary and general election activity because the eminently qualified and highly respected prosecutor has drawn no opposition and is assured re-election to a fifth term.

The 75-year-old lawman, whose public service career started 45 years ago, is looking forward to continuing administering what he and others consider one of the best DA offices in the state.

The soft-spoken DA is also very proud of the fact that on Apr. 25, 2009 when Brown shows up for work, he will become the longest serving District Attorney in Queens' history.

"On that day, I will have served 18 years, 10 months and 25 days as the Queens DA, surpassing a gentleman named Benjamin Downey, who still holds that record set between 1865 and 1883," Brown declared proudly.

He added that he has no plans to retire, either.

"I'm looking forward to serving as long as my good friend, Bob Morganthau," said the Queens DA, referring to the Manhattan prosecutor, who is the dean of the state's DAs and at 88 years of age has served about 30 years in office.

Brown said he's in good health and his passion for tennis is still alive.

"I'm still playing every weekend and I enjoy it immensely," he reported, noting that he still plays from time to time with longtime friend former Mayor David Dinkins.

Brown has been endorsed in the September 18 primary and the November general election by his own Democratic Party organization and the borough's Republican and Conservative organizations. He was appointed to fill a vacancy in the office by then Governor Mario Cuomo created when John Santucci resigned from that post.

At the time, Brown was serving as an associate justice of the Appellate Division, to which he had been appointed by Governor Hugh Carey, whom he had served as legal advisor. Brown had also served previously as a Queens Supreme Court Justice and a Criminal Court judge in Brooklyn.

On the immediate horizon after Brown is elected in November will be the trial of four police officers in the shooting of Sean Bell in Jamaica, a controversial case because 50 shots were fired at Bell.

Brown takes great pride in the reputation he has built as a very effective and highly respected DA. He attributes his office's success to "surrounding myself with a group of senior staff members and an investigative staff which do a superb job".

JAMAICA REZONING STILL PERCOLATING: City Councilmembers David Weprin (D- Hollis) and James Gennaro (D- Fresh Meadows) last week continued their campaign against the huge Jamaica rezoning plan following the plan's passage by the council Land Use Committee, headed by their fellow Queens lawmaker, Councilmember Melinda Katz (D- Forest Hills).

Claiming that the plan is a bonanza for real estate developers, Weprin said in a statement that the revitalization of Downtown Jamaica "cannot come at the expense of local residents. A direct result of this imprudent up-zoning is that greedy developers are trying to push out local residents before the ink is even dry on the plan. These actions make worst fears about this plan a reality for local residents, which is why I will be voting against the plan come September 10 (next Monday)".

Voicing his opposition, Gennaro noted, "This community does not have the transit capacity, the water and sewer infrastructure and other basic city services to support this scope of development."

With Katz, Weprin, council Finance Committee chair, is seen as a future candidate for city comptroller in 2009.

GENNARO HEARING ON FLOOD DAMAGE: His patience at an end following the August 8 thunderstorm which unleashed the third flooding of homes in Fresh Meadows in seven months, Gennaro plans to hold a hearing on the inadequate sewer system in Queens before his Environmental Protection Committee.

LIU ALSO URGES 'GO SLOW' ON FARE HIKES: City Councilmember John Liu (D- Flushing), chair of the Transportation Committee, agreed with state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli's recent statement that the MTA should hold off on transit fare hikes at this time.

"The comptroller is on the right track with his report," Liu said in a prepared statement.

"There is no compelling reason for the MTA to jump the gun with premature fare increases next year.

"In general, we should not advance money to this Authority even if it is meant to dampen the amount of future fare hikes. It's a stretch for anyone to believe that the MTA would simply put the money away securely dollar-for-dollar to address future deficits. Add to that the intensive effort to encourage more people to ride mass transit and the current uncertainty about congestion pricing proceeds and state and federal funding, and it just doesn't make sense for the MTA to push for any fare increase next year."

DiNapoli had said in a report that the MTA should hold off on fare increases until the city and state had fully considered the recommendations of the recently established Congestion Pricing Commission and the MTA's proposed five-year capital program.

MASPETH GOP MEETS: The Maspeth Republican Club will hold its first meeting after the summer hiatus next Monday evening at 7:30 p.m. at its regular meeting place, the Kowalinski Post, 61-57 Maspeth Ave., Maspeth (upstairs). The agenda is a general discussion of the political scene on the national, state and local levels. New members are welcome- dues are only $5 a year.