For the Record, Mr. Lopez, I Love the Kings County Democratic Party

Last night, as he stepped from the dais at the annual Seneca Club Dinner in Greenpoint, Brooklyn Democratic boss Vito Lopez leered at me, extended his club of a hand, and said, "So, you're the guy who hates the Kings County Democratic Party."

I must admit that I didn't retort with any pithy zinger, though a slew of them suddenly snapped into my mind. In part, it was because I was caught off-guard that Vito - with whom I had never before exchanged two words - knew who I was without my even introducing myself. Certainly, I was aware that quite a few people read the Brooklyn Optimist and that I have made no secret of my opposition to Mr. Lopez's iron-fisted rule of our borough, but I was surprised to discover that Vito is apparently one of my loyal readers.

What really made me hold my tongue, however, was that I realized in the course of my split-second reflection that Vito's accusation was misplaced. I don't hate the Kings County Democratic Party. In fact, I love it.

Why else would I have spent long hours over the last couple of years exposing in my blog our elected officials' confounding, and often corrupt, machinations? Why else would I have run successfully to represent my swath of Greenpoint as a County Committee Member in the Brooklyn Democratic Party? Why else would I have proudly joined Gerald Esposito in his City Council campaign to purge our party of do-nothing machine candidates like Diana Reyna and Maritza Davila and bring about real change in Brooklyn? Why else would I have spent priceless hours away from my lovely wife and baby to fight to reform Brooklyn politics?

It is because I hold the core belief that dissent in the face of injustice and inequity is the foundation of our democracy. Or as our great Senator Robert Kennedy put it, "The sharpest criticism often goes hand in hand with the deepest idealism and love of country."

From time to time, I get letters from readers questioning how I can call myself an optimist, while at the same time detailing so many causes for cynicism. Invariably, I respond that it is my unwavering conviction that no matter how bleak New York politics may be, that somehow, some way, together, we can fix it and restore integrity to City Hall and Albany that truly makes me an optimist.

It is a sad old game of party bosses to insist that blind fealty to their rule is the only way to pledge allegiance to one's party. But what Vito Lopez calls "hate", I call "hope". By casting light upon our party's darkness, I do not aim to destroy our party, but to demand that our party be better.

Contrary to popular belief, the Kings County Democratic Party doesn't belong to Vito Lopez. It belongs to you and me. It is not just our right to assert our leadership of our party, it is our duty.

Once again, I differ to the eloquence of Senator Robert Kennedy, "We know full well the faults of our democracy - the handicaps of freedom - the inconvenience of dissent. But I know of no American who would not rather be a servant in the imperfect house of Freedom, than be a master of all the empires of tyranny."

Well, perhaps that's not true about Mr. Lopez, but certainly it's true about me.

Brooklyn's Newest Blog: A Short Story

In honor of Bob Guskind, who often used The Gowanus Lounge to recognize Brooklyn's newest blogs, I want to take a moment to introduce our borough's newest blogger: Aaron Short.

Aaron's blog, A Short Story, is less than 12 hours old, but he's already been prolific, posting more articles today than some of us get down in a week - or even a month. It's no surprise to the Optimist that Mr. Short is approaching his new media prodigiously. If his name sounds familiar, that's because up until recently, Aaron was one of the star reporters for the Courier-Life chain of newspapers. If you've been to any type of community event in Greenpoint or Williamsburg in the last year, you've seen Aaron and his notepad. The man is ubiquitous.

So, just as Bob once welcomed me to cyberspace, I now extend the same warm greetings to Aaron Short. The Optimist expects many great things from Mr. Short, especially now that he's free from the shackles of print.

Greenpoint's Black Death and Joe Lentol's Inaction

For those of you Greenpointers who didn't catch this story in the Times last week, I wanted to share with you this troubling article about the horrific health hazard that lurks unseen in our community. To sum up the article in brief, the big nasty secret no one in Greenpoint wants to talk about is that the air we are breathing is toxic.

And not just a little toxic. Very toxic.

To make things worse, everyone is complicit in keeping this big nasty secret quiet. Why? Well, the majority of us prefer to live with our heads in the sand, muttering the mantra, "Smell no evil, breathe no evil."

But many more in the community have their mouths shut, because they are afraid of their self-interest. Home owners don't want their property values to go down. Business owners don't want to drive away customers. Polluters don't want to acknowledge their mess. And, of course, our politicians want to deny culpability for failing to deal with the genuine environmental crisis on their hands, so they can keep on getting elected.

In the Times article, Councilman David Yassky dodges responsibility by throwing up his hands and lamenting Greenpoint's environmental woes. I find his empathy so comforting. The only problem is my lungs aren't soothed by his rhetoric. Doubtless, if the Times had bothered pressing a politician for more than a trite sound bite for a change, Yassky would have fallen back on something along the lines of that he has been trying his best to clean up the environment, but he's only been in office for seven years and there's only so much one can do in less than a decade.

Fine. So then what is Assemblyman Joe Lentol's excuse? Lentol's been in office since 1972. If he hasn't been able to make significant strides in addressing the environmental calamities torturing his district in three and a half plus decades, well, it seems pretty clear that he's not up to the task. I am certain that I will be challenged on this point by Lentol and Co. and emailed a list of the Assemblyman's environmental accomplishments by his friendly staff, but, quite frankly, their objections won't help me breathe any easier either. If they want to be really helpful, perhaps they can send us a breakdown on comparitive cancer and asthma rates for Northern Greenpoint versus somewhere like Park Slope, and we'll let the facts cough for themselves.

Oh, and let me be clear, I'm not excusing State Senator Martin Malavé Dilan. He just never does anything period, so I figured it wasn't even worth excoriating him for this particular instance of incompetance.

But, Brooklyn Optimist, why are you so mad, you ask? You're not being terribly optimistic.

True.

Allow me to explain. Today, I am writing to you as a Brooklyn County Committeeman elected by his neighbors in Northern Greenpoint to speak up for them when no else has the guts to do so. Today, I am writing to you as a resident of Sutton Street, who is scared shitless that his block is being showcased in The New York Times as Brooklyn's Silent Spring. Today, I am writing you as a husband worried sick about his pregnant wife. Today, I am writing you as a father-to-be, who wonders if he has already been remiss as a parent to let his child be born into a swirling tempest of potential health hazards.

This article isn't about punditry. It's about people.

People who deserve clean air.

Maybe if David Yassky lived in Greenpoint, he'd be more concerned too.

Even Busted Ballot Can't Burst My Bubble

As I made my way with Mrs. Optimist and our soon-to-be-born baby in tow to the polling place on Monitor and Driggs, I readied myself to pull the lever of history. After two years of waiting, hoping, praying, and screaming for change, the time had come at last.

The line at 7 a.m. this morning in Greenpoint was shorter than we had anticipated, but still sizable enough to augur the massive turnout that is certain to sweep the country today. On line before me stood 30 of my fellow Brooklynites, and by the time we reach the booth another 50 or so huddled behind us anxious to vote.

It took all the self-control I could muster not to cry out "OBAMA!" and give everyone on line a big hug.

I beamed.

And then I wilted.

Just for a second, of course. Nothing can deprive me of the great hope and excitement and pride I feel today to be an American - save for a staggering surprise this evening (knock on every piece of wood in existence). But, I was denied a tiny bit of the catharsis that has been two years in the making.

As I took the final breezy steps to the front of the line, I realized that the voting machine for the 50th AD, 93rd ED (and from what I could tell, also the 92nd ED) was busted.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!

A paper ballot!?! What? No level to pull, no curtain to close, no soothing mechanical tick?

You mean I have to fill in ovals!?! For a moment, the euphoria of voting was drowned out by a phantasmagoria of a long ago lifetime of standardized test-taking. I felt drawn by an evil force to vote for McCain, just because choice "A" was never the right answer of the SATs.

Who the hell is "C"? Ralph Nader?

Can't think... Can't breathe...

I channeled all my strength and stared into the ballot. Instinctively, my eyes fell upon the Obama/Biden block and my vision again came into focus. In this rare moment of complete clarity, I remembered why I had come.

I had come to change a nation that has lost its way. I had to come to restore respect to America in the eyes of the world. I had come so that the uninsured, like me, could one day have health care. I had come to save our economy, to preserve our environment, to inspire innovation, to fight for peace, to restore the principles our Founding Fathers enshrined in the Constitution.

And, above all, I had come for my unborn daughter. I had come to vote for Barack Obama, so that she would be born into a country of possibility and optimism - a country many of us have never known, and the rest of us had nearly forgotten.

Before I knew it, the ovals had filled themselves and I had bounded back into the light beside my beloved.

This has already been a great day and as each hour passes it's only going to get better.

For the first time in eight years, I can't wait for tomorrow.

The Optimist's Council Testimony on Term Limits

So, it's four o'clock and I'm off to testify at City Hall. I hope I get a chance to speak. But, either way, here is the testimony I intend to present this evening. I'm anxious to see how Simcha Felder will react.

Ladies and gentlemen:

My name is Morgan Pehme and I am a proud resident of Greenpoint, Brooklyn. As I am sure that many of my fellow New Yorkers will eloquently express my rationale for opposing this Council’s move to extend term limits for its own benefit, I won’t waste our time in redundancy. If you care to read my reasons, you may do so on my blog: www.brooklynoptimist.com.

What I have come today to say is this: Shame on you, Council Members!

Less than two years ago, this body voted itself a $22,000 pay raise. I want to know if you intend to roll back this raise when you vote yourselves four more years in office? Or, perhaps, you think you should be rewarded for your outrageous and ongoing slush fund scandal?

I almost have more respect for those of you who have publicly admitted that you intend to vote “yes” on the proposed extension, than for those of you who still pretend to be undecided. At least, those of you voting “yes” have the gumption to admit your contempt for we, the people.

As for those of you who are allegedly undecided, what arguments remain for you to hear? Your silence is deafening. What it says it that you lack the courage to lead and that you cower from your convictions.

Your silence has proven you don’t deserve another term in office.

We, New Yorkers, aren’t stupid, though you often treat us as if we were. We know that you are shamelessly calculating your self-interest at this moment, trying to balance whether the backroom deal you have been offered outweighs the political fallout of betraying your constituents.

At this point, it no longer matters how you decide.

We already know where you stand.

Psst! In Greenpoint "Hot Kielbasa" Means "Cocaine"

I guess I'm not down with the neighborhood lingo.

Apparently at the Sikorski Meat Market on Manhattan Avenue in Greenpoint "hot kielbasa" was a code word for "cocaine". No reports yet on whether anyone mistakenly ordered nose candy from the Polish-Dominican drug ring (you don't read about that cartel every day!) hoping for spicy sausage, but twenty-six suspects are under arrest by the Feds.

NAG for a Better Williamsburg and Greenpoint This Thursday

The good people of NAG (Neighbors Allied for Good Growth) have put together a town hall meeting at Holy Ghost Hall, 159 N. 5th St (b/w Bedford and Driggs) on Thursday, October 2, 2008 at 7 p.m.

The aim of the Town Hall meeting is to bring together both old and new residents to the area to discuss the issues we all care about, like McCarren Park, the waterfront, and overcrowding on the L and G trains. If you care about Williamsburg and Greenpoint, you should definitely attend.

Don't sleep on the future of your 'hood.

The Optimist Hosts "A Walk Around The Blog" on Brooklyn Independent Television

Apparently it's been on for a week, but it was only yesterday afternoon that I saw the latest segment of "A Walk Around The Blog" from Brooklyn Independent Television. If you haven't seen the show, it's probably because it's new to Time Warner Cable Channel 56 and Cablevision Channel 69.

Each episode a different borough blogger leads a short stroll through an area of Brooklyn life. I had the honor of being selected as the show's third host, following in the esteemed footsteps of Robert Guskind of The Gowanus Lounge and Robin Lester of Clinton Hill Blog.

For my segment, I chose to focus on the proposed Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway, a sweeping 14-mile park project that would stretch along the entire length of the East River from Bay Ridge to Greenpoint. In the video I interview Milton Puryear, co-founder of the Brooklyn Greenway Initiative, the organization spearheading the push for this ambitious, eco-friendly expanse.

With the Greenway borough residents would finally be able to access a waterfront we lost long ago to commercial and industrial interests. In place of powerplants and other eyesores, pedestrians, bicyclists and families would have an ambitious multi-use green space to enjoy much like the series of wonderful parks which now span the West Side of Manhattan. I hope my "Walk Around the Blog" will inspire you to advocate on behalf of the Greenway.

For more information how you can donate your time and money to the not-for-profit Brooklyn Greenway Initiative, check out the organization's website. To tune into "A Walk Around the Blog", check your local cable listings or go to the show's blip.tv site.

Greenpoint's Gonna Get Funked Up!

In case you had maggots in your brain, The BKO wants to let all you atomic dogs know to get out out your flashlights because the world's most funkalicious band is stepping off the mothership in Greenpoint next week to tear the roof off the sucka.

Awwwwwwww, yeah! The one and only Mr. George Clinton and his Parliament-Funkadelic will be blowing Brooklyn's funkin' mind next Tuesday, February 26th at Warsaw on Driggs Avenue. No word on whether my man Bootsy's gonna be there, but The Optimist will be in the house either way.

I know tickets are still available, 'cause I just got two!

Don't sleep on this weekend either. The living members of Bob Marley's legendary Wailers will be jammin' at Warsaw on Sunday.

The Greenpoint Food Pantry Needs You

Since its inception at the end of October, the Greenpoint Food Pantry has gradually expanded to help more of our neighbors get a good meal, but it still needs your help.

The Pantry, which was created by the Greenpoint Reformed Church, operates every Wednesday out of the church between 4 and 7 p.m. It is constantly in need of non-perishable food donations to distribute to impoverished and homeless Greenpointers. Peanut butter, canned meat (tuna, salmon or ham), pasta, rice, cereal, soup, and canned vegetables and fruit are among the foods you can donate to make a difference.

Many local residents and businesses have already generously come to the Pantry's aid. Ann Kansfield, co-Pastor of the Greenpoint Reformed Church, enthuses, "The response rate has been tremendous - overwhelming in ways that I never could have imagined."

Last week, the Pantry was able to give out 92 bags of groceries to those in need. Many of the beneficiaries are hardworking community members, who have simply fallen on difficult times, exacerbated all the more by the general economic hardship plaguing our nation. Co-Pastor Kansfield finds it easy to empathize with their misfortune. "I could see how I could be one of them if circumstances were different," she says.

In addition to donations of food, Brooklynites can help the Pantry by volunteering their time either to prepare meals or clean-up after the 7 p.m. closing time. Polish-speaking volunteers are particularly needed, since 30%-40% of those who receive assistance from the Pantry are Polish - and many of those recipients struggle with English.

The Greenpoint Reformed Church's Food Pantry is located at 136 Milton St. between Manhattan Ave. and Franklin St. If you are interested in volunteering your time or contributing to the Pantry, you can contact Co-Pastor Kansfield at 718.383.5941 or by email at ann@greenpointchurch.org. Food donations can be dropped off at any time in front of the church.

GO VOTE!

After many months of talk, it's finally time for action! Regardless of your choice for either the Democratic or Republican nominee, The Optimist urges you to take a few moments today to exercise your most important right as an American.

Democracy starts with you. If you don't vote, you forfeit your voice.

The Optimist already cast his vote today, heading down to P.S. 110 on Monitor Street in Greenpoint to do so. The election inspector who signed me in described turnout so far today as "fabulous", which did not surprise me, but heartened me nonetheless since I've gone to the polls many times in recent years and found myself the sole voter in a large, desolate room.

Since the Democratic field has been winnowed to two candidates, some Brooklyn voters may have found themselves surprised by the wealth of options they faced in the booth this morning. Along with Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, John Edwards, Bill Richardson, and Dennis Kucinich were all still on the ballet.

In addition, Brooklynites who favored Obama or Clinton were asked to approve a slate of five delegates to stand for their candidate of choice at the Democratic Convention. On my ballot, Obama's five delegates were Paul Newell, a community activist who has taken on the mammoth challenge of trying to unseat the Speaker of the New York State Assembly Sheldon Silver in this September's primary; 23-year-old Rachel Lauter, who has been a very active member of Brooklyn for Barack; prominent local gay issues and AIDS activist Daniel Tietz; Matthew Cowherd, an attorney with mega-firm Skadden Arps; and Allison Davis.

As for Hillary, her delegates of choice were State Senator Martin Dilan; Councilmember Rosie Mendez; Luis Garden Acosta, a community activist and founder of Williamsburg's El Puente; Chung Seto, a former Executive Director of the New York Democratic Party; and Charles Obe.

In the last few weeks, the polls have shown a narrowing of Hillary Clinton's once insurmountable lead over Barack Obama in New York State. Who will win depends solely upon you.

Remember the words of former U.S. Treasury Secretary William Simon: "Bad politicians are sent to Washington by good people who don't vote." Simon was one to know. He served under Nixon.

Idiotarod MMVIII

Brooklyn's premiere sporting event has returned! This weekend in a monumental meeting of mind and mettle, the world's most celebrated athletes will take to the streets of our borough for The Idiotarod.

For those who don't know the history of this prestigious race, The Idiotarod is the ferocious Spartan struggle that has spawned knock-off contests around the world, like some sled race in Alaska featuring guys too cold to spell "Idiotarod" correctly.

But though often imitiated, The Idiotarod itself exceeds all comparison. As the tournament's website so eloquently reminds us, instead of sleds as their chariots, its gladiators ride in shopping carts, and instead of dogs pulling them, people do, and instead of Alaska, it's New York.

As to which heroic men and women will emerge from this Saturday's melee enshrined forever in the stars - like last year's triumphant Colonel Angus team - no one knows.

Mirabile dictu, it could even be you.

For the mere cost of money and your dignity, you can enter the race up until and including (and even after, if you like) the very day of the contest, January 26th.

This year The Idiotarod defies the tired parameters of other marathons by starting not in just one possible location, but four: the water taxi stands respectively in DUMBO, Williamsburg, and Long Island City, as well as India Street in Greenpoint.

All you need is your cart, your compatriots, and your courage. And $40.

Williamsburg/Greenpoint "Protest for Parks"

Think all of our neighborhood's park and recreation spaces are being gobbled up by rampant, recklessly-conceived development? Well, you're not alone.

The Greenpoint Waterfront Association for Parks & Planning is hosting a town hall meeting on January 17th at 7 p.m. to strategize and coordinate how Greenpoint and Williamsburg residents can strike back against North Brooklyn's developers and the City officials that have given them carte blanche to realize their plans. The main topic of the event will be, in the words of the GWAPP's website, "WHERE THE HECK IS ALL THE OPEN SPACE WE WERE PROMISED IN THE REZONING?" (the capital letters are their emphasis).

In case you can't make it to the meeting at Warsaw, a.k.a. The Polish National Home, which is located at 261 Driggs Ave., you can still support GWAPP with a contribution. GWAPP is a 501(c)(3), meaning that all donations are tax-deductible.