By Colin Campbell 11/06/12 10:39am

rock the vote

(Photo: Getty)

Missing Machines, Misinformation and Long Lines: Election Day Off to a Rocky Start in NYC

“We have some other type of crisis here, partially organized by Hurricane Sandy, partially organized by the Board of Elections,” Assemblyman Alec Brook-Krasny told Politicker this morning, ticking off poll sites that did not receive machines until 8:04 a.m. and 7:30 a.m. respectively, over an hour after they were scheduled to open. “My question is, if they knew, if the Board of Elections knew yesterday this was the poll site that would be assigned today, were they sleeping this morning? It disenfranchises many people.”

We asked if there might be a possibility of a re-do election.

“That is a possibility, I think,” he answered, noting all of the Hurricane Sandy-induced chaos was in the Democratic parts of his district. “I have two parts of the district. Bay Ridge and Dyker Heights, which is conservative, and Coney Island and Sea Gate, which is much more liberal, and I’m a Democrat….This is all becoming totally ridiculous. This is not about me, of course. This is about 40,000 voters losing the right to vote.” Read More

By Hunter Walker 10/31/12 8:48pm

Cyclone

11 Photos

The Astrotower, which is missing a panel, and the Cyclone roller coaster above a sand-filled lot.

Photos: Sandy’s Aftermath in Coney Island

Coney Island, including its iconic amusement park and boardwalk, was hit incredibly hard by Hurricane Sandy along with the rest of Brooklyn’s southern coast. Politicker ventured into the area today, a journey that took us on sand-covered streets without working traffic lights, and saw broken rides and damage on Surf Avenue, which was flooded with waterthat reached a depth of at least four feet.  Read More

By Colin Campbell 4/02/12 12:27pm

Protests

Assemblyman Cymbrowitz and Sate Senator Diane Savino

Officials Protest NYT’s ‘Offensive’ and ‘Dangerous’ Depiction of Russians

Elected officials in southern Brooklyn are putting The New York Times on notice.

At issue is an article about insurance fraud in Russian-speaking communities of Brooklyn where a law-enforcement official was quoted saying, “This is the Russian mind-set, and this is why it’s endemic in the system …. If you’re not scamming the system, if you’re not scamming the government, you’re not doing what you’re supposed to be doing — you’re looked upon as a patsy.” Read More

By Colin Campbell 2/24/12 5:27pm

fuhgettaboutit

Councilman Gentile leading the protest against "Brooklyn 11223"

Local Neighborhood Rallies Against ‘Jersey Shore’ Knockoff ‘Brooklyn 11223′

Elected officials and community members rallied against the upcoming reality show “Brooklyn 11223″ this afternoon, lambasting the show as demeaning to women and calling on the Oxygen network to take it off the air.

Councilman Vinnie Gentile, who organized the event, told The Politicker the show “hit such a nerve in Bay Ridge and we had such a reaction from the locals that they wanted an avenue, a way, to speak out.”

And speak out they did. Carlo Scissura, representing Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, took the largest broadside to the network for hosting the show.

“What amazes me is the hypocrisy of this network. This is a network that brands itself as looking out for the interests of women, and yet they do something that completely disparages women, particularly Italian-American women,” he said, before calling for the community to rise up. “If the show’s filming in one of the restaurants, stop going there, period. If the show’s coming out here and they’re wrecking the streets or taking up parking spots, call the police.” Read More