Councilman Lew Fidler at the podium.

Kings County District Attorney Hynes has been battered by negative headlines in recent months, but a large host of elected officials and a packed crowd still stood shoulder-to-shoulder with him today for the formal announcement of his re-election campaign on the steps of Brooklyn Borough Hall.

"Joe, this is more than a political rally, this is a love-fest. It's really a love-fest between the residents of Brooklyn and you!" Borough President Marty Markowitz declared. "I hereby endorse this year of course, 2013, and 2017! And 2021!"

Whether or not Mr. Hynes makes it to 2021's election cycle remains to be seen, of course, but he certainly has a more difficult road ahead of him than he did in his last election where he ran unopposed. Mr. Hynes, currently serving his sixth term in office, faces two challengers this time around, Ken Thompson and Abe George, who both reported raising solid amounts of campaign funds in the latest filing.

Mr. Thompson, an African-American attorney who's been accumulating cash at the quickest clip, undoubtedly hopes to do well, particularly among Brooklyn's sizable black electorate. But Mr. Hynes' event today was clearly meant to be a show of force in that regard with a multiracial cast of elected officials, clergy and supporters heaping praise upon the incumbent. Additionally, late last night, Mr. Hynes' campaign rolled out the endorsement of the city's only African-American mayor.

Jonathan Yedin, a consultant at the Advance Group working on the Hynes campaign, directly pointed to Mr. Hynes' "diverse and expansive coalition" as evidence of his strength.

"D.A. Hynes' career has been defined by his commitment to improving the quality of life of all Brooklynites," he told Politicker. "As shown by the overwhelming display at today's announcement, D.A. Hynes' distinguished record of service to communities across Brooklyn has afforded him a diverse and expansive coalition of support for his many innovations to the way law enforcement is handled in Brooklyn."

For his part, Mr. Hynes also pointed to the crowd's diversity while reading a speech laden with statistics touting crime reduction and a host of initiatives he's launched during his tenure. He finished by citing a desire to accomplish more as the raison d'être for his campaign.

"I was privileged to become district attorney of this county in 1990. We were in the midst of a crack cocaine-driven crime wave," he said. "There was 765 murders in 1990. There was 792 murders in 1991. One out of every fifteen Brooklynites was the victim of a serious crime. Not only was Brooklyn prepared to be the murder capital of the world, we were beginning to feel we were the crime capital of the world. Last year, we recorded 149 murders, the lowest number since 1960. ... But we're not done, not by a long-shot. That's why I come here today to formally announce my candidacy for reelection."

(Photo: Getty)

Earlier today, Abe George, a former prosecutor in the Manhattan district attorney’s office and a candidate next year against incumbent Brooklyn D.A. Joe Hynes announced one of his key campaign platforms will be relaxing penalties for marijuana possession.

"As a career prosecutor who spent considerable time investigating and prosecuting drug crimes, I have seen first hand how valuable resources have been wasted enforcing antiquated marijuana laws rather than fighting crimes that directly impact the public good," Mr. George said in a statement that also noted anti-marijuana laws' disproportionate effect on young minorities. "Brooklyn, which has long led the city in homicides and shootings, cannot wait until the New York State Legislature acts at some unknown time to finally decriminalize marijuana possession."

Mr. George went on to say he would prosecute marijuana under 25 grams in public view "solely as violations, and not as crimes." He added that individuals who can provide "a legitimate medicinal purpose" will also avoid prosecution. Currently, marijuana possession is already a violation but it carries the weight of a misdemeanor when the pot is in public view, a technicality that has led to arrests when those stopped by the police are forced to empty their pockets.

As alluded to in Mr. George's statement, when Albany last attempted to reform the the state's marijuana laws Republicans balked and the Legislature came to an impasse. At one point, GOP Majority Leader Dean Skelos explained his opposition by stating, “Just being able to walk around with 10 joints in each ear and it would only be a violation—I think that’s wrong.”

Mr. George concluded his relatively pro-pot argument by noting his time would be better spent enforcing other laws.

"There are bigger problems in Brooklyn where our resources could be better spent, such as battling gun violence, stemming the rising tide of cybercrime and identity theft, and restoring integrity to the criminal justice system by ensuring that those convicted are actually guilty," he said.

Joining Mr. George and Mr. Hynes in the district attorney race is Ken Thompson, the lawyer who represented the sexual assault accuser of Dominique Strauss-Kahn.

(Photo: Flickr/azipaybarah)

Kings County District Attorney Joe Hynes is increasing the pressure on Assemblyman Vito Lopez, the once-powerful outgoing chair of the borough's Democratic Party, by applying for a special prosecutor to investigate sexual  harassment reports against Mr. Lopez. Mr. Hynes said past support from the local Democratic organization "had the potential to create an appearance of impropriety," and an independent district attorney  could better carry out the investigation.

Mr. Hynes, once a close political ally of Mr. Lopez's, released the following statement to explain the move:

“Press reports concerning the report of the Assembly Standing Committee on Ethics and Guidance to Speaker Sheldon Silver, regarding allegations against Assemblyman Vito Lopez, did not make clear the county where the alleged acts occurred.

“I made a request to the Standing Committee to determine if any of the conduct occurred in Kings County. On Wednesday Aug. 29, Assemblyman Daniel O’Donnell, chair of the committee advised me that some of the conduct did occur in Kings County.

“Later that day I asked for and received a copy of the committee’s letter to Speaker Silver. After review with my senior staff I determined that the support of the Kings County Democratic County Committee, led by Assemblyman Lopez, for my re-election campaign in 2009 and my upcoming re-election (2013) had the potential to create an appearance of impropriety requiring me to apply for the appointment of another District Attorney to conduct an investigation of the committee’s findings.

“This morning I applied for the appointment of a Special District Attorney and am making public my affirmation supporting my application.”

View the application below:

Abe George (Photo: Facebook)

Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes, who has been the subject of continued criticism over his handling of sex abuse cases in the Orthodox Jewish community, looks like he now has a Democratic primary on his hands. The New York Law Journal reports that Abe George, an eight-year veteran of the Manhattan District Attorney's Office, plans to make Mr. Hynes' reelection path more difficult in 2013:

"George said he had been considering elective office for 'a long time,' and that running for district attorney makes sense given his own experience. He said that Hynes' conduct has been 'about politics and not justice,' citing the recent flurry of criticism surrounding the district attorney's investigation of sexual abuse in Orthodox Jewish communities. George also said the office under Hynes has focused too much on non-violent crimes, especially those related to marijuana."

Mr. George indeed seems to be focusing his campaign on Mr. Hynes' handling of those sex abuse cases. On his Facebook and Twitter accounts, he has been steadily posting article after article bashing Mr. Hynes on the issue.

"Another example of how the Brooklyn D.A.'s policy of non-disclosure of the name of pedophiles in the Orthodox community serves only to protect the defendant, not the children or public at large," he wrote on one link.

However, defeating an established incumbent is never an easy task. Although Mr. Hynes narrowly beat back a challenge from State Senator John Sampson in 2005, he didn't even have an opponent in 2009.

Charles Hynes (Photo: NY1)

Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes has been facing a storm of criticism over his unique practice of not disclosing the names of ultra-Orthodox individuals accused of sex crimes in the same way he would for people of every other religious persuasion. On a lengthy, two-part segment on Inside City Hall last night, however, he did everything he could to push back on the notion that he gives the Orthodox community preferential treatment for political gain.

"We are conscious of the criticism that you're protecting the abusers by not proclaiming their names," he said, noting the victim and his or her relatives can get pressured by exclusion from every day religious life in these insular communities. "The level of intimidation is not found nearly as much in organized crime, it's extraordinary how relentless these people can be."

Mr. Hynes also directly addressed the criticism he received from former Mayor Ed Koch, who has argued there should be only one standard of justice regardless of religion.

"There is no concern for the victim in parts of these communities, everything is for the abuser, and that's the horrible thing that we have to deal with," he said. "The only way that we can deal with it was to, quite frankly, to annoy a lot of decent people like Ed Koch by seemingly giving preferential treatment by not naming defendants. We had no choice. And the only way we could encourage victims to come forward is to have this protective shield, that we will make every effort to make damn sure that you're not going to be intimidated and harassed."

He argued that before he implemented his non-disclosure program for the ultra-Orthodox community, his cases all fell apart, and there has been a marked improvement in his prosecution rate since. However, as intimidating witnesses is illegal, Mr. Hynes suggested that someday he'll be able to prosecute rabbis and others who pressure victims into not going forward as well.

"One of these days I'm going to get lucky," he said. "As I told Mayor Koch, it took me a long time to put away three Supreme Court judges, but I never gave up. And that's what you have to do, you have to be as relentless as they are."

(via hebeehive.molloyhs.org)

News from Archbishop Molloy, whose alumni includes Governor Cuomo, Brooklyn D.A. Charles Hynes, me, and a rather accessible NYPD Commissioner:

[A] lunch auction is expected to be offered at the 26^th Annual Stanner Golf Classic on May 7^th, 2012. Mark your calendar now, because you may be the next Stanner to have lunch with Police Commissioner Ray Kelly! Pictured left to right: Keith DeMatteis ’79, Eric Zielinski ’90, Ray Kelly’ 59, Robert Volk ’70, and William Farrell ’72

Christine Quinn, Tom Duane and others watch the first same-sex marriage ceremony in the New York City Clerk's office Sunday morning. (via Quinn's Twitter stream)

First: Buffalo residents Kitty Lambert and Cheryle Rudd got married just after midnight, and claim title as first gay couple married in NY. [Charlie Specht / Buffalo News]

Rushing: "They found a Queens justice willing to come out here at midnight." [Ginger Otis and Candace Amos]

Albany: Midnight marriages in the capital. [Lauren Stanforth / Times Union]

Silence: "[A] sampling of pastors in the New York City area found that most did not intend to discuss same-sex marriage in their sermons on Sunday." [Thomas Kaplan / New York Times]

Headline: "Gay marriage is legal in N.Y. today, but local clerks get few license requests." [John Davis / Poughkeepsie Journal]

Bloomberg's Donations: In addition to Alesi et al, money went to Golden and Lanza, which "put him in"the funny position of rewarding both backers and opponents of the law." [David Seifman / NY Post]

Syracuse: City Clerk expects "15 to 20 couples to pick up licenses between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m." [Paul Riede / Post-Standard]

Transit: "The choice of an MTA chief is fraught with pitfalls for Mr. Cuomo." [Andrew Grossman / WSJ]

Vito Lopez:FBI probe into his non-profit doesn't stop DA Charles Hynes from attending Lopez's annual picnic. Also there: Weprin, Bill Thompson, and Diaz Jr. [Gary Buiso and Aaron Short]

School Closure: UFT and NAACP who brought failed lawsuit against the city "should be ashamed" said Bloomberg. [Sally Goldenberg / NY Post]

School Reform: Bill Gates admit his push for schools with fewer students didn't ultimately lead to more kids going to college. [Jason Riley / WSJ]

WalMart: Money the company gave to Markowtiz's concerts called a "bribe." He gets slammed for taking the money and not staying "bought." [NY Post]

Tax Stories: Resident says, "I love it here. I really love this area, but with the way property taxes were going up it just didn't make any sense to stay." [Jon Campbell / Poughkeepsie Journal]

Food Safety: Garodnick and Peralta want food cart info online. [Candice Giove / NY Post]

Poverty: "According to the [Children's Defense Fund] a child is born into poverty every 17 minutes in the city. Yet, the budget adopted in June punishes the poorest New Yorkers by axing $5.2 billion from anti-poverty programs." [Albor / Daily News]

Media: How thorough a probe will News Corp conduct if it's headed by top Murdoch aide, Joel Klein? [Jeremy Peters, Michael Barbaro and Javier Hernandez / New York Times]

Media: Post-Standard new news editor is Sonja Duntley; social media manager is Charlie Miller. [Charles McChesney / Post-Standard]

Media: MSNBC shouldn't hire Sharpton, argues a writer who teaches at Columbia and writes for The New Republic. [John McWhorter / Daily News]