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Constructive, relevant comments are welcome.
New NY 23rd 
Tom O’Meara working hard, every day, for the mega millionaires of the Southern Tier
http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/03/a-tax-break-for-millionaire-yacht-owners/389126/
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I would appreciate any response regarding a situation I am involved in. Hopefully, someone can suggest what we might be able to do to have a say in our community and perhaps a solution for us to have some property rights to enjoy our home which has been taken away from us since they have started construction of this Community Center.
I live in Brooklyn, New York adjacent to a 6 story Community Center that is being constructed. Our driveway is located approximately 1/2 foot before their 35 car underground garage on a narrow 1-way street. So their traffic and all traffic goes past my house first. They will probably have to turn right before their driveway in front of mind in order to go into their underground garage (which will cause us not to be able to park in front of our own driveway. Another problem might be that their clients park in front of our driveway as their construction workers already do and the police have done nothing about this. Another issue is that if we are parked in our own driveway we will not be able to take our car out since it will be blocked.
Construction workers for this Community Center has damaged our property, has thrown garbage and lit cigarettes in our backyard, we have had constant debris which this construction. There have been so many issues I could not possible write them all down. Also, the fact that we can not predict what other future issues that Center will cause us and our neighbors.
This Center will be open from 6:30AM to 10 or 11PM/7 days a week. Cars will be lining up right next to my home waiting to get into this garage forcing us to inhale these toxic fumes day and night. Most of their Clients will only need to be at this Center for approximately 1 hour or less so there will be in and out traffic all day and night forcing us to deal with noise and these toxic fumes day and night/7 days a week. The fact that these people can see in our homes and backyards takes away our privacy. Also, we will not be able to entertain in our yard due to the fumes and noise, as well as these people can see directly in our yards from their windows and balcony. That goes along with the pedestrian traffic hanging out by our home looking in our yard. The pedestrian traffic which will cause other problems such as loitering littering,and smoking (as they will not be allowed to smoke by that Community Center). This could also increase crime in our community since many of these people do not live here and this might encourage them to see what the neighborhood has.
We have spoken to the Community Board, local Politicians, Public Advocate, Police Community Team, DOB, etc., unfortunately no one has been willing to help us after hearing the name of the organization that is opening this Community Center as they are very politically offiliated with these people. The organization that is opening this Community Center has had their board members on the local Community Board past and presently, they have a board member who was a Chaplain in the local precinct, they have a board member who works for the DOB, the chairman of the local Community Board’s wife works for the Congressman’s office, etc., etc. After making numerous complaints regarding illegal issues we have been harassed by the construction crew, as well we have made complaints to the police and the police have not even come to investigate. The people in my community are afraid to make complaints against these people as they have said they are afraid that someone will kill or hurt them or their families. Other neighbors have said that even if they complain no one will do anything about it, so why bother. My husband and I have made many complaints, all of these complaints were either closed or nothing came of them.
We hope that someone might have advice on what we can do about our rights to live in an environment that we will not be forced to deal with noise and toxic fumes day and night, as well as stop these people from taking away our right to enjoy our homes as well as allowing us our privacy, etc. I do not think we should have to ask for these things, I think this is our right to have!!!! I would truly appreciate any advice on my comment.
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Libby, I have published you letter on the blog. You can see it AND read the comments at https://newny23rd.com/2015/04/27/a-real-property-rights-question-we-need-ideas/
Good Luck (and please let us know how things work out).
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Reclaim New York COMMUNITY ALERT
Published in New Yorker Magazine (letter to the Editor) – first April edition 2017:
“As a former NYS Attorney General investigator who rooted out corruption within the NYC criminal justice system during the 1970s, I was pleased to see the coverage of Mercer in this magazine and in other publications, but little attention that has been paid to what one of the Mercers’ companies, Reclaim New York, has been doing in the state. Ostensibly a nonprofit advocacy group that opposes government spending, Reclaim has demanded data from municipalities and schools to use in its databases, in order to push its libertarian and so-called alt-right political agenda throughout the state and the country. Reclaim has even gone so far as to use the Freedom of Information Act to “request,” and sometimes sue, for financial documents from more than two hundred and fifty schools, villages, towns, and cities in Orange, Westchester, Putnam, Delaware, Broome, and other counties in New York. Through companies like Reclaim, the Mercer family’s circle of influence extends far beyond even what has Mayer exposed. Mayer writes that not only does Reclaim share a corporate address with Cambridge Analytica—it shares a corporate officer, too: Steve Bannon. Reclaim is also holding “workshops” in these counties to build a “citizen army” that will flood their communities with FOILS. Their goal is to overwhelm small rural town governments and schools to, as Steve Bannon stresses, “deconstruct the administrative state”.
Joyce St George
Link to Bekah Mercer and Bannon’s RECLAIM NEW YORK: http://www.reclaimnewyork.org
UPCOMING RECRUITMENT EVENTS CURRENTLY POSTED ON RECLAIM NEW YORK’s WEBSITE:
April 26, 2017 5:30-7:30
The Affordability Crisis: Is It Time to Get Out of New York?
Dasher’s Pub
2 N Main Street
Homer, NY, 13077
The man who booked this is: George Phillips
George Phillips was a 2016 Republican candidate who sought election to the U.S. House to represent the 22nd Congressional District of New York.Phillips was defeated by Claudia Tenney in the Republican primary.
Phillips was also a 2012 Republican candidate who sought election to the same seat. He withdrew before the primary.
May 3rd 5:30-7:30
RECLAIMING OWNERSHIP OF YOUR GOVERNMENT – CORTLAND, NY
Hampton Inn
26 Water Street
Cortland, NY, 13045
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Congressman Reed responded to an email sent by my husband and me asking that he vote against the AHCA. I responded to his email, but I felt it might be a good idea to post to New NY 23rd. The Congressman indicated to us that the ACA “has done nothing to curb the out of control costs of healthcare since its passage,” and that working families in this area have suffered from the effects of the law. I would like to see the evidence on both sides of this issue. What are the numbers and other evidence across the country not just in one area that support his conclusion that Obamacare is a failure? Lying with statistics is very easy to do, and Congressman Reed presented nothing in support of his position in his email. Shouldn’t Congress be making well-informed decisions based on the evidence in front of them. That does not appear to have been done here:
• This bill was rushed through with no numbers from the Congressional Budget Office. Why is that? Maybe the numbers would have told the story about how bad this legislation really is, and how many Americans will be hurt if it ever becomes a law.
• Many members of the House admit to not having read the legislation. When the health of so many Americans rests in their hands, don’t Congressman Reed and other representatives owe it to their constituents to fully understand what they are voting for? My fear is that old fashioned virtue, morality, and compassion no longer exist among Republicans, particularly a President who demonstrates on a daily basis his lack of knowledge and understanding of everything about this country and its history.
This bill portends significant problems for people with pre-existing conditions such as diabetes, cancer, and hemophilia just to name a few. These problems could include unaffordable premiums leading to loss of coverage, worsening of medical conditions, and even death. I speak from experience as my son is a severe hemophiliac. Hemophilia is a blood clotting disorder that, without appropriate care and treatment, can lead to a destruction of joints and even death if there is severe trauma to the head that is not treated quickly. In the not so distant past, hemophiliacs were crippled, and in many cases could not work because of the long-term effects of their condition. That is not so today for my son and many others because of the advances that have been made in treatment and because of the medical insurance in this area that fully covers their medical care. The comprehensive care that he has received over the past 32 years has allowed him to lead a normal life that included going to school and college and now working to support himself. Isn’t that what we should want for every American?
Congress Reed also pointed out in his email to us that “we have worked hard to lift the burden of high property taxes on our constituents due to state Medicaid costs from Albany. The AHCA contains a provision that would push New York to stop unfairly passing on the cost of Medicaid to county governments and property taxes.” My husband sent the following to Congressman Reed suggesting “Rep. Collins’ amendment flies in the face of the states’ rights your party promotes. How do you claim to leave matters to the states, and then make a mess of NY State and county finances with federal legislation? Totally inconsistent, and a blatant affront to all concerned. And, as upstaters, we feel bad for NYC in all of this. First the city gets stuck with the Trump Tower mess, and now this. NY has tried to deal with the downstate and upstate issues for years, and now the feds propose to get into it???? Leave it alone. We don’t need representatives from the other 49 states deciding NY’s internal affairs. The general laws ought to apply equally to all.”
I, frankly, don’t know how Congressman Reed, the President and others who voted for this abomination sleep nights given how they are treating America and the American people.
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ok – a couple of things
First, an article in today’s Washington Post
Trump is failing faster than any president
The Post reports, “Approaching six months in office, [President] Trump’s overall approval rating has dropped to 36 percent from 42 percent in April. His disapproval rating has risen five points to 58 percent. Overall, 48 percent say they ‘disapprove strongly’ of Trump’s performance in office, a level never reached by former presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama and reached only in the second term of George W. Bush in Post-ABC polling.”
Trump’s efforts to discredit coverage of a burgeoning Russia scandal have kept his cultist followers on board, but few others. (“Just over one-third of all Americans say they trust the president either ‘a great deal’ or ‘a good amount’ in any such foreign negotiations. Asked specifically about Trump-Putin negotiations, almost 2 in 3 say they do not trust the president much, including 48 percent who say they do not trust the president ‘at all.’ . . . 60 percent of Americans think Russia tried to influence the election outcome, up slightly from 56 percent in April. Some 44 percent suspect Russian interference and think Trump benefited from their efforts. Roughly 4 in 10 believe members of Trump’s campaign intentionally aided Russian efforts to influence the election, though suspicions have changed little since the spring.”) Most striking, the poll finds that “no more than 1 in 4 Americans believe passionately in him or his presidency at this juncture. . . . Trump’s disapproval rating has risen to 58 percent in the national survey, which was conducted last Monday through Thursday. Overall, 48 percent disapprove strongly of how he’s doing. But while 36 percent approve of Trump overall, only 25 percent approve strongly.”
Even more than the president’s abysmal approval rating or the failure of his health-care plan to catch on (“twice as many Americans prefer the Affordable Care Act, otherwise known as Obamacare, to GOP plans for replacing it — 50 percent to 24 percent”) is the significant number of deluded Republicans who are impervious to reality and to replete evidence, undisputed even by GOP senators, of Russian interference in our electoral system. (“Among Democrats, 8 in 10 believe Russia attempted to influence the election and more than 6 in 10 think members of Trump’s team attempted to aid their efforts. But among Republicans, one-third think Russia tried to influence the election outcome, and fewer than 1 in 10 think Trump’s associates sought to help them.”) Eighty-two percent of Republicans, according to the poll, approve of the job he is doing; 62 percent strongly approve. At some point, one must concede that GOP partisans who imbibe hours of Fox News propaganda daily are immune to rational persuasion.
Trump’s most loyal base remains white evangelicals, who still back him by a 61 percent to 35 percent margin. Apparently, an unhinged, ignorant president with a soft spot for America’s most formidable international foe has endeared himself to a group that touts its defense of American “values.” One could say Trump’s unbridled hatred for the media (urban elites more generally), his appointment of Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court and his vitriolic aversion to immigration are sufficient to keep these voters’ affection.
The extent to which Republicans have abandoned traditional national security concerns and, frankly, patriotism in defense of Trump startles us. The party that claimed victory in the Cold War and ridiculed the Obama team’s efforts at Russian reset denies it is even troubled by the fact that “Trump’s son, Donald Jr.; his son-in-law Jared Kushner; and his campaign manager Paul Manafort met last summer with a Russian lawyer who said she had damaging information about Hillary Clinton.” A 48 percent plurality of Republicans think this was appropriate. Surely if the Obama team had done the same, they’d be calling for impeachment and prosecution for treason.
While it’s troubling to the rest of Americans that about 35 percent of Americans are sticking with this president and even more distressing that they’d approve of his team’s consorting with Russian officials, the good news for the country is that Trump — who got 46 percent in the general election — has lost more than 20 percent of his support in just six months. In short, the true believers won’t be converted, but they can be soundly defeated at the polls.
SECOND…..
It is high time that we yanked the fangs of the Make America Great hats.
I’ve seen several hats at recent Reed town halls where the hat is the signature red ball cap but the cap carries an anti trump slogan.
Wouldn’t it be great if EVERYONE attending a town hall wore a faux Trump hat?
I have ordered 2 from etsy.
Make America Great – Fire Trump
Pro America – Anti Trump
Again, imagine Reed’s face if EVERYONE wore a faux Trump hat!
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Could you be more specific? I do not understand?
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