Vito’s V-Z suit driven from court

By Matthew Lysiak
The Brooklyn Paper

Road-raging pols have dropped the legislative pens, called in the lawyers, and now must wait, wait, and wait some more.

That’s was the news this Monday after Rep. Vito Fossella (R–Bay Ridge) and Councilman James Oddo (R–Dyker Heights) filed a lawsuit against the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to temporarily halt reconstruction work on the Verrazano Bridge.

Judge Phillip Minardo rejected the lawsuit, but directed both pols to return to court on Nov. 27 to see what steps the quasi-state agency will take to minimize congestion on both sides of the bridge.

The judge’s implication was clear: if the MTA doesn’t improve the congestion faced by commuters, the door is wide open to future legal action.

Fossella and Oddo took the rare step of seeking the temporary restraining order to prevent the MTA from beginning the next phase of the project, which they say has so far been a mismanaged nightmare, until they come up with a better way to move traffic.

Pols were in a rush, so to speak, because the Phase II, which will shift the reconstruction work from the right lane to the left, is set to begin — and once it does, it would be harder to halt.

The ruling didn’t succeed in halting the work, but it achieved a well-trafficked compromise, at least according to Fossella.

“The lawsuit succeeded in forcing the MTA to develop a series of initiatives today to improve the daily commute and reduce commute times,” said Fossella. “This is the first time that the MTA has come to the table with serious proposals to fix this problem.”

Fossella is referring to several concrete proposals the MTA must now come up with to minimize the impact of the project, which will be presented to his office on Monday.

The MTA also welcomed the judge’s ruling as an opportunity for more negotiations, but cautioned that scrapping the plans altogether, as Fossella has suggested, would only result in more delays, according to agency spokeswoman Joyce Mulvaney.

“We will continue to work with elected officials on ways to ease traffic,” said Mulvaney. “This is necessary work and our goal is to get the job done and get out of people’s lives, but re-designing the project at this point would only increase the risk that the work won’t end on time.”

The first phase of the 15-month $65-million project began in June, when one lane in each direction was closed for a lower-level rehab, a complete removal and reconstruction of the roadway, parapet wall and utilities, and rehabilitation of the steel beneath.

The construction has also spilled over into the streets of Bay Ridge, where on many weekdays rush hour traffic has gridlocked parts of 86th Street to a grinding halt from cars bottlenecking at the bridge entrance.

“The bridge is a nightmare,” said commuter Mark Lillmars. “Ferry service is beginning to sound better and better every day.”

Recchia seeks Fossella’s seat, but he’d have to move to get it

By Matthew Lysiak
The Brooklyn Paper

Councilman Domenic Recchia, who once talked about running for borough president, will instead go after five-term Rep. Vito Fossella (R–Bay Ridge).

The Sheepshead Bay Democrat hasn’t made a formal announcement, but didn’t waste any time coming up with his campaign theme: linking Fossella to deeply unpopular President Bush and his ongoing troubles in Iraq.

“The Republicans gave us this war in Iraq and this is not what New Yorkers deserve,” Recchia told The Brooklyn Paper this week. “The Bush-Fossella team got us into this war and we need to get us out.”

Fossella’s team didn’t waste any time in focusing on Recchia’s Achilles heel: the fact that he lives far outside the boundaries of the 13th Congressional district, which contains all of Staten Island and a small piece of Bay Ridge and Dyker Heights. He does not have to live in the district to run — but does if he wins.

“It’s mind-boggling why Recchia wants to represent our community when he chooses to live in another congressional district,” said Fossella political director Georgea Kay. “Think about the absurdity — Recchia doesn’t think we’re good enough to be his neighbor, but he thinks he deserves to be our representative in Congress.”

Kay was just warming up.

“Recchia’s going to have a tough time convincing Bay Ridge and Bensonhurst residents to support a liberal, tax-raiser who lives outside our district,” added Kay.

Recchia declined to respond to Kay’s charges. But he did say that he would file papers establishing a congressional committee early next month.

Before he can take on Fossella, Recchia will first have to dispense with Democrat Steve Harrison, who ran well against Fossella in 2006, getting 43 percent of the vote, despite spending just $109,000 to Fossella’s $1.3 million.

Recchia said he would not experience Harrison’s fundraising woes.

“My track record speaks for itself,” boasted the Councilman. “I know Steve and he did a great job last time, but I will go out and raise the money.”

For his part, Harrison believes this election will be tilted by Staten Island, which is home to the bulk of the two-borough district.

“No other candidate has the name recognition that I do, especially in Staten Island,” said Harrison. “I also learned a lot from the last election and am confident that this time around I will be in a better position to win.”

Bush’s tornado aid goes to Queens, not Brooklyn

By Matthew Lysiak
The Brooklyn Paper

President Bush will send disaster relief funds to victims of the Aug. 8 storm that unleashed a tornado on Bay Ridge — but the White House is only sending money to Queens, not Brooklyn.

As you might imagine, local officials in Bay Ridge are buzzing like a Category 1 twister.

“People are having difficulty recovering from the tornado because the process for making a decision has been too slow,” said Rep. Vito Fossella (R–Bay Ridge), who had urged the Federal Emergency Management Agency — and his fellow Republican at the head of the executive branch — to do the right thing by Bay Ridge.

Hundreds of cars, houses and roofs were damaged or destroyed by the tornado’s 136-mile-per-hour winds that touched down around 67th Street between Fourth and Seventh avenues.

The tornado may have touched down in Bay Ridge, but Queens, not Brooklyn, bore the brunt of the damage, said FEMA spokeswoman Barbara Lynch.

“The borough of Queens was really in a lot worse shape,” said Lynch. “That’s why residents of Queens will be the only ones eligible for the aid at this time.”

Indeed, news coverage of the storm did focus on the first-ever tornado in Bay Ridge, but in Queens, more than 1,300 homes were damaged, compared to 80 in Brooklyn. There was also extensive flooding in Queens.

Lynch said that Brooklyn could still get a piece of the federal relief pie, but as in the Sept. 1 relief announcement, that decision must be made by the president.

Fossella met with FEMA officials last Friday and demanded a recount.

“I spoke with top officials to express the community’s frustration,” said Fossella.

The agency agreed to Fossella’s request to re-examine how and where the relief money was allocated.

Verrazano fix-up zoom$ along

By Matthew Lysiak
The Brooklyn Paper

That is the message of one local pol after the recent announcement that a local construction project might actually be completed ahead of schedule.

Construction work on the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, originally scheduled to be completed in March, 2009, will now be completed by next September, six months ahead of time — and it’s all because Rep. Vito Fossella (R-Bay Ridge) urged the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to add cash incentives into the rehab contract.

“I asked the MTA to add incentives because I was confident it could speed up the completion of this project,” said Fossella. “I am delighted the MTA followed up on my suggestion.”

The incentives prove the widely held adage that money matters. According to the MTA, the revised plan will add $6.2 million to the $58.8-million project, but the money will only be spent if the job really does get shortened from 21 to 15 months (barring extreme weather conditions).

The contractor will use this incentive to add additional workers for extra shifts, which is welcome to news to the already congested nearby communities.

“That is great,” said bridge commuter Mark Lillmars. “Now only if they lowered the toll, too, then I’d do a little dance.”

Construction began last June, when one lane in each direction on the Bridge was closed to allow for a rehab of the lower level exit ramp, the complete removal and reconstruction of the roadway, parapet wall and utilities, and rehabilitation of the steel beneath. Already, the work has led to congestion on the bridge that has spilled onto the streets of Bay Ridge.

The good news also comes as an unexpected relief for residents who have grown accustomed to expecting the worse from local construction projects, such as a water and sewer line project at 92nd Street and Fort Hamilton Parkway that was supposed to be completed in one year, but took 18 months, said Josephine Beckmann, district manager of Community Board 10.

“And minor work continues [on that project] to this day,” she added.


©2007 The Brooklyn Paper

Harrison to challenge Vito again

By Matt Lysiak
for The Brooklyn Paper

The campaign may only be a few hours old, but the gloves are already off.

Two years after Democrat Steve Harrison lost to Rep. Vito Fossella (R–Bay Ridge), the Bay Ridge lawyer is looking for another shot at the conservative law maker. He said this week that he would again be a candidate for the seat representing Bay Ridge and Staten Island.

He and Fossella have already begun to set the tone for the debate, and it looks like it is going to be war — literally.

Harrison plans on using the war in Iraq as his rallying cry to counter the hawkish Fossella.

“I am running because I believe we have to build a majority of Democrats in Congress to stop this ill-conceived war,” said Harrison. “I absolutely believe the war in Iraq was wrong, and I would prefer to not even use the term war on terror.”

In 2006, the city’s lone Republican congressman held onto his seat with 57 percent of the vote, beating the under-funded Harrison.

Harrison made the announcement that he was again taking on Fossella at a press conference at Staten Island’s Arthur Von Briesen Park on Thursday. The announcement came two weeks after Harrison formed the Staten Island–Brooklyn Civic Association, a group dedicated to bridging the divide between Brooklyn and Staten Island.

The divide Harrison will now have to bridge is 14, as in the number of percentage points that separated the two candidates in 2006

Like Harrison, Fossella also plans to center his campaign on his opponent’s stance on the war, and his camp already isn’t pulling any punches.

“‘Surrender Steve’ may be the only person left in America who doesn’t believe that we’re fighting a war on terrorism,” said Fossella political director Georgea Kay. “Harrison’s denial that terrorists are trying to murder us explains why he opposes the ‘Terrorist Surveillance Program’ and other key tools that are keeping Americans safe.”

But Harrison bristles at the notion that Iraq had anything to do with terrorism, and wants to know why his opponent supports a policy he believes was doomed from the start.

“What are we doing in Iraq?” Harrison asked. “Saddam is dead, we found no weapons of mass destruction, and we know that Iraq didn’t attack us — we need to get out.”

Kay believes that Harrison’s position, and problems with the term “war on terror,” would fit in better at a Grateful Dead concert then in a seat partly responsible for national security.

“I can guarantee you that Brooklyn residents don’t share Harrison’s tie-dyed view of the world,” said Kay. “If Harrison doesn’t believe that we’re fighting a war on terrorism, Brooklynites can’t trust him to keep us safe.”

The issue of war may be driving this campaign, but there are also some practical matters that need to be taken care of — namely, money.

Harrison said the last election taught him a valuable lesson on economics. In that contest, he began his fund raising months behind his opposition. Harrison ended up raising a mere $109,000, while Fossella’s war chest overflowed with more than $1.3 million.

“In 2006 I learned how essential money is to a campaign, especially for the last month,” said Harrison. “This allowed Fossella to wage a campaign of distortions, and we had no way of responding.”

Fossella’s camp had its own take on campaign ethics.

“It’s taken Harrison less than four seconds to begin his campaign with negative attacks and smears and nothing positive about the future of our community and nation.”

In the last election Fossella ran ads on cable television and radio, while Harrison couldn’t afford mass mailings. Harrison’s pleas to the Democratic National Campaign Committee, which underwrites many congressional races, went unheeded, as did his appeals to the local party.

“I think I was viewed as a sacrificial lamb last election,” said Harrison. “That won’t be the case this time.”

Earlier this year, The Brooklyn Paper reported that the DNC would be putting a bull’s-eye on “ethically challenged” representatives — naming Fossella as one such target — by infusing cash into his Democratic challenger’s campaign.

Push Hurst bike path fix

By Matthew Lysiak
The Brooklyn Paper

The restoration of the Shore Parkway Greenway is only half finished, Rep. Vito Fossella charged this week.

The hefty $20-million repair of a crumbling seawall from the 69th Street Pier to the Verrazano–Narrows Bridge was fast-tracked by the city, but now needs to be extended all the way to Bensonhurst, said Fossella (R–Bay Ridge).

The section of the path between the Verrazano and Bay Parkway is a chronic headache for bikers, who can’t enjoy the beautiful waterfront view because looking away from the path for even a second could lead to being swallowed by a hole.

Hence, Fossella’s July 13 letter to the city Parks Department that said the earlier repairs presented “a unique opportunity to continue the renaissance of the waterfront and enhance our green spaces by renovating the Bensonhurst leg of the promenade.”

The letter did not promise any federal funds to make the repairs happen, but Fossella vowed to “work with” the city to reach that end.

Bikers hope he does.

“It is ridiculous how broken up the path is,” said Chad Nardine. “I thought they were repairing the entire path. I had no idea they were planning on only repairing part of the path.”

In March 2005, pressure from Fossella forced federal and city agencies to get moving on the seawall repairs. Almost two years to the day after work began, the greenway was again open for business.

But only halfway.

And that’s like jabbing a stick into the spokes of Bensonhurst bikers.

“For too long, the Bensonhurst leg has been neglected, and we’ve received many complaints from residents,” said Community Board 11 Chairman Bill Guarinello.

“This stretch is heavily used by walkers, bicyclists and families throughout the year.”

Bike path fix in Bay Ridge

By Matthew Lysiak
The Brooklyn Paper

The restoration of the Shore Parkway Greenway is finally complete.

The hefty $20-million project was fast-tracked by the city because the crumbling seawall caused giant potholes along the path, which stretches along the waterfront from the 69th Street Pier to the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge.

On Monday, a group of politicians cut the ribbon on the completed portion — and basked in positive reviews from their constituents.

“What they have done here is really something to be proud of,” said a man who gave only the name Peter. “It is nice to bike without worrying that you might be swallowed by a giant hole.”

That was certainly the case back in March, 2005, when Rep. Vito Fossella (R–Bay Ridge) brought representatives from federal and city agencies, as well as the local community board, to the path to stress upon them the severity of the situation. As a result, the Army Corps of Engineers declared the site an “emergency,” allowing the city to begin work immediately. Almost two years to the day after work began, the ribbon was cut.

The project included the installation of new asphalt pavement, aluminum railings, benches, a chain-link fence, and 60,000 pounds of boulders placed to protect the seawall from the pounding waves in the lower part of New York Harbor.

The improvements also got thumbs-up from state Sen. Marty Golden (R–Bay Ridge), who is now calling for the true missing link in Brooklyn’s bike network: a pedestrian/bike pathway across the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge.

“Now that the bike path along Shore Road is repaired, there has never been a better time to construct the ‘Lifeline’ to … the Verrazano Bridge,” he said. “We must seize this opportunity.”

After the ribbon-cutting, most of the pols retreated into large gas-guzzlers.

Ridge to get own Jack Bauers

By Matthew Lysiak
The Brooklyn Paper

An elite anti-terror response team focused on chemical, biological, and radiological attacks will soon be stationed at Fort Hamilton — as long as some final hurdles are cleared.

The so-called “Weapons of Mass Destruction Civil Support Team” would be a 22-member elite terror response unit comprised of Army and Air National Guard personnel that could be deployed at a moment’s notice in the event of a suspected chemical, biological, or radiological attack.

The squad would rush to the scene of an attack and assist emergency personnel in determining the exact nature of the problem.

Pols say that while we haven’t faced the ticking-clock scenario just yet, post 9-11 New York needs to be ready for everything.

“We must always be prepared,” said Rep. Vito Fossella (R–Bay Ridge). “A civil support team would ensure that New York has the manpower, resources, and training it needs to respond to a terrorist attack involving weapons of mass destruction.”

The only other such response team in the state is surrounded by grass-chewing cows not al Qaeda-targeted skyscrapers. It’s located at Stratton Air National Guard Base in upstate Scotia, just outside of Albany.

That unit was up and running on 9-11, but its team didn’t arrive in Manhattan until hours after the first plane hit the World Trade Center.

At Fort Hamilton, the unit would be equipped with a vehicle that Jack Bauer, the fictional star of the television drama “24,” could only dream of: a state-of-the-art mobile analytical laboratory that can identify toxic chemical, biological or radiological contaminants, all while navigating the busy drive-through at Nathan’s on Seventh Avenue and 86th Street.

But having the search for WMD expanded to Brooklyn isn’t a done deal yet.

“The team is in the forming stages and is actively hiring,” Fossella aide Britta Vander Linden told Community Board 10 last Monday. “We are extremely optimistic that it is going to happen.”

Fossella and Rep. Peter King (R–Long Island), both pushed for the local tactical team, but said there are a few remaining hurdles, including inserting language into federal legislation to increase the number of authorized toxic units nationwide from 55 to 57, and securing additional funding. The language passed the House last week.

King said the funding would be a piece of cake, too.

“New York is such a target by would-be terrorists,” said King. “[Everyone will see that] it is vital for it to have an additional civil support team located downstate.”

Fossella’s fried green proposal

By Matthew Lysiak
The Brooklyn Paper




Rep. Vito Fossella (R–Bay Ridge) gets behind the fryer at Yellow Hook bar in Bay Ridge to promote his bill that would encourage the creation of more biodiesel fuel.

Enough freedom fries will turn any pol green.

Just ask Rep. Vito Fossella (R–Bay Ridge), who wants to encourage restaurants to take their used frying oil and turn it into an environmentally safe fuel.

On Monday, Fossella traveled to Yellow Hook, a bar and grill popular with local conservatives, to announce legislation that would double the tax credit — from 50 cents a gallon to $1 — for the makers of the so-called “biodiesel” fuel, whose raw material is the grease in which restaurants fry calamari, French fries and other deep-fat delights.

To highlight his support for the bill, Fossella even got behind the fryers with Yellow Hook Chef Eugene McConnell.

“It is no pie-in-the-sky idea,” Fossella said. “This futuristic technology is here and now.”

Fossella noted that biodiesel is already being used on Staten Island and the rest of the city by the Parks Department to power its 650 diesel-operated vehicles and equipment.

“We are all sensitive to the environment, and this is one way to reduce our reliance on foreign oil,” added Fossella, whose prior commitment to the environment has been questioned by such groups as the League of Conservation Voters, which said Fossella supported the group 11 percent of the time in 2005; and Republicans for Environmental Protection, which gave Fossella a 17-percent rating in the same year.

The goal of Fossella’s bill is to encourage restaurants — which currently pay private companies to dispose of their grease — to partner with fledgling biodiesel manufacturers, who may eventually pay the restaurants for their liquid gold.

The bill is needed, Fossella said, because the cost of biodiesel production is still higher than the cost of producing standard fuel. In 2005, it cost 67 cents to produce a gallon of regular diesel, compared with about $1.41 to produce a gallon of biodiesel from from restaurant grease, Fossella’s office said.

Biodiesel is a cleaner-burning alternative made from any fat or vegetable oil, produced by removing glycerol through a chemical process called transesterification. Cars that run on a pure form of biodiesel belch out 50 percent fewer ozone-depleting hydrocarbons, virtually no sulfates (which contribute to acid rain), and nearly half the carbon monoxide as conventional diesel vehicles.

One of Yellow Hook’s chefs said he was all for the Fossella bill.

“It is pretty simple: we store the grease, and a truck comes to pick it up,” said McConnell. “Before you would even have to pay someone to take it away, and now you can get paid.”

Vito Fossella is certainly no stranger to fried foods. In 2003, the fifth-term Congressman got on the bandwagon to start calling French fries “freedom fries” as part of a symbolic show of unity against France’s opposition to Fossella-backed war in Iraq.

But now he has a more important use for the oil that creates those delicious freedom fries.

“The bill is a win-win situation for both the restaurant operator, who now has another viable option for the disposal of old oil, as well as the general public, who benefit from energy conservation,” Fossella said.