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Volume XXI • Number 30 • July 24 - 30, 2014 •
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Board to wait for new Montefiore plan Community Board 8’s Land Use Committee decided to grant a postponement of a meeting it had scheduled for Tuesday night to allow Montefiore Hospital adequate time to revise their plans. These revisions ostensibly will reflect points raised at an earlier, private, meeting with local community residents opposed to the project. The new meeting of the Land Use Committee will be held in September. At that time, according to the Hospital, they will be ready with a revised plan that will reflect the concerns of community residents. All this apparently did not sit well with the opposition group, who apparently was organizing an anti-Montefiore rally to coincide with the now cancelled meeting. But Charles Moerdler, the chair of the Land Use Committee maintained that the purpose of the meeting was not to provide a forum for a political rally, but rather provide information to the Board. “Montefiore made a timely and reasonable request, and we saw no reason not to grant it.” Meanwhile, Montefiore has agreed not to file new plans with the City’s Buildings Department until the presentation of the revisions to the Land Use Committee. Since the Hospital has designed
the building to conform with new, more restrictive zoning passed several years ago, they were able to build “as of right” until new legislation introduced by State Senator Jeff Klein and Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz. The Montefiore building again became entwined with the campaign for the State Senate seat held by Senator Jeff Klein. The coup scored by Klein in erecting a formidable roadblock to the hospital’s plans seemed to also counteract charges made by the campaign of former Councilman Oliver Koppell. In an email to the editor of this newspaper, Lorraine Coyle, Koppell’s wife, charged that Klein has taken substantial contributions from the Simone Group, which is the developer of the Hutchinson Metro Center, where Klein has his main district office. “if Klein is paying substantial rent for his District Office to his landlord (from taxpayer funds) and the landlord is making major contributions back to Klein - who’s paying for what? Is this a disguised way of campaign contributions being paid for by taxpayers?” But, points out Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz, a Klein supporter, Simone is also slated to be the developer of the Montefiore building.
“Enough of these attacks. It’s time to talk about issues. The legislation introduced by Senator Klein and myself was an enormous blow to Simone that may cost them hundreds of thousands of dollars. Certainly no one can say that Senator Klein is putting Simone’s interests ahead of the public interest. It is remarkable that despite all that, Simone
would make any contribution at all to Jeff Klein. This whole episode, rather than raising questions, once again confirms Senator Klein’s integrity.” Klein’s spokesperson, Candice Giove added, “Senator Klein’s challenger likes to criticize donations from Joseph Simone, who has donated to his campaigns for over a decade and who is devel-
oping the Montefiore property, but there is no better example of Senator Klein fights for what is right for his constituents regardless of campaign donations. Senator Klein authored a law that limits the size and scope of Mr. Simone’s project and that costs Mr. Simone money everyday because Senator Klein’s community comes first.”
Cuomo poised to support Klein; charges traded on campaign $$$ According to informed sources, State Senator Jeff Klein is on the cusp of a major coup that could greatly enhance the momentum that is already building in his favor – an endorsement by Governor Andrew Cuomo. This would add the support of the Governor to the endorsement of Mayor Bill DeBlasio, and the withdrawal of support by of Koppell by the Democratic Party establishment. Meanwhile, the Koppell campaign is focusing on campaign contributions made to his opponent make his campaign a “cesspool of special interests.” Koppell held a press conference on Sunday in front of the Real Estate Board of New York expressing disgust at the information revealed in the financial filing of his opponent, State Senator Jeffrey Klein. “This is a list of practically every special
interest that exists,” Koppell said. “It is a blueprint for any would-be public official who wants to hang a sign outside his office that reads ‘Pay-to-Play Inside: Drop Off Your Donations Here and Expect Your Favors To Be Returned.’” “Look at the extensive list of donors to Mr. Klein,” Koppell continued. “They obviously expect favorable treatment from the State Legislature in return. It becomes crystal clear why Klein straddled the fence between Democrats and Republicans in our State Senate. In swinging with the political winds, Klein becomes the Senate’s largest collection agency.” Koppell charged that “Klein’s filing listed contributions from the real estate industry, the liquor industry, the health care industry, the nursing home industry,
Congressman Eliot Engel (NY-16) addressed a packed house at the 92nd Street Y Sunday evening at a rally to show support for Israel. The event, “An Evening of Hope for Israel,” was organized by the Israeli Consulate, Israeli American Council, JCRC and UJA Federations of NY, and featured guest speakers as well as live music. Also in attendance were Senator Charles Schumer; New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer; Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer; and Ambassador Ido Aharoni, Consul General of Israel in NY.