July 4th, Leftys, A Council Race,
Campaign Mailings, Worms
& More Baseball

By MICHAEL SCHENKLER

JULY 4th: As we watch the tall ships on television and plan our trip to Flushing transplants Ganga and Gopi’s Manhattan apartment on the 27th floor overlooking the East River to watch the fireworks, we wonder if George and Tom and company ever imagined what we were going to do with their political statement.

An historical item of appropriate trivia: John Adams at home in Quincy, Massachusetts and Thomas Jefferson at his beloved Monticello both died on July 4, 1826, the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

Happy Independence Day!

Thanx Ganga and Gopi!

OUT OF LEFT FIELD: Last week a Council hearing was held which called for an investigation and possible legislation to prevent any more alleged acts of discrimination towards a minority group. No, it’s not what you’re thinking. This conference did not focus on discrimination against homosexuals. Or blacks. Or women. No, this discussion centered on unfair treatment towards New York City’s vast left-handed community.

And this writer is a member!

Discrimination towards lefties, you say? That’s ridiculous! But, according to one legislator, the bias does exist. Queens Councilman Morty Povman has done some research on the subject, and has found what might be considered biased treatment towards lefties in our military and in our schools.

And take it from this oppressed southpaw, he’s right.

It started for Morty, when a couple of students from Benjamin Cardozo High School in Bayside came to visit his office. These left-handed students claim they must endure a number of handicaps in their learning environment, including no computer mouses (or is it mice?), scissors, or even golf clubs or baseball gloves that cater to the left-handed. The students explained how the lack of lefty resources in their school has impaired them in one way or another, and got the attention of the veteran Councilman. And they have my attention, too!

Besides apparent discrimination in schools, said Povman, it is also evident in the military where all guns and gas masks are made for the right-handed. And that’s besides the difficulties lefties must face in everyday life, from opening doors to operating machinery.

Povman says he will do everything he can to prevent lefties from being singled out and discriminated against by the right-handed majority of our City. The councilman, who is not left-handed, claims he is not the only one in favor of legislation to stop such practices.

New York, Povman says, does not even have a left-handed advocacy group like other cities. "To treat someone unfairly because they are different is discrimination," said Povman. "And who’s in favor of that?"

Right on, Morty!

SIEGAL: Although the 2001 Council Election is more than a year away, surprises have begun to appear. In what was once considered by Queens pundits as one of the two easiest elections to replace a term-limited Councilmem-ber, there appears to be the making of a race.

Although, we have yet to write extensively on the 2001 Council melee which will test potentially large fields of candidates for each of Queens then-to-be-vacant Council seats, we’ve made reference to likely winners.

In Forest Hills, former Assemblywoman and present Borough Hall Hoohah Melinda Katz is a certainty to be successor to Karen Koslowitz unless Melinda listens to whispers down the hall which are suggesting a Beep race. Unlikely, as we see it. Katz is the surest Council bet you’ll find.

All pundits once assumed that David Weprin – the Dem District Leader, brother of Assemblyman Mark and son of the late Assembly Speaker Saul – with the backing of his formidable club and the Dem County blessing would win the vacant Sheldon Leffler seat with ease. Don’t count your hens, says Bernice Siegal. The hard-working attorney and Counsel to Leffler has parlayed her hours of toil in many organizations and her husband’s (machinist union official Kevin Lynch) union connections to raise some bucks and make a clear statement.

Last week, Siegel had a Manhattan fundraiser chaired by – among others – NY State AFL-CIO Prez Denis Hughes a power in anyone’s camp.

Assemblywoman Cathy Nolan was another chair, emphasizing her split with the Dem County organization which can be counted as Weprin’s. Nolan faces a primary of her own this year from Patrick O’Malley as she throws her support to insurgent Walter McCaffrey’s effort to challenge incumbent Congressman Joe Crowley.

Taking a deep breath from the craziness out west and viewing the 2001 east Queens Council race may be a case of frying pan to fire.

David Weprin, still the clear frontrunner, is in store for a long hard summer.

PUBLIC LITERATURE: This is not aimed at any candidate. They all do it.

And this is not a shot at Councilman Walter McCaffrey, whose bulk mailing piece just given to us, was paid for (postage and printing) by the NY City Council. It looks an awful lot like an "Oh wow, look what Walter’s done" piece — you know, an intro campaign mailer. Now Walter is a fine Councilman and is entitled to a postage and printing budget. However, he is also a declared candidate for public office — Congressman — and he is involved in campaigning and fundraising for that office.

Walter is clearly not the only one that effectively uses public mail for political ends. We’re sure his opponent, Congressman Joe Crowley does too. It is the norm, not the exception.

We believe that campaign reform must also regulate the use of public funds and staff. However, the guys and gals that make the rules are the guys and gals that benefit from not having any.

We will endeavor to point out those who stretch the unacceptable in regard to using public funds to promote their own political career. Feel free to send us samples of such legal abuses.

Walter’s piece is according to rules, acceptable, and would be done by most. We do not condemn him for using the system.

We would however, applaud the candidate who didn’t do it — if he or she existed.

QUEENS KINGS: Received a number of e-mails reacting to our piece on the Mets minor league team, the Queens Kings, and the marvelous time had by my daughter Allison and me at their new St. John’s stadium.

We were there this past Sunday with cousin Jeff and his 5 yr-old son Sam, to see the Kings fall to the Staten Island Yankees. It was Ball Day and we each received a baseball with the Kings logo. There are lots of giveaways coming up — look elsewhere in the paper for schedule and promo days.

Trust me. It’s the best and most reasonably priced family entertainment in Queens. We had a blast. You will too. Try it.

WASHINGTON, D.C. BALL: E-mail from Jedd Moskowitz, chief of staff to Congressman Gary Ackerman: Lovely column this week. I’ve taken my kids to a nearby Single A ballpark, home of the Frederick (MD) Keys (as in Francis Scott, who wrote his famous lyrics in MD). Frederick’s about 20 minutes from our home in the suburbs NW of DC. The stadium is small and cozy; there are carnival rides in the right-field stands, and the kids can wander around the park, because nearly every place they can go is in view of the seats.

They play in Prince Georges Stadium, a larger but equally friendly venue just off the Beltway. The ballpark is also host to the annual Congressional Baseball Game, which is sponsored by a semi-weekly newspaper, the name of which escapes me at the moment. -Jedd

AN ATTORNEY WITH FEELING? Attorney Howard Krebs e-mail: Loved the column. Your comments about Allison enjoying the game take me back to my days when my big sister used to accompany me (the word babysit did not exist in our house) to see Mantle and Maris and Seaver and Stottlemeyer play. Not only was she an avid fan, but she would buy a program and keep track of runs, hits, errors, etc.

Thanks for the story. -Howard

WORMS: No, it’s not politics; it’s gardening. We got a kick out of the press release from the Queens Botanical Garden announcing a "WormWare" Party.

Get this, "Ms. Naomi Dagen Bloom, environmental artist and urban compost propagandist" – that’s what they call her – "has modeled this unique forum of worm compost education after the popular home parties of the 1950’s and 60’s."

Funded by the Dept. of Sanitation, participants learn how to recycle kitchen scraps into nutrient rich compost and can take home a mini-composter wrapped in decorative cloth and stocked with a small quantity of Red Wriggler worms.

To reserve your spot for the July 11th, Tuesday evening (7-9PM) "WormWare" Party, call 539-5296.

And check it all out online at: www.cityworm.com.

Sounds like politics to me!

Dear New York and Georgia Colleague: THE REMATCH YOU’VE BEEN WAITING FOR THE METS VS. THE BRAVES JOHN ROCKER’S RETURN TO SHEA STADIUM! 7 PM TONIGHT Watch it with your colleagues from New York and Georgia. Enjoy pizza and ballpark snacks. (Batteries not included.) Rep. Ackerman’s office 2243 Rayburn RSVP: to Jedd or Ben x52601

It was a free-for-all without press at the Washington, DC Congressional office of Gary Ackeman as the Mets and Braves hooked up for a series at Shea. The Congressional delegations from the two states – that’s New York and, is it Georgia? – were invited to join Gary in rooting on their favorite team.

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Richard Schack contributed to this column.

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