WELCOME
to issue 3 of On The Qt. Another bag of goodies about baddies.
The political kind, regardless of ideological persuasion. Left or
Right-- we don't discriminate. On The QT posits that the need for
REFORM has become so pressing that it qualifies as a movement
unto itself. Our subject matter ranges from the micro to the
mega. Whether it's garbage rotting in your neighborhood or in
the halls of government. The old adage
LAY DOWN WITH PIGS
and get up smelling like garbage is oh so true. Sniff sniff. A
majority of Americans believe current campaign finance practices
are corrupt or unethical. Potus The Last treated the White House
like his own personal hog wallow. Then came Dubya...
SPEAKING OF ELECTIONS
what follows is a tale of two cities. At opposite ends of the
Hudson. Jersey City, New Jersey at the mouth: Albany, New York
just below the source. Both cities had an industrial job base
which decamped, contributing to the formation of an underclass
with nowhere to rise. Both cities have a history of being
dominated by Democratic political machines embodied most
perfectly by Jersey City's Mayor Frank "I Am The Law" Hague and
Albany's paragon of longevity, Erastus Corning. Both cities now
have mayors (Jersey City Republican Brett Schundler and Albany
Democrat Jerry Jennings) who were first elected in the early
90's. Both ran as reformers who promised to address neighborhood
concerns about crime, neglected properties, garbage, noise, etc.
Almost a decade later those promises go largely
UNFULFILLED.
Eventually both mayors concentrated on select sections of their
cities, funneling into them state and federal development funds
and/or granting long term tax abatements. More modest residential
neighborhoods got crumbs, flower potties and pie in the sky.
The poorest nabes went to hell in a bullet riddled shopping cart.
A recent poll revealed residents in Jersey City's low income
neighborhoods feel more threatened by crime than those in
wealthier ones. Life in a condo compound has its perks. In
Albany, Mayor Jerry Jennings didn't acknowledge gang involvement
in Albany's flourishing drug trade until after New York City's
migrating Crips and Bloods became community fixtures. When forced
by publicity to admit the gang problem, Jennings decided to
solve it by bulldozing the most hard hit neighborhood. Developers
will tear down the low income neighborhood and replace it with--
a denser low income neighborhood. Using massive grants from
HUD. Ripley's Believe It Or Not: Jerry Jennings has
NO OPPONENTS
in the upcoming Democratic mayoral primary! Despite a drug
trade that just won't quit and flabby property values! Of
course Jennings did get Claudia Schiffer's no flab
underwear ads removed from city buses. Claudia, by the way,
is getting into the hand held computer biz. Perhaps a
complimentary (tm) Vx Claudia Schiffer Edition Palm Pilot for
BURGERMEISTER Jennings would serve as a peace offering. In
the other hand we have the
MULTI OPPONENTS
of Mayor Brett Schundler. Brett is leaving office to run for
New Jersey governor. The non partisan mayoral race he left
behind was crowded with candidates, most of them running
against his record. JC has one daily newspaper and Mayor
Schundler meets regularly with the editorial board. Not much
TV coverage either. The candidates had to get out there and
hustle. And a political cyber storm has swept Jersey City.
WEBSITES have bloomed and increasingly serve as news forwarding
services and rallying points. Most are partisan: Stop Brett
Schundler, No more BS, etc. Some are a tad obsessive. But all
are lively, informative and prove that democracy is going strong.
The results of the election? Schundler opponent Glen Cunningham
won the majority of the vote. But a runoff will be necessary. If
ex-police officer Glen Cunningham wins, he will be Jersey City's
first African American mayor. And he will have done it by
stressing Schundler's development deals and his neglect of
neighborhood issues.
OVERDEVELOPED
Hoboken, New Jersey also held a mayoral election. Mayor Anthony
Russo, who never met a developer he didn't like, was booted out
by reform coalition candidate Dave Roberts. The margin Russo lost
by was far larger than expected.
INTERNET PAUL REVERES!
Folks are mounting up for the ride. Which could help bridge the
DIGITAL DIVIDE. The divide was the topic of a recent conference
at the State University of New York at Albany. As one panel
member put it, bridging the divide involves a lot more than just
getting wired. Application is the key. A community needn't be
wealthy to reap technology's political rewards. Look at
HELL'S KITCHEN
in Midtown Manhattan. Despite recent waves of gentrification
Hell's Kitchen is still largely a low income neighborhood. It's
also a low rise neighborhood which developers have sought to
swallow for years. Some of their plans have succeeded. More
threats loom. Like plans for a 62 story tower atop the Biltmore
theater. But Hell's Kitchen has proved remarkably resistant. It's
beaten back real estate great white sharks like Donald Trump and
the Fisher Family and has persistently fought the good fight on
issues such as traffic, noise, booze barns and crime. When
HOOKERS were lining the streets, Kitchen residents went out and
shone flashlights into the cars of cruising johns. The Hell's
Kitchen community is highly political with plenty of factional
infighting. But when threatened, it pulls together and kicks
major community A. It has some dedicated local political
representatives. It also has a very effective Website/Email scene
which reaches thousands of people, many of whom are not online.
News posted electronically is spread via neighborhood and tenant
association hardcopy newsletters.
SAY IT WITH ANIMAL TONGUES
and spray painted black roses. That's how Providence Rhode Island
Mayor "Buddy" Cianci's co-defendant Edward E. Voccola prefers to
communicate. Home confined while awaiting trial for his part in
the Cianci administration's "Plunderdome" racketeering scandals,
Voccola was ordered by Judge Robert Lovegreen to refrain from
mailing animal tongues and black roses to witnesses. Which is
what Voccola sent an insurance investigator who successfully
nailed him for defrauding 12 insurance companies. When not
staging auto accidents Voccola does fabulous flower arrangements.
DON'T CALL US DIRTBAGS
pleaded a bar owner at a government hearing in Montpelier,
VERMONT. Under consideration by the state's House Committee of
General, Military and Housing Affairs is the easing of penalties
for those caught serving booze to minors. Committee Chairman
Allan Palmer implied that since booze is hard for minors to get
in Vermont, kids turn to heroin. Dirtbag logic, anyone?
HELP YOURSELF--
the operating principle of dirtbags everywhere. When caught,
point finger elsewhere. Obfuscate. White collar criminals whine
that street thugs run free. Street thugs huff that big guys never
do time. Slumlords pose as providers of affordable housing. Drug
dealers as misunderstood Robin Hoods. Some say hypocrisy is the
homage vice pays to virtue. It's also a way to beat the rap.
COMING ATTRACTIONS
Predatory Mortgage Lenders/Student Ghetto Online Photo Essay/
Buried In Kansas, Still Leaking/Corrupto Updates/Do Boom Cars
Cause Cancer?/HUD's Historic Hovels/Booze Barn Riots/James
Traficant's Ohio Elephant/DC City-Statehood?/& More More More
"One hates to think the worst, but unfortunately my dear, it's so
often true."
Miss Jane Marple
"In Cyberspace, the First Amendment is a local ordinance."
John Perry Barlow
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mailto:editor@mondoqt.com
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