On 8/8/21. City & State published The 2021 Brooklyn Power 100, which might have gotten more attention had a certain governor not resigned.
Lobbyists and influencers
At #35 are lobbyists Mike Keogh & Juanita Scarlett, partners in Bolton-St. Johns, and the article notes that Scarlett "assisted with Adams’ “100+ Steps Forward” plan" that was part of his campaign. An Editor’s note states that Scarlett is a member of City & State’s advisory board, but doesn't mention that she's married to Errol Louis, Host, NY1's “Inside City Hall," at #39
Unlike the 2020 Brooklyn Power 50, which ignored elected officials to instead recognize "the executives, advocates, health care officials and others who are moving the borough forward," this list focuses on political players.
Such lists can of course be arbitrary--I'll discuss that below--and also predictable.
At the top of the list are Mayor Bill de Blasio, Borough President (and surely next Mayor) Eric Adams, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Attorney General Letitia James, and top House Democratic Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, then DA Eric Gonzalez and Public Advocate Jumaane Williams.
Council Member and incoming City Comptroller Brad Lander is #11, while power broker lawyer Frank Carone of Abrams Fensterman, an advisor both to de Blasio and Adams, comes next.
Lower down are Council Member (and BP-elect) Antonio Reynoso at #16, departing Council Member Laurie Cumbo, likely to gain a job in Adams's administration, at #21, and a host of new Council Members, at #32.
The Nets' owners
At #37 are Joseph Tsai & Clara Wu Tsai, Co-Owners, Brooklyn Nets. (In last year's more limited list, Joe Tsai was #20.) From the article:
The Barclays Center was rocking this spring when Joseph Tsai and Clara Wu Tsai’s Brooklyn Nets were favored to win the team’s first NBA title since moving from the other side of the Hudson River. Unfortunately, the basketball gods smote the franchise with badly timed injuries during the playoffs. The power couple has focused on the big picture, investing $220 million in healing and athletic training innovation. They also decry anti-Asian hate crimes and support Black Brooklyn leaders through the Joe and Clara Tsai Foundation’s social justice fund.No mention, of course, of Joe Tsai's indefensible defense of the Chinese regime, because these types of lists don't include such things.
It should be noted that, while City & State does disclose that some of the people on its list are members of its advisory board, announced in 2021, it doesn't mention that one board member, former NYC Commissioner of Small Business Services, Gregg Bishop, in June was named Executive Director of the Tsais' Social Justice Fund.
That can't hurt. It's no unreasonable to have them on the list, but some people not on the list, perhaps, didn't have that kind of connection or, perhaps, didn't want the attention. That said, some other mentions--and omissions--seem more arbitrary.
About real estate
The first real-estate executive, at #15, is Jed Walentas, CEO of Two Trees, an Adams backer with big plans for one of the last remaining parcels in Willliamsburg.
The first real-estate executive, at #15, is Jed Walentas, CEO of Two Trees, an Adams backer with big plans for one of the last remaining parcels in Willliamsburg.
At #53 is Andrew Kimball, CEO of Industry City, which may go back to the new mayor with rezoning requests.
No one related to Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park made the list. At #84 is Clinton Miller, Pastor, Brown Memorial Baptist Church in Clinton Hill, who has occasionally been critical of the project.
Though Regina Myer, current president of the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership, was listed at #18, I'm surprised there was no room for her predecessor Tucker Reed, of the real estate firm Totem, which plays a role in several pending real-estate projects.
Or, perhaps, for The Rabsky Group, which works with Reed and tries to stay under the radar. In other words, sometimes power doesn't like calling attention to itself, since more scrutiny of developers' strategies and behavior doesn't help them.
Lobbyists and influencers
At #35 are lobbyists Mike Keogh & Juanita Scarlett, partners in Bolton-St. Johns, and the article notes that Scarlett "assisted with Adams’ “100+ Steps Forward” plan" that was part of his campaign. An Editor’s note states that Scarlett is a member of City & State’s advisory board, but doesn't mention that she's married to Errol Louis, Host, NY1's “Inside City Hall," at #39
At #70 is Jonathan Westin, Executive Director, New York Communities for Change, the successor to ACORN and at #85 is former ACORN head Bertha Lewis, Founder and President, The Black Institute, who is less involved in Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park than before.
At #79 is consultant Lupé Todd-Medina, President, Effective Media Strategies, a longtime adviser to Jeffries, and also a member of City & State’s advisory board. Three more advisory board members made the list--so five of the board's 12 total seats. A little arbitrary?
At #79 is consultant Lupé Todd-Medina, President, Effective Media Strategies, a longtime adviser to Jeffries, and also a member of City & State’s advisory board. Three more advisory board members made the list--so five of the board's 12 total seats. A little arbitrary?
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