Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park Report

Also see Gotham Gazette article on Fox . In a low-turnout primary election with no shocks to incumbents (Mayor Bill de Blasio won re-nomination easily), incumbent 35th Council Member Laurie Cumbo won a clear victory in a hard fought Democratic primary race , with 57.5% of the votes to challenger Ede Fox's 41.5%. The race is tantamount to election, though Cumbo will face the Green Party's Jabari Bisport, who beat rival Scott Hutchins by  31-4 votes , in the general election. Cumbo and Fox essentially grew their 2013 totals , with Cumbo's 10,116 votes 33.8% more and Fox's 7,561 votes 36.6% more. Fox, who focused on the Bedford-Union Armory development proposal and distinguished herself from Cumbo on development (to the left) and safe-streets issues , was unable to dramatically broaden her base while cutting into support for the incumbent. (Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park was barely an issue, but Fox got significant support in Prospect Heights, where she co-founded...

Laurie Cumbo One of the hardest-fought--and most bitter--races for City Council is the Democratic primary in the 35th District between incumbent Laurie Cumbo (previously director/founder of MoCADA) and one of her 2013 rivals, Ede Fox , a former Council aide. After going to a couple of debates, and reading various documents/ articles before the election Tuesday , I find there's a lot to sort through. When Cumbo disses Fox as a lightweight and calls her campaign "Trumpian"--I'll get to the exaggerations on both sides--that ignores how Fox has been criticizing the incumbent from the left and has garnered significant progressive endorsements. Ede Fox (Also see coverage of the  Green Party candidates , who've raised some important issues.) Endorsements split Cumbo has been endorsed by some major unions (teachers, hotel workers, SEIU, DC37) and the local political hierarchy (Mayor, Borough President, Congress members, Assembly/Senate), as well a...

I'll write later on the 35th Council District Democratic primary between incumbent  Laurie Cumbo  and challenger  Ede Fox , but first, a note on the Green Party primary between  Jabari Brisport  and  Scott Hutchins . It's something of a sideshow--their presence in debates has distracted from the one-on-one challenge that should dominate discussion--but it has raised some useful issues that should expand the political debate. Brisport, a far more active and organized campaigner, likely will win and face the Democratic winner in the November election, but the Democrat will win that race, given registration patterns in the 35th. New taxes, modular housing It is intriguing and valuable that Brisport, an avowed socialist who works as an actor and tutor, has suggested both a flip tax on property transactions and a tax on vacant properties--two ideas that the Democrats should be considering (and assessing how much might be raised). He's also suggested that...

Last night at P.S. 9, just a very short walk from the eastern border of the Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park site, the Prospect Heights Neighborhood Development Council and other organizations sponsored  a forum for candidates in the 35th Council District, including Democratic incumbent Laurie Cumbo , her rival Ede Fox (a former Council staffer), and Green Party candidates Jabari Brisport and Scott Hutchins. A live stream is here . I'll have more on the race/debate in a future article, but for now will point out that Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park  barely came up. Partly that's because the candidates haven't pushed it as an issue (though Fox was critical of Cumbo in a previous debate), while other issues, notably the pending Bedford-Union Armory, have come to fore. Also, only one question submitted online--about the lack of oversight--came relatively late to be "upvoted," so others took precedence. And maybe it's because people see Atlantic Yards/Pacific ...

I'll have more coverage on this race. Tonight, from 7-8:30 pm, the Prospect Heights Neighborhood Development Council and other organizations are sponsoring a forum for candidates in the 35th Council District, including Democratic incumbent Laurie Cumbo, her rival Ede Fox (a former Council staffer), and Green Party candidates Jabari Brisport and Scott Hutchins. While there's value to hearing other voices, the Green candidates are a bit of a sideshow, given the limited time, in the hard-fought contest between Cumbo and Fox, who were two among five candidates in 2013. The forum will be held at P.S. 9, 80 Underhill Avenue , and moderated by Rachel Holliday Smith of DNAinfo. The primary vote is Tuesday, Sept. 12. The district includes Prospect Heights (site of the Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park project), Fort Greene, Clinton Hill, and part of Crown Heights. A preview and some issues Politico,  previewing the event, notes the focus on the Bedford Union Armory and the may...

Just as Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park hasn't come up in the mayoral race, it plays a subdued, mostly absent role in the race for City Council in the 35th District, where the project is located. Looking first at candidates' web site, I couldn't find mention of the project on the web site of Democratic challenger Ede Fox , taking on incumbent Laurie Cumbo one-on-one after Cumbo, in 2013, won a multi-candidate Democratic primary. Fox has been critical of Cumbo's Atlantic Yards stance in the one debate I saw, as I'll write up in a longer round-up of the race before the September 12 primary (and after another debate Sept. 6 ). The bigger issue has been the Bedford-Union Armory, and Fox, in a candidate video statement , stated, "Look what's happening to our neighborhoods. Big developers are coming in, luxury towers are going up, and regular families are being squeezed out... I'll always stand up to deep-pocketed developers and big-money special interes...

So, is the 35th District Council Democratic primary race getting tight, as Ede Fox prepares to challenge incumbent Laurie Cumbo? I'd say it's early. Fox Out Fundraises Cumbo In March 15 Filing Period , according to Stephen Witt of Kings County Politics: According to the Campaign Finance Board (CFB), Cumbo reported having raised $66,457 while spending $26,732 to net out with $39,725. Fox raised $29,456 and spent $260 to net out with $29,716. While this looks like Cumbo has an edge, it should be noted that she has been fundraising for some time and her total is a culmination of several filing periods, while this is Fox’s first filing. If you just look at this filing period, which ran from Jan. 17 to yesterday, Fox outraised Cumbo by more than 2 to 1. Fox raised $29,976, while Cumbo raised only $13,720. This is not to write off Cumbo, however, as City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito has an upcoming fundraiser for Cumbo.... "This is not to write off Cumbo...

Ede Fox Incumbent 35th District Council Member Laurie Cumbo  faces a likely challenge from one of her top 2013 rivals, Ede Fox , who's formed an exploratory committee. And while the issue of Atlantic Yards hasn't yet surfaced, development issues--notably Cumbo's position on the Bedford Union Army project, far less wary than that of other pols and the 2013 support she got from real estate interests--will surely be important. Though Council races feature 6-for-1 financial matching and thus potential funds to run a reasonable campaign, it's very tough to defeat an incumbent, at least one not rocked by scandal. Fox will decide by May whether she has enough money to mount the challenge, according to Kings County Politics. (Two other candidates may run, as well. Contributions to all campaigns can be made here .) Laurie Cumbo Cumbo's debatable decision  to steer a significant share of her discretionary funds to the Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan A...

From Ede Fox mailer Yes, the big races today are the citywide contests for mayor, comptroller, and public advocate, but the City Council is a huge battleground, with surge of spending, a series of new endorsements (including from the New York Times, right), and some questionable tactics in the race I've focused on . That's the race to replace Council Member Letitia James in the 35th Council District, encompassing Fort Greene, Clinton Hill, Prospect Heights, and parts of Bedford-Stuyvesant and Crown Heights. There's been enormous independent spending by the SuperPAC Jobs for New York, whose supporters include unions but is funded and directed by the Real Estate Board of New York, dwarfing anything by the candidates. Take for example, the chart below, which shows how Jobs From New York has spent nearly $257,000 either in support of chosen candidate, museum founder Laurie Cumbo , or in opposition to her two closest rivals, former Council aide Ede Fox , and former Dis...

The candidates hoping to succeed Letitia James  (who's running for Public Advocate) as 35th District Council Member will meet at 7 pm tonight in a moderated forum at P.S. 9, 80 Underhill Avenue in Prospect Heights. The district includes Fort Greene, Clinton Hill, Prospect Heights, and pieces of Crown Heights and Bed-Stuy. The candidates include former District Leader  Olanike Alabi , museum founder  Laurie Cumbo , longtime Council aide  Ede Fox , attorney  F. Richard Hurley , and community organizer  Jelani Mashariki . (Here's an analysis of the race as of April from the Brooklyn Rail's Ted Hamm.) As noted below, questions regarding Atlantic Yards could show whether the candidates are willing to criticize the failure of the state to reform governance of the project and the failure of developer Forest City Ratner to hire the independent compliance monitor promised under the Community Benefits Agreement. (I raised similar issues in a post last month ....