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Midge Costanza: %u2018I%u2019m Pro-Hughie, not Anti-Krupsak%u2019BY JUDY LINSCOTTOutgoing special presidential assistant Midge Costanza emphatically says [iiai liei cnuoisciuciit uf Governor Hugh Carey%u2019s re-election bid is %u201cnot a move against Mary Anne Krupsak,\ment for Hugh Carey, %u201cwho stands up for the things I%u2019ve stood up for.%u201dCostanza, in a telephone interview from her White House office Monday, said that she came to New York last week %u201cto come home to say %u2018yes,%u2019 Hugh Carey should be elected. And I meant it.%u201dThe volatile and outspoken Costanza, who generated as much publicity over how she said things as what she said during her White House tenure, resigned three weeks ago as special assistant to President Carter. She retains her now infamous White House basement office at least until a successor is named, an announcement Costanza said would come%u201c as soon as the President returns from vacation.%u201dShe said that the President hasaskeu her io stay on while hersuccessor %u201cgets settled%u201d and that she will do so, so that %u201c she can continue my relationship with cabinet members, which is really very good.%u201dAlthough she has told the Carey staff she %u201cwill do anything they want me to do to help the re-election cam paign,%u201d in the meantime Constanza has lined up %u201c a lot of public speaking engagements,%u201d which she says will afford her the time and income to make her decision as to what to do next.%u201cThe governor is trying to talk me into the possibility of representing New York State in Washington as a trouble shooter,%u201d she said, %u201cbut I%u2019m not ready to make that kind of commitment to any job potential right now.%u201d She added +hat she %u201c does want to move backto New York, and will.%u201dCostanza emphasized that Carey%u2019s %u201c approach and style%u201d are%u2014c %u2014 , Wiidti ujjpcaia IU uwa , men. ---------1 - i . - i ----------^ t . i %u2014his neck on the line. To me, that%u2019s something special, exactly what I%u2019ve been doing for 20 months in the White House. He%u2019s done the very things I%u2019ve been screaming about, and you can%u2019t turn your back on that.%u201dIn those 20 months at the White House, Costanza operated as a strong and vocal support for women%u2019s rights issues, including federal funding for abortion, passage of the Equal Rights Amendment and extension of ratification date for the ERA.During that time, much was made of her independence and outspokenness, which she maintains made it %u201cjust so hard to get the substantive issues across. Such a big deal was always made over where my office was, or how I wassaying things. 1 just decided that these issues are too important to let slide like that.%u201dT * 4-V * f t %u00abf f * p + i r l f t c a t * o , kAl u t v u , m v . j u i %u00ab%u00bb%u00ab%u25a0_/that Costanza sees between the two which generated her support: %u201c His style and approach are so different from the people I%u2019ve served,%u201d she said. %u201c We say we keep looking for politicians who have the nerve to stand up and say what they think is right, but then because we don%u2019t agree with them we knock them down. You%u2019ve got to look at his style, courage and integrity.%u201dAs specific examples of Carey%u2019s \stands, Costanza cited support for federal funding of abortions and, inevitably, his stand against the death penalty. The death penalty, Costanza noted, %u201c isn%u2019t a deterrent%u201d and maybe isn%u2019t the right kind of punishment for %u201c committing a senseless, violent crime%u201d against defenseless individuals.%u201c Anyway,\removes the pain of punishment. Maybe we could create a kind ofn o m i n a l d p a th m vu th a t f - [ - *\just before d e a th ...%u201d Costanza quickly added that %u201c really, I guess that%u2019s just an off-the-wall idea.%u201dAn early and ardent supporter of Jimmy Carter, Costanza is quick to emphasize that the two %u201c are still good friends%u201d despite her resignation and that she feels confident she can %u201ccontinue working on the things I believe in through him and the administration.\flatly. %u201c There were always those people, usually from the outside, who criticized that, said I had no right to be an advocate. But I never gave anyone any guarantees. What good is the first woman assistant to the President ever if she couldn't help her sisters?%u201dB .Q %u00a3:CommunityWins FightOn BridgeBY GARY FREDERICKCalling it a victory for the community, residents of Carroll Gardens living near the BrooklynQueens Expressway have successfully prevented the city from shaving three inches of asphalt from the street underneath the Summit Street bridge as part of repair work of the expressway.In a meeting at St. Stephens Church at 135 Summit Street last Wednesday night, 200 angry residents expressed their opposition to the plan. Sensing the community%u2019s outrage, Assistant Commissioner Arthur Asserson of the New York City Department of Transportation decided to leave the three inches. Residents were afraid it would increase truck traffic in their area by allowing larger trucks to pass under the bridge.Asserson wanted the three inches removed because of a possible danger of trucks hitting the expressway from undemmeath and causing a collapse. However, he is not aware of any trucks previously striking the roadway.%u201c It%u2019s a kind of victory for the community,%u201d said Vito D%u2019Erasmo of the South Brooklyn Citizens Committee, a leader in the fight. %u201c We weren%u2019t going to let the city take that three inches.%u201dHe said that if the city did not accede to the community%u2019s demand, they were prepared to stop traffic, as they did in a demonstration last April 27 on the Hamilton Avenue ramp of the expressway and the Hicks Street exit from Hamilton Avenue.Asserson estimated that repair work would take two years and cost $5 million. During construction, trucks would still be allowed to use the expressway.The residents wanted truck traffic entirely eliminated from the area, said Harvey Schultz, executive assistant to Brooklyn Borough President Howard Golden, %u201cbut the city can%u2019t do that.%u201dg g lJ i, J E T m m 4