Page 721 - Demo

Off the Record by Peter HaleyEsposito Drops the BombAny doubts about Kings County leaderMeade Esposito%u2019s determination to remainin his powerful party post were laid to restat the Nov. 30 county-wide meeting ofBrooklyn%u2019s district leaders. Both the 69-year old Esposito%u2019s lengthy tenure and arecent attempt by state AttomeyGeneralLouis Lefkowitz to strip him of partyleadership because of the county leader%u2019salleged business involvement with a LongIsland race track had increasedspeculation about his departure aspolitical chief of Brooklyn dems.Esposito squashed these thoughts in ahurry with his announcement thatThursday night that he intended to remainin office for %u201cten more years.%u201d What%u2019smore, he came out swinging against thosedistrict leaders suspected of schemingagainst him to garner the post forthemselves.Without naming names, he announcedthat these bad guys were on his %u201cshit list%u201dand that they could expect him to be a lotless accessible to them in the future thanhe had been in the past. The announcementcaught most leaders by suprise andpublically humiliated two who were knownto have taken steps in an anti-Espositodirection %u2014 Bay Ridge leader Frank Santoand Sheepshead Bay leader Herb Lupka,who is also head of the County DemocraticCommittee. The announcement was quicku %u00ab u K V W I V { / W U l l i ) M 1 V M V U i g l l V V U t i O i l onrl frt fV*A r\\Ainf tVi/> nnint V\\aJnrt Ia amI aWboth Santo and Lupka from buildingalliances with other leaders. Since most ofthe district leaders are given to fits of fearand trembling when it comes to incurringEsposito%u2019s wrath, the move will serve as astrong warning to any would-beaccomplices.Banking on ChairmanshipThe departure of Speaker StanleySteingut from the Assembly and hisprobable replacement by current MajorityLeader Stanley Fink means that there willbe some changes made, and one of theRumor Mill%u2019s most recent products is thatthe removal of the Assembly%u2019s Bankingcommittee Chairman George Miller maybe on the agenda. Miller, a HarlemDemocrat and Steingut appointee, earnedconsiderable notoriety when disclosuresalleged that he was also a slumlord, taxdodger and possible redliner. According toone report, Miller came to the bankers%u2019 aidrecently in their ultimately successfulefforts to remove most restrictions onopening suburban branches of city-basedsavings banks.Now, there is a fight on in theAssembly to increase the mortgageinterest rate from 8V2 to 9M> per cent andanti-redlining legislators are seeking toattach an anti-redlining law to its tail.Miller has resisted attempts byGreene, head of the Consumer AffairsCommittee, to subpoena banks forinformation relating to mortgage lending.According to Miller, Strelzin%u2019scommittee %u201cdidn%u2019t need a hearing to findout why no mortgages are being given out.The answer is that the rate is too low.%u201dStrelzin tried to subpoena the banks withhis own committee powers, but Miller%u2019schallenge to Strelzin%u2019s power wassuccessful when a State Supreme Courtjustice ruled that the Consumercommittee%u2019s powers were not valid.Strelzin is appealing this case but isalso advancing his own case to replaceMiller as Banking Chairman. GovernorHugh Carey is putting the crunch on for aDecember special session to work out thebanking bill. Miller%u2019s removal might beone of the compromises worked out if theanti-redlining bill gets ditched to appeasefoes of the mortgage rate ceiling increase.Strelzin will probably have to wait in linebehind minority applicants for the bankingjob because many think Miller%u2019s removalwill demand replacement by a black orPuerto Rican.Of course, potential-Speaker Fink maydecide that keeping Miller on and drawingfire from redlining foes is safer thantaking heat from minority legislators, butdon%u2019t bet on it. Both Bedford-StuyvesantAssemblyman A1 Van and Buffalo%u2019s blackAssemblyman Arthur Eve, have turned offa lot of their fellow legislators by refusingto play ball Albany-style i%u00bb the past. So iimay be that Miller%u2019s replacement will besomeone along the lines of current bankingmember Assemblyman Herman Farrellfrom North Harlem.Neighborhood StrategyAt a City Planning Commissionhearing last week, both Congressman LeoZeferetti(Park Slope-Bay Ridge) andSteve Solarz( Borough Park-BrightonBeach) urged that neighborhoods in theirdistricts be among those designated asNeighborhood Strategies Areas underfederal Community Development funding.The designation aims federal monies atresidential revitalization, health,education and employment which wouldbe needed to revive Sunset Park andflatbush.Zeferetti said that a %u201cdecade ofdeterioration has eaten away%u201d at SunsetPark%u2019s residential communities and thatCommunity Development funds couldrevive its industrial waterfront andexisting industry as well as theseneighborhoods. Solarz stated that %u201casFlatbush goes, so goes the city%u201d and thatmoney spent now would prevent itsaccelerated deterioration in the future,when the redevelopment task will be%u201cmore difficult and expensive.%u201dCommunity ForumBY JIMMY FLOWERSThe sweet, grandmotherly character sat center stage, she acted as though she felt important. %u201c Good morning, iadies and gentlemen,%u201d she said, smiling. It was hard to believe that she was one of the villains of the play.%u201c We will take testimony today on Intro. 384.%u201d With those opening lines, Aileen Ryan, chairman of the City Council%u2019s General Welfare Committee, began the day-long public hearings on New York City%u2019s Gay Rights Bill.More than one hundred other characters would soon cross the stage to testify for or against a piece of legislation that would protect the civil rights of New York%u2019s Lesbians and Gays. Their testimony would be directed towards the Committee members, who sat like judges, ready to decide the fate of thousands of people.The setting was an ornate City Hall chamber. A live audience filled the main room and its balcony. Most were cast as Lesbians and Gays who came to see their own trial. A smaller number, some in religious or white collar garb, others in yarm ulkes and long beards came to represent the opposition.As the script was delivered, the %u201c heroes%u201d and %u201c villains%u201d would alternately deliver monologues on why Lesbians and Gays should or should not be treated as humans. The first cameo appearance was by Mayor Edward Koch. He spoke calmly in favor of the legislation to a hushed room. Some began yelling. %u201c Perverts.%u201d Then others said, %u201c Kill these people,%u201d and others said %u201cThey are sick people indeed, they need help.%u201dOne Gay person said, %u201c We, members of the Lesbian and Gay community and our supporters, are here once again for the seventh time in seven years to give testimony to the fact that we are indeed victims of discrimination faced with the possibility every day of losing our jobs, of being thrown out of our homes, of being refused admission to public accomodations. It is both humiliating and degrading that we have to stand here again and try to convince anyone that we have suffered enough to deserve to be treated like human beings.%u201dNick Bollman, the Robert Redford of the Gay community, then followed in a less provocative style. From there the parade went on. The lame duck lieutenant governor, Mary Ann Krupsak, the new skinny Bella Abzug, Gary Deane, Ginny Apuzzo and many others.E ditor%u2019s Note: JimmyFlowers is a Boerum Hill resident.The most startling yet truest statement came from an old adversary, Brooklyn%u2019s Councilman at Large, Vincent Riccio.The entire day of hearings awas a %u201cfacade,%u201d he said. A facade, indeed. We knew how it would all end anyway, he just reminded us.But the show was not yet over. The voting had begun. Spectators climbed the chairs. The police crowded in. %u201c No,%u201d I heard over the din, another %u201c No%u201d vote was cast. It was hard to hear. The CouncilThe firstcameo appearance was by MayorEdward Koch.He spoke calmly in favor of Gay rights legislation to a hushed room.Some began yelling, \Then others said,\And others said,%u201cThey are sick people indeed, they need help.%u201dvillains exited. It was over...Civil Rights had failed. %u201c Shame, shame, shame, %u2019%u2019chanted the angry crowd, pointing at those who had judged them unequal.They held each other and sobbed. The weary bill sponsors remained with the victims. The room slowly emptied. Reporters%u2019 cameras caught the debris and brokenchairs, symbols of frustration.A City Council press statement on the defeat was being distributed. Gay people everywhere, come out wherever you are in New York and write letters to newspapers and T.V. stations and the City Council, too. We are children of God, we are humanbeings and Americans as well. If there%u2019s a Gay march on City Hall or anywhere else, come and march. Let%u2019s be together as one. Gay men and women, Black and White, young and old or whatever else you are. Together, my sisters and brothers, we shall overcome.Sound Off Feedback from ReadersLudicrous Luchow%u2019sLuchow%u2019s isn%u2019t in Brooklyn so what exactly was the point of printing Ms. Linscott%u2019s %u201c Lighting Luchow%u2019s Tree With the Luminaries%u201d ? It reminded me of a filler in a college newspaper. I found it extremely offensive.1 am not a friend of either Mayhor Koch or Cardinal Cooke but from what I hear, they are both hardworking public servants. I%u2019m sure they don%u2019t enjoy having to put in appearances at such events but it is expected of them. If this was a gathering of senior citizens from Catholic Charities, then I%u2019m sure the guests enjoyed seeing these %u201c luminaries%u201d , especially Cardinal Cooke, who is the highest ranking Catholic figure in New York. To describe the Cardinal and Mayor as %u201c officious%u201d , is therefore ludicrous.Ms. Linscott will be a senior citizen herself one day. And then, I think she%u2019ll change her tune.%u2014Joan Cooper, Remsen St.Usury And AbusuryEfforts of various groups to put an end to mortgage redlining in Brooklyn are to be commended. However, even if this discriminatory lending practice were to end overnight, it would still be extremely difficult for individuals to purchase homes in any Brooklyn neighborhood. The New York State usury law, by establishing an interest ceiling, which at 8V1 percent is almost two percentage points below current market rates, has made it extremely difficult to obtain a mortgage in New York State. Only those banks willing to grant mortgages to individuals are penalized by such a law. Such institutions cannot continue this practice for very long as the maximum rate of return permitted on such loans is substantially less than the rates that now must be paid to attract deposits. Other banks, such as theredliners, are unaffected by the ceilings since they can continue to participate in the far more profitable commercial and secondary m ortgage m arkets and to purchase securities with funds that could be channeled into new residential mortgages.State usury laws represent nothing more than political chicanery. By taking advantage of voter unfamiliarity with the realities of financial m arkets, such legislation attempts to establish the illusion that political officeholders are providing assistance to people wanting to purchase homes. However, the fact is that state usury laws deny most individuals access to the mortgage market during periods of high interest rates, thereby penalizing the very people they purport to aid.What the redlined neighborhoods of Brooklyn need is an end to New York State%u2019s usury law. This will eliminate the excuse that the banks now have for not granting mortgages to individual applicants. Politicians who oppose the abolition of usury laws or who only want to raise the ceiling are harming our borough. If they don%u2019t mend their ways, they should be voted out of office in the next election. What we need in Albany are representatives willing to aid existing and potential Brooklyn homeowners through the elimination of New York State%u2019s usury laws as well as a ban on mortgage redlining.%u2014John Casson, Berkeley PlacePleasurable ImagesBravo%u2014Nino has done it again with his magic pen and photographic memory, he has once again composed and painted a picture of the nostalgic past. His articles are truly refreshing and informative, evoking pleasurable and at times painful images in our minds. I am delighted that the Phoenix has the wisdom to feature his articules. ---Paula Longo, Coordinator, Brooklyn College Tutorial Center, Welson Street..... Dpcpnfber 7,1978, THE PHQENlX.Page 5