The local paper for the Upper er East Side WEEK OF JANUARY
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2015
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MARIO CUOMO AND THE POWER OF WORDS REMEMBRANCE The former governor was about so much more than great speechmaking
In Brief
BY CHRISTOPHER MOORE
As a kid in Jersey with a passion for politics, I followed the news through city tabloids. I found vast entertainment in the Mario Cuomo-Ed Koch follies. Their competitions in the city in 1977 and statewide in 1982 stuck in my brain and heart. They still do. I’m sitting here now with a copy of “Diaries of Mario M. Cuomo,” which is subtitled “The Campaign for Governor.” It’s hard to beat that first race for governor, when Cuomo was the decided underdog, for sheer political drama. Granted, when I finally grew up and, as the editor of this newspaper, interviewed Cuomo, I found him to be a little bit crazy. His passion about what he was talking about seemed almost scary – and I couldn’t get him to stop. But that’s the hazard of a real-life encounter with an idol. And when his son was a would-be gubernatorial candidate in 2002, I took his dad’s book to an editorial meeting with Andrew Cuomo. He thought I was the crazy one. He seemed to retreat when he knew I was a Mario Cuomo junkie. Now I’ve had enough therapy to realize I was, by bringing the book, putting the son in a weird position. Oops. Obviously I’ve been thinking and reading about the senior Cuomo, as the Upper East Sider was laid to rest this week. So much has been expressed about the former three-term governor, and some of it’s even true. Much has been said about what he said – and the powerful way in which he said it. There’s been criticism that the legislative and administrative record never matched his rhetoric, as if that were even possible. Evidently we remain wary and distrustful of eloquence, as if we’re being set up for
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DE BLASIO AND BRATTON ANNOUNCE LOW CRIME RATES
ONE YEAR IN FOR COUNCILMEMBER KALLOS POLITICS Ben Kallos, once considered a long shot for the job, looks back on his first 365 days in office BY DANIEL FITZSIMMONS
Councilmember Ben Kallos had a good year. Of the 70 bills passed by the City Council in 2014, three were his --
impressive given that Kallos has 50 other colleagues on the council. The committee on governmental operations, of which he is chair, passed another four bills. Not bad for a first-year council member who two years ago was regarded as a long shot to represent the Upper East Side behind former State Assemblyman Micah Kellner, whose campaign collapsed in the summer of 2013 after allegations of
sexual harassment surfaced against him. Kallos surged ahead and won the election handily. He’s since used his background in technology and his sense that government should be as transparent as possible to pass legislation that aims to help New Yorkers better navigate city bureaucracy. For instance, the City Record, an
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Mayor Bill de Blasio and Police Commissioner Bill Bratton announced 2014 saw the fewest murders last year in recorded city history. The mayor and commissioner also announced the city saw the lowest murder, robbery and burglary rates in the past 10 years. In 2014, Overall Index Crime was down 4.6 percent since the previous year, Overall Index Crime in transit was down 14.8 percent over the previous year, and housing crime was down 6 percent over the previous year. In 2014, marijuana arrests dropped 10.5 percent over the previous year. In 2014, complaints to the Civilian Complaint Review Board also dropped 11 percent compared to the previous year. “We know that the path toward an even-safer city is rooted in closer bonds between police and the communities they serve. And from the hardworking officers who patrol our streets, to the parents who keep their children on the right path, to this city’s social workers, teachers and community leaders, we’ve worked together to achieve these extraordinary gains,” said de Blasio.
Jewish women and girls light up the world by lighting the Shabbat candle every Friday evening 18 minutes before sunset. Friday January 9 - 4:29 pm. For more information visit www.chabaduppereastside.com.