Author: Rock Hackshaw

So most of the black elected officials in Brooklyn hate my guts: whoop-dee-damn–doo. Let me give some of those in the other boroughs, reason to join the Brooklyn Klan in their dislike for me. Interestingly enough, one of the Brooklyn electeds stopped me last weekend- at an event in his district- and requested a sit-down. I don’t think so. My position is simple: when you sit down with dogs, you stand up with fleas; and fleas bite and they also suck blood.

Anyway, let me take my show on the road. To Queens to be exact. Let me out another one of these intellectually-challenged and morally-bankrupted individuals. His name is Leroy G. Comrie.

Although in many instances it takes years to plan a run for public office, I usually see primaries as a one-hundred-day countdown. I usually start counting on the Sunday before the first Tuesday when petitions are circulated, and I take it down to the day of the primary itself. That’s the Sunday when you gather your troops (petition-carriers, technicians, relatives, friends, etc.), and put your final plans in place for the petition-effort. The next day you usually go to the printers with your drafts in hand, hoping to pick them up on the Tuesday morning. Well-to all my white friends reading this (especially) – let me say that’s how some of us do it on the other side of the tracks/lol. It aint pretty; in fact it’s pretty ugly sometimes. But it could be fun if you are a political-junkie like me. First, you roll up your sleeve, then you tap the receiving vein two or three times, then you take the election-needle and you stick it in. If you are a pro at this, you don’t even flinch. It’s a fix good for at least one hundred days.

About one year ago, on “The Politicker”, I called Brooklyn assembly-member Roger Green: “The Dodger”. This wasn’t done by accident, and it surely wasn’t meant to describe the contemporary legal woes from which he had pulled a Houdini-type exit. The nickname came into being because of an article about him, written many years ago in “Footnotes”-an esoteric political paper/website/blog, which has been covering Brooklyn’s political scene for more than two decades now. In that article, the editor/publisher (Maurice Gumbs) described Green as the luckiest politician in Brooklyn. He posited that anytime shit hit the fan, Roger was always lucky enough to avoid having it sticking to his suits. He further argued that Roger had an uncanny knack for extricating himself from very ticklish situations. Gumbs said that whenever the proverbial “political-bullet” was hurling straight for Roger, somehow he always managed to dodge it. Thus, I thought the nickname quite apropos.

In Brooklyn today the word is that Roger Green is finally dropping his bid for the tenth congressional district. It is said that Roger will run for re-election to the 57th Assembly District. His last filing had him showing very little money on hand with mounting debts.

STAY TUNED-IN.

A few weeks ago, the New York City Council held a hearing over the two waste–transfer stations being proposed for the east side of Manhattan. The proposals call for building a station around 59th Street, and another around 91st Street. It’s all part of an eventual long-term move to shift transfer stations from land to marine. Expectedly, the overwhelmingly white “upper-eastsiders”, took a latte-break from Starbucks, to show up in force at the hearing.

As I write this article, my observation is that there are forty-six waste-transfer stations in the five boroughs of NYC. As far as I know, there are nineteen in Brooklyn, fifteen in the Bronx, eight in Queens, four in Staten Island, and zero in Manhattan. My research also suggests that areas near these sites have higher comparative rates of asthma, common colds, flu, bronchitis and other bronchial and respiratory ailments. So why is Manhattan so lucky? Why are Manhattanites so insulated? Why are they so isolated in terms of sharing part of the burden that other New Yorkers share, relative to the city’s trash?

In every Broadway play, you will find the lead actor strutting his stuff, and the understudy standing or sitting quietly aside in some craggy corner; usually observing things. The understudy waits in the wings. He studies the lines, attends every rehearsal and acts as both confidante and shrink for the lead-person/player/actor. Sometimes he steps in at some embarrassing moments; like when the lead has to take a dunk or a piss, for example. Sometimes he runs to get the lead-person coffee or orange juice, or a cigarette, or an umbrella, or the laundry. Sometimes he covers when the lead-person’s “significant other” is tracking; especially when there is hanky-panky going on (which is not abnormal). It’s a role of many faces. It’s a role that takes you many places; some of where you don’t really want to go to.

Since my "Grapevine" column is bi-weekly, I couldn’t hold on to this lil bit of info for 2 more weeks, so I have decided to do an addendum to this week’s column. There is word on the streets that former city-council-woman Tracey Boyland will challenge State Senator Velmanette Montgomery for the 18th Senatorial District in Brooklyn. This will be the first primary challenge to Montgomery in 10 years (Numan Sabree/1996), and it may signal a last gasp attempt by the Boyland clan to hold on to their dwindling dynasty.

It was interesting to see the Amsteradam News give front page status to the fact that Kevin Powell has withdrawn from the 10th Congressional race, a full 8 days AFTER I broke the story here on Room 8. Also late with that news-item were the New York Times, and other mainstream media.  STAY TUNED-IN TO THE BLOGS FOLKS, IT"S HAPPENING.

 When you refuse to call a spade a spade; when you wont give jack his jacket, or Jim his gym-shoes; when you keep trying to defend the antics of a drowning brood; when you depend on others for jobs; when you are willing to grovel for your livelihood; when membership in select groups come with big perquisities; when you suspend your independence in thinking and analyzing; when you refuse to speak the truth, or even critique your friends and/or colleagues (especially when they are wrong); when you are simply a "coward"/ always afraid of some shit;  when you owe too many people big favors; when your head is way up other people’s butts; when you refuse to sacrifice for a cause, ideal or a principle; then your objectivity flies out the window, and your morality is convenient and selective-lacking any philosophical and / or religious underpinnings. And before you even know it, your knees are bruised because you have become another Monica-Lewinsky  for the (s)elected officials. Go look in the mirror.

As most of you know by now, this is my bi-weekly column where I bring readers up to date on things being said out there in the trenches and in the grassroots. I also try to cover events and happenings that won’t make it to mainstream media. Every now and again rumors will sneak into the mix, but for the most part I try my best to be as close to the truth as possible. Some people have asked me where I get my stuff, given that most elected officials in Brooklyn offer me no aid or comfort; far less information. I always tell them that after 33 years around Brooklyn’s politics, I have developed enough sources to get things right most times. I do have many many friends here. Plus, I do try to think, chew gum and walk straight at the same time. What has been amazing is the fact that I am seldom challenged on the veracity of my info. I must be doing something right; especially when I scoop the mainstream media at times.

Most USA-born folks don’t know that the World Cup Soccer Finals and the Olympic Games (both quadrennial), are the sporting events most watched by people of this planet. Many of them think that such distinctions would go to baseball (World Series) and basketball (NBA Finals); so it wasn’t surprising to find many of my USA-born friends asking rather silly questions, about the event currently being hosted in Germany. But that’s okay; many of us foreign-born folks understand the narcissism and we do empathize. Right here in these dis-united states, there is a different world beyond New York City. Just go south and west of the Potomac. And, oh yes, there surely is a different world east of the Atlantic Ocean and west of the Pacific too. Sometimes we tend to miss these lil truths while living in New York. Sometimes; especially when we want too.