Disgraced pol Hiram Monserrate trails in bid to win back old state Senate seat, according to poll

Julissa Ferreras' Tire Slashed

BY PETE DAVIS
Thursday, March 4, 2010 4:38 PM EST

Just hours after City Councilmember Julissa Ferreras sent out an email blast to supporters with the subject line “I am voting for Peralta so should you!” she found that one of her tires on her car had been slashed.

A staffer for Ferreras confirmed that she found the tire slashed on Tuesday evening March 2, and the email supporting Peralta was received just after noon that day. The staffer said that Ferreras reported the incident to the local precinct, but they have not heard anything further.

The staffer said they are not drawing any conclusions about the incident.

Ferreras, who previously served as Monserrate’s Chief of Staff and succeeded him in the City Council when he was elected State Senator, had remained quite about her former boss for much of his assault trial. However, Ferreras officially endorsed Peralta on Thursday, February 11 during a press conference at City Hall with Council Speaker Christine Quinn and other Queens Councilmembers.

Lefrak Community Boy Scouts Hold Fundraiser to Help The Children of Haiti.

By Jim Galloway:
This past Saturday and Sunday, February 30 & 31, the Cub Scout Pack & Boy Scout Troop #368 from our community conducted their fund raiser for the ravished victims of the Haitian earthquake.

All anticipated contributions of $200.00 will be given to the Queens Division of the American Red Cross.

We met at all four masses; one on Saturday and three on Sunday.

The Scouts wanted to do their part in helping the children of Haiti get back on their feet.

We want to first thank Father Darrell DaCosta, for allowing us to conduct this fund raiser at St. Paul's Church of Corona.

We want to thank the Scout Leader and Scouts who helped to conduct the drive. Plus, Mr. Herbert Chery, former President of the Knights of Columbus for his assistance and Umberto DaCosta for his assistance as well.

And most of all, we want to thank the many members and visitors of St. Paul's church for their generous contributions.

This is a breakdown of how the monies were received: 

  2 people gave $50.00 each
13 people gave $20.00 each 
  3 people gave $10.00 each
24 people gave $5.00 each
Multiple people gave a total of $115.00

We anticipated collecting about $200 however, in actuality, we collected a big $625.

It's Heat Season, Folks

From October 1 through May 31 heat is required in all apartments.

Between 6:00 am - 10:00 pm when the outside temperature is below 55 degrees, the inside temperature must be at least 68 degrees

Between 10:00 pm - 6:00 am when the outside temperature is below 40 degrees, the inside temperature must be at least 55 degrees.

Hot Water is required 24 hours a day at a minimum temperature at the tap of 120 degrees Fahrenheit.

In New York City, during the heating season from October 1 through May 31, tenant complaints of lack of heat and hot water are officially given top priority throughout the five boroughs by the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development's (HPD) Division of Code Enforcement (DCE). A brutal winter may often send the temperature plummeting to below freezing for days at a time. Under such circumstances, any building without heat constitutes a life threatening, emergency situation for tenants, especially senior citizens, invalids and infants or young children.

It is not difficult to find reasons for the fact that heat and hot water problems are so commonplace. The cost of supplying fuel for heat and hot water service in a multiple dwelling is generally, after real estate taxes, the largest single expense incurred by its owner (luxury buildings may have employee payrolls that are larger). At current prices, the fuel bill (using #6 oil), in a year with average winter temperatures, for a typical one hundred unit apartment building would approximate $60,000. Landlords are too often tempted to look at this building expense as "controllable" and initiate a systematic cut-back in service calculated to produce substantial savings.

A large part of the NYC housing stock is old and in poor condition. Approximately 40 percent of existing buildings are pre-1929 "old law" or "new law" walk-up tenements. The heating systems in these buildings are generally inefficient, having outlived their useful life, and break down frequently. Although these systems could be replaced with the costs passed on to the tenants, many of these landlords are short of the necessary cash and operate their buildings on a shoestring. The buildings, usually in low-income neighborhoods, are not considered good risks for loans by banks and other lending institutions. Additionally, affected tenants, generally living at or below the poverty level, pay rents that consume 60 to 70 percent of their gross household income and could not possibly absorb any further increases.

Finally, most landlords, managing agents or superintendents have not had any technical training in how to efficiently operate building heating systems. A commonplace mid-winter scene in New York City is an overheated apartment with windows wide open pouring heat-energy dollars into the street. At the other extreme is the scene of a family with children huddling around a kitchen stove, the only source of heat in an otherwise freezing apartment.

Landlords or employees responsible for maintaining residential building services should be required to take courses that teach the necessary skills to run those buildings. Low cost classes that provide this training are currently offered by, among others, the Apartment House Institute (affiliated with the New York Technical College) and the Cornell University (New York) County Extension Service. This training invariably results in significant fuel savings for the owner and improved living conditions for the tenants.

Complaints to the Landlord

Tenants suffering from a chronic lack of heat and hot water are advised to send a letter of complaint to their landlord by certified mail. The letter should document the history and extent of the problem, listing specific dates and details. Ideally, it should include a daily heat chart, listing days of inside and outside temperatures when heating violations occurred. The letter should also call attention to any previous tenant complaints regarding heat related problems and what, if anything, was done to correct them. Finally, tenants should request a response within a specific time, and indicate that they will take whatever administrative and legal actions are necessary if there is none.

Central Complaints and Emergency Repairs

HPD, Division of Code Enforcement, has a twenty four hour heat complaint telephone number -- the number is either 311 or 212-New-York (212-639-9675) for those with cell phones or otherwise unable to access 311. For the hearing impaired, the TTY number is (212) 504-4115. The Center is open 24-hours a day, seven-days a week. 

Lefrak City's Unfair MCI Application Burdens Residents

They have repaired the parking lots, replaced the old windows, and replaced the original elevators. The level of expertise that went into all of these endevours could easily be called "childlike"

The parking lots are as bad as they were before. The windows slip off their tracks, will not stay up when opened, and, it seems, does not prevent moisture from entering residents apartments. The elevators that were recently installed have failed on more occasions already than the ones they replaced, when they were new.

Meanwhile the landlord has collected millions upon millions of dollars from residents.

We Need A Community Center In Lefrak City, Now!

For too long the children of Lefrak City have not had a decent place to play in the summertime and there is no place to play in the winter.

It is a disgrace that a development this size does not have a place for the children to play.

Our children are called all kinds of names, suspected of doing all the wrong things, ridiculed, abused, bemused and confused by those who do not care for their welfare.

Opportunities that our children once had inside Lefrak City have been taken away by management.

We need a community center in Lefrak City. And it will not be just for kids. We need a facility that will serve the needs of all the residents of this community.

Before then senator John Sabini moved on to other things in government, he donated $500,000 towards the procuring of a community center in our comunity. It has been over two years and still nothing is there to show for it.

Those persons who have taken on the responsibility of providing services for our youth and adults need to step up to the plate. We need to know what has happened to the monies that were provided and what is being done to bring a community center to Lefrak City.

We here at whatzupnewsletter.com is willing to work with anyone who has the interest of the residents of Lefrak City at heart, to get the community center we need.

Let's get the ball rolling! 

Jose Peralta on The Issue of Domestic Violence.

From Joseperalta.com

“It should not take a shameful and public act of DV to force us to confront this serious issue. People are victimized by DV crimes daily and we can no longer afford to ignore them or make excuses. Elected officials must lead by example.”

Whether it is condemning the insidious crime of domestic violence, speaking out for victims and families who are terrorized by batterers or supporting funding for expanded services to combat this public health issue, no one is more passionate about this issue than José Peralta.

In December Assemblyman Peralta joined Councilmember Julissa Ferreras, and community leaders in a march against domestic violence. At the march, José announced the creation of the New York State Assembly Task Force to address this crime that stretches across socio economic, financial, and ethnic and gender groups. The task force will serve as a centralized entity to direct research, advocacy efforts, and analysis existing Domestic Violence legislation. The overriding goal of the Task Force is to highlight this growing public health issues and provide victims, organizations and communities the resources they need to deal with Domestic Violence.

José has also worked closely with the Queens District Attorney and fellow elected officials on various Domestic Violence initiatives including protecting survivors, advocating for safe and affordable shelter for victims, promoting the enforcement of Domestic Violence laws and prosecution of abusers and the ongoing effort to raise awareness about this issue.

Putting an End to Domestic Violence
According to a new NYS Division of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS) report, the rate of homicides related to Domestic Violence increased by 7.3% in New York State from 2007 to 2008. In New York City, the domestic homicide rate increased by 2.7% during the same time. In Queens, domestic violence murders shot up an astounding 18% in the past year. This is a crisis that has to stop.
In the Senate, José Peralta will be a staunch advocate for women, children and families and will fight for tougher penalties against domestic violence offenders and stronger protections for victims. To punish offenders, José will support increased jail time and mandate the registration of convicted repeat domestic violence predators.

To protect victims, José will support legislation to require insurance companies to give victims the option of registering alternative contact information needed to receive bills and claims so that their abuser cannot find them. He will also sponsor legislation allowing victims to sue their abusers in Civil Court, prohibit job and housing discrimination, and require employers to give victims of domestic violence time off from work to get help.

Obama Group Tells Hiram: No, You Can't

By Maggie Haberman
11:11 AM, March 9, 2010

O, no, you don't!

Former state Sen. Hiram Monserrate is getting heat from President Obama's grass-roots political organization for using the president's well-worn logo and slogan in his bid to get his Queens seat back.

"Re-elect Senator Monserrate," splashes the literature for the candidate, without mentioning that he's no longer in office. "Special election March 16."

Below it is the line, "Yes we can . . . Si se puede!"

"Yes we can!" was made famous by Obama during his two-year quest for the presidency.

But Organizing for America, the grassroots group that's become the Obama arm of the Democratic National Committee, wants to stop Monserrate.

"The use of the logo is neither approved nor supported by Organizing for America. The campaign did not seek nor do they have permission to use it. We are asking them to remove it from their materials," said a spokesman for Organizing for America in a statement first reported by Politico.

A Monserrate spokesman didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Post first reported recently that Monserrate had latched onto the slogan for himself.

Monserrate, a former NPYD cop and city councilman, was booted from the Senate on Feb. 9 by his colleagues following his conviction for misdemeanor assault on his girlfriend, Karla Giraldo.

He was charged with slashing her face with a broken glass and dragging her down the hallway and stairs to a hospital outside his district.

He was not convicted on the felony charge stemming from the slashing -- which he maintained was an accident that happened when he tripped and fell while carrying a glass.

The case stretched on for months, roiling the Senate as Democrats held a razor-thin majority.

Monserrate was among the "four amigos" who staged a leadership coup that stalled the Senate for a month last summer.

He's now running against Assemblyman José Peralta, who has the backing of the party establishment.

Monserrate petitioned his way onto the ballot and is hoping his high name recognition will vault him back into the Legislature.

Sources told The Post that Monserrate's Plan B, should he lose, is to run for Peralta's Assembly seat, which would be open.

"My sense is he's going to be looking at another seat," said one political consultant.

"He's organized and has a disciplined organization behind him."

Meanwhile, Monserrate is set to formally announce his candidacy today -- at an event that was clumsily previewed by his own team.

"FORMER SENATOR HIRAM MONSERRATE UNVEILS PLAN AND OFFICIALLY ANNOUNCES CANDIDACY AFTER STABBING," read the e-mail.

It was a reference to a violent incident in the district over the weekend.

But given the nature of Monserrate's conviction, it seemed awkward.

Additional reporting by David Seifman

maggie.haberman@nypost.com

LCMA Meeting Frozen Out!

The Lefrak City Men's Association cancelled the meeting that they had scheduled for Friday, January 29 in the Continental Room at Lefrak City. No new date has been set for the next meeting.

When asked why the meeting was cancelled, the chairman of the group, Mr. John Givens, said that because of the extremely cold weather and the fact that only a few persons had turned up by 6:55pm for the 7pm meeting, he thought it best to cancel.

The meeting was supposed to have discussed the employment and educational needs and opportunities of the youth and young adults in and around our community.

Let us hope that at the next meeting our youth and young adults are encouraged not to give up so easily as soon as the temperature drops below 20 degrees.

Waiting For Your Input

We are still waiting for your input.

Food Bazaar - Bizarre 

Food Bazaar is doing some rather unfair things to the residents and friends of Lefrak City. From taking the discounted price label off "specials" to using all different ways to to fool customers into thinking they are paying less, when in fact they are being charged more. WhatZup! WhatZup! WhatZup! WhatZup! WhatZup! WhatZup! WhatZup! WhatZup!

Urgent Tenant Meeting.

On Thursday, February 4, 2010 at 6:30pm, the Hon. Hiram Monserrate, NY state Senator representing our community, invites you to say "No" to excessive rent increases!

The meeting will be held in the St. Paul's church auditorium at 98-16 55th Avenue in Corona.

With Lefrak City owners seeking up to $50 in additional rent from each tenant for the recently installed elevators, the meeting was called to discuss ways to counter the increase.

If you think that you are paying too much in rent already, come to this meeting and stand up with us to stop this excessive rent increase.

There will be no need to rush home from work as the senator will be providing dinner for those attand.

Halloween Parade

Galloway’s Enterprise  presents its first Halloween Parade on Saturday, October 31, 2009 at noon (Rain Date: Saturday, Nov. 7, 2009) In front of the Silver Spoon restaurant at 58-21 Junction Boulevard.

For children ages 6 to 12 there will be: 
Free Bags of Halloween Candy to the First 25 Children.
6 Cash Prizes for the Best Costumes for Boys and Girls.

For further information call Jim Galloway at 718.271.4309