BROOKLYNBEST 2005 OFFERS SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE AT GRAND ARMY PLAZA

June 4 & 5, BrooklynBest, which kicks off the summer season, highlights a different neighborhood each year. This year’s BrooklynBest, at Grand Army Plaza, included free outdoor movies (the original Star Wars, on the moonlit Prospect Park lawn), fireworks, fabulous fashion shows, the CMJ Five-Borough Indie Battle of the Bands, Brooklyn mini-golf, author readings, a photo contest, new Celebrity Path honorees and the Tour de Brooklyn bike ride. This year’s event also featured special programming with the Heart of Brooklyn cultural partnership, which includes the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Brooklyn Children’s Museum, Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn Public Library, and Prospect Park Zoo.

BROOKLYN CELEBRATES RUSSIAN HERITAGE WEEK

On June 9, Marty joined the Daily News and the Russian American Arts Foundation in hosting a reception in honor of Russian Heritage Week. “Russian culture, food and customs enliven Brooklyn neighborhoods more and more every year,” said Marty. “And of course, Brooklyn is proud to be the Russian-speaking capital of America!” The reception featured the vocal talents of Golden Rooster and the music of the Heritage Band. Brighton Beach resident and restaurateur Tatiana Varzar was honored for her determination and resilience in rebuilding her restaurant and nightclub, Tatiana’s, less than one year after a devastating fire, and as a co-founder of the fabulous Brighton Beach Blini Festival.

MARTY WELCOMES WILLIE RANDOLPH HOME TO BROOKLYN USA

On June 9, Marty joined residents of Tilden Houses and members of the Brownsville Recreation Center, who welcomed New York Mets Manager Willie Randolph home to his Brownsville neighborhood. Marty presented Randolph with a proclamation at Floyd Patterson Field, declaring it “Willie Randolph Day in Brooklyn, USA.” Randolph grew up in Brownsville, lived in Tilden Houses, graduated from Samuel J. Tilden High School, and spent hours perfecting his game in sandlots and parks in the neighborhood. “On behalf of Tilden Houses, Brownsville Recreation Center, and all of Brooklyn, I am proud to say ‘Welcome home, Willie!’ ” said Marty. “To all the children here today — if two kids from public housing like me and Willie can grow up to be borough president and manager of the Mets, not to mention an all-star for the Yankees — you can do it too.”

“HERE IN BROOKLYN, MEDGAR EVERS’ SPIRIT NEVER PERISHED” — MARTY  

On June 10, Marty, Medgar Evers College President Edison O. Jackson Jr., and the Brooklyn Women’s Network posthumously honored Medgar Wiley Evers (1925-1963), the slain civil rights leader and founder of the NAACP, at a Borough Hall ceremony to commemorate Medgar Wiley Evers Remembrance Week. Evers’ wife, the esteemed Dr. Myrlie Evers-Williams, was on hand to speak and sign copies of her recently published book, The Autobiography Of Medgar Evers: A Hero's Life and Legacy Revealed Through His Writings, Letters, and Speeches. “We all owe a debt of gratitude to Dr. Evers-Williams and Medgar Evers for their perseverance in pursuit of justice,” said Marty. “Medgar Evers paid for his beliefs with his life, but the tragedy of his death did have a purpose: it helped increase the pressure to erase the stain of inequality from American life. Here in Brooklyn, Medgar Evers’ spirit never perished. Not a day goes by that Brooklynites don’t cherish the gift of freedom that your husband, of blessed memory, helped to bestow upon all Americans of every race,” he told Evers’ widow.

MARKOWITZ STATEMENT ON PRESERVING EXPRESS BUS
SERVICE IN SOUTHWEST BROOKLYN

On June 14, Marty commended City Council Speaker Gifford Miller and other Council Members for responding to the needs of express bus riders in southwestern Brooklyn who depend on the service by committing Council funds to preserve express bus routes. “Residents of Bay Ridge, Coney Island, Seagate, Bensonhurst, Dyker Heights and nearby communities, especially our seniors, physically handicapped, families with young children,

and those who need a little extra help getting around, rely on these buses to get to medical appointments, go to work or volunteer, run errands, attend cultural events, and visit friends and family,” said Marty. “This service must be considered a permanent one, and the MTA should include it in its ongoing annual budgets. We also thank Council Member Vincent Gentile and all the community leaders who have worked tirelessly to ensure that the X-27 and X-28 express bus lines will continue to operate on weekends. While we celebrate this news, we are still fighting for weekend express bus service on the X-29, which would give Brooklynites in Brighton Beach, Midwood, Flatbush and Kensington the speedy lift they deserve.”

MARTY PITCHES BROOKLYN TO THE UNITED NATIONS AND KOFI ANNAN

When the news broke in May that the United Nations is considering a move to Brooklyn, Marty got on the case. On June 17, he paid a visit to United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan to further promote the idea that the United Nations move to Brooklyn while its Manhattan headquarters undergoes renovations. “I think Brooklyn, particularly downtown Brooklyn, is an ideal location for the United Nations,” said Marty. “Every day when the delegates come to work they will experience a city where Jews, Christians, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, and everyone else lives side by side in peace — 99.9% of the time — in recognition that we are all children of the same g-d. The UN may not always be on the right side of every issue. Like any institution made by human beings, it is fallible. However, I still believe that it is always better to talk, to have a forum to discuss issues, rather than resort to fighting — that’s why I support the UN. Here in Brooklyn the delegates will experience first-hand our wonderful diversity and amenities, and all the reasons why Brooklynites are known throughout the world as being hospitable, polite and reserved. Brooklyn has great transportation, world-class restaurants, top-notch cultural resources — everything they could want.”

MARTY BLASTS RENT GUIDELINES BOARD  

On June 22, Marty expressed his disappointment with the Rent Guidelines Board’s approval of increases of up to 2.75% for one-year leases and up to 5.5% for two-year leases for the city’s rent-stabilized apartments. He had urged the board to vote for a zero increase this year, after a steady stream of high increases in recent years. “Rent stabilization represents the largest share of affordable housing in New York City and we should be preserving it. Instead, with every increase, more apartments price out of the stabilization program,” said Marty. “I never want to see a New York that is home only to the very rich and the very poor. No one disagrees that a landlord who properly maintains a building has the right to a fair return, but at a time when tenant incomes are actually declining and cost increases to landlords have slowed down, rent increases create unacceptable hardships for thousands of New Yorkers with modest incomes.”

NORTH BROOKLYN HEALTH NETWORK LAUNCHES“ Brooklyn clear the air” ANTI-SMOKING EFFORT

Twenty-five percent of Brooklynites smoke, and smoking is the number one preventable killer in the borough. On June 29, Marty joined Alan Aviles, Acting President of New York City’s Health and Hospitals Corporation, Brooklyn health-care providers and Health Department officials to kick off “Brooklyn Clear the Air,” an anti-smoking initiative funded by a five-year $2.4 million grant from New York State to Woodhull Medical and Mental Health Center’s North Brooklyn Health Network (NBHN). The grant will be used to train health-care providers to identify smokers and encourage them to quit. Smokers whose doctors advise them to quit are 30 percent more likely to do so, yet most health-care providers do not counsel their patients to quit. “As someone who smoked three packs a day from the time I was 11 until 27, I know that quitting is difficult,” said Marty. “For me, the moment I realized I needed help was when my fingers started turning yellow, I was coughing up phlegm, and my pockets were always full of cigarette butts from smoking in between events. That’s when I said to myself, ‘It ain’t worth it.’ Believe me, if I can quit, so can any Brooklynite.”

MARKOWITZ ON ATLANTIC YARDS COMMUNITY BENEFITS AGREEMENT:“ BROOKLYN SETS THE STANDARD”

On June 27, Marty joined Mayor Bloomberg, Forest City Ratner, ACORN, BUILD, and Brooklyn community organizations to announce the Community Benefits Agreement for Atlantic Yards. “Once again Brooklyn sets the standard for urban America, showing the rest of the nation and the world how to get things done right,” said Marty. “This is a landmark partnership between a private developer and the community, one that ensures that thousands of residents will share in the prosperity that arises from this project. The job training and outreach to residents of public housing, the training for union apprenticeship programs, and the wage and benefits agreement are highly tangible economic benefits that will help many Brooklynites break out of poverty.  The affordable-housing commitment will help maintain Brooklyn’s economic diversity, keeping us from becoming home to only the very wealthy and the very poor. How sweet it is!”