Hiram Monserrate
Monserrate Officially Against Term Limits Extension
Councilman Hiram Monserrate has come out publicly against the current plan to extend term limits. Currently, the Mayor and City Council may only serve two consecutive terms in office, but the Mayor is pushing a plan to extend those limits to three consecutive terms.
Monserrate had been on the fence with the issue but now joins a group of Council Members who oppose the proposal.
Whether or not term limits are extended will be the determining factor in whether or not Mayor Bloomberg can run once again for re-election. That, of course, could have a significant impact upon the future of Willets Point.
Despite that fact, I believe term limits should not be changed through the rushed legislative process that is taking place.
As the Clock Ticks, City Works for Willets Support
Eliot Brown of the New York Observer has an excellent piece about the impending vote on Willets Point, detailing almost every aspect I can think of regarding this process. Here are a few excerpts from the article to get you interested, but I highly recommend reading the whole thing.
City officials say they have met individually or in small groups with at least 10 to 20 council members over the past two weeks alone; the city-funded Flushing/Willets Point/Corona Local Development Corporation plans to meet one by one with the Queens delegation between this week and last; and labor unions are adding pressure in support of the plan, with a rally slated for City Hall on Friday…
“I’m worried that so many of the Council people seem to be: first reaction is negative, and not do it,” said Assemblyman Mark Weprin, a Democrat of Queens. “If it doesn’t go this time, it may never happen.”…
At the center of all of the efforts is Mr. Monserrate, the former Marine whose vote is likely to sway a significant portion—if not a majority—of the Council, as legislators typically defer to the local member. Without his support, the city would surely face a steep uphill climb to gain approval…
I can’t do this article justice with brief quotes, but the major points about the City winning over Council Members are crucial to this plan happening. The article also highlights the fact that the project has seen broad support from elected officials outside of the Council - meaning State Senators and Assembly Members, who unfortunately do not have votes in this process.
In addition, the fact that the Council traditionally defers to the local member could be a major problem, although Council Members should see past such a narrow-sighted practice for such an important plan that would affect the entire city and not just Hiram Monserrate’s publicity interests in his own district.
Monserrate Undecided on Term Limits
Councilman Hiram Monserrate, the main opponent of the plan to develop Willets Point, is undecided on term limits, according to the New York Observer.
The thing is, Monserrate won an uncontested primary for the Democratic nomination, which means he’s 99.9% sure of winning that seat on November 4.
If term limits are extended in the city, Monserrate could stick around as a Councilman if he’s willing to give up his State Senate race pending his re-election in 2009. Monserrate would be around the Council to continue his opposition to the project, though the main vote will take place before he has to make a decision.
If Monserrate is still in the Council, though, that means Michael Bloomberg also has a realistic shot at re-election, allowing him much more time to work on Willets Point.
Update: Monserrate Dem Nominee for State Senate
Sorry for the late reporting on this one, but as of 9 pm on September 9, Hiram Monserrate is the Democratic nominee for State Senator in his district in Queens, which means he’ll win the seat in his heavily Democratic district on November 4.
If I hear any news about when he’ll take on his new position, I’ll definitely keep everyone posted.
Opinion: NY Post Editorial Board Endorses Plan
In an editorial entitled Blackmail at Willets Point the New York Post writes:
It’s time for the fooling around on Will ets Point to come to an end.
The city wants to rezone the long-blighted area - now dominated by auto-body shops, scrap yards, towing companies and the like.
Under proposed rezoning, the area would be opened for hotels, a convention center, offices, retail and residential space. However, as is typical, local politicians are up to mischief.
The ringleader this time is City Councilman Hiram Monserrate. With one eye squarely on higher office - the state Senate - he’s working against the rezoning.
Last month, following an hours-long protest outside of a City Planning Commission, Monserrate led a boisterous crowd in shouting down a news conference organized by the Economic Development Corp.
Days earlier, he got 32 of the council’s 51 members to agree that the Willets Point project won’t go forward unless the city promises not to use eminent domain to remove some 200 small businesses in the affected area.
Eminent domain - a process whereby a municipality may confiscate certain properties with appropriate compensation for a larger public purpose - is controversial, and should indeed be debated.
But that’s not what Monserrate is up to. Rather, he’s trying to hold up the project in order to squeeze out more “community” benefits.
Two years ago, he threatened to block a new Mets ballpark until Queens got a deal similar to what the Yankees gave The Bronx when building their new stadium.
Eventually, the Mets agreed to set aside various percentages of jobs to Queens residents and to minority and women contractors.
This time around, Monserrate claims, “There are still questions that haven’t been answered.”
Such as, how much “affordable housing” will be made available.
In fact, one-fifth of the residential space is already set aside for low-income housing. Yet Monserrate still has “questions.”
Rezoning Willets Point will intrinsically benefit the area, the borough of Queens and the city of New York.
Council Speaker Christine Quinn needs to show some leadership here, squelching Monserrate’s continued bad-faith blackmail attempts, prior to the Planning Commission vote in the coming weeks.
This project needs to go forward.
Make that three editorial boards that have come out strongly in favor of the plan to develop Willets Point. One of the papers is a local weekly, and the other two are city-wide daily papers. It seems that editors across the board agree that the plan is a great idea and Councilman Monserrate’s opposition makes little to no sense.
Update: Will Monserrate Have a Vote on Willets Point?
There’s some speculation over at The Real Deal as to whether or not Councilman/soon-to-be State Senator Hiram Monserrate will actually be in the City Council when it takes its vote on the plan to develop WIllets Point. Monserrate is running unopposed for the State Senate seat previously held by John Sabini in Queens. The seat is currently vacant.
On September 9, Monserrate will become the official Democratic nominee, and he has no serious opposition in the general election on November 4. Whether or not he’ll be able to vote on the plan in the City Council depends upon a trial originating in a Brooklyn State Senate race as to when the vacant seat will be filled. If it is ruled that the vacant seats are to be filled immediately, Monserrate will likely be a State Senator whose district no longer includes Willets Point before the vote hits the Council floor.
Upon taking his new position, his City Council seat will become vacant, and a special election most likely wouldn’t be held in time for the Council Member representing Willets Point to have a say in the City Council’s vote.
Monserrate insists he will continue to oppose the plan no matter what seat he holds at the time.
This is all speculation at this point, and if I had to guess, I’d see Monserrate getting sworn in in January with everyone else who has been elected. But we can all hope that he is immediately sworn into his new position…
Welcome to Develop Willets Point
