OPINION
Thoughts on avoiding austerity
The BOE responds to faulty absentee
ballot packages mailed to Brooklyn voters
COURIER LIFE, OCT. 2-8, 2020 17
OP-ED
Due to an error by the
print vendor, Phoenix
Graphics, some voters
may have received a mislabeled
ballot envelope (the
one labelled Official Absentee
Ballot Envelope), in the
ballot package. The Board
of Elections is committed to
ensuring every voter has a
voice and the chance to cast
their ballot without fear of
fraud or disenfranchisement.
The Board is sending
out a second absentee ballot
package with the corrected
information to all voters
who may have been affected
by this error.
Voters should expect to
begin receiving replacement
ballots during the
week of 10/09/2020.
Upon receipt of the second
ballot package, voters
will be instructed to destroy
the contents of the previous
absentee ballot package and
use the corrected materials
included in this mailing.
Affected voters who have
returned their absentee
ballot, will be instructed to
fill out the replacement ballot
and send it back in the
provided envelope as soon
as possible. The Board will
ensure that the second ballot
will be the only one that
is counted.
“We will ensure on behalf
of the voters in Brooklyn
that the proper ballots
and ballot envelopes are in
the hands of the voters far
enough in advance of Election
Day so they can vote.”
said Board Executive Director,
Michael Ryan
It is important to note
that New York State Election
Law allows voters who
have requested or returned
their absentee ballot to still
vote in person.
An in-person vote will
override and invalidate any
absentee ballot received by
the Board.
Voters should be receiving
mail shortly which will
notify them of their Early
Voting and Election Day
Poll Sites.
Early Voting begins October
24, 2020 - November 1,
2020. Additionally you can
visit our website at vote.
nyc for your Poll Site information.
We apologize for this error.
Any questions can be
answered at 1-866-VOTENYC
or visit our website at
vote.nyc.
Hello Brooklyn Paper
Readers,
My name is Mike
Racioppo, and while you might
remember me from articles
such as “Community Board
Leaders Urge Speaker To Reinstate
Funding For Vocal New
York” or “Man launches furious
tirade against board members
over CitiBike,” this is my
premier column for the paper.
This opening was an attempt
at emulating Troy McClure,
and to be clear, I wasn’t the person
angry about CitiBike, nor
is that the focus of my column.
My paying job is as District
Manager of Brooklyn Community
Board 6, but unless stated
otherwise, I’m not speaking for
CB6. I’m sure when the Gowanus
rezoning gets certifi ed
early next year, I’ll be discussing
some CB6 stuff. Now, I’ll get
around to the point of this column,
which I was honored to be
offered last week. I will be using
my experience in academia
and government to explain and
offer an analysis of what’s happening
and what should be happening
in the city at large.
There’s no denying we’re in
a rough spot. From COVID-19,
summer curfews, the economy,
the budget, systemic racism,
school opening snafus, to a federal
government that is actively
and explicitly hostile to New
Yorkers, fi res seem to be raging
anywhere we turn. This recalls
dark periods in the city’s
history and exposes and highlights
a system that, for millions
of people, was broken long
before any of us wore a mask on
a day other than Halloween.
It feels a bit hopeless in the
midst of this, but it’s not entirely
hopeless because it doesn’t have
to stay that way. It doesn’t have
to stay that way because these
issues arise from social ills and
are governed by social law and
the social contract.
The social contract, and all
that it entails, is only as binding
as we, collectively, make
it. There are, of course, lots of
things that go into this complex
unwritten agreement, but the
bottom line is that it’s cobbled
together by humans. We give
stuff like paper currency value;
in contrast, we can’t alter physical
laws. For example, if one is
stranded on a desert island, no
amount of faith or wishing can
make saltwater quench your
thirst; cash cannot be ingested
as sustenance, nor can anyone
fl ap their arms and fl y off this
abstract island.
I’ll recommend one thing I
think the city can and should
do in the limited space I have
left after my introduction and
not presuming more on your
limited time. As you’ve probably
heard, the coronavirus
crisis has blown through the
city’s budget, and the view,
held by a governor who seems
to dislike the city actively, is
that there’s nothing the city
can do to but initiate massive
spending cuts. It would be one
thing if the cutting didn’t have
knock-on effects, but the cuts
beget more cuts, and those who
need services are left begging.
In my paying job, I’ve already
received too many complaints
about things such as reductions
in compost collection.
As Adam Yablon pointed out
in Slate last week, after 9/11,
the borrowing authority Mayor
Bill de Blasio is currently asking
for was approved on 9/13.
After that, the city’s richest
man, Mayor Bloomberg, raised
taxes, and the city came back.
Today, with historically lowinterest
rates, the city should
avail itself of all devices in its
toolbox by using borrowing
authority or raising revenues
to avoid austerity and over 20
thousand layoffs. Think of the
spending power of those 20
thousand former workers evaporating
overnight in the city’s
economy and the costs of unemployment
benefi t payments. I’m
sure someone will complain
about our lame-duck Mayor, but
we must look beyond the pain
of these avoidable cuts that will
linger years beyond his term.
Mike Racioppo is the District
Manager of Community
Board 6.
MIKE DROP
Mike Racioppo