COURIER L 26 IFE, SEPT. 11-17, 2020
OPINION
Brooklyn State Senate race a bellwether
for GOP resurgence in Albany
Why justice for Sarah Pitts is important
Sarah Pitts was a 35-yearold
prosecutor in the
Brooklyn DA’s offi ce,
but she seems to have mostly
worked in the Post-Conviction
Justice Bureau, going to prisons
to hear stories from the inmates
of how they were wrongfully
convicted. She was fl ying
a Black Lives Matter sign on
her bike when she was fatally
struck by a bus on September
7 in the Hasidic part of Williamsburg.
Brooklyn bicyclists know
that the intersection that
Sarah died at feels threatening,
in a neighborhood where
the car traffi c feels unusually
aggressive and anti-bicycle.
On the night she was killed,
friends say she was riding
back to her home in Clinton
Hill after a meeting of Riders
for Rights, a politically active
group of cyclists.
Sarah’s tragic death really
hits home for me not
only because we are the
same age, but because she
died in precisely the manner
that I fear will bring me
to an early grave.
According to Julianne
Cuba of Streetsblog, Sarah
was at least the 12th cyclist
killed in New York City this
year. At least 11 of those
deaths, including hers,
could have been prevented
by better bike infrastructure.
The most trouble I ever
got in during my six years
as a district leader was
when I jokingly tweeted that
my likeliest cause of death
was something very similar
to what happened to Sarah.
She was killed by a tour bus
— the poorly named Excellent
Bus Service, not the
“Hasidic schoolbus” I was
imagining.
Do these questions of religion
and buses matter?
Normally buses cause fewer
bike deaths than cars.
After my tweet last year,
I was accused of anti-Semitism
from many sides (I
have a Jewish mother and
eight years of Jewish summer
camp under my belt)
and subsequently apologized.
My choice of words was
perhaps foolish, but every
cyclist in North Brooklyn
knows Sarah died in the
most dangerous place for
us.
I have ridden my bike
to every neighborhood in
Brooklyn, and I can report
that nowhere do the drivers
act with such impunity as in
the ultra-Orthodox neighborhoods.
Compared to every other
religious group in New York
City, the ultra-Orthodox appear
to receive more handsoff
treatment from the New
York City Police Department.
I know of many people
about my age who have
died on their bikes in North
Brooklyn while I have lived
here: Aurilla Lawrence,
Devra Freelander, Mathieu
Lefevre, to name just three
of many.
No one was held responsible
for killing them. Maybe
a prosecutor with a Black
Lives Matter sign will get
different treatment, but I’m
not holding my breath.
Nick Rizzo is a Democratic
District Leader representing
the 50th Assembly
District and a political consultant
who lives in Greenpoint.
Follow him on Twitter
@NickRizzo.
WORDS OF
RIZZDOM
Nick Rizzo
With many New Yorkers
returning from their
summer getaways and
more closely focusing on the
November election, political
campaigns traditionally begin
making their strongest arguments
to voters around Labor
Day.
Locally, this is happening
in the hot State Senate race in
southwest Brooklyn between
Democratic incumbent Andrew
Gounardes and GOP challenger
Vito Bruno. This contest, I predict,
will be a bellwether for
any hopes of Republican gains
in Albany’s upper chamber to
reclaim the majority — or to at
least make a dent in the Democrats’
big gains from two years
ago.
Bruno, an independent businessman,
has focused his campaign
on restoring order to our
streets, while also partly blaming
Gounardes for a recent rise
in crime. His most recent mailing
highlighted Gounardes’
vote for bail reform, which
eliminate cash bail and pretrial
detention for those committing
a range of misdemeanors
and non-violent felonies — but
which also allowed for many
criminals to be rereleased onto
the street within hours of being
arrested for dangerous crimes.
The Republican challenger
also cited Gounardes’ vote
against legislation which would
have increased penalties for
those assaulting police offi cers
and resisting arrest. As we have
seen in recent months, many of
our cops have been the victims
of physical injuries from some
not-so-peaceful protesters.
In turn, criminals feel emboldened
— as evidenced by
the skyrocketing crime rates,
including more shootings in
broad daylight. Many point to
the policies and anti-cop rhetoric
from Democrats this year as
reasons for the current public
safety crisis.
While certain categories of
crime have also gone up in this
senate district, it seemed that
these traditionally safe areas
had fended off the worst of the
violence. Not anymore.
In addition to the other human
carnage around our city
Labor Day weekend, there were
two murders in Gounardes’
district. A Bay Ridge man,
described as the “salt of the
earth” by his neighbors, was
shot while walking his dog in
front of his home. Another man
was shot in the face and neck in
Bensonhust during an apparent
carjacking attempt. Both
are dead.
Probably sensing his vulnerability
on public safety,
Gounardes just sent out an attack
mailer saying Bruno “welcomed
drug dealers,” “harbored
violent criminals,” and “celebrated
corruption” because he
ran clubs in the 1970s.
The mailing shows newspaper
clippings with these headlines
and leads people to believe
Bruno ran the clubs where
these alleged crimes occurred.
The GOP candidate, however,
maintains he was long gone
from any role with the establishments
cited when these violent
crimes took place.
You don’t need a PhD in political
science to fi gure out that
Gounardes is trying to weaken
Bruno’s law and order platform
by focusing on alleged criminal
activities from 40 years ago,
rather than the crime happening
under our noses today.
This district — represented
from 2003 to 2018 in the State
Senate by Republican Marty
Golden — has historically supported
law enforcement. Now,
it has been directly rocked by
violent crime — the upcoming
election will be a strong indicator
as to whether voters hold
Democrats accountable for the
increased crime.
How this race goes could be
the bellwether for a Republican
comeback in New York.
Bob Capano has worked
for Brooklyn Republican and
Democrat elected officials,
and has been an adjunct political
science professor for
over 15 years. Follow him on
twitter @bobcapano.
THE RIGHT
VIEW
Bob Capano