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Locals fear lack of city services in CD48
BY BEN BRACHFELD
After southern Brooklyn
Councilmember Chaim
Deutsch was dismissed for tax
fraud, a Council staffer began
managing his offi ce full time
— but the staffer doesn’t even
live in Brooklyn, making some
worry that it’s negatively impacting
constituent services.
Walter Algarin, an employee
of the Council’s Community
Engagement Division,
who was appointed to the post
of the District Manager of
Council District 48, is a resident
of the Bronx, according
to his Twitter profi le. Sources
in the offi ce, who requested
anonymity, told Brooklyn Paper
that he is not a resident of
the district or the borough.
Making matters worse,
Algarin is not managing the
48th District offi ce full-time,
instead balancing the job with
his duties at the CED.
Algarin could not be
reached for comment, instead
referring inquiries to
the Council’s central offi ce.
A spokesperson for Council
Speaker Corey Johnson declined
COURIER L 24 IFE, MAY 28-JUNE 3, 2021
to comment on Algarin’s
borough of residence, but
said that the Council’s policy
is that staffers must live in the
fi ve boroughs.
Deutsch was expelled from
the Council last month after
pleading guilty to tax fraud. The
CED assumes responsibility for
council district offi ces when a
member vacates their seat for
any reason. That also includes
staffers — meaning Deutsch’s
entire staff will be laid off on
July 23 and replaced with employees
from the Council’s central
offi ce until a new Council
member is elected in November.
Deutsch was a conservative
Democrat who often found
himself at odds with the larger
Democratic caucus, but was
known locasplly for his offi ce’s
strong constituent services.
“Constituent services have
absolutely diminished since
his expulsion,” one staffer,
who requested anonymity, told
Brooklyn Paper. “One thing
everyone could agree about
Chaim Deutsch is that nobody
did constituent services like
him. He was on call 24/7 and
had the relationships within
agencies to produce genuine
results for people.”
Some residents now fear a
brain drain will result in the
district when Deutsch’s staff
leaves. “I think they made a
very big mistake,” said Judy
Baron, president of the Manhattan
Beach Community
Group, a neighborhood civic
association.
Baron says that Algarin
hasn’t responded to her calls
or emails, despite giving her
and other civic association
presidents his personal phone
number. In turn, Baron says
she fi nds herself attempting
to resolve residents’ concerns
herself, but that this is no replacement
for a pol’s touch.
Deutsch staffers told Brooklyn
Paper that constituent services
have signifi cantly diminished
since his expulsion.
“The Speaker’s offi ce can
report a pothole, sure. They
can’t negotiate major matters,
they can’t be proactive about
certain things,” a staffer told
Brooklyn Paper. “For example,
last week was a major
Muslim holiday. Every year,
Chaim arranges police protection,
community events for the
kids, and food pantries. Without
him, there was a dearth of
services — and a hate crime in
the district at a mosque.”
The staffer said that constituent
emails that formerly went
directly to the district offi ce
are now being routed through
the central offi ce, and sometimes
are not relayed back to
the district offi ce for days, even
in urgent cases like downed
electrical wires or fl ooding.
Employees maintain that
the layoffs will cause the loss of
institutional knowledge and relationships
within the district,
which spans Brighton Beach,
Manhattan Beach, Sheepshead
Bay, Homecrest, and Midwood.
The district will also not have
a member representing the
community in upcoming city
budget negotiations as a result
of Deutsch’s expulsion.
A spokesperson for Johnson
said that having the central
offi ce take over for a
Council member that vacates
their seat is standard operating
procedure, and has been
done frequently in recent
years as members like Rafael
Espinal, Ritchie Torres, and
Costa Constantinides have resigned
at a rapid clip.
“The Council has worked
to ensure there is a smooth
transition in services in District
48 now that the seat is vacant,”
said Jennifer Fermino.
This story has been edited for
brevity. For more, visit Brooklyn-
Paper.com or PoliticsNY.com..
Chaim Deutsch. File photo
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