Judge's Victims
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BROOKLYN’S WEEKLY NEWSPAPER Including The Downtown News, Carroll Gardens-Cobble Hill Paper and Fort Greene-Clinton Hill Paper Published weekly by Brooklyn Paper Publications Inc, 26 Court St., Brooklyn, NY 11242 Phone 718-834-9350 AD fax 718-834-1713 • NEWS fax 718-834-9278 © 2003 Brooklyn Paper Publications Inc. • 14 pages • Vol.26, No. 27 BWN • July 7, 2003 • FREE Cyclones write a check Judge’s City audit: Brooklyn, SI Clones take 3 teams owed big bucks from SI Yanks By Gersh Kuntzman In the Cyclones’ case, the team for The Brooklyn Papers failed to pay the city its share of By Vince DiMiceli victims rent it collects from retail estab- Apparently, the sweetheart lishments on the Surf Avenue side The Brooklyn Papers deals weren’t sweet enough. of Keyspan Park, the $40 million While the Yankees have dominated Women paying Both the Brooklyn Cyclones and beachfront edifice that the city the Mets during inter-league play this the Staten Island Yankees — teams built for the Cyclones’ exclusive year, the fortunes have been flipped that don’t pay rent on their city-built use. The retail spaces are current- down in the minor leagues. price in scandal facilities if their attendance falters ly occupied by a bar and a pizze- The Brooklyn Cyclones, a New York — have cooked the books to ensure ria. The city share of the rent is Mets affiliate, continued their domination of By Deborah Kolben that they pay even less to the city, $49,300. the Staten Island Yankees this week with The Brooklyn Papers two new reports show. The team also failed to pay wins Monday and Wednesday nights at Brooklyn Supreme Court In separate audits issued this $50,000 into a reserve fund for Keyspan Park and Tuesday night across the Judge Gerald Garson has been week, city Comptroller William future renovations or improve- Narrows — giving them six victories Thompson found that both the ments at Keyspan Park, a require- accused of turning his judge’s against the Baby Bombers in six tries this chambers into a marketplace 2001 New York-Penn League ment of the lease. An annual con- season. champion Cyclones and the 2002 tribution of $25,000 is required, On Wednesday night, with two outs in where divorce case litigants champion Yankees have routinely but the Cyclones have never the bottom of the ninth, shortstop David could proffer cash and cigars in Callan / Tom underpaid the city in rent, elec- made a payment. Reaver singled to left, scoring Travis Gar- exchange for a favorable ruling. tricity bills and other costs. After seeing a preliminary au- cia, to give the Cyclones a 4-3 win and a While District Attorney Charles The Yankees’ underpayments dit earlier in the week, the Cy- sweep of the series. Hynes has taken on the task of were far more egregious. Thomp- clones cut a check to the city that The hit bailed out closer Rober Paulk, prosecuting the case, the woman son found that the team did not re- covered its $87,500 debt in full who had the allowed the tying run to score who led the DA’s office to Garson Papers The Brooklyn imburse the city for more than — plus $29,783 against future in the eighth. Paulk, who retired the side in says her battle is far from over. Sigal Levi outside court Monday. $300,000 in electricity, short- charges. order in the ninth, picked up his first win of Freida Hanimov, 34, who wore a changed the city out of $25,000 of “The Brooklyn Cyclones do not the season. He also has four saves. wire for prosecutors while preg- Dozens of women have come its share of signage revenue, rang owe the city any money, which On Monday, four Brooklyn pitchers nant, is still in the middle of the / Gary Thomas forward since Garson was caught up almost $36,000 in late rent- was confirmed by the comptrol- combined to shutout the Yankees 3-0, with custody battle that prompted her to on tape allegedly taking bribes to payment fees, and have not repaid ler’s office in today’s press re- starter Matthew Lindstrom striking out five go to prosecutors. fix divorce cases. nearly $9,000 that the city over- lease,” Cyclones Senior Vice Pres- over five and two thirds innings to earn the She said that while her case has Also indicted in the scheme paid the team in parking revenues. ident R.C. Reuteman said in a win. been transferred to a new judge, were lawyer Paul Siminovsky, who The team’s total debt was close prepared statement. “The only is- The right-hander was helped some by she’s running out of cash. allegedly bribed Judge Garson on to $400,000. The Yankees have sue in dispute relates to selecting Papers The Brooklyn sloppy Yankee base running in the third “I am broke, I don’t have a pen- behalf of clients; Nissim Elmann, a recently paid $75,000 — but still the best method for tracking atten- New Cyclones mascot “Pee Wee” (right) with original mas- when, after Tyson Hanish led off with a ny,” said Hanimov, who just re- businessman who allegedly bro- contest the remainder. See AUDIT on page 11 cot Sandy the Seagull at Keyspan Park Monday. See SERIES on page 2 turned to work as a nurse in Mill kered deals for Siminovsky; Court Basin this week after giving birth Officer Louis Salerno, who al- to her fourth child in February. legedly assured that bribe cases Her husband, a jeweler, was not were heard in Judge Garson’s ordered by Garson to pay alimony. court; and Avraham Levi, 48, a Road to Nathan’s through Jersey Hanimov’s case is not unique. See WOMEN on page 13 than the average person), he en- July 4 contest 4th of July fireworks joys doing it. “I’m here just for the PAGE 9 fun of it,” he said. tryouts are Fri. street closings Thanks in part to the growing PAGE 11 popularity of the Nathan’s contest, Judge-pick a mouthful eating competitions have popped held every July 4 in Coney Island. up all around the country in the past few years. By John O’Connor In order to compete at Nathan’s you must first win one of 17 qual- To name just a few, there are for The Brooklyn Papers ifiers, and so far Seiken, who lives contests for hotdogs, ice cream, jalapeno peppers, hardboiled eggs, challengers Brian Seiken, the world pick- in Midwood, and goes by the le-eating champ (2.5 pounds in nickname “Beautiful Brian” (it mayonnaise, oysters, matzo balls 5 minutes), stood in the sun- was written on his baseball cap), and even pan-seared cow brains. By Patrick Gallahue Lewis on Tuesday in a rally outside baked parking lot of the Molly had competed in three. Fox TV and the Discovery Chan- The Brooklyn Papers Brooklyn Supreme Court. “The Pitcher Travel Plaza off the “I failed to qualify last year,” he nel have aired several contests, process of selecting judges is really said, scratching his salt-and-pepper and there is now a governing body The Working Families Party a farce.” New Jersey Turnpike last Fri- stubble, a pair of gold-rimmed re- called the International Federation threw down the gauntlet this day, contemplating the best ap- Mango / Greg “What we’re trying to do here is flector sunglasses poised on the tip of Competitive Eating (IFOCE), week — or gavel as it were — offer an honest alternative,” said proach to speed-eating hot dogs. of his nose. “It’s hard on the body, which claims to have 3,000 eaters, announcing it would screen Dan Cantor, executive director of He hoped to dispose of 16 dogs believe me. I just did one last or “gurgitators,” in its ranks and and run its own candidates for the Working Families Party. “Voters and buns in 12 minutes. week, and if I come up short today more than 150 events planned for the bench against the Brooklyn can be assured that anyone who is The occasion was a qualifying I’ll have to try again on Monday.” the coming year. Democrats. on Row E, the Working Families contest for the Nathan’s Famous Papers The Brooklyn But despite the rigors of com- As one might imagine, gurgita- “Everybody knows that we’re in Party line, is independent.” hot dog-eating championship, the Two contestants in this year’s hot dog-eating contest, “Crazy Legs” peting (Seiken hinted that he tors tend to be heavyset. Seiken a judicial crisis,” said Working Working Families Party leaders Super Bowl of competitive eating, Conti and Eric “Badlands” Booker, at South Street Seaport Monday. might consume a bit more Maalox See HOT DOGS on page 11 Families Party co-chair Bertha See JUDGE-PICK on page 13 Ikea plan divides Red Hook By Patrick Gallahue store will bring to a relatively Civic Association — have also said we have with the Red Hook Houses The Brooklyn Papers quiet neighborhood. that the community’s primary need is East and West,” said Dorothy Shields, On the one side are a growing num- for more housing since it is currently president of the Red Hook Houses The plan to build a massive home to only about 11,000 people. East Tenants Association and a 45- ber of civic associations in Red Hook Ikea home furnishings store in On the other side are activists, year Red Hook resident. “So many Red Hook has divided the com- and surrounding communities, who ar- largely from the lower income Red people need jobs.” munity into two factions — those gue that proposed box stores will clog Hook Houses, who point to the neigh- Ikea is promising to hire locally for who welcome the store for the Red Hook and neighboring communi- borhood’s inordinate poverty and its 500 to 600 permanent jobs, which many hundreds of jobs it will ties with traffic.