THE CARE BEARS ARE ON FIRE! SEE P.9 Brooklyn’s Real Newspaper BrooklynPaper.com • (718) 834–9350 • Brooklyn, NY • ©2007 BROOKLYN HEIGHTS–DOWNTOWN EDITION AWP/16 pages • Vol. 30, No. 37 • Saturday, Sept. 22, 2007 • FREE INCLUDING DUMBO MARTY OFF THE GAYDAR Paper Queer activists: Endorsement of homophobe will cost Beep big time By Dana Rubinstein wins — The Brooklyn Paper Borough President Markowitz’s choice for a Civil Court judgeship won Tuesday’s Democratic primary, but Markowitz may have lost something far bigger: the gay vote. “We now regard him with universal disdain,” said Alan Fleishman, a Democratic district leader and a board member of the Lambda Independent Democrats, a Park Slope-based gay political club. again! “It will be difficult for him to come before gay and lesbian clubs to ask for an endorsement in the future if he’s running in another race,” added Fleishman, hours The Brooklyn Paper after the Markowitz-endorsed former Councilman The Brooklyn Paper, which was named Noach Dear beat Karen Yellen in the off-year primary by “Newspaper of the Year” by a trade association a lopsided margin of 3,776 to 2,554 votes. this summer, has now been honored for its Markowitz endorsed Dear even though the City Bar keen-eyed editorials. Sitt Association rated the Borough Park pol unqualified for the job — but the main objection to his endorsement of The Independent Free Papers of America, an the anti-gay Dear came from gay and lesbian activists. association of hundreds of independently owned After Dear’s triumph on Tuesday, those activists community publications with 17 million readers swung into action. nationwide, cited our July 28 editorial, “Marty’s In an open letter to Markowitz and six other politi- blind spot,” not once, but twice at its annual con- on it cians who had backed Dear, the Lambda Independent vention last week in Boston. Democrats, the Stonewall Democratic Club, and the Jim Editor Gersh Kuntzman, who wrote the editorial Owles Liberal Democratic Club blasted them for sup- with Senior Editor Vince DiMiceli, received the Extends life of porting an “unethical bigot.” IFPA’s coveted Joseph A. Sklenar trophy — a The Borough Park politician is most reviled for his beautiful clock, actually — for the piece, which the judges said exhibited “courage and concern vitriolic crusade against a 1986 gay civil rights bill — Coney carnies; for community issues.” though his conservative positions on abortion and other The same editorial also issues have kept him in liberal crosshairs for the decades OUR OPINION Astroland next? that he’s been out of (yet seeking) office. “It is a disturbing time … when elected officials can By Ariella Cohen endorse a candidate who has a long record of blatant Marty’s blind spot OROUG The Brooklyn Paper hostility and hatred against lesbian, gay, bisexual and earned H PRE our “P SIDENT M B award w ress R legerdem ith an am elease ofAR theKOW W transgender people,” read the letter. ain. ITZ The Beep, a strong sup azing bit o ported it, calling it “good for B Yards project, put out an angry press release oneek” Embattled Coney Island develop- f political Good for B The letter went to Kings County Democratic Party boss Wednesday railing againporter of th lieve that? M rooklyn? C T rookly ransportation A e Atlantic Yards has allowarkow an he still reallyn.” be- er Joe Sitt will allow the carnie at- pec itz’s blind spot to A ted $300-m u st a M nore the fact thated the him project has for the M and Assemblyman Vito Lopez (D–Bushwick), Assembly- subw thority plan to coetro ay fares byillion deficit next year by hikingpolitan already caused C to blissfully ig- tlantic fares,” saidTA Mto be talking ab tractions that line the fabled Board- Here’s w 10 percent. ver an ex- a large rate h here the fancy on E arkow out raising transit man Dov Hikind (D–Borough Park), Councilmember Vin- Marko aged the D ike, alreadyd to ask for m itz. “O is largely wbeingitz’s b ust be coordinated.ur publicFare increas- policy eloved A footw tion to considerepartm w encour- sold to R ork com ent of Transporta- es discourage transit ridership, and walk to remain open for another year uilt o tlantic Y es in to local traffic patterns through sur- we m cent Gentile (D–Bay Ridge), Councilman Domenic Rec- — atner in 2005 ver land thatards the project M . holesale chan ust oppose them $114 m rounding com time.” IN HAPPIER TIMES: Borough President Markowitz parties with gender-benders Howie V. Cher and praisal said illionthe develop less than for thea m M soaked ges without a raise in rent — and it looks ere $100 m TA up $100 mmunities, alread at this In a tru city subsidies than originally bu Markow chia (D–Coney Island), Councilman Kendall Stewart ly op T illion illion m ordin even go en m ment rights wereA’s ow w will cost $1 billion or m ore in directy ated itz’s call fo Clover Honey during a Gay Pride Week event at Borough Hall in June. ne for m arket, those rights m n ap- w ” approach is a joke.r a “co- It Not only did ore.M subsidies. A as a “coordinated,” back like Astroland may be next to get the M orth. dgeted — room (D–Flatbush), and state Sen. Diane Savino (D–Bay Ridge). TA’s ight have for th tlantic Y ore in direct an ed A state and bo app fare-bustingarkow e MT ards clearly shares the blam and tlantic Y roach itz not o O A’s fiscal w d indirect “congestion” and threatrough o am - giveaw bject to the f course, M oes. ards in the first officials p thatong creat- city long-awaited stay of execution. Markowitz did not respond to a request for comment. ay, he loud release failed to seearkow the conn Markow , ly sup- itz’s aw e itz now lace — “Frankly, as the C ard-w these efforts. f a fare h and the strategies to reduce congestion, this inis ningn press decries is a direct result of The developer is in the final stages ity of N ection. If B ike that In other mud-slinging election news, reform club fa- son was endorsed by party boss Lopez, while Johnson sponsible for handling estate and guardianship cases the connection,orough Presidentvoters pack M ew York considers crowded, increasingly costlyarkow su of negotiation with Astroland owner vorite state Supreme Court Justice Diana Johnson beat was backed by several black elected officials, organiza- and, because it dolls out millions of dollars in legal busi- o tim busses shou ed into increasinglyitz can’t see e considers a runld forsend higher office. him a clear m bways and Carol Albert on next season’s rent for Manhattan Civil Court Judge ShawnDya Simpson in the tions identified as reform political clubs, and Rev. Al ness, is a major source of political patronage. essage if he the 3.1-acre, 45-year-old home of Democratic primary for the Surrogate judgeship. Simp- Sharpton. The Surrogate Court, run by two judges, is re- Johnson beat Simpson 23,454 votes to 16,095. Dante’s Inferno, a water flume and won first place in the July 28, 2007 other scream-inducing rides, a source association’s “Original Writ- said. ing/Editorial” category. DiMiceli “They are getting close to working was also honored for front page design. something out,” the source said. The editorial criticized Borough President Albert has been on a veritable roller Markowitz for complaining about the Metropolitan coaster since she sold her land to Sitt, Transit Authority’s $300-million deficit after he who wants to raze Astroland in favor ‘Brooklyn Eats’ bites the dust cheered the same agency when it sold the lucrative of a glitzy $1.5-billion, Las Vegas- air rights to the Atlantic Yards for tens, if not hun- style, year-round entertainment and ho- It will be smaller and more segmented.” But by the next year, the event was be- this,” said Joseph Chirico, the president dreds of millions, below their market value. By Adam Rathe The editorial called that “an amazing bit of po- tel complex. The Brooklyn Paper By that, Beaute-Lucien means it will ing held at the just-opened Brooklyn Mar- of the Brooklyn Restaurant Association This summer was supposed to the no longer be centralized under one fancy riott and drew 30 restau- and owner of Marco Polo on Court Street litical legerdemain.” final run for the Apollo-era funland, The kitchen is closed for Brooklyn roof on one blowout night. rants. By 2005, that in Carroll Gardens. Kuntzman took pride in the honor, which fol- but Albert wants Sitt to give her a Eats. The festival normally takes number had doubled. Chirico said Brooklyn Eats has been a lows The Brooklyn Paper’s selection as a “News- one-year lease extension. She has The annual festival of the borough’s place in October, but Over the festival’s great way to meet new customers and paper of the Year” by the Suburban Newspaper As- claimed that Sitt’s asking price of $3 best bites, which has showcased scores of won’t happen until next life, it went beyond other restaurateurs, and he is surprised sociation: “When we got the last award, I said that million in rent — about $2.8 million restaurateurs for a decade, won’t be spring at the earliest, featuring just restau- that they’re retooling the event.