Published weekly by Includes The Bensonhurst Paper Brooklyn Paper Publications Inc, WWW .BROOKLYN 26 Court St., Brooklyn 11242 • PAPERS .COM Phone 718-834-9350 • AD fax 718-834-1713 • N EWS fax 718-834-9278 • © 2002 Brooklyn Paper Publications • 20 pages • Vol.25, No. 35 LOSING HIS GRIPPO BRG • September 9, 2002 22 say Vinny just hires pretty Italians • PAGE 9 By Heather J. Wilson The Brooklyn Papers A total of 22 teachers have filed federal age-discrimination complaints against Community there is nothing in-be- School District 20 Superinten- tween. di, 58, of PS 176; John Casciato, 50, dent Vincent Grippo charging Grippo, who has been of PS 112; Arthur Miller, 50, of IS District 20 superintendent 220; and Victor Sands, 57, of IS 220. that he fired them from district since 1994, had reportedly “All the principals or assistant prin- schools so he could hire “young, been on the short list of slim, attractive Italian women.” cipals responsible for writing up my candidates for schools clients are all Grippo appointees. In the week since eight teachers chancellor. It is not know Each and every one of my clients was filed complaints against Grippo with whether the complaints had forced out or is in the process of be- the Equal Employment Opportunity any effect on Mayor ing forced out, and each and every Commission (EEOC), they have been Bloomberg’s final decision. one has been replaced by someone joined by 14 more, three of them Neither Grippo, the city significantly younger,” Turco said. men. Department of Education Turco said his clients have either According to Joseph Turco, the nor School District 20 been fired, have not been asked back Manhattan-based lawyer representing would return repeated calls to renew their teaching contract, or the teachers in their complaints, the seeking comment on the have been forced into retirement. And list of teachers charging that Grippo allegations. a younger educator, he added, has re- issued them poor job ratings in order “All my clients only placed all of them, sometimes straight to bring in a younger, more attractive started to have problems out of college. staff, will likely continue to grow. Vincent Grippo with their performance af- The case, he added, comes with “We really touched a nerve here,” ter Grippo came on board,” compelling arguments. Turco said, noting that only a few of BP Turco charged. the teachers know each other, al- performance records until Grippo / FIle photo “One of my teachers, while her The teachers who have charges were pending, was sent to though they share similar stories. came on board, and every one of them filed the complaints in- was given a ‘U’ rating,” Turco said. clude Katherine Weber-Wolf, 53, of work in the district office,” Turco In each of the complaints filed with said. “When she asked what she the EEOC, one teacher’s testimony The designation, he explained, PS 102; Marshal Silverstein, 54, of regarding Grippo’s alleged behavior stands for unsatisfactory, and denotes PS 247; Deborah Mauskopf, 50, of should do with all the resumes com- is very similar to the next. a warning from a principal or supervi- PS 105, PS 314 and PS 163; Deborah ing in, a secretary in Grippo’s office said, ‘For all we care, you can shred “Every single one of my clients is sor for problems with the teacher’s Schwartz, 54, of PS 102; Ellen approximately 50 [years old], every lesson plans or how they teach their O’Leary, 58, of PS 104; Eileen Mil- all the resumes of people over 40.’” one of my clients with the exception classes. Usually the rating means lares, 60, of PS 247; Alice Sternberg, Turco said, “If the jury believes of one had satisfactory to excellent teachers must work to improve their 56, of PS 247; Elizabeth Stingo, 51, [the alleged statement], it might be skills. A teacher can only receive a of PS 112; Barbara Pocino, 55, of PS the most significant piece of evidence satisfactory or unsatisfactory rating; 176; Mary Papasmiris, 58, of PS 104; we have.” Jill Goldberg, 55, of PS 186; Robin Other testimony includes an allega- Kessler, 47, of PS 247; Marie Magal- tion made by Kessler that she heard Grippo tell a young student teacher at Game faces See GRIPPO on page 16 Victor and Oscar face up to the inevitable first day of school Wednesday at St. Anselm’s on 83rd POLS: Street. Catholic schools opened a day before public schools. The Brooklyn Papers STUDY City trashes CB10’s vote/ Greg Mango By Heather J. Wilson The Brooklyn Papers week grace period during which Sometimes, trash-talk works. violators would receive only Just ask the Bay Ridge support- warnings. planning to make the program SMOKE ers of “Operation Dumpster,” Operation Dumpster was de- citywide dependent upon the suc- cess of its pilot program. “Finally we are going to make By Patrick Gallahue whose grassroots efforts to bring signed by the Sanitation Depart- some headway on the sidewalks,” the program to the neighborhoods ment in 1998, to manage excess “We have had it in 10 of 59 dis- The Brooklyn Papers said Community Board 10 mem- within Community Board 10 — refuse and trash resulting from tricts and it turned out to be very successful there and so we decid- ber Greg Ahl, a Bay Ridge busi- A picture really is worth a thousand despite the board’s vote to reject it overflow commercial trash bins nessman and leading proponent of words. — resulted in the city Department left on sidewalks between sched- ed to expand it,” Dawkins said. “This is something the commis- the plan. “It has been bad politics Following a report in this newspaper last of Sanitation’s decision this week uled trash pickups. It bans waste that delayed this program and I to make the get-tough-on-com- receptacles from being stored on sioner has been pushing for, and week on a National Aeronautics and Space Ad- he was able to put it into action. know the city, sooner or later, ministration space station image taken from mercial-trash-bins restrictions a the sidewalk on non-collection wanted to do it citywide and we citywide mandate. days and prohibits refuse from be- The time was right. We took a outer spaceon Sept. 11 that clearly showed a close look at the pilot, it was a got them to do it much sooner.” thick cloud of smoke, ash and debris emanating The expanded rules will take ing left out over the weekends. effect on Sept. 16, with a four- success, so why not share that Back in June, after CB10 voted from the World Trade Center, sweeping across According to Sanitation De- down the initiative by a vote of partment spokeswoman Kathy success with the rest of the city?” the East River and cutting a southeasterly path 30-15, Ahl charged that CB10 Dawkins, the agency had been Right now, the program is in ef- across the entire borough of Brooklyn, legisla- fect in just nine of the city’s Chairman59 Steve Harrison, bend- tors this week called upon the federal govern- community boards. ing to the will of Bay Ridge ment to examine the health of Brooklynites as Councilman Marty Golden — extensively as they have those living in Man- See DUMPSTER hattan. Markowitz loses Cyclones beton page 16 A joint letter drafted by Councilman David Yassky and Rep. Nydia Velazquez was an- nounced at a press conference Wednesday on By Patrick Gallahue the steps of City Hall. The letter, addressed to The Brooklyn Papers U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Ad- Before sinking his teeth ministrator Christie Whitman, demands that into a meal across the Nar- the EPA take a good hard look at Brooklyn in rows, Borough President ning the first two out of three Marty Markowitz had to eat a See meetings against the Yankees. SMOKE on page 18 Officials are concerned about the effects of Sept. 11 bit of crow. Those numbers were reversed, plume (shown in this space station photo) on Brooklynites. The “Borough Challenge,” a however, in their second and third NASA bet between Markowitz and Stat- series and in their last three-game en Island Borough President series, the Cyclones were swept, James Molinaro on the season se- losing twice at home. Race to replace fallen Angel ries between their respective mi- “We’re not playing the way I’d nor league baseball teams, the Cy- hoped we would play down the clones and the Yankees, went foul stretch,” team manager Howard for Brooklyn at year’s end. Johnson told Brooklyn Papers’ By Patrick Gallahue The Clones were bested in columnist Gersh Kuntzman last The Brooklyn Papers eight of the 12 regular season bat- against Rodriguez; Amanda Bonilla, month, after the Cyclones’ second tles against the Yanks. loss to the Yankees. The resignation and guilty plea of former chief of staff to Assemblyman disgraced Councilman Angel Rod- Felix Ortiz; and Eddie Rodriguez, pres- “I’m an honorable man, and The challenge opened with a Brooklyn never goes back on its trash-talking display worthy of any riguez last week, was followed ident of Community School Board 15 quickly by a scrambling of con- word,” Markowitz said this week good rivalry. Markowitz called Stat- wasted little time in announcing their through a spokesman. “I was the tenders to fill his Sunset Park-Red en Island “the southwest suburb of candidacies. one who made the challenge ini- Brooklyn,” and Molinaro vowed to Hook seat. All four candidates are residents of tially to the Staten Island Borough pack on the pounds the self-pro- Seemingly before Rodriguez could Sunset Park, which occupied the bulk of a President, who was reluctant to claimed Marty Party lost during his even get the words out in admitting that 38th Councilmanic District that also in- accept it.” “Lighten Up” campaign.