Civic Decisions

I love this country.

My grandfather emigrated from Sicily in 1904 with $21 dollars in his pocket. This was also the time of the Great Depression, and it was hard for my father, a young lawyer, to find work.

We kids loved these maneuvers and played “guns” incessantly, running through the barracks and backyards looking for “Japs” and “Nazis” to kill. While in college, I was always on the lookout for good after-school jobs.

We went to court and sued each other. But we became and remained good friends because I knew I could trust him to tell me the truth.

Jim was the guest speaker, and when some people in the audience said they were sick of all the bad news, Jim replied, “It really is your fault. You only want to hear about the cat that was trapped in a tree and not the thousands still safely on the ground”.

I was told that all I would have to do to have my salary raised from $10,000 to $20,000 was to sign a proxy vote – and after that I need not even show up for a committee or a stated meeting.

I was a quick learner. I had never missed a meeting, and I took public service very seriously. I knew the Bronx members well, and was confident I could get their votes on their merits.

Money and power can only corrupt us when we lose sight of underlying large truths.

G-d gave me several reminders about what is truly important in life and death.

I called for ditching the Board of Estimate and handing its legislative powers to the council.

So we made a date to meet on November 14. I was very nervous about this upcoming meeting.

New York had a history of contractors who after failing to complete a job with one city agency would immediately get to work with another.

The republicans I complained were too state-oriented. “This is my district, and you want to create a slum!” I told him angrily in a long, three hour meeting.

In both situations there was a delay because the closest firehouse had been closed.

The theory in those days was that restaurants that banned smoking would lose business. As things turned out, the ban on smoking helped city restaurants, which started to gain clientele because of their smoke free environment.

It was difficult to counter a perception of “Oh no, we don’t want to empower these bums!” Jim kept trying to pin me down: “Where will you bring the homeless?”, “Will you have them brought to jail?”

“Just Say No”

One only has to visit a CUNY campus to see the tremendous improvement in our city universities.

“We’re not funding the picture,” I would say, “We’re funding the museum.”

The volunteers all chipped in out of their own pockets.

The next morning I showed up in court in Queens and found Eddie beaten black and blue. I stood up and started to appeal to the judge, “Your honor, please, look at my client’s condition-” but Eddie grabbed me and said, “They did nothing to me. I just tripped and fell down the stairs. I want to plead guilty”. Eddie no longer trusted me and there was nothing I could do to protect the poor fellow.