Koppell dumps community board housing chair(Page 2 of 3)
By Adam Wisnieski Posted 5/30/12
Mr. Durham told The Press on Tuesday that he has had a longstanding positive relationship with Mr. Koppell and that the two once even lived in the same Waldo Avenue building where Mr. Durham still works as a super. It was Mr. Koppell who originally nominated him to the board six years ago. Mr. Durham became Housing Committee chair after serving on the board for one year. During his time as chair, he said he made a particular effort to reach out to all areas of the district, especially Marble Hill and Kingsbridge Heights. In February, he organized a forum on heating oil conversion in Kingsbridge, for which CB 8 commended him. The forum, which discussed the city’s new rules for phasing out dirty No. 6 and No. 4 heating oils, was the first of its kind in the city. “Tom has been the heart and soul of Community Board 8. He has put more time in and pushed the city to do more than many, many people on the board,” CB 8 chair Bob Fanuzzi said on Tuesday. Mr. Durham said he felt his attendance, his work ethic and his sincerity should have mattered more than the petty issue he said he was thrown off for. This is not the first time board members have said they felt they were kicked off because they disagreed with Mr. Koppell. In 2010, the borough president’s office did not reappoint Tony Cassino, who ran unsuccessfully against Mr. Koppell for City Council. Mr. Cassino said it was “political payback for daring to run for office.” Mr. Cassino also formed the Northwest Bronx Democratic Alliance, a rival club to the Ben Franklin Reform Democratic Club, of which Mr. Koppell is a member. In 2010 Mr. Cassino told The Press he was worried that removing board members for political reasons would set an “unfortunate” precedent. The following year, the president of Mr. Cassino’s club, Saul Scheinbach, was not reappointed to CB 8. Mr. Scheinbach said the elected officials were trying to fill the board with their lackeys and that eventually the board would be full of “yes men.”
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Oliver Koppell has a woeful record on minority appointments to the Board. He has swept out half a dozen African Americans since he took office while continuing to appoint mostly white, mostly Jewish men. The only other qualification is that they are Ben Franklin loyalists. Not very representative of the community. Thursday, May 31, 2012|Report this
Xena...I agree...but the ultimate decision lies with Bronx Borough President Reuben Diaz Jr. The large population of the neighborhoods covered by CB8 would allow for 50 Community Board 8 members. I believe there are currently 46 members and the vast majority of those members reside in Riverdale.
I fully supported Maria Khury as well. While she was in the "running" for position of Vice Chair of CB8, I stumbled upon an article in which Councilman Koppell blamed the failing of JFK schools on the Dominican population of the students. Councilman Koppell stated “Most of the students at Kennedy High School are from the Dominican Republic and are English Language Learners with a limited language capacity,” I beg to differ. Though there is a large Domincan population on the JFK campus, the students need competent teachers and a fully functioning administration in order to succeed. Second language learners want to learn. What Councilman Koppell did not point out in the same article is that the JFK campus resembles a prison. Students are dragged through metal detectors and treated like inmates when they forget their ID cards, forced to wait in the lobby until 10am when it is more convenient for security personnel to print temporary ID cards - thus students are missing valuable classroom time! Councilman Koppell placed the burden of the school closings on the students, rather than the adults who work at the school and run the school as a business. Blaming the Dominican population of the school for the failure of the administration, and the DOE, is unethical and offensive. Yet, I heard not a peep from local Dominican elected officials over Councilman Koppells comments. What does that say about our Dominican politicians?
Tom Durham preferred to vote for a Dominican businesswoman over Councilman Koppells choice for Vice Chair of CB8. What good is a democracy if you only have a bunch of "yes" men and women? Unfortunately, the retaliatory measures taken against Tom are pitiful in that the removal of Tom Durham from CB8 clearly defines the character of our elected officials. It would have been easy for BBP Diaz Jr. to reappoint Tom, on the strength of Tom's work for the community alone. Apparently Tom worked too hard for the residents of CB8. Perhaps he was too "community-minded"?
For shame!
Friday, June 1, 2012|Report this
I agree that Mr. Koppell has a very bad record when it comes to people (who do not think about things his way) on Committee and Boards. In my opinion Mr. Koppell only wants those who will vote exactly like he tells them. I also beleive that it is time for Mr. Koppell to step down from his post as City Council member; I say this because if you happen to live in the Kingsbridge section (meaning if you live in the area of between Broadway and Bailey Avenue) he does not want to that you exist. He has been asked to help getting rid of a Hispanic bar (which is basically a strip or exotic dancing) where the customers come out during the night and the music is so loud and then when they are leaving (getting into cars or cabs since they don’t live in the neighborhood) make so much noise they wake people up. What did Mr. Koppell say when asked to help. I don’t have that area in my district. He is nothing more than a Hispanic lover. Who needs him and his friends, let’s get rid of them all. Monday, June 4, 2012|Report this