Common Sense: A hole mess!

You really have to wonder why it is taking so long for the cave-in at Fifth Avenue and 64th Street to be fixed. The avenue has been closed to traffic at this location since early August of last year. And it’s not as though the winter was so bad that work had to be suspended for some extended period of time. Admittedly, this cave-in was a big deal, taking out not only the street, but numerous utilities. Nevertheless, we are into the ninth month with the job still needing a number of additional weeks to complete.

I am sure the various agencies involved including DEP, DOT and Design and Construction can give me all sorts of reasons, but really any reasonable person would conclude that it has taken long enough.

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The Brooklyn South Conservative Party Club chaired by Liam McCabe had over 130 people at its Meet and Greet with Congressmember Dan Donovan, held last week at the Hughes Council of the Knights of Columbus. It is apparent that there is an renewed appetite in the community for conservative-oriented issues and events. No doubt it is a reflection of the national trend of people having had enough of President Obama, his policies, and all he and Hillary Clinton represent.

The congressmember spoke for a few minutes on a host of matters ranging from the toxic atmosphere in Washington to the presidential race to matters of public policy like the economy and terrorism. Donovan is a member of the powerful House Foreign Relations Committee which has given him an opportunity to be an important critic of the Iranian nuclear deal. Dan arrived early and stayed late, mingling with the crowd, taking pictures and answering questions the whole time.

It was a good evening and the Conservative Club did a great job.

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Veteran activist Ray Aalbue will be the honoree at the annual Conservative Party Brunch to be held on Sunday, April 24 at noon at the Bay Ridge Manor. E.J. McMahon, the president of the Empire Center for Public Policy, will be the guest speaker. Tickets are $60 per person and can be obtained by calling the Conservative Party at 718-921-2158.

Ray has played a number of key roles in our city’s veteran and military community as the director of public affairs for Fort Hamilton Army Base and the Veterans Administration. He also has been heavily involved in a number of events ranging from the Memorial Day Parade to the Wounded Worrier Project. Ray himself is a Vietnam-era veteran.

McMahon is a noted public policy analyst whose commentary has appeared in the New York Times, the Post, the Daily News and Newsday, as well as on Fox News and Bloomberg Business News. He will speak on the future of the state and city economies as well as issues that will close out the remaining two months of the legislative session.

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Judge Edger Walker recently ruled in favor of Republican leader Teddy Ghorra’s faction in the Brooklyn Republican Party county leadership dispute. On March 23, Walker ruled that the Credentials Committee formed by outgoing Chairperson Craig Eaton could not unilaterally throw out the proxies of Ghorra’s group. The judge clarified a section of the law that was misused by Eaton two years ago and once again this past year to aid Arnaldo Ferraro. This clarification will prevent political committees throughout the state from disenfranchising party committee voters in the future.

The judge further ruled that 170 of the proxies thrown out by the credentials committee were removed inappropriately and thus restored to the control of Ghorra’s group. He further ordered that the two groups appear before him on April 6 in order for him to sort out the final issues.