Brook-Krasny to resign from State Assembly on July 7

Source: Lawmaker taking private sector job to boost family finances

June 11, 2015 By Paula Katinas Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Assemblymember Alec Brook-Krasny will formally announce his resignation when the legislative session ends on Albany, according to an aide. Eagle file photo by Paula Katinas

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Assemblymember Alec Brook-Krasny, the first Soviet-born man to serve in the New York State Assembly, is planning to resign from his post to take a job in the private sector

Brook-Krasny, a Democrat who has represented the 46th Assembly District (Bay Ridge-Dyker Heights-Coney Island) since 2006, told the Brooklyn Eagle on Thursday that he will tender his resignation on July 7.

The resignation will take effect immediately, he said.

The legislation session in Albany is scheduled to end next week, meaning that Brook-Krasny will be able to complete the session before leaving office.

“We have been working on a lot of bills in Albany during the last days of this session,” Brook-Krasny told the Eagle.

He said he was not ready to discuss his reasons for leaving or where he will be working.

But a source close to Brook-Krasny told the Eagle that the lawmaker is leaving office to take a high-paid position with a medical supply company. While the source wouldn’t disclose the salary, she said the new job would allow Brook-Krasny to make more money than he does as a member of the New York State Assembly, where members earn $79,500 a year.

“He and his wife have kids in college,” the source said.

Brook-Krasny, 57, has achieved iconic status among fellow Russian immigrants in the Brighton Beach-Coney Island area as the ultimate immigrant success story.

He was born in the former Soviet Union and earned a degree in economics from the Moscow Technology Institute. He came to the U.S. in 1989, settling in Brooklyn. A few years after he arrived in the U.S., he opened a play center for children called Fun-o-rama in Brighton Beach.

Brook-Krasny became actively involved in community life and politics. He ran for a City Council seat in 2001, losing the Democratic Primary to Domenic Recchia Jr., who went on to win the general election that November.

In 2006, when Democrat Adele Cohen, who was the assemblymember representing the 46th A.D. at the time, decided not to seek re-election. Brook-Krasny ran for the seat and won.

Rumors have been floating abou Brook-Krasny’s future for months in Brooklyn political circles. The story http://www.kingscountypolitics.com/brook-krasny-rumored-to-be-stepping-down-from-assembly/ was first reported in the popular blog Kings County Politics in May.

***UPDATE***

Article was updated to include the fact that the story of Brook-Krasny’s intention to resign was first reported by Kings County Politics.