‘Attorney General’ James would nullify Trump’s pardons; Seneca Club celebrates 119th anniversary

Chuck Otey's Pro Bono Barrister

July 9, 2018 By Charles F. Otey, Esq. Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Honoree Public Advocate Letitia James delivers inspiring remarks. Eagle photo by Mario Belluomo

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Steve Cohn’s Party Draws Hundreds to Giando on the Water

Seneca Club Celebrates 119th Anniversary with Brooklyn Leaders

We know that Brooklyn’s active political, legal and civic communities are composed of a diverse group of dedicated leaders who consistently work together. Brooklyn’s leaders are members of the Democratic Party, the Republican Party, the Conservative Party, the Working Families Party, the Reform Party and several other affiliations.

We are also gifted with the Steve Cohn Party — or, rather, parties — which seem to run through most of the year, just as his Seneca Club’s Community Stars event did last week at Giando on the Water.

While these events bear the Cohn name, he emphasized, early and often, the work of Seneca Club President Gerald Esposito, Democratic Party state committee members Linda Minucci and Nick Rizzo and Club Vice President Ramona Vergara.

Stars from various firmaments studded the waterfront-encased Giando ballroom and, though the Seneca Club might be marking its 119th year, thanks to Cohn and his team the event was full of energy and hope. This was evidenced by the inspiring remarks delivered by Public Advocate Letitia James, who is making a powerful bid to win the Democratic Party’s nomination for attorney general, as well as Assemblymember Joe Lentol, attorney Roger Archibald and Pratt Institute President Frances Bronet.

James brought her trademark firey energy to the Seneca Club podium. As she has demonstrated in past battles with developers and power brokers, this former councilmember is tough, smart and fearless and could well be in position to prosecute President Donald Trump & Co. for their many legal violations, which could mirror and enhance charges that will likely be part of a report by Special Prosecutor Robert Mueller.

‘Attorney General’ James Would Nullify Trump’s Pardons
“Trump’s threat of pardons [for allies such as lawyer Michael Cohen and strategist Paul Manafort] won’t help him in New York State,” a James supporter pointed out. “Letitia won’t stop until the ugly truth comes out.”

Lentol, Broner, Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce (BCC) Acting President Rick Russo, state Sen. Brian Kavanagh, Assemblymember Jo Anne Simon, U.S. Rep. Carolyn Maloney, Council of School Supervisors and Administrators Executive Vice President Mark Cannizzaro, attorney Sandy Rubenstein (the undisputed successor to tort legend Harry Lipsig), Brooklyn Bar Association President Dave Chidekel and attorney Jeff Miller of Miller, Leiby & Associates were among the evening’s honorees.

Russo was one of the most sought-out honorees that evening — and rightfully so. On a day-to-day basis, for years, his leadership in aid of three successive BCC presidents, has been real and effective.

Those of us who have dealt with the BCC during the past several years know that while he has always shown due deference to each BCC president while implementing their particular agendas, Russo is more than ready for prime time!

Lending his support to Cohn’s Seneca Club event was one of those former BCC presidents, Carlo Scissura, who has gone on to become president and CEO of the New York Building Congress — one of the most influential and productive members of the Greater New York commercial community.

No sooner had he been named to lead the Building Congress last year, the Bay Ridge native moved to support a longstanding cause — destroying the dilapidated, polluting, costly Gowanus Expressway and replacing it with a tunnel that would create billions of dollars’ worth of brand-new cityscape.

The Regional Plan Association viewed the Gowanus Tunnel as a dramatic innovation that would sink the teetering expressway and simultaneously create hundreds of acres of prime real estate, netting the city and state hundreds of millions of dollars in tax and development monies.

The Gowanus Tunnel effort was led for several years by the aforementioned Simon when she headed the Gowanus Expressway Coalition. She has welcomed Scissura’s support. The tunnel’s champions, including this writer, hope she will work it into her very impressive agenda.

Meanwhile, another Cohn power party is already being planned for the Friday before Election Day when he will award pumpkin cheesecakes to hundreds of guests from the business, education and political worlds who will enjoy breakfast with him at legendary Junior’s Restaurant on Flatbush Avenue.