Vito Lopez and his Hour-of-Power

The L magazine
by Mark Asch
March 1, 2011

And as I live and breath, no one is ever gonna steal this kids

The Post reports that, early this Sunday morning, City Councilman Steve Levin, who reps Greenpoint and the Brooklyn waterfront above Red Hook, woke up at dawn to drive to his office, following an attempted break-in­only to find that someone had stolen his 2000 Honda Civic off the street where it was parked.

Police suggest that the Atlantic Avenue break-in and Greenpoint car theft, though all but simultaneous, were a coincidence; however, the timing is suspicious, especially when you consider that Levin is the former chief of staff to Assembleyman and comically villainous Broooklyn Democratic boss Vito Lopez, whose armor has been sporting some serious chinks of late.

New York Post
by Aaron Short
February 20, 2011

Brooklyn isn't big enough for both of them.

Brooklyn Assemblyman and Democratic Party boss Vito Lopez is sweating now that Gov. Cuomo has appointed Lopez's longtime rival, Assemblyman Darryl Towns, to run the state agency in charge of affordable housing -- Lopez's passion and political base, source said.

The Brooklyn Paper
Vito under the Microscope
by Aaron Short
February 20, 2011

Gov. Cuomo slapped Brooklyn Democratic Party boss Vito Lopez, picking a longtime rival of the powerful Assemblyman to run the state’s housing agency.

Cuomo nominated Assemblyman Darryl Towns (D–Bedford-Stuyvesant) last week to run an agency in charge of affordable housing ­ Lopez’s passion ­ in an effort to antagonize him.

He also believes that the cancer-stricken Lopez’s career as a housing advocate and lawmaker, in its fifth decade, is winding down, sources familiar with the appointment said.

Once he takes over the agency next month, Towns will control the funding spigot for affordable housing projects ­ including Lopez’s political base, the Ridgewood Bushwick Senior Citizens Council, which received four contracts worth $811,000 last year.

New York Post
by Aaron Short
February 13, 2011

The city has ousted a high-ranking official at the scandal-ridden nonprofit founded by Brooklyn Assemblyman Vito Lopez -- but Lopez's two closest allies at the charity remain unscathed.

The chief financial officer of the Ridgewood Bushwick Senior Citizens Council, Wesley Hitner, lost his $106,723 position late last year as a result of a city investigation that found fraud had occurred on his watch.

Lopez's Bill Harmful to Clergy Abuse Victims, Serves interest of NY Catholic Dioceses
Press release from the Zalkin Law Firm
January 21, 2011

Just yesterday evening news broke that New York Assemblyman Vito Lopez is at it again. Lopez recently failed to derail Assemblywoman Margaret Markey's four year effort to get a Child Protection Bill passed when his competing Bill was defeated in the NY State Assembly Codes Committee earlier this month. Now he's back with a "new and improved" version.

"Assemblyman Lopez's bill harms clergy abuse victims and directly serves the interests of the Catholic Dioceses of New York," explained Irwin Zalkin, a leading sexual abuse attorney who has negotiated more than $200 million in clergy abuse settlements nationwide. "Lopez's bill runs counter to the interest of protecting children. What the bill really does is protect the Catholic Dioceses of New York from the truth coming out about the decades of abuse of children they allowed to happen."

www.vosizneias.com

New York, NY - The latest round in the influence fight between Democratic Brooklyn Assemblymen Vito Lopez and Dov Hikind went to the latter.

Hikind-backed Supreme Court Judge Bob Miller has been promoted to the Appellate Division, edging out Lopez’s choice, Jack Battaglia, who is the brother of Lopez’s longtime companion, Angela Battaglia.

Hikind likely had nothing to do with Miller getting the nod, but in Brooklyn, appearances mean something.

Lopez-Hikind clashes go back a few years. Lopez backed David Greenfield for City Council over Hikind’s choice, Joe Lazar (Greenfield won). Hikind got revenge by supporting Republican Mike Grimm in his defeat of Lopez-backed Rep. Mike McMahon.

We can only wish the same good things for Vito...

Politics as usual! So-called ‘reformer’ gets job with Lopez’s protege
The Brooklyn Paper
by Thomas Tracy
December 27, 2010

So much for reforming the Brooklyn Democratic organization!

Bay Ridge District Leader Kevin Peter Carroll ­ who ran as an anti-establishment reformer this fall ­ just got a political job with Councilman Steve Levin, the protege of county boss, Assemblyman Vito Lopez.

The new post puts Carroll, 24, just two degrees of separation from Lopez, the embattled pol he lambasted during his election campaign ­ yet backed for another term as county boss in his first official act as district leader.

Levin (D–Brooklyn Heights) said his decision to name Carroll his new legislative director was not a patronage appointment or payback to Lopez’s new buddy.

New York Post
by Rich Calder
December 27, 2010

Parishioners at a Brooklyn church that defied both its bishop and a powerful politician over a local development scheme say someone exacted revenge on them by fudging their books to justify the diocese shutting the house of worship down.

The Brooklyn Paper
By Aaron Short
December 17, 2010

Williamsburg community leaders slammed Assemblyman Vito Lopez for cashing in on a state loophole that allows him to collect his retirement pension while still drawing his $92,000 salary.

“There are some public officials who are guided by a passion to serve their community and others are guided by a passion for profit,” said Luis Garden Acosta, head of the Williamsburg-based arts group El Puente. “Anyone who uses loopholes to enrich himself rather than support constituents who are in dire circumstances is not guided by a passion to serve.”

Lopez and 10 other state lawmakers over the age of 65 filed paperwork this month announcing their “retirement” ­ but in actuality will only retire for one day and then go back to work as a “new” legislators on Jan. 1.

The move will allow Lopez, who is 69-years-old and battling a relapse of cancer, to collect his $88,000 pension ­ nearly doubling his salary.