The abuse of power corrupts Long Beach as Election Day approaches.

I wanted to share my experience from last night’s City Council meeting.   During the welfare and good portion of the meeting  I asked the city council if they approved Long Beach's legal counsel to sign the stipulation and the response was "No." (re: Supreme Court of the State of New York County of Nassau Sinclair Haberman and Belair Building, LLC, (Petitioners- Plaintiffs), -against- Zoning Board of Appeals of City of Long Beach, NY, et al  (Respondents – Defendants) Stipulation of Settlement Index No. 001138-04)

To be clear, that's like if you hire an attorney and when he is working on making a legally binding agreement with another party he signs your name without even ASKING you. That's what happened here, except this attorney was yours, mine, and the rest of Long Beach's 33,750 residents. If the City was going to have our attorney sign it, it would be ethical for a public review to take place on our council's agenda. The public review would allow our communities' organizations (Civic Associations, Water Department, Fire, Police, Historical Society, and Schools to contribute their thoughts and feed back . This would enable us to have a sense of what we truly do or do not want to have in relation to the proposed two nineteen story buildings/towers along our boardwalk shore.

Unfortunately, no such public hearing took place.  In the stipulation there are agreements, for i.e.: #84. “The Stipulation has been reviewed and approved by each of the parties and, by signing their names hereto, the attorneys for the parties affirm that their respective clients stipulate to and agree with each of the factual statements made in paragraphs 1 through 55 of this stipulation…” (That means you and I, “the clients”) “… have approved this agreement and authorize our attorney to sign this agreement for us.” However, we did not approve the agreement, let alone have an opportunity to.  Clarified last night, it is also the case that  by the city council President Scott Mandel, the council did not authorize Corey Klein to sign it. But yet, he has signed this stipulation. Scot Mandel also stated that there is a lawsuit happening and he cannot discuss it. To reiterate, our Counsel signed our name, without having the authority to do so, and now, through our taxes, we are paying for extra legal counsel. Those are facts. If you want my opinion, I'll elaborate on that further down, but there are some more interesting conditions in this stipulation that I'd like to post first.

#85. By signing their names hereto, the attorneys for the parties affirm that they have executed this Stipulation pursuant to the authorization of their respective clients and that their respective clients have taken all actions as required by law to provide that authorization.”

#44. After two days of mediation, lasting more than 8 hours on each day, with the assistance of Judge Crane, and upon his strong recommendation, it was determined by each of the parries, independently and upon the advice of their counsel, that it would be in their best interest to enter into this Stipulation to settle this action/proceeding, and to have this Stipulation "so ordered" by a Justice of the Supreme Court, for the following reasons:

A. to avoid the uncertainties of litigation;

B. to avoid the potentially financially crippling contingent liability of the City and the other City Respondents, which although denied by the City and the City Respondents, is claimed by the petitioners to amount to between $50,000,000 and $100,000,000;

C. to relieve the City from the onerous financial requirement of installing underground utilities on Shore Road between Lincoln and Monroe Boulevards;D. to relieve the City from having to account for and return the present value of the $200,000paid by the petitioners to the City in 1989, inter alia (among other things), for the installation of underground utilities on Shore Road between Lincoln and Monroe Boulevards;

E. to eliminate any residential use of the previously approved Building "4" on sites "B" and "C" , so that it may be used only for parking;

F. to preserve and not impair the City's bonding ability and to increase its bond rating;

G. to encourage development and investment in the City after the extreme devastation to and in the City caused by Super Storm Sandy;

H. to foster the rebuilding of the tax base of the City by substantial new construction;

I. to attempt to increase the values of waterfront and other properties within the City, which, in turn, will increase the tax base;

J. to promote the overall health, safety, and welfare of the residents of the City; and

K. to preserve, but modify the vested rights acquired by the petitioners:

i. as they existed under the City's 1985 zoning, based upon their:

(1) demolition of the then existing income producing properties;

(2) construction of Bulding "1" as part of their planned and approved, integrated, four-building complex; and,

(3) construction of a swimming pool and other structures to be used as common areas for the four towers in reliace on their 1985 variance;

ii. as they presently exist today, based upon both the foregoing and:

(1) the hundreds of thousands of dollars that they have paid in soft costs for the project over the last 27 years in professional fees, building permits, and financing; and

(2) the extension of time to commence construction until after the City has installed underground utilities on Shore Road between Lincoln and Monroe Boulevards, based upon its stipulation extending the City's obligation to perform such installation; and

L. to compensate the petitioners in some measure for their alleged damages in excess of $50,000,000without the City having to expend any money. (So our legal counsel was instrumental in putting this together, and without authorization signed it, and it went to the Nassau County Supreme Court Judge to validate it. Without Our City Authorizing our legal counsel to sign anything....Anything With conditions to Pay between $50,000,000 -$100,000,000 in legal fees alone, not to mention the water infrastructure it states You, and I Are Responsible to construct for..and #50 is where the 19 story towers condition slips in..if you've followed this far, then this should be some added interest to hear how our city is described to the Nassau County Supreme Court Justice):

45. The extreme devastation caused by Super Storm Sandy to the City has had a significant and adverse impact upon the City and its finances and financing, properties, economy, and residents. (Sounds desperate.. But I don't need anyone in the Nassau County Supreme Court, let alone the public, to think I'm desperate...Especially while they use that to leverage an independent developers' weighty agenda on my shoulders/back)

46. Since December of 2003, the petitioners have been delayed in their construction of Buildings "2", "3" , and "4" by the ZBA's revocation of their building permit and the ensuing litigation to have that permit reinstated.

(Oh Now our desperation is going to be classified publicly)

47. During that delay there was a national recession that substantially affected not only the country as a whole, but the City in particular. The recession, as it affected the City, resulted, inter alia (among other things), in difficulty for developers - such as the petitioners - to arrange for construction financing, and corresponding reductions in the City's land values and tax base. Super Storm Sandy significantly exacerbated those problems, especially as it laid waste to some and substantially damaged other properties along and within close proximity to the City's waterfront:

48. There is presently an urgent need for the City to:

A. demonstrate the confidence of developers in the City's ability to spur redevelopment, especially along the City's waterfront;

B. increase the City's tax base that was devastated by Super Storm Sandy;

C. raise the values of the City's waterfront and other properties;

D. eliminate all the potentially financially crippling contingent liabilities of the City stemming from the petitioners; damage claims;

E. eliminate the City's financially onerous obligation to install underground utilities on Shore Road between Lincoln and Monroe Boulevards and make such obligation optional for the City; and

F. eliminate the City's financially onerous obligation to return to petitioners the present value of the $200,000 paid by them to the City in 1989, inter alia (among other things), for installation of underground utilities on Shore Road between Lincoln and Monroe Boulevards.

49. The petitioners require assurance from the City and other City Respondents that:

A. The petitioners will be able to complete their project without unreasonable interference from the City or any City agency or official, and that any intervention by them will only be in the compliance with applicable law, which, for clarity, includes the rights provided to the petitioners by this Stipulation and by the variances heretofore granted by the ZBA and as hereafter modified by the ZBA pursuant to this Stipulation;

B. their project will have the potential to provide them with a reasonable return on their investment;

C. they will be able to commence construction at such time as, in their sole opinion, market conditions make it feasible for them to do so and they will not be required to commence construction before such time; and

D. they will not lose their vested rights under the 1985 and 1989 Variances previously granted to them, as modified by the 1992 Extension Agreement, which, in part, permits them to delay the commencement of future construction pending the City's installation of underground utilities on Shore Road between Lincoln and Monroe Boulevards.

#50. In the petitioners are permitted to revise their project by eliminating the residential use at the location of the previously approved Building "4" and are allowed to increase the height of Buildings "2" and "3", so that each may be 19 - stories high plus a roof-top penthouse not to exceed 5,000 square feet, with all of the required parking within tax blocks 145 and 146 ("the revised project"); then the completion of the Revised Project, and the required variances therefor, will:

A. spur redevelopment of the City, especially along the City's waterfront devastated by Super Storm Sandy;

B. appreciably raise the values of the City's waterfront and other properties;

C. increase the City's tax base that was devastated by Super Storm Sandy;

D. produce a positive and much needed change to the City and the City's waterfront, which, even with the required variances from the ZBA, clearly outweighs and detriment to the health, safety, and welfare of the nearby properties, the neighborhood, and the community;

E. pro dive the petitioners with the benefit they seek, enabling them ti finally complete their almost 30-year old project in an economically feasible manner acceptable to the City, which cannot otherwise be achieved by them by some method feasible for them to pursue, other than by obtaining the required variances; and

F. will not have a significant adverse effect or impact on the physical of environmental conditions in the neighborhood or district.

#54. However, the parties recognize that the there has been a devastating impact by Super Storm Sandy on the City in general and on the local real estate market in particular; that the national, state, county, and City economies are in or close to crisis; land values in the City, especially along the waterfront, have been significantly diminished; and the financing, development, and sale of new construction high rise condominiums or cooperatives and conventional high rise rental housing currently ay not be feasible at this time.

#73. This Stipulation must be approved and "so ordered" by a Justice of the Supreme Court of the State of New York, with venue in Nassau County. Is such approval is not obtained, this Stipulation shall be deemed null and void, without force and effect, and the parties shall proceed with the is action/proceeding as if this Stipulation was never executed.

"Obligations of the City Respondents":

#75. It shall be a violation of this stipulation if any further action shall be taken by any of the City Respondents or any agency, department, commission, committee, or other body or officer, employee, or agent of the City Respondents to enforce any current zoning or other ordinances or regulations, or any amendments thereto currently under consideration or hereafter to be enacted, which in any manner conflict with or otherwise contravene the terms of this Stipulation and/or the ability of the petitioners to construct the Revised Project in accordance with the terms of this Stipulation and the revised variances granted in furtherance thereof.

#76. The City Respondents and every agency, department, commission, committee, and other body and officer, employee, and agent of the City Respondents shall diligently process all application s and perform all inspections and other actions required of them to assure the ability of the petitioners to construct the Revised Project in accordance with the terms of this Stipulation and the revised variances granted in furtherance thereof.

The day after this stipulation was signed by our attorney, Corey Klein, he sent the Nassau County Supreme Court Justice This Letter:

"Dear Judge McCormack:

The City Respondents herby reject nunc pro tunc (now for then) and withdraw from the proposed Stipulation of Settlement.

By reason of the allure of conditions precedent, including the prompt submission of the Stipulation for approval and the failure of the Stipulation to be so ordered by justice of the Supreme Court  (paragraphs 67 and 71), the stipulation is null and void.

The City Respondents (pursuant to paragraph 92) hereby notify the court and all parties and require the prosecution of this action be resumed in thirty (30) days.

In addition, please be advised that the Zoning Board of Appeals and the individual members of the Zoning Board will also be represented by Paul H. Aloe, Esq. of Kudman Trachten & Aloe LLP.  The City of Long Beach and Building Commissioner Scott Kemins will also be represented by Robert Spolzino, Esq. of Wilson Elser.

Very Truly Yours,

Corey E. Klein

Corporation Counsel”

I perceive our city's need of a spring board to rebuild our tax base since Sandy, but I feel that it's unethical for our attorney to sign a stipulation without our authorization, which now most likely has us in an even more complicated lawsuit than we began with. So our legal counsel had the audacity to make and sign an agreement which leverages assets of $50,000,000-$100,000,000 plus  developments which range from four buildings (Three Additional Sea Point Towers), to two nineteen Story Tall towers blocking the sun, ocean breeze, bay breeze from anyone on Lincoln-Monroe Blvds Beach-Bay.  We do not have parking or infrastructure to accommodate that. .  Because of Corey Kleins unwarranted and impulsive actions, he is warranting further lawsuits towards you, me, and every single other tax paying resident of Long Beach.  I feel every day that goes by without the City Counsel acknowledging this blatant act of abuse of power (whether it’s ignored because of political/election influences), is a wasted opportunity . 

Years of Failing Leadership, Deserves to Be Eclipsed by an age of Capitalistic Pragmatism.

Years of Distracting our Energy on The First War we started (in Afghanistan) because we Invaded Iraq for a second time;
Years of Citizen-Soldier-Warriors being taken for granted AND;
Years of flag draped coffins being censored from the world to demoralize the world of the many costs of war AND;
Years of tax cuts, without a cent of sacrifice from the American public AND;
Years of expanded Tours-Of-Duty AND;
Years of ignoring the problems in Mexican drug cartel dominated territories which cost over 60,000 lives in the past seven and a half years AND;
Years of human rights violations AND;
Years of an unpaid war AND;
Years of ENTHUSIASM FOR VIOLENCE  like Granada, and Panama AND;
Years of reducing the focus from peace to a focus on corrupt, bloated, and chaotic wars AND;
Years of stocking caches of thousands of nuclear warheads which are not only deteriorating, but also being left out of sight, and unguarded AND;

Years of allowing military contractors to not face jurisdiction from the military or the local courts when there are pedophile laws broken because drunk American workers take multiple local sex slaves who are underage and violate every moral principle that any civilized court system upholds AND;

Years of military contractors recruiting custodians, chefs, etc to foreign bases with the standards, and a modernized version of the indentured servant system...  If you're unfamiliar, this is how it goes down:  "You live in a distressed village? (a poor African, or Asian villager is asked) You want to work and have money to live on and send some back to your family? Pay for this application (Just $4,000 , and we'll loan you the money for this application plus interest if you can't afford to pay it), then we'll put your application in the 'The Best Job Recruiting Operation' there is" .. weeks later,  "You have been accepted to a great paying job, and we'll pay for your relocation costs (Which for a poor person in Africa, is simply a One-Way bus or plane ticket.).   "Now that you're here, with the rest of the workers let's just be have out it.  You're working on a military base which is in an extremely dangerous part of i.e.. Afghanistan, Iraq, Bosnia, Kosovo, etc..  The U.S. Active Duty militia men, reservists, National Guardsmen, and enlisted persons, are on their 2nd, third, and fourth tour of duties and are experiencing mental and emotional trauma...IT CAN'T BE EXPECTED FOR THEM TO PEEL THEIR OWN POTATOES, OR CLEAN THEIR SHOWERS ANYMORE, You Have to do this now, 14 hour plus, Seven days a week, for a $100 a week pay.  And You MUST do this, because your application dues have not been paid yet, and in order to satisfy that loan we provided for you, you are looking at working here for a conservative estimate of 50 weeks before you start  getting a dollar.  And did we mention that if you try to leave here... You're an uneducated African, or an uneducated Asian, and don't speak the languages of Arabic, Pashto, Farsi, Albanian, Bosnian, You're also in the middle of war torn Iraq, or Afghanistan, or Bosnia, or Kosovo, etc.. And there isn't any hope for you to survive living a day outside of this military base, but..Seriously we can't guarantee your safety on this base either. "

Years of Reagan, Bush, Clinton, W. Bush, and Obama putting more and more blood sweat and tears into this behavior without a virtuous audit AND;

Years of nuclear weapons lobbyists claiming that their job programs  are more vital to the global balance, rather than investing in failing infrastructure right here in home AND;

Years of sending the military to natural disasters instead of the Peace Corps because the military dwarfs  every other organization AND;

Years of no competition on resources when it comes to the mothballing spectrum of "military functionality."

Who thinks se should have one year of Liberty from this un-American organization?  The trillions of dollars spent on just the operation I've listed here alone, far exceed the cost of the next costliest institutional asset of this country, (that institution is not the health care system, it is not the education, or environmental management system) social security, which is dilapidating rapidly.

If future generations are to look at present American, and world leader's policies, and the militaries' costs, and judge whether to fund the 45 year old+ retirements,  then start making up for Korea, Vietnam, The Cold War, Panama, Granada, Iran Contra, The military contractors' atrocities in Bosnia, and Kosovo, The Rampant Corruption and zero accountability of every nearsighted plutocrat who were supported and elected to go to TWO wars without a plan, and with numerous tax cuts to force the future generations to limp out of the cloud of lies that fed into"American Exceptionalism" and wake up in Europe, heating our homes with coal burning energy provided by the Shanghai Cooperation (Partnered with Russia) paying an arm and a leg for unregulated medicine, driving unregulated foreign made cars,  having big box stores that replaced community oriented mom and pop stores, and a flood of conflicts focused on resource scarcity, and egotistical chest pumping dog and pony shows that continue to appeal to the conformists.

Years of "Freedom isn't Free" bumper stickers plaguing our vehicles, yet freedom is repressed and suppressed by the U.S. office of The Attorney General,  by the U.S. Supreme Court Justices, by Presidents of the United States, and mostly by the people elected to write policies to govern our Democratic-Republic, our failing congressional "Leaders."

If I wasn't a capitalist I wouldn't know the definition of an audit.  Fortunately for me, I am a capitalist, and I have an education. It's easy to say that ignorance is bliss, and I believe that most of the country has let that become their mantra.  If you audited the policies of our military operations since post Vietnam, thru present,  one would not only realize how irrational the majority of its actions, but also gain some foresight that these failing practices are leading us to another depression, or super recession at the time when we can't afford it the most... climate change, poor education standards, poor health standards, poor sustainable infrastructure standards, poor sanitation standards, poor environmental regulation standards, an economy that doesn't know what to focus on in terms of ethical trade, (last time I checked Coca-Cola Inc. has spread across Africa, and Asia to utilize villagers water supplies so they can produce the plastic bottles for their beverage alone, not even for making the beverage) and our warriors are emotionally drained from the unjust war in Iraq, and the extended tours of duty in Afghanistan while observing abusive behaviors brought on by their own government.   It shouldn't be possible to state that there is a war of Good Vs. Evil and not be institutionalized directly after stating this in the world's present environment.  Let's start with Halliburton, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, Bush,  and have them face trial...It doesn't have to be in Guantanamo Bay, it can be a military tribunal.  Just have the constitutions' heart be validated so that there can be a check or balance administered to these law breakers.  Otherwise liberty is only for the rich, and the powerful, and the rest have no voice in this vacuum of propagandized exceptionalism.

Make No Exception, Long Beach, New York-United State, and all of America has hidden problems to face.

For years, I've nauseously observed the political hackery of many 24 Hour News Station pundits.  I have no interest in being involved in a controversy, but I can't sit blindly anymore while our education, environmental, and most of all, our economic policies behave without any disciplined auditing.

Every station is breaking news on the Eurasian topic of: "Ukraine"  "It means this, Ukraine means that, Russia intends this, Russia intends that, In hindsight the USA ought to have reacted like this, like that ..etc. etc."   I'm sitting in my Long Beach, NY Kitchen, 1 year and four months since my kitchen was ransacked by Hurricane Sandy.  

In my opinion the psychotic pundits on TV are projecting an abstract capitalistic senselessness.  Their perception focuses on either what trade resources are supplied, or demanded.  I fail to see ANY humanity in it.  

People of Long Beach, and Long Island have substance abuse problems, whether we're a bystander looking in, or someone with a problem looking out, not enough is being done to quell the loss of life and energy from this disease.  The status quo isn't enough anymore.  What is most valuable to our communities is being lost because of uncoordinated policies. As sensational as Hurricane Sandy's impact brought school closures, Heroin is killing our school's students. Without future generations, we'll have no future. 

This blog wasn't intended to have a gotcha moment, but I'll just settle and ask the question out right.  "Has the Ukrainian Uprising cost as many deaths as there have been murders related to the Mexican Drug Cartel?"  

According to government figures, from 2006-2011 there have been 41,515 drug related killings in Mexico.  

This is a situation that is beyond borders, this is a systemic infection with Mexico's government from their local to their national oversight processes.  As not only allies, but neighbors we should commit to providing democratic lessons for social justice in their country by method of consultation. If we don't realize satisfactory results, continue to educating Mexicans, as well as Americans (with the money saved from cutting the Pentagon's useless needs for focusing on other continent's mobsters instead of our own).

I was indoctrinated from an early age to believe that we as Americans should be comfortable with two countries and two oceans bordering every side of us.  

Ironically it was a few years earlier than that 2nd grade geography lesson that we (members of the human race) were in a similar conundrum that is reflected here today.  The conundrum of exceptionalism.  30 years ago, America invaded Granada preemptively, and killed 18 hospital patients, while Russia was in Afghanistan. What followed afterwards was a condemnation by the U.N. Security council; only to be vetoed by the U.S. and presently we're left with our own crippled resources trying to neutralize Afghanistan which should have continued to be done 33 years ago instead of looking at politically charged invasions.  

Russia is doing the same thing that we did 30 years ago, so I ask you, this time in a different manner, "What is more important to invest our focus on, fighting the organizations that are on our own continent who are responsible for our children overdosing (Mexican drug cartels, Corrupt Health care providers who abuse writing prescription drug slips), or a couple of far away countries who haven't committed to murdering even one other person on the other side of fight?"

I have faith that the European leaders (As they did in Libya, Turkey, and Egypt) are diplomatically skilled enough to mediate this conflict without any more dramatics.  

The ideal would be if we had pragmatic leaders, and stakeholders, from the oligarchs, to the virtuous organic farmers in every nation (including Russia and Mexico) to assert that there are more problems worthy of being looked into before they start new problems of their own.

There's no right, there's no wrong, there's only the capability of being humbled by the energy we all possess, and connect with which strives for peace, and that's love for one another without any double standard.

Mexico doesn't seem anymore inviting than Russia, or Iraq.  I'm sure people have gone into all of the countries and had safe experiences, but I don' wish to try for myself, not until I first feel safe living in Long Beach, NY.