Robert Hornak

There have been 110 mayors of New York City since it was founded in1665. IN all that time NYC has never had a mayor been indicted. Until now.

Since the consolidation of the five boroughs only one mayor, Jimmy Walker, a very flamboyant man from the powerful Tammany Hall machine, has had the dubious distinction of being forced to resign due to accusations of corruption. It appears the current mayor, Eric Adams, is about to follow in Jimmy Walkers footsteps.

If Adams is forced to resign or is removed by Governor Hochul, depending on the timing, will likely trigger a non-partisan special election that will dramatically change the political landscape heading into the 2025 citywide elections. But more critically, it will cast a very dark shadow over our political system, with too many people believing that all politicians are corrupt.

Today’s candidates often come from local Democratic political organizations, not as powerful as Tammany Hall was, but just as politically entrenched. These future candidates often come out of school and their first job is working for some elected official, holding a government job, or working in a politically connected non-profit.

They wait for their turn, then with the support of their boss or mentor, they run for local office and spend the rest of their career moving up the ladder to higher office. But they lack what most of the people they want to govern have, and what our founders hoped-for, real-world professional experience outside of government.

All too often a lifetime spent only working for government can lead to a distorted sense of judgment on the use of the power we give our public officials, and getting ahead justifies the means by which they get there.

Term limits were intended to help address that, but ultimately, it comes down to the people to decide to run. The best way to combat public corruption is for people from outside the world of politics and government to run for public office.

There is no school or hotline for people who consider running for office. Nevertheless, the public will be better served by average people willing to put their lives on hold to run for the City Council or the State Assembly and bring an outsider’s viewpoint and experience to the job of governing. Anyone looking for more information can contact me at rahornak@gmail.com.

Robert Hornak is a professional political consultant who has previously served as the Deputy Director of the Republican Assembly Leader’s NYC office and as Executive Director of the Queens Republican Party.

Newtown Creek

It was pretty cool to see Mayor Adams drink a glass of good-old NYC tap water Monday at a press conference to talk about the Delaware Aqueduct bypass tunnel project. He was in Corona, Queens, with the DEP and of course there was a range of questions about his legal troubles. It was obvious he feels more comfortable participating in press conferences before questions arise. After-all for sports fans, it is said that the best time to get away from off-the-field troubles is when you’re actually playing the game. We are sure it’s difficult to manage the tidal wave of media attention towards the eminent downfall of his administration while keeping a focus on getting things done for the city. But Monday was a pretty successful day for the Mayor – when it comes to water.

New York City enjoys the best drinking water in the free world. Let’s not forget that.  From a system that was built in the 1800s and is cleaned by nature and yes, it has been hampered by a leak. A temporary bypass is being constructed, so for the next few months our drinking water will taste a bit different. More will be coming from the Croton watershed, not the Catskill reservoir. There are slightly different minerals in that water supply, so pay attention.

What About the Newtown Creek?

So if we can spend 2 billion dollars on that project, why can’t the DEP figure out how to clean the Newtown Creek? This waterway, the offshoot of the East River, separating Brooklyn and Queens between LIC, Maspeth and Greenpoint, has been a source of the dirtiest water in the city for decades. No, it’s not in our water supply, but it is fed by our combined sewer system and it’s quite an environmental hazard – right in our own backyard. Waste water from our toilets, combines with storm water and drains into the creek. We have been living with this for more than a half century.  It’s 2024!

The Newtown Creek Alliance and other groups have been nice about the role the DEP wants to play in the idea of cleaning it and building a system that keeps it clean. They’ve played with aeration, some floats to keep the sewer flow in one area, and systems to keep the underground oil leaks contained in one part of the creek, but are we kidding ourselves? We can’t just pay lip service to this waterway.

Java with Joe a Hit

Okane and Addabbo

Governor Kathy Hochul has the power to remove Mayor Adams from his post, but she won’t step in soon to remove him. One of the biggest reasons is the recent Andrew sightings. You see, Andrew has been making some noise about running for mayor of NY and if Adams were removed there would have to be a special election. In a ‘special,’ names go on the ballot without a party affiliation. Cuomo wins by a landslide today. The other current contenders each split the votes of their small group of followers but Cuomo is the only one city residents know. In a primary, we’re not sure he wins, but today, removing Adams would be a disaster for Hochul.

Why?

Nobody wants to tangle with the fellow who was previously your boss – who left his job after sex-abuse allegations – and who she had to throw under the bus.

The relentless press in New York is notorious for staying on a subject until we get answers. Hochul had to come out with statements which acknowledged the allegations Cuomo created an intolerable culture in which women were treated in way which was disgusting. Addressing the situation without throwing Cuomo under the bus was impossible. She stayed away from accusing him without hearing from all sides, but make no mistake about it, he was offended.

Hochul was offended as well. There were leaks from then Governor Cuomo’s office that Hochul would be off the ticket in 2022. There were plenty of reports during the Cuomo administration that she was not included in most decisions. So when she took over she promised big changes (that’s a slight). Hochul publically said Cuomo should have warned her before resigning. If that’s not enough for her not wanting Cuomo to be mayor, think again.

For us at the Pol Position desk every morning it’s like opening up a new birthday present. Each day we hear about another raid or cell phone confiscation. It’s hard to keep up. Anyone and everyone with ties to the mayor is being vetted either by the DA or the FBI. So much so that two top officials decided to get married over the weekend. Yep, first deputy mayor Sheena Wright and ‘now-retiring’ schools chancellor David Banks got married. Remember one cannot be forced to testify against a spouse. Even if it is for ‘love,’ and we should believe it is, the optics are not good at all. Some legal experts say it might not protect them from obstruction of justice anyway. Hope they’re in love.

There is so much going on within NYC politics we’ve got ourselves a regular political columnist. “In this Corner” is premiering this week on the next page. Rob Hornak is a strategist who has typically represented ‘right-leaning candidates throughout NYC for decades. His column this week is about something near and dear to our heart; ‘this mayoral mess should inspire average people to run for office.’

Love it.

We’ve got to hand it to State Senator Joseph Addabbo. He represents areas of Ozone Park, Richmond Hill, Woodhaven, Glendale, Forest Hills, Kew Gardens, Maspeth and Middle Village, Queens. We caught him at Buongiorno Bagels on 88th Street in Glendale last Saturday. The tireless lawmaker has regular sit-downs with constituents at coffee shops and libraries. We’re not sure how much coffee he can really take, but we brushed shoulders with him while talking to Mike Okane, who just happens to be a member of Community Board 5 in Queens.