I have in the past posted my name on this site and you have deleted my posts claiming that I should stick to my usual name: realbushwick. (In the past I posted my name, Andrew, my full name is Andrew Castro).

Furthermore, this was not a character assassination, simply just an observation. I am curious to know why is that some people are allowed to trash-talk certain people and not others. I am aware that people like Reyna, Davila, and Lopez are all elected officials. But Community Members like Solano and Duran will also be judged based on their positions and stances because they are working in the public realm. If they can not handle it, than I suggest that they seek another line of work.

Lastly, Rob you may also contact me at realbushwick@gmail.com or at bkzragz2richez@yahoo.com. If you’d like we can have some valuable conversations. But I must admit, I’m not very impressed by you, neither am I convinced that you know what you are talking about.

Best Regards,

Mr. Andrew Castro
God Bless America!

Expanding his power seems to be Vito Lopez’ main priority. Under another of his hats – Brooklyn’s Democratic leader- Vito is able to make the election-related deals which bought him the go-ahead from Bloomberg and the support of Yassky (whose contributions are played down in this otherwise excellent piece.) Building affordable housing and providing needed services are a mechanism for amassing political power, as he is responsible for the employment, housing and essential services for thousands, and is not shy about reminding everyone of how to demonstrate their gratitude.

Hm, who prints “Bushwick’s ONLY community newspaper” with Vito’s face on the cover above the words “A Living Legend?”

If you feel that Vito Lopez has your best interests at heart, then you might adopt his form of loyalty, and see elected officials who oppose him as doing so only for personal and petty self-interest.

If you enjoy the diversity and independence of Community-Based Organizations and elected officials such as we have in Williamsburg, you might feel quite threatened to have this power-hungry bully position himself to work his manipulative tactics even deeper into your neighborhood. And to see him teaming up with the tremendously powerful and hierarchical UJO to dominate service provision and electoral politics in the area, well you can see why this Broadway Triangle issue is keeping people up at night.

Unfortunately this nasty style of politics is effective, and I doubt the City Council will block this rezoning. It won’t end there. Our local CBO’s will see their funding dry up as Ridgewood Bushwick becomes the recipient of those social services funds, local elected officials will have little choice but to appease this matrix of voting blocks and service provision, and everyone will know when to stand down and when to trade their Land Use votes to Vito if they want to operate in this nasty political theater.

With the ethical bar so low here in North Brooklyn, I can see how mediocre elected officials can claim to be bringing Transparency and Accountability and Change. This kind of nasty politics poisons the well for all of us. It’s way past time to push back.

Oh, snap.

Your naïveté has no bounds.