Statements on Congressman Anthony Weiner's Announcement of his Resignation from New York Congressional Colleagues

Statement from Rep. Joe Crowley on Weiner Resignation

“Anthony has been a strong advocate for his community and an influential legislator. Although I was deeply disappointed in his behavior, this is a sad way to end his congressional service. I know Anthony and Huma well and I know brighter days are ahead for them and their family. I wish them the best during what is surely a difficult time in their lives.”

Statement from Rep. Edolphus “Ed” Towns on Weiner Resignation

“Despite his personal problems, Congressman Weiner was an extremely effective lawmaker who had a positive impact on his constituents and the nation as a whole. He championed many causes, and was tireless in his efforts to make life better for all Americans. His voice will be missed. My heart goes out to Anthony Weiner and his family at this difficult time and I hope forgiveness and reconciliation rules the day. I wish them only the best”.

Congressman Gregory W. Meeks Statement on Congressman Anthony Weiner Resignation

Congressman Gregory W. Meeks (NY-6), Senior Member of the House Financial Services Committee and House Foreign Affairs Committee, released the following statement in regards to Congressman Anthony Weiner’s announcement of his resignation:

“This is a sad day, but Anthony has made the right decision for himself, his family and the Democratic Party. He will be sorely missed by me and his constituents. I wish him the best.

Rep. Ed Towns Addresses Hundreds of Brookdale Hospital Workers & Supporters at 1199 SEIU United Healthcare Workers Rally

On Friday June 10^th, Rep. Edolphus ‘Ed” Towns addressed Brookdale University Hospital workers (1199 SEIU United Healthcare Workers),at a rally outside of the facility. The dispute between the union and Brookdale is over the failure of Brookdale Hospital management to make payments for health coverage. In a statement released last week the Congressman put his support behind the workers. “These workers entered into a good faith contract and it is the responsibility of the State Department of Health to see to it that every effort is made to resolve this dispute in favor of the workers and the community”, said Towns.

REP. EDOLPHUS 'ED' TOWNS’ STATEMENT ON THE DEATH OF OSAMA BIN LADEN

“For all the innocent victims who perished on 9/11; to every person who has endlessly grieved for someone they lost on that fateful day; for every 9/11 responder who died as a hero—as well as scores of others who continue to suffer physical and emotional after-effects; to all of our military personnel who have lost their lives on the front lines in the battle against terrorism and tyranny, and for those who continue to engage the terrorists in the fight for freedom, I say quite simply this: justice delayed—but not denied”.

Rep. Edolphus 'Ed' Towns’ Statement on the Death of Hope Reichbach

“I am deeply saddened by the tragic news of the death of Hope Reichbach. She certainly was a rising political star with so much talent and a genuine concern for the community she passionately served. More importantly a life with so much promise has been cut short at such a young age. Brooklyn has indeed lost a tremendous gift. My prayers go out to Judge Gustin Reichbach and his family, as well as to the staff of Councilman Steve Levin”.

Photos from North Brooklyn Independent Democratic Club Meeting on April 9th...

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Congressman Towns' Statement on Geraldine Ferraro

Congressman Ed Towns (D-NY) released the following statement today regarding the passing of Geraldine Ferraro.

“I am deeply saddened by the passing of Congresswoman Geraldine Ferraro, one of America’s great public leaders, on March 26, 2011 after a 12-year battle with multiple myeloma.

“Congresswoman Ferraro preceded me in the House of Representatives and our paths often crossed as Members of the New York delegation. She was a strong American and proud New Yorker. She reminded me of another trailblazer, Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm, my mentor. Both she and Congresswoman Ferraro were pioneers in female politics and epitomized what it meant to be a political force. At a time when many shied away from political challenges, Ferraro stood tall and became first female Vice Presidential candidate for a major American political party.

“Congresswoman Ferraro’s life touched millions, including mine. We cherish her memory and her legacy will be a beacon for other Americans pursuing their dreams. My thoughts and prayers go out to the Ferraro-Zaccaro family.”

Back and Forth: Ed Towns by Chris Bragg - City Hall News

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Rep. Ed Towns has been popping up in a lot of Google alerts lately. His son, Assembly Member Darryl Towns, just took a job in the Cuomo administration. His daughter is running to replace her brother. And the congressman wants to run for his son’s old district leader spot. All the while, the Dilans—Sen. Martin Dilan and his son, Council Member Erik Dilan—are angling to get those seats in their corner. Meanwhile, Assembly Member Hakeem Jeffries’ advisors have been making noise about Jeffries running for Congress against Towns. In an interview, Towns talked about his daughter’s political prospects, his training regimen for 2012 and one of his top legislative priorities: building more women’s bathrooms.



What follows is an edited transcript.


City Hall: Why run for district leader after three decades in Congress?
Ed Towns: That little corner around there, we’ve sort of been the district leader of it for quite some time between me and Darryl, and, of course, Darryl is moving on, so I thought maybe I would just come back and help because that corner is sort of at the end of the borough and sometimes it’s forgotten. That’s basically the reason for it.

CH: Council Member Erik Dilan, who wants to run for district leader also, has argued that a younger person should be in the position. What do you make of that?
ET: I think what the party needs is an experienced, stable hand. I think that’s very much what it needs, more than ever. I think that’s part of our problem today, not having a stable situation in our political organization. I’m concerned with the fact that people running for national office in the most populated Democratic county in the nation and people will run for national office and never come to Brooklyn. So I think that we need to have folks that need to be able to stop this from occurring. Can you imagine one of the most populated counties in the nation, that people run for national office and never come here? I’ve been around a little longer and have more contacts and ties around the nation than most people. I also think we need to bring the county organization together and I feel I can be helpful in that regard.

CH: The Dilans have also said your son’s Assembly seat should now be filled by a Hispanic and are running Council Member Dilan’s chief of staff Rafael Espinal. Do you buy into that logic?
ET: I don’t have a problem with that—my daughter’s Hispanic. She’s from the Dominican Republic. She’s adopted. She’s been with us since she was six weeks old. So those kinds of arguments should be eliminated. It’s not something that I make a case of, but when people make statements like that, I have to respond.

CH: The Dilans say they will be in control of who gets the Democratic nomination for both the district leader and Assembly seat. Do you agree with that?
ET: I think that’s logical, but that doesn’t stop us from running. You can go out and create a line and it’s a special election, there have been a lot of situations where people in a special election have won. Charlie Johnson ran up in the Bronx in a special election and won. Bobby Garcia ran for Congress in a special election on the Liberal Party line and won. When there’s nothing there but that race, the Democratic line is one you would always like to have, and I think you make your life a lot easier if you do have it. That does not stop us from going out and running. The name Towns is known in the district.

CH: Have you thought a name for the ballot line? The Towns line?
ET: Save Our Children? There’s a lot of things that can be used. Rent’s Too Damn High and the Gas Too? [Laughs.]


CH: Are you planning on running for re-election to Congress in 2012?
ET: Oh, I’m running. I feel good, I feel good. I know some people have mentioned my age, but I’ll take on whoever’s mentioning my age. If they want to have a track race, I’ll race with them on foot, I’ll take that. And I really mean that, whoever it is. You just tell them I’m prepared to give them a foot race, a contest to see how many hours we can go in a day. Whatever.

CH: You’re in training?
ET: Oh yeah. I enjoy what I’m doing. It’s hard to beat somebody who enjoys what they’re doing.

CH: Assembly Member Hakeem Jeffries is looking at running for your seat. Does that worry you?
ET: That’s one of the weaknesses of democracy—that people are able to run against me. But no, no, I have no problem with that. If people are eager, that’s it. But would I be worried? Absolutely not. I mean, really. I’ve represented this district 29 years. And I’m prepared to take on whoever or whatever. And I’m the kind of guy who’s had a lot of races throughout the years.

CH: Jeffries is seen as an up-and-comer though…
ET: I think he has a lot of potential. And I personally like him. But I understand how politics go. That doesn’t stop him from being eager or wanting to take my place or thinking I should retire when I don’t want to.

CH: Charles Barron is also talking about running, what do you think about that?
ET: The more the merrier. If you hear of anybody else, tell them, ‘Come on.’

CH: Was it difficult losing your spot chairing the House Oversight Committee, and then your spot as ranking member?
ET: No, no. All my advisors and all my immediate staff felt that I should get back to Energy and Commerce. Because when you’re the ranking member on the Oversight Committee, you really have no say. Being on the Energy and Commerce committee is one of the most prestigious committees in the United States Congress. Fifty-five percent of all legislation in the House goes through that committee.

CH: What issues are you working on right now?
ET: We’re still looking at the student athletes’ right to know, in terms of the college and universities reporting college graduation rates with athletes. Because what had happened in many instances is that you have young people who sign up with a university and have no chance of graduating. In fact, some schools have gone 10 or 20 years without graduating an athlete. So making sure athletes or anyone advising them have the information that anyone advising them knows, that in the letter offering them a scholarship to the university, they have to put that information in. We’re working on a bill called bathroom parity, which is very important. That’s making sure any building funded with government dollars has an a comparable amount of bathrooms for women. You see women standing in long lines to go to the ladies room and we need to correct that. In the old days, women didn’t go to sporting events and things like that, so therefore, they didn’t provide for them. Up until a few months ago they didn’t even have a bathroom for women on the floor of the House of Representatives. So we’re looking at issues like that that are very, very important.

Dilan v. Towns Tensions Escalate As Deidra Towns Declares For Assembly by Chris Bragg - City Hall News

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Deidra Towns, the adopted sister of outgoing Assembly Member Darryl Towns, is set to run for her brother’s seat, she confirmed in an interview on Monday.

“Yes, I am intending to run when the seat becomes available,” she said.
The move is certain to heighten tensions between the Towns family—led by Rep. Edolphus Towns and his son, Darryl—and the Dilan family, led by State Sen. Martin Malave Dilan and Council Member Erik Martin Dilan.

The two families had been in negotiations about whom would get the Democratic notification to replace Darryl Towns, both in his district leader position and in his Assembly seat.

Nearly every candidate in the discussions is either a family member or has close ties to one of the two central Brooklyn dynasties.

Other possible candidates include Janitza Luna Dilan, Erik Martin Dilan’s wife, as well as Council Member Dilan’s chief of staff, Rafael Espinal. And the race for the Assembly seat is not the only contest pitting the two families against each other. Ed Towns is running for his son’s old district leader spot—but Erik Dilan is also interested, if he does not run for Assembly.

Darryl Towns had originally been supportive of the idea of Erik Dilan running to replace him in the Assembly.
Sen. Martin Dilan expressed dismay at Deidra Towns’ decision to run for the Assembly seat, saying this represented a breakdown in the negotiations between the two families.

“The congressman is in discussions with us in respect to a district leader position and independent of that, it seems he wants his daughter to be an Assembly member, his son to be a commissioner,” Dilan said. “This appears to leave no room for anyone else to grow.”

The Dilan family ostensibly controls the county committee process that will ultimately determine who gets the Democratic nomination for the Assembly seat, so Deidra Towns will likely have to petition on the ballot and run as an independent candidate.

But Deidra Towns would likely pull back if Erik Dilan runs for the seat, which would allow the Towns faction to put up a candidate for his Council seat.

Council Member Dilan is said by multiple sources to be likely to ultimately take a pass and allow his wife or his chief of staff to run.

Martin Dilan said Monday afternoon that a decision would likely be made Monday evening about who would run from the Dilan faction. He did not return subsequent phone calls seeking comment.

Many insiders see Espinal as the favorite since Janitza Luna Dilan has two young children and is said to be reluctant to go to Albany.

In an interview, Ed Towns somewhat jokingly suggested two possible names for the independent line that his daughter will run on: Save Our Children or the Rent’s Too Damn High, and the Gas Too.

Towns disputed the idea put forward by the Dilans that a Hispanic aligned with the Dilans should be elected to represent a district with a growing Hispanic population.

After all, Towns noted, his daughter is actually Hispanic—she was born in the Dominican Republic and adopted by Towns at six weeks old.

Towns said he believes his daughter could pull out an uphill victory. The family has very high name recognition in the district and several independent candidates have won past special elections.
He reiterated that he was fine with Erik Martin Dilan running for the Assembly seat, but would oppose any other Dilan-backed candidate.

Governor Cuomo Taps Towns to Head Big Housing Agency by Daniel Massey - Crain's New York Business

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Brooklyn Assemblyman to Become Commissioner of State's New Homes and Community Renewal Agency that Focuses on Housing

Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Thursday appointed Assemblyman Darryl Towns as commissioner and chief executive of New York State Homes and Community Renewal, the state agency that oversees finance, development and preservation of housing.

Mr. Towns replaces Brian Lawlor, a veteran housing official who last year led a consolidation of the Division of Housing and Community Renewal with nyhomes. As per the consolidation, Mr. Towns will also serve as chief executive of the state’s Housing Finance Agency and the State of New York Mortgage Agency.

A state official said Mr. Lawlor is likely to remain with the agency in a senior policy role.

Since 1992, Mr. Towns has represented the 54th Assembly District in Brooklyn. His father, Edolphus Towns, is a 14-term congressman. Darryl Towns has long been considered a potential successor to his father. It wasn’t immediately clear what his new position says about his aspirations for higher office.

While in the Assembly, he spearheaded the ANCHOR Program, which helped bolster commercial revitalization in residential communities in New York City and support the increase of newly constructed housing developments.

"HCR is an essential agency with the ability to effect real change for the people of New York,” said Don Capoccia, vice president of the New York State Association for Affordable Housing. “Assemblyman Towns will make it his priority to facilitate affordable housing in both urban and rural communities, therefore advancing much needed economic growth in New York.”

The appointment does not require Senate confirmation, a spokesman for the governor said.

Rep Towns Statement on Proposed Budget Cuts

My Republican colleague, Rep. Paul Ryan, chairman of the House Budget Committee released recommendations for budget cuts last week that would trim $32 billion from the remaining 2011 fiscal budget.  My first problem is that the Republican majority in the House recently passed a resolution giving Rep. Ryan sole authority to set budget limits for the entire country—a power that’s never before been given to an individual.  I am also dismayed that many of the proposed cuts will negatively impact many people who are struggling in my District and others throughout the nation.

            

I understand the urgent need to reduce the federal deficit.  We will be paying around $200 billion in interest payments on the debt this year and if budget deficits continue to grow at current rates, the Congressional Budget Office projects we will be paying $778 billion in the year 2020 or 3.4 percent of our Gross Domestic Product.  This, of course, would be a dangerous drag on the economy and unsustainable over the long haul.

President Barack Obama is proposing an austere budget, freezing spending levels on discretionary funding over the next five years that will lower spending as a percent of GDP to levels last seen in the Eisenhower Administration.  His proposed budget cuts community service block grants in half to $350 million and reduces Community Development Block Grants by a quarter or $125 million.  These are resources many struggling communities depend on to provide critical services.

Yet, the Republican budget plan calls for even deeper cuts that would cripple government agencies’ ability to meet the basic needs of many Americans.  Many Brooklyn residents are already struggling in this depressed economy.  But here we go again trying to balance the budget on the backs of the poor and less fortunate when we know that we can never cut our way to fiscal balance.  While it is necessary to be diligent with spending, we must also generate sufficient revenues.

We have fought two wars for a decade while cutting taxes for the wealthiest Americans and that has created the fiscal mess we are in.  In the past, the wealthiest Americans reached deeper into their pockets to pay for the nation’s security because they have the most to gain as well as lose.  At a time when we need more investment in human capital in order to compete globally—as President Obama stated so eloquently in his recent State of the Union address—we should not be cutting resources that are needed to educate and support a healthy support a healthy and strong citizenry.