Markowitz Puts on a State of the Borough Spectacle

What do a “senior cycle,” a football team, a pole dancer and the mayor have in common?  They all made appearances at Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz’s 2011 State of the Borough Address at Sunset Park High School last night. 

After riding in on a bike he called his “senior cycle,” Markowitz spent about 90 minutes talking about jobs and the wonders of Brooklyn before finishing his show with a performance – ostensibly to promote physical fitness – by a Bay Ridge pole dancing instructor. 

Though the speech was full of gimmicks and gags, the borough president didn’t avoid controversial topics, touching upon bicycle lanes, the Atlantic Yards project and the decision this week to close more than two dozen schools, including M.S. 571 in Prospect Heights, the vote for which  as Markowitz's speech.

Markowitz  announced that Paul Robeson High School in Crown Heights, which the city’s Panel for Educational Policy (PEP) voted to phase out earlier this week, will become a technology-themed school for grades nine to 14.  The program will be underwritten by IBM and designed by the New York City College of Technology, Markowitz said.

“This just goes to show what I’ve always said: before you close schools, invest in them,” the borough president added. 

As expected, the borough president also lauded the Atlantic Yards development, which he called an economic boon to Brooklyn.

“After seven years of planning and legal fights,” Markowitz said, “construction on the first phase of the finally got underway, which means thousands of union jobs and an anchor for a rejuvenated downtown.”

The multi-billion dollar Atlantic Yards project, which will include commercial space, thousands of apartments and a basketball arena, has inspired passionate debate – and – since it was first introduced in 2003.

Markowitz also discussed bike lanes, jokingly referring to the front of the theater as the Department of Transportation’s newest addition in reference to his “senior cycle” stunt.

“I’m not even against bike lanes,” Markowitz said.  He then added, “But for the majority of New Yorkers, it is simply not feasible to make bicycles their primary mode of transport.”

Markowitz’s continuing criticism of bike lanes, not to mention his opening cycle stunt, upset some bike advocates.

“Every week people are dying and being seriously injured on Brooklyn streets,” Paul Steely White, Executive Director of Transportation Alternatives, wrote in an email to Patch after the speech.  “What is Marty's response?  Bad jokes and roadblocks for safer street designs.  Brooklyn deserves better.”

While Markowitz touched on controversial issues, he spent most of the speech either talking about jobs or cataloging his native borough’s many wonders.

 “We need jobs, jobs, jobs,” Markowitz said, “right here, right now.”

He went on to list the various ways that his office is trying to connect citizens with jobs, jobs, jobs: job fairs, jobs for teens, restaurant jobs, hotel jobs, retail jobs, arts jobs and construction jobs, to name a few.

Markowitz announced a new business incubator to be built in Central Brooklyn using $1 million of the borough’s capital funds.  The incubator would be designed for local entrepreneurs who aspire to found a food-related company, but lack the startup funds.

But his favorite topic was the bounty of Brooklyn.

 “If you’re looking for anything artisanal, sustainable, locally grown or made by hand, Brooklyn’s got it,” Markowitz said at one point.

Markowitz made sure to recognize many of Brooklyn’s movers and shakers, as well as some ordinary folks who are doing extraordinary things.

Tupper Thomas, the , drew the borough president’s praise and much applause.  Park Sloper Melissa Vaughan, the co-author of “New Brooklyn Cookbook” got a shout out, as did Deb Malkin, owner of Re/Dress NYC, a boutique in Boerum Hill for plus-size women.

Near the end of the speech, as a lead-up to the pole-dancer finale, the giant screen behind Markowitz lit up with yet another photo of the borough president posing with a famous, beautiful woman, he shrugged and said, “What can I say?  There are certain pleasures in my job that are not indictable.”