even for silver, all politics is local News
News of Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver’s arrest on corruption charges has largely focused on what it means for Albany politics.
And while Silver’s decision to step down as speaker is a seismic political move in the capital, Silver was -- and still remains -- a state assemblymember in Manhattan.
How are the developments playing out in his Lower East Side district?
We reached out to dozens of people acrossLower Manhattan, as well as Lower East Side institutions, groups and organizations to gauge the reaction of his constituents.
A sample of their responses follows.
Chad Marlow
Community Board 3 member
When I have worked with Shelly I found him to be smart, compassionate and staunchly progressive (except on good government reform). His weakness in terms of policy was that he served two masters: his constituents and his conference.
It was tough to take when the later prevailed over the former, like on congestion pricing. But that is hardly the point. No amount of good deeds justify betraying the public’s trust. Shelly’s outside income was a ticking time bomb that was destined to explode sooner or later. Some people simply chose to look the other way for the sake of political expediency.
Ro Sheffe
Community Board 1 member
Most recent news accounts have focused on money. But Sheldon Silver’s record in local affairs can’t be measured in dollars. Around here, his legacy is measured by the respect he’s earned over decades of service to a grateful community.
I’ve been a member of Manhattan Community Board 1 for 12 years. It would far exceed your word count for me to describe all the ways in which Speaker Silver has come to the aid of a community devastated by the 9/11 attack, then by a crippling recession, then by a hurricane.
But these are obvious crises. I’ve also seen him stand with us on issues much more controversial. Sometimes issues that others were reluctant to address at all. I have great admiration for his courage and conviction in doing so.
I’m as distressed as everyone else by recent news reports. But I regard Sheldon Silver as a man who exemplifies the spirit of public service to a community he and I both serve. When we were in the foxholes and trenches, he jumped in with us. We’ve fought together. He’s helped us overcome adversity, over and over again. I admire the man.
Diane Lapson
Community Board 1 member
I can say that a representative from his office was at every full community board meeting and Speaker Silver came to important meetings where serious votes that would affect thousands of people were taking place.
Michael Kramer
Save Our Seaport member, Seaport Working Group member, public member of Community Board 1
Our experience with Shelly and Shelly’s staff is that they’ve been big supporters of Save Our Seaport. He was very active in the Seaport Working Group, his staff is very knowledgeable about all the issues that face us. We hope they’re not distracted by recent events and continue to support us.
His office was very active in searching for an alternate site outside of the historic district for Howard Hughes to build their tower. I don’t want to put words in his mouth, but he thought it was inappropriate to build at the New Market site.
They’ve always been interested in the grittiness of the Seaport, and its effect on the local community. His district manager lives in Southbridge [Towers] and he has direct knowledge of how events at the Seaport can affect the quality of life in the surrounding area.
Damien Acevedo
President of the Lady Furies girls’ softball team
He never supported our Lady Furies team in any way after a lot of reaching out to him via email about helping us obtain fields and presence.
Paul Hovitz
Community Board 1 member, Southbridge Towers resident
Let me just say that I’ve been on the community board for 22 years, and that was actually the beginning of my relationship with Sheldon Silver.
All of this comes as quite a blow. I will say that if these allegations prove true, he certainly needs to pay the price for them. At the same time, I have to say that once again, as a community advocate, Shelly has been there for us.
(Hovitz said in particular that Silver was a tremendous force behind acquiring school space for children in the district, including at P.S. 89, the annex to P.S. 234, and the Spruce Street School.)
When that building was being built, Shelly jumped in and got space for [the Spruce Street School]. The list goes on and on and on. After 9/11, Shelly was right there helping us get auxiliary generators for the buildings and water and food and medical aid and so much stuff. The same thing happened after Hurricane Sandy.
This is like a body blow to us if Shelly is convicted and forced to resign, not only because all of the good stuff he’s done for our community, but we’d end up with a junior assemblyman with no clout as opposed to the most powerful man in the Assembly. I’m hoping we won’t lose his services.