Debra Glick Comes Knocking
by Alexander Meadows
Last Summer I started a brief run for City Council and spent time meeting with elected officials, including Assembly Member Glick. I had been a member of Community Board 2 for over 6 years and had a good grasp of the issues and learned a lot, even though I dropped out and endorsed Corey Johnson.
As a Board member and a longtime Waterfront Committee member, I have developed a passion for Hudson River Park and working to solve its problems. CB2 and the Park Advisory Council held a number of public meetings and public hearings in search of public input about solutions, one of which was the possible sale of air rights to buildings across the highway. All of a sudden, in late June 2013, without any public vetting, a bill sponsored by Assembly Member Glick passed the Assembly and Senate at 2AM, giving the Hudson River Park Trust the right to sell its air rights.
Afterwards the bill faced sound critique, both in the local media and at CB2 meetings.
We discovered many things wrong which needed to be addressed and fixed so that the legislation would have teeth and the community wouldn’t get screwed.
So at a monthly full Board meeting in October, I wanted to follow-up with Sarah, Glick’s CB2 representative, regarding all the still unanswered questions and concerns with the legislation. As a Board Member and activist, it is my duty to ask tough policy questions of electeds, especially when the policies in question will have a direct impact on the community I call home.
I asked Sarah the following policy question: “Now that this legislation has been passed and because there were so many unanswered questions, does Glick plan on holding any public town hall meetings about the bill, so we the community can have a greater say on how we move forward with this new legislation and how we can make sure that we the community make sure this legislation has some ‘teeth,’ so the community makes sure this is done the correct way?”
Sarah’s answer: “The legislation has been passed, we have held several public town hall meetings to discuss and the community has had their input. So, no, Assembly Member Glick will not have anymore public town hall meetings and if you would like any further information regarding the legislation it’s on the website.”
It was not the answer I was hoping for. I did not respond or engage but two other Board members did. They actually stood up disputed what Sarah stated and stated that “Glick has never held one public meeting regarding the legislation and the only public meeting that Glick attended after passage, she actually left early once it was announced that Cuomo had signed the legislation.” Sarah replied that this was not the case and that “Glick did hold public meetings but nonetheless that the legislation was passed and it was time to move forward.”
NEVER ONCE during or after the meeting was I approached by a single board member, community member, media or an elected officials’ representative to tell me that the policy question I asked was out of line, unbecoming of a board member, insulting or just plain wrong. NOT ONE PERSON!!
Fast-forward several weeks to the bullying done by Glick. On a Sunday morning around 11a.m. my friends and I were getting ready for brunch as my front door buzzer starts repeatedly ringing. At first, I thought it was a prank, so I ignored it. Then it buzzed again. I ignored thinking it must be for my neighbor, but then it kept buzzing but this time I answered. I was puzzled because I wasn’t expecting anyone.
Through the intercom, I said “Hello, who is this, please?” The other person responded, “It’s Deborah Glick. Is Alexander Meadows there?” I laughed into the intercom and said, “Seriously who is this, please?” She then stated, “This isn’t funny. It’s Deborah Glick. Is Alexander Meadows there?” At which point, I was shocked and my friends said out loud “Who is that lady and whoever she is does not sound happy at all.”
Still in shock and surprised that my elected was showing up at my house unannounced, I rushed downstairs to greet her. As I opened the door, I extended my hand to shake hers but she refused. That’s when I knew something wasn’t right. Without skipping a beat she laid into me with the following intimidation:
“Do yourself a favor, the next time you have a challenging question for one of my representatives, make sure you ask that challenging question in private. And if you ever ask anyone on my staff a question in public, make sure you never ask it in a challenging manner, understand?” Then she proceeds to scold me and state, “Yes, I did have public meeting and I did discuss the issue because it’s in my newsletter. And one more question. Are you a registered voter?” (I was stunned that she even asked because if she took a few minutes to look it up, she would have seen that I am a registered voter.) “Because if you are a registered voter then should have gotten my newsletter which you obviously didn’t read.” I replied with “I apologize, I must have missed it.”
Never once did she say to me, “Alexander, the question you asked pissed me off but nonetheless it was a fair and tough policy question regarding the legislation I sponsored, and now that I am here let’s discuss it.” Nor did she ever say to me that my question was not a policy question, or that I was out of line, disrespectful or just rude.
She just finished by angrily saying, “I hope I’ve made myself clear” then turned and walked away.
I was stunned. Just imagine if any of us tried to show up at her house unannounced, all hell would break loose!
I think Debra Glick, after 24 years, has outlasted her productive time as an Assembly Member. We need some new blood, open to community ideas and community input.
I just may run against her in November.
