This week The Village Voice grilled State Assemblyman Vito Lopez of the 53rd district for corruption, especially the misappropriation of funds. Lopez has been in the news recently due to the controversial development deal with the city for the area of East Williamsburg known as the Broadway Triangle, as well as two City Council district elections in which his former aides are running. The Voice goes through a laundry list of complaints that have long been associated with Lopez’s name: allocating state funds to his pet projects such as the Ridgewood Bushwick Senior Citizens Council (which received the development rights to the Broadway Triangle in a no-bid process, along with the United Jewish Organizations); Angela Battaglia, his partner and the housing director who receives $190,000 per year; Bushwick United Democratic Club and its newspaper, which publishes a high volume of Lopez-glorifying stories; the list goes on. Lopez is currently trying to push three allies into public office, while Diana Reyna, an incumbent City Council candidate and former aide of Lopez, is on the outs with her former mentor. Instead, Lopez is supporting Maritza Davila for the 34th district seat, who is currently a project director at Ridgewood Bushwick. At a rally for Davila, Lopez said, “We need a team player!” Lopez’s opponents in the community, of course, could not agree more.
Power Plays by Party Boss Vito Lopez [Village Voice]
Markowitz Endorses Lopez’s Triangle Plan [Brownstoner]
Voice Takes on Vito [BushwickBK]
Image of Steve Levin, left, and Vito Lopez from BushwickBK