Rookies go up against incumbents in 2 Bay Ridge races

October 28, 2014 By Paula Katinas Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Assemblyman Alec Brook-Krasny (right) and his opponent Stamatis Lilikakis are at odds over issues like taxes and how to create jobs in New York State. Eagle photo by Paula Katinas

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In a redistricting process that took place in the early 1980s and that is still talked about in some political circles, Bay Ridge, which had up to that point been represented by a single State Assembly member, was carved up into several different districts.

As a result, local residents are represented in the assembly by lawmakers whose districts are dominated by other neighborhoods.

Two of Bay Ridge’s assembly members, Democrat Alec Brook-Krasny and Republican-Conservative Nicole Malliotakis, have something in common as each seeks re-election on Nov. 4. In both cases, the challengers are political rookies.

Brook-Krasny, who represents the 46th Assembly District, has faced his opponent, Stamatis Lilikakis, a Bay Ridge manufacturer, in several debates. Lilikakis is running for public office for the first time. He is trying to unseat Brook-Krasny, a former Coney Island business owner who is trying for his fifth term. The district takes in approximately half of Bay Ridge, a section of Dyker Heights and then snakes its way along the Belt Parkway to take in nearly all of Coney Island and Sea Gate. Brook-Krasny resides in Sea Gate.

Marybeth Melendez, an emergency management counselor from Staten Island who has never run for political office before, is the challenger against Malliotakis, whose district, the 64th Assembly District, is composed of the East Shore of Staten Island and a small section of Bay Ridge. Malliotakis also lives on Staten Island.

Brook-Krasny and Lilikakis have been at odds at over a variety of issues, like taxes and job creation. “I voted to cut taxes to the lowest level since 1958,” Brook-Krasny told voters at a debate sponsored by the Dyker Heights Civic Association earlier this month. That’s not good enough, according to Lilikakis, who told voters at that debate that companies are moving out of New York State at a rapid rate because of the high taxes and the high cost of doing business here. “They shouldn’t be overtaxed. They should be allowed to flourish,” he said.

Brook-Krasny said he is in favor of cutting state taxes to the lowest levels possible, but added that it’s also important to make sure that vital programs that help children and senior citizens are fully funded. “I have to be careful and find a balance. There are a lot of facilities like nursing homes, that need to be funded,” the incumbent said.

Malliotakis, who is running for a third term, stressed fiscal responsibility and cost-cutting during her first two terms in office. The incumbent said she has continually looked for ways to cut wasteful state spending and save taxpayers money. On the campaign trail, Malliotakis has also touted her work to convince the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) to restore the B37 bus line on Third Avenue.

In a debate sponsored by the Bay Ridge Community Council last month, Malliotakis told voters she has accomplished a lot, despite the fact that she is a member of the minority party in the Democratic-dominated assembly. “I have a very small staff and yet we have helped many, many constituents,” she said.

Melendez, who is legally blind, said at that same debate that she has done a great deal of work to help Hurricane Sandy victims recover and rebuild and will continue to assist them.

Malliotakis and Melendez disagree on the minimum wage. The incumbent, who said the minimum wage should be set at the national level, opposes the idea of letting municipalities setting their own minimum wages. “It’s bad fiscal policy,” she said, adding that it would create competition between different cities. Melendez called for an increase in the minimum wage. “Let’s get real here,” she told voters at the Bay Ridge debate. Living on the minimum wage is next to impossible, she said.