Brooklyn Democrats honor Speaker Heastie at gala

May 1, 2015 By Rob Abruzzese Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Assembly speaker Carl Heastie (at the podium) was honored in Brooklyn on Thursday at the 2015 Democratic County Gala. Also pictured: State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, Chairman of the Kings County Democratic Party Frank Seddio, Frank Carone and Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Eagle photos by Rob Abruzzese

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The Kings County Democratic Party honored New York State Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie and others during the 2015 Democratic County Gala at the Kings Theatre in Flatbush on Thursday.

“Hillary [Clinton] knew what she was doing [when she picked Brooklyn as her presidential campaign headquarters] because Brooklyn has always represented, in many ways, the heart and soul of the Democratic Party,” said Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio were among the many elected officials on hand as Heastie was honored alongside SUNY Chairman H. Carl McCall and Kevin Finnegan, political director at 1199 SEIU United Healthcare Workers East.

“Assemblyman Carl Heastie became Speaker Heastie right in the middle of the game; in the seventh inning, he came up to the plate, stepped right into the negotiation of the budget and he really did a masterful job,” Cuomo said.

“Carl Heastie has had a huge impact already ensuring fairness for the city of New York,” said de Blasio. “He’s making sure our schools are able to move forward and he’s fighting for affordable housing. This man has hit the ground running and Brooklyn and the whole city owe him a debt of gratitude.”

Heastie thanked the Democratic Party Chairman Frank Seddio, Frank Carone and the assembly members in attendance for their support in his election as speaker of the assembly.

“As a Bronx guy, I’ve always had a special affinity for the borough of Brooklyn, and that will continue,” Heastie said. “I know that we have a government here that allocated good things for Brooklyn — money for hospitals, money for education, money for higher education, money for the NYCHA developments.”

New York State and New York City’s Comptrollers Thomas DiNapoli and Scott Stringer, respectively, were among those who spoke, along with District Attorney Ken Thompson, Assemblymember Annette Robinson, who introduced McCall, and Public Advocate Letitia James, who introduced Finnegan.

Robinson discussed the many roles that McCall has played in New York, including his time as state comptroller and state senator, and even went as far back as his time as president of the New York City Board of Education.

“As chairman of SUNY, we have 64 campuses and we’re educating 470,000 students across the state,” said McCall. “I can always depend on the support of the elected officials from Brooklyn in the Assembly and the Senate; they’re always standing with us to ensure that our students get a quality and affordable education.”

James lauded Finnegan for his efforts in standing by her to help with a myriad of causes, including the fight for marriage equality, wages and fighting to strengthen the state’s healthcare system.

“1199 was Dr. King’s favorite union, and Kevin has stood with me on a wide range of issues,” said James.

De Blasio wrapped up the event with his speech. He discussed the fight for pre-K and mentioned that the city has already signed up 69,000 kids for next year’s pre-K class, including 21,000 from Brooklyn. He also spoke about the affordable housing units that were created that have benefitted 5,200 families in Brooklyn so far.

“My dear friends, these changes are happening, and happening fast,” de Blasio said. “We’re making changes in people’s lives.”