Candidates scramble to run for Brook-Krasny’s seat

July 7, 2015 By Paula Katinas Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Alec Brook-Krasny resigned from the New York State Assembly on Tuesday. Eagle file photo by Paula Katinas

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With Alec Brook-Krasny’s resignation from the New York state Assembly effective July 7, speculation is mounting over who will run for his seat.

Brook-Krasny, a Democrat who represented the 46th Assembly District (Bay Ridge-Dyker Heights-Coney Island) from 2006 until now, resigned to take a job in the private sector.

Among the Democrats, the names of possible candidates to replace him include Kate Cucco, who served as Brook-Krasny’s chief of staff; Andrew Gounardes, chief counsel to Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams; former councilmember Michael Nelson; Bay Ridge lawyer John Gangemi; and Pamela Harris, executive director of the non-profit group Coney Island Generation Gap.

On the Republican side, Lucretia Regina-Potter, the Republican District Leader of the 46th A.D., is rumored to be interested in running.

A special election will be held to fill Brook-Krasny’s seat. The election will likely take place at the same time as the general election this November. The winner will serve the remainder of Brook-Krasny’s term, which ends Dec. 31, 2016.

Brook-Krasny won re-election in November of 2014, beating Republican Stamatis Lilikakis 58.3 percent to 41.7 percent.

Because of the timing of Brook-Krasny’s resignation and the fact that it took effect after July 2, the county committee in each political party will hand pick the candidates. Had Brook-Krasny resigned prior to July 2, the parties would have had to hold primaries to let voters decide on the candidates.

Bay Ridge resident Dilia Schack, the Democratic district leader of the 46th A.D., “will have much of the say” in choosing the candidate for her party, according to a Democratic leader in a neighboring district who was interviewed by the Brooklyn Eagle on Tuesday.

In terms of territory, the 46th Assembly District is nearly evenly split between Bay Ridge-Dyker Heights and Coney Island, with the Bay Ridge-Dyker Heights portion taking up about 51 percent and Coney Island comprising approximately 49 percent.

But the Democratic leader told the Eagle that the Coney Island portion of the district still wields enormous power in the district.

“Everyone in Coney Island turns out to vote. In an election, it’s not a matter of which neighborhood takes up more territory on the map. It’s a matter of who turns out to vote,” the leader said.

Brook-Krasny, a businessman-turned-politician, emerged from the Coney Island portion of the district back in 2006 to win the seat.

Brook-Krasny, 57, is the first Soviet-born man to serve in the New York state Assembly. He lived in Moscow and earned a degree in economics from the Moscow Technology Institute. He arrived in the U.S. in 1989, settling in Brooklyn. A few years later, he opened a play center for children called Fun-O-Rama and became a business leader in the Coney Island-Brighton Beach area.

Brook-Krasny soon became actively involved in community life and in politics. He ran for a City Council seat in 2001, losing the Democratic Primary to Domenic Recchia Jr., who went on to win the general election that November.

Brook-Krasny got another chance in 2006. Democrat Adele Cohen, who was the assembly member representing the 46th A.D. at the time, decided not to seek re-election. Brook-Krasny ran for the seat and won.

Brook-Krasny has achieved iconic status among his fellow Russian-Americans in Coney Island as the ultimate immigrant success story.

A source close to Brook-Krasny told the Eagle last month that the lawmaker is leaving office to take a high-paid position with a medical supply company. While the source wouldn’t disclose the salary, the source confirmed that Brook-Krasny would be making more money than he did as a member of the New York state Assembly, where members earn $79,500 a year.