Latest news with #JustinBrannan
Yahoo
6 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Watch the Democratic comptroller debate in Spanish, Mandarin
NEW YORK CITY (PIX11) — Democratic candidates vying to be the city's next comptroller will face off in a debate on PIX11 News Thursday night. Starting at 7 p.m., Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine and City Council Member Justin Brannan will answer key questions about the future of the city. More Local News The debate, moderated by PIX11's Dan Mannarino and Henry Rosoff, will air live on PIX11, and PIX11+. Here's how to watch the debate in other languages: Starting at 7 p.m., you can watch the debate live in Spanish in a video player below. A Mandarin translation of the debate will be livestreamed to the Chinese-American Planning Council's Facebook page. You can also watch the Mandarin livestream in a video player below starting at 7 p.m. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
How to watch the comptroller debate: Levine vs. Brannan
NEW YORK (PIX11) – Democratic candidates for the New York City comptroller primary will face off in a 60-minute debate on PIX11 News Thursday night. The debate between Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine and Councilmember Justin Brannan will be hosted by PIX11's Dan Mannarino and Henry Rosoff. The two candidates will fight for the Democratic nomination for November's general election. Here's everything you need to know about how to watch the debate: More Local News The debate starts at 7 p.m. EST on Thursday, May 29. The debate will air live on PIX11, and PIX11+ starting at 7 p.m. The debate will stream live on and the PIX11+ app on Roku, Amazon FireTV, Apple TV, and Samsung Smart TVs. For more information on the PIX11+ app, click here. Yes, the debate will be livestreamed in Mandarin and Spanish. To watch the debate in Mandarin or Spanish, click here. A Mandarin translation of the debate will also be livestreamed to the Chinese-American Planning Council's Facebook page. Make your voice heard! Submit questions for the candidates by commenting on PIX11's social media accounts, including X, Facebook and Instagram. Erin Pflaumer is a digital content producer from Long Island who has covered both local and national news since 2018. She joined PIX11 in 2023. See more of her work here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
NYC comptroller race: Brannan, Levine face off in debate on PIX11
NEW YORK CITY (PIX11) – Candidates vying to become New York City's financial watchdog will battle for your vote during a live debate Thursday on PIX11 News. City Council Member Justin Brannan and Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine are both running to be comptroller, the city's chief financial officer. Sitting Comptroller Brad Lander is running for mayor, leaving his seat open. More Local News The comptroller's job includes auditing city agencies, reviewing contracts and overseeing the city's fiscal management. Lander, who was elected in 2021, has produced studies like city spending on lawsuit settlements and child care affordability. Other candidates vying for the Comptroller position include Democrat Sen. Kevin Parker, Danniel Maio, Ismael Malave and Peter Kefalas. Based on a Honan Strategy Group poll from April, Manhattan Borough President Levine leads with 25% of Democratic voters. Justin Brannan trails behind with 10% of the vote, according to the April poll. Levine was elected Manhattan Borough President in 2022 after representing Manhattan's 7th City Council District, in upper Manhattan. Brannan was elected to the city council in 2017 and represents Brooklyn's District 47, which includes Bay Ridge, Coney Island, Sea Gate, and parts of Dyker Heights, Bath Beach and Gravesend. He is currently the chairman of the Committee on Finance. Who will win the comptroller debate? Tune in or stream online starting at 7 p.m. on Thursday, May 29. If you have questions for the candidates, submit them by commenting on PIX11's Facebook, Instagram or X accounts. Emily Rahhal is a digital reporter who has covered New York City since 2023 after reporting in Los Angeles for years. She joined PIX11 in 2024. See more of her work here and follow her on Twitter here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
25-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Readers sound off on EMS personnel, Mahmoud Khalil and antisemitism accusations
Staten Island: Re 'FDNY EMS unions buck brass, back Brannan' (May 22): That backing is well-deserved. Because he is the current City Council Finance Committee chair, Justin Brannan will be able to hit the ground running as comptroller, ensuring that city funds are appropriately used, including income generated by the medical work of the FDNY EMS. As a City Council member, he has been out in front, actively supporting the EMS for many years. This includes in 2024, introducing Local Law 521 with Councilmember Lincoln Restler. It hasn't been acted upon by their fellow members. Continual EMS staff shortages leading to ever-increasing response times to life-threatening medical emergencies citywide are a direct result of local elected officials' lack of action. The health of New Yorkers in each Council district continues to bear the consequences of the Council's inaction. This can include dying before reaching a hospital because the nearest paramedics are too far away. Council members ought to be on top of Council work. Five years ago, past FDNY EMS Chief Lillian Bonsignore testified before the City Council. She said the two contributing factors to the inability to retain experienced emergency medical personnel were the transfer of EMS personnel to the firefighting side (with its tens of thousands more in pay and benefits) and the EMS' low pay. Since then, the Council has done nothing but publish fine words about an EMS pay increase. Since 2001, they haven't even insisted that their own law be followed — that the FDNY EMS be treated as a 'uniformed' first responder service. When currently negotiating the FY2026 budget, Council members have a chance to mend their ways before the coming elections. Helen Northmore Manhattan: I remember Pete Rose as someone who played hard, but I have no strong opinion about his possible election to the Hall of Fame. I am curious about the relationship of culture to individual ethics, so I found Voicer Glenn Bischoff's imaginary storyline at odds with what I have heard for a lifetime from my father, uncles, husband, sons and grandsons — that all teams should play out a season with the intention of winning every game, even if out of contention. That is the ethical obligation of each team to all the others. The Voicer criticizes Rose (remember, it's all hypothetical) for using up his bullpen in an extra-inning game against one contender and winning, but spoiling his team's chances in the subsequent series against another contender. But in the closing days or weeks of a pennant race, that's precisely what teams try to do: win today, then worry about tomorrow. Michele P. Brown Staten Island: Your daughter wants a Barbie doll for Christmas, but unfortunately, that would exceed the president's limit of two dolls and five pencils. No need for despair, however. You can buy her a $Melania meme coin instead. It's possible that you might even win a dinner at the White House or a trip to Mar-a-Lago on the big, beautiful Qatari flying palace. Ralph D'Esposito Glendale: About a month or two ago, all we heard was how Donald Trump was ruining the economy. Since I have a couple of 401(k)s, I check on them occasionally to see how they are doing. Yes, my balance went down for a short period of time. However, checking them recently, the balances are back to where they started. It's strange that the mainstream media has apparently stopped reporting on this issue. Thomas Murawski Oakland Gardens: I find it very sad that whenever there is criticism pointed at the president, he is compelled to fight back through his own social media, Truth Social. I have no problem with defending one's position. We are all entitled to that right. However, does it always have to be so personal? You are the most powerful person in the world. As president, you will always be subjected to different points of view. Are you that thin-skinned that your response is to tear down the character of those who disagree with you? Is that how we would want our children to react toward alternative views? There is an old saying, Mr. President, that fits you: 'You can dish it out but you can't take it.' Zane Tenenbaum Dayton, Ohio: In her May 23 column, S.E. Cupp says, 'Trump and the GOP have abandoned conservatism.' Republicans have abandoned conservatism for cowardice. Trump, of course, was never conservative. He has never been anything but vindictive. Vic Presutti Darien, Conn.: With the Memorial Day holiday forthcoming, may I suggest that we set aside some time for reading our Bill of Rights and our Constitution? Time well-spent reading together what many citizens died for. Dan Singer Sauquoit, N.Y.: I read with disbelief a news article concerning Mahmoud Khalil and his wife's and newborn's recent visit. He was initially denied visitation because it was deemed an unsafe visit to a secure facility, among other reasons. Let's keep in mind that this is a prison in Louisiana, a state where prisoners seem to escape at an alarming rate. Recently, an escape from one of their 'secure facilities' resembled a 10-man conga line leaving the lockup. This is merely another example of this administration and the state of Louisiana displaying cruelty and unreasonable detention seemingly for showmanship. Perhaps they should check the security of their jails to ensure that murderers and other felons stay put, and not worry about a college activist having a brief visit with his wife and newborn son. Robert Kelly Atlanta: Voicer Eugene Elander ignores salient facts. Israel withdrew all Jewish residents and Israeli security personnel from Gaza before Hamas took over administration of the enclave. While claiming that an Israeli blockade prevented the development of Gaza's economy, Hamas spent $1 billion building an extensive network of tunnels embedded amid the populace. With munitions stored in mosques, homes, and businesses, missiles launched from schoolyards, strategic planning sites located near areas in which Gazans responding to Israeli evacuation notices are sheltering, Hamas has guaranteed that Israel's exemplary efforts to avoid harming civilians will not be 100% effective. While photos of hostage release 'ceremonies' prove that it's the hostages, not Hamas members, who are starving, there certainly are some Gazans going hungry — because Hamas steals supplies for its fighters' use and also sells stolen supplies to the people at black-market prices. Toby F. Block Merrick, L.I.: The sad deaths of two innocent Israeli diplomats, a young soon-to-be-engaged couple, outside a Jewish museum in D.C. on Wednesday night was just a matter of time since the so-called 'Summer of Love,' when we watched cities burn by Democrats' foot soldiers. The labeling of half the country as Nazis and fascists by Democratic leaders, including Joe Biden in Philly looking like the emperor in 'Star Wars' — what did you expect? Ironic that we so-called Nazis are not the ones killing Jews. The death of this poor couple is laid right at the feet of Democratic leaders and a good portion of the readers of this paper who have stoked the flames of hate and antisemitism in this country. Our youth have been brainwashed in colleges and universities by radical professors. New York Dems just voted down an antisemitism bill in the House of Representatives. What is wrong with you people? Donald Ziminski San Mateo, Calif.: Are anti-Zionism and criticism of Israeli policies really acts of antisemitism? According to several rabbis, it is quite the opposite. Check out Dovid Feldman, Yaakov Shapiro or Elhanan Beck on YouTube. I found them extremely interesting. For good measure, try Rich Forer, an ex-AIPAC member who changed his outlook completely. It explains why we see pictures of ultra-Orthodox men being beaten for not wanting to join the Israeli army and seeing them carrying Palestinian flags at various demonstrations here as well. It all makes more sense when you see things from their unusual perspective, which definitely goes against the general consensus we are usually presented with. We owe it to our kids and our loved ones to search out all avenues to find the best alternatives to the violence we see in both nations and ourselves. It's a small planet, and an alternative one isn't readily available. Mike Caggiano
New York Times
25-05-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
A Punk-Rock Past Comes With Unwanted Baggage for a N.Y. Politician
He's a former punk rocker who still looks the part. Bald, burly, with his rolled-up sleeves revealing elaborate tattoos, Justin Brannan hardly seems the prototype for public office. His hardcore-punk background has been a useful origin story in his political career, as he rose in the City Council to lead its powerful finance committee, and is now running for New York City comptroller. But it also left a public trail of interviews, offhand comments and online messages containing crass, insensitive and homophobic language that Mr. Brannan has, in recent years, apologized for using. Now, ahead of next month's Democratic primary for comptroller, a new trove of online messages has emerged from his past. The messages, most more than 20 years old, include a thread that cast the Columbine High School shooting in Littleton, Colo., on April 20, 1999 — which resulted in the deaths of 13 students and a teacher — as an opportunity to promote Indecision, his band at the time. On a Dejanews Usenet online forum in 1999, an account under Mr. Brannan's name posted that one of the high school students tied to the Columbine shooting had worn an Indecision T-shirt. The post cited a call with an unnamed news reporter. 'Yes!!! We're famous!' the account wrote, declaring that the shooting could help the band sell records, according to a publicly accessible version of the message board, now archived on Google Groups. Mr. Brannan, who has since pushed for tougher New York State gun laws, was in his early 20s at the time of the thread. Three days after the shooting, the account under Mr. Brannan's name directed others on the thread to circulate the rumor, which was later shown to be inaccurate. The account urged people to call WINS-AM radio in New York and NBC. 'Let them know you saw the Indecision T-shirt,' it said. Someone responded, 'Are you really this desperate to sell records?' 'Industry baby,' the account replied, indicating that the band had already seen a small boost in sales. The message was signed 'Justin Brannan.' Mr. Brannan, 46, said the messages did not reflect his 'record as a public servant.' 'I've fought hard and always led with love, empathy and respect,' said Mr. Brannan, who represents the Bay Ridge and Coney Island sections of Brooklyn. 'I said and did plenty of stupid stuff as a teenager that I regret now decades later as a man approaching 50,' Mr. Brannan said in a statement. 'I believe if we want real representation in government, we need to be willing to accept real people — not those who claim pristine pasts, but those who learn from their mistakes, grow and try to do better.' On the same day that the Brannan account asked followers to spread the T-shirt rumor, Mr. Brannan apparently had misgivings, according to contemporaneous emails that he provided through a campaign spokeswoman. In one email sent to a bandmate, Rachel Rosen, Mr. Brannan wrote that he felt 'horrible' that 'we were making jokes like idiots.' In another email from the same day, Mr. Brannan said the rumor about the T-shirt was 'sick,' adding, 'I don't think any of us realized how bad this shooting was,' according to a copy provided by the campaign. In an official statement, dated April 23, 1999, his band said that it was 'horrified to be briefly associated' with the shooting, and that it had 'always stood up against violence and hate.' The statement included contact information for Mr. Brannan, the band's spokesman at the time. Ms. Rosen, the Indecision bandmate who received Mr. Brannan's emails, said he had crafted the band's statement after returning from a tour, during which access to news had been limited, and realizing that the false rumor was taking off. In other unrelated threads now on Google Groups, the account under Mr. Brannan's name posted various messages that included insensitive or offensive language. In one instance, the account said 'Chinese people cannot drive.' Mr. Brannan's campaign noted that he had since spoken out against anti-Asian hate crimes during the pandemic, and that he sponsored a Council resolution last year calling on Congress to condemn anti-Asian sentiment. In past campaigns, voters have been willing to overlook Mr. Brannan's decades-old indiscretions. His interpersonal skills and unfussy persona have helped him on the trail and with Council colleagues. The bounds of acceptable discourse for politicians have also appeared to shift, especially since Donald J. Trump won his first presidential election despite a history of making embarrassing and vulgar comments. Mr. Brannan has some experience confronting his past use of insensitive language. During his failed bid to become City Council speaker four years ago, Mr. Brannan was questioned about a homophobic slur he had used in a 2006 interview, while he was a member of the hardcore punk band Most Precious Blood. He was also confronted with a 1999 letter to the editor he had written to a music magazine in which he defended a writer's use of a homophobic slur, arguing then that the word was a 'regular, accepted, tolerated slang word — for better or for worse,' The Daily News reported. Mr. Brannan apologized. 'It doesn't matter as the context or the intent, whether you are gay or straight, it is an offensive, indefensible and hurtful term,' he said at the time. 'I apologize for any harm I may have caused decades ago. I have always been an ally to the L.G.B.T.Q. community and I always will be.' The Jim Owles Liberal Democratic Club, an influential progressive group in New York that advocates L.G.B.T.Q. rights, endorsed Mr. Brannan in a Council race after that apology. But in the Democratic primary for comptroller, it has endorsed Mark Levine, the Manhattan borough president. State Senator Kevin Parker, a moderate Brooklyn Democrat, is also running for comptroller. Kristen Pettit, a founding member of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, defended Mr. Brannan, whom she knows personally and praised for his work on gun safety. 'I think Justin's actions communicate loud and clear who he is in his adult life,' she said. 'He's focused on helping the people of the city, no matter who they are or when they got here. He is a man for others.'
