Performing Well Below Expectations: Councilwoman Laurie Cumbo

I saw our Councilwoman, Laurie Cumbo at the Brooklyn Public Library at Grand Army Plaza, sitting in one of the reserved seats for electeds at an event featuring warrior saint Congressman John Lewis and his co-authors in-now the second volume of his illustrated memoir, MARCH. The books are extraordinary. I say this though I've only read half of Book Two because they were sold out of Book One; it has fully blown my mind. I have read MANY books about Black American history, the serial, ongoing oppression and atrocities, but the graphic novel form is startlingly well-suited to this history because it is so refined in the art of depicting high stakes drama with violent, even murderous, potential and results.

Anywhere, here comes Laurie Cumbo, smiling, waving, waiting for the great man to introduce her when he acknowledges the other electeds: JoAnn Simon was the one I recognized. I think it's safe to say that everyone else in the room was humbled by the Congressman's entrance and received their acknowledgement with little more than a nod of the head. Not Laurie. She stood and turned to the crowd and waved and smiled. It was unseemly, I have to say.

This the same Laurie Cumbo who picked a finger-wagging near-fight with Alicia Boyd, of Movement to Protect the People (MTOPP). at a CB9 meeting. The subject was rezoning. "I'll rezone this neighborhood myself if I have to!" she said, while we all stood there waiting for the Vaseline and her earrings to come off. Google it.

The other day I dropped in on LC's website to see a large photo of her Tweet earlier that morning apologizing to the Asian-American community "or any other cultural group" living in public housing. Like I said, performing well below expectations.