By Tommy Hallissey
When Jennings took office in 2002, he situated his district office inside the boundaries of Council District 28. But after the latest census in 2000, all the City Council district lines were redrawn in keeping with a procedure that occurs every 10 years.
The change in district lines actually moved Jennings office outside of his own district and into Gennaro's newly configured district.
Regardless, Jennings said he won't move
“My office is a block outside of my district,” Jennings said in an interview in December. “Every bus in Queens goes by my office. The Long Island Rail Road is right here. I don't see why I should waste taxpayer money to get another office.”
Gennaro, on the other hand, said it is a waste of taxpayer money to have a district office outside of that councilman's district.
“Each member's district office by definition should be in his district,” said Gennaro. “I believe that to spend government resources on a district office that's not in your district is a waste of government resources.”
Technically, there is no City Council rule that requires a Council member's office to be in his or her own district.
Gennaro, whose office is located at 185-10 Union Turnpike in Fresh Meadows, said he asked Jennings to move and Jennings said no. Gennaro said he went a step further and mentioned the problem in an informal setting to Council Rules Committee Chairman Leroy Comrie (D-St. Albans). Comrie said it is not a problem for him.
“He's the only one that has an issue with it,” said Comrie.
Gennaro said he was hesitant to make a formal request to the Council Rules Committee.
“It just seems silly that the Council should have to create such a rule,” said Gennaro. “You would think that elected representatives would do this as a matter of course.”
A similar situation befell state Assemblywoman Nettie Mayersohn (D-Flushing) when her district office in Fresh Meadows was redistricted out of her district. Mayersohn moved her office to 159-06 71st Ave. in Flushing.
Gennaro said he hopes that Jennings will follow Mayersohn's lead. But unless Gennaro makes a formal request with the Council Rules Committee, the committee will not act, said Comrie.
“I don't think it's an issue that anybody wants to spend a lot of time on,” said Comrie.
Jennings has been embroiled in controversy recently. He has been accused of sexually harassing two former staffers and a City Council lawyer. The councilman has denied the allegations.
An independent investigation firm was hired by the City Council to probe the allegations. A confidential report was submitted to the Council's Standards and Ethics Committee last month, but it has yet to release the findings or take any kind of disciplinary action.
Over the weekend, Jennings office was burglarized, Officer Kevin Czartoryski, a police spokesman. Jennings said camera video equipment, a laptop and new Gateway desktop computers totaling $3,000 were stolen, according to Czartoryski.
Reach Reporter Tommy Hallissey by e-mail at news@timesledger.com, or call 718-229-0300, Ext. 155.
