Amid chatter about Councilman Gentile becoming a Judge, Republican City Council Candidate Bob Capano speaks out & gets kudos from Brooklyn Young Republicans

Prospective City Council Candidate Capano Attacks City Hall Policies in Sheepshead Bay speech

Brooklyn’s Young Republicans say Bob Capano’s leadership in New York City is essential in these times

Earlier this week there was a flurry of commentary about the City Councilmember  from the 43^rd Council District, Vincent Gentile, going through the preliminaries in preparation for the consideration of his candidacy to the Civil Court bench in the current election cycle. 

It is against that backdrop that Bob Capano, the long-time Republican activist and a potential candidate for the City Council in Brooklyn's 43rd district (Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights & parts of Bensonhurst), which will be vacated by Vincent Gentile no later than next year due to term limits, continued his appearances at Brooklyn Republican clubs to outline a message that he hopes the GOP will pick up and deliver to voters over the next two years.

According to a variety of sources, Capano most recently spoke to the Brooklyn Young Republicans on Wednesday, May 18^th at their meeting in the Sheepshead Bay offices of the Eaton and Torrenzano law firm.  

President of the Brooklyn Young Republicans Vito DiGiovanni said, "It was an absolute pleasure to have Bob come speak to our club. He is a conservative role model that every young

Republican should look up to. His leadership in New York City is essential today."

Following his speech, Mr. Capano's took numerous questions about the direction of our city, and delivered a message to Brooklyn Republicans that Capano believes will engage new voters and younger residents in the borough.  Capano also said, "It is clear that Vito DiGiovanni and the Brooklyn Young Republicans are not only committed to growing the Republican party, but also improving our local neighborhoods. They are smart, dedicated, and passionate and I look forward to working closely with them for our borough and city."

MORE ABOUT WHAT CAPANO SAID TO BROOKLYN YRS

As part of his remarks, Capano spoke about the nickel bag fee that was recently passed by the New York City Council. He said, "When people just want to get home to their families as quickly as possible after working all day, they will now have to deal with longer lines in stores as cashiers will have to count each bag used to know how much to add to the bill. All of these nickels will add up, especially for seniors, those on fixed incomes, and middle-class New Yorkers just trying to make ends meet. I expect the 28 Council Members who voted for this to face serious primary and general election challenges next year. Brooklynites and New Yorkers already have enough stress and aggravation in their lives, and it already costs too much to live here without City Hall making it worse with laws like this one." Capano has been on various New York media outlets, including Curtis Sliwa's Drive at Five show on WABC radio, 1010 WINS, Channel 2, Channel 9, Channel 7, and Good Day New York on Fox 5 with Greg Kelly and Rosanna Scotto opposing this legislation. 

Capano also attacked the criminal justice policies of City Hall that have "created an environment that has emboldened criminals and has made the job of police officers more dangerous." He cited recent proposals by City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito to de-criminalize many quality of life crimes and erasing open warrants for criminal offenders. "I am confident that the vast majority of Brooklynites and New Yorkers, regardless of political party affiliation, do not want to go back to the David Dinkins bad old days", Capano declared. He also expressed outrage that many Brooklyn democratic elected officials and leaders have not stood up to the City Council Speakers' proposals. Capano said Republicans "must make it clear that we will defend the NYPD and give them the tools and support to keep our neighborhoods safe."

Finally, Capano, who was also a high school social studies teacher in Brooklyn, stated that the city administration is taking our city in the wrong direction with public and private education. He noted that this is another issue that cuts across political party lines as all parents want the best education for their children. Capano attacked the Mayor and Chancellor for loosening student suspension regulations in public schools, stating that allowing disruptive students to stay in classrooms without consequences hurts the education of other students trying to learn. He said state statistics support his claim, "There were almost 16,000 violent incidents in NYC public schools last year- an increase of 23%, and the highest level in a decade. There was also a 48.4% increase in assaults that resulted in serious injury. We must change public school policies to create a stronger learning environment in our public schools." He also supported education tax credits and an increase to the cap on charter schools, which the Mayor and City Council Speaker have opposed. Capano noted that he is the product of both public and private schools in Bay Ridge, attending P.S. 185, P.S. 104, St. Patrick's, and Xaverian High school.