Sen. Parker's Do-Nothing Charity

New York State legislators frequently create charities to funnel member items to preferred groups. Democrat Sen. Kevin Parker is no exception, except that his charity hits a wee bit closer to home. It's all in the family for him.

A do-nothing Brooklyn charity created with the help of state Sen. Kevin Parker used most of the $18,750 in taxpayer funds he steered to it to hire the brother of his chief-of-staff as a "planning consultant."

The only community program the Building Blocks Local Development Corp. managed to implement since it was created in 2004 was a part-time vegetable stand staffed by local teens at a farmers market on Nostrand Avenue in Brooklyn.

Parker, a Brooklyn Democrat known for angry outbursts and alleged assaults, landed in the news again last week when he flew into a tirade during a discussion of affirmative action at a Senate hearing.

On a radio show the next day, Parker, who is black, called Senate Republicans "white supremacists."

This is just a tip of the iceberg in the clown circus in Albany, and it's a tolerated behavior for far too long.

NYS Sen. Kevin Parker's Inane Racist Rant

New York State Senator Kevin Parker seems to think that the mess in Albany is the result of white supremacist politicians in Albany.

In his latest off-the-wall behavior, hothead Sen. Kevin Parker Wednesday morning accused Senate Republicans - and even some Democrats - of being white supremacists.

Parker updated his Facebook status, saying he was "in Albany fighting the evil of White Supremacy!"

And Parker, who exploded in a fury during a public committee meeting Tuesday, defended his outburst during a radio interview as "par for the course of what we have to do up in Albany fighting the forces of evil."

Asked by Daily News columnist and WWRL host Errol Louis what the forces of evil were, Parker said, "these long-term white supremacist Republican senators."

He accused the GOP of not being able to handle losing the Senate majority and now having blacks, Latinos, women and gays running the chamber as part of the Democratic majority.

"They have a real problem with that and because of that they do things that are very very inappropriate," Parker said.

Where to start with this insanity?

How about the fact that Pedro Espada and Hiram Monserrate conspired with the GOP to stage a "coup" last year that gave the State Senate chamber back to the GOP after they lost it to the Democrats. Both are Hispanic (and Monserrate was later booted from the chamber after being found guilty on a misdemeanor assault charge). Moreover, that coup led to a reshuffling of the senior Democrat positions - between Malcolm Smith and John Sampson (who both happen to be African American).

In any event, Parker's just blowing smoke and providing still more evidence that Albany remains a circus and not serious about fixing the state's serious fiscal problems. Moreover, Parker's insanities include being indicted for assaulting a photographer (and the felony charges are still pending).

Parker is a thug who wants to bully his way through the chamber to arrive at decisions to his liking. Others in the Senate are not taking a liking to his tactics and have called him out on it.

Parker's Problems Propagate

New York State Senator Kevin Parker's problems continue growing. He was arrested yesterday after assaulting a New York Post photographer, and today his fellow State Senators have stripped him of his leadership posts.

That means he's losing $22,000 in perks for his problems, and throws into question how he's ever going to repay his obligations to lenders on his real estate holdings.

The reason that the photographer was there in the first place was to get Parker's mug for a photo for stories to run alongside the reports about Parker's pending foreclosure on a Brooklyn home.

Lopez got into his car and attempted to leave. But Parker allegedly followed him, forcing his way into the Subaru.

As the two tussled in the car, Parker managed to allegedly kick an inside panel off a door, sprain Lopez's finger and break the camera's flash.

Parker finally gave up and got out of the car, but immediately began blaming Lopez for the incident.

"You see this guy? He's a sellout," he said to a group of neighbors who had gathered, according to Lopez. " 'The Man' is using him to make me look bad."

"You all saw him assault me," he said, then called 911.

But when cops showed up, witnesses corroborated Lopez's story. The police ended up booking Parker.

It's not Parker's first brush with the law, nor the first time he allegedly tried to weasel out of trouble by blaming someone else.

Last year, Parker allegedly clocked aide Lucretia John, 32, and crushed her glasses with his foot after she told him she couldn't work for him anymore.

John filed a complaint, but the combustible senator filed a cross-complaint hours later, claiming John had punched him in the face. In press reports, he accused her of being lazy and slow to learn.

This isn't the first time Parker's assaulted someone either. He went after one of his employees, although he claimed that it was a misunderstanding and he agreed to go to an anger management course. I guess that didn't do the trick.

The man is a menace.

Senate Majority Leader Malcolm Smith showed how politicians can act swiftly to discipline fellow members. Good on him to take this action. It's a shame that it happens so infrequently as members are more likely to shield those who engage in criminal acts or other ethical misconduct than excoriating and casting them out.

State Senator Parker's Foreclosure Mess

New York State Senator Kevin Parker of Brooklyn is in quite the fix. He's been calling for foreclosure relief for months now, and few realized just how personal the issue is to him.

He's facing foreclosure himself. Something doesn't quite add up, but here's what we know.

According to court papers, Parker, a four-term Democrat representing Brooklyn's 21st Senatorial District, hasn't paid a dime in more than a year toward the $488,000 mortgage he took out in 2006.

The bank, DLJ Mortgage Capital, Inc., is running out of patience.

"You are in danger of losing your home," the ominous foreclosure complaint, filed in November 2008, warns in capital letters on the cover page.

Property records show that Parker bought the one-family, brick row house on Bedford Avenue in December 2006 for $610,000, borrowing $488,000 from New Century Mortgage Corporation.

New Century, which has since folded, unloaded the loan onto DLJ Mortgage Capital, which claims in the lawsuit that it received only its first eight monthly payments of $3,329.20 each.

DLJ waited a little more than a year before beginning the foreclosure action.

It is unclear if the unmarried Parker, 41, who owns portions of two other properties in Brooklyn and Queens along with family members, ever lived in the Bedford Avenue home.

Experts said it's not unusual -- especially in the current down market -- for banks to wait several months before going forward with foreclosure.

"The normal course is anywhere from three to eight or nine months," said lawyer Scott Lanin, who publishes a foreclosure blog.

"Thirteen is possible. Maybe there were attempts by the senator to resolve it, and that could have added to the delay."

Court records show no response from Parker, who earns a $79,500 base salary plus an extra $22,000 for being the Senate majority whip, to contest the proceedings.

The pol has been an advocate of foreclosure relief, sending out a press release last summer announcing his backing of "Operation Protect Your Home," a cooperative effort by government and lenders to try to keep homeowners from losing their properties.

Neighbors on the pleasant, tree-lined block, just steps from Brooklyn College, said a for-sale sign has been in front of the house for at least six months -- and nobody's lived in it during that time.

Let's start at the top. He bought a $610,000 house, putting down just about 20%, leaving a mortgage of $488,000. That's a pretty responsible thing to do, although that is tempered by whatever other costs he may have been carrying at the time and whether he had any other outside income (unreported in the Post article, and for purposes of this post I assume that his only income is that which was reported). One has to wonder what other costs Parker was carrying based on his salary, because he should be able to afford the house especially when he was living with his parents.

He also owns interests in several other properties, and it appears that he was speculating in real estate when he found he could no longer afford to carry the house. The public would stand to benefit from learning what other costs he was carrying so that we can see just how irresponsible Parker truly is.

As it is, Parker's foreclosure appears to be the result of overextending himself after speculating in a hot real estate market, and his failure to sell the house for months has added to his problems. The property has likely lost value since he bought it, although I don't think he's underwater because he put 20% down.

No wonder he's pushing for foreclosure relief. He would stand to benefit tremendously from it, despite being a speculator (he doesn't actually live in this house).

UPDATE:
Jammie notes that Parker assaulted a Post photographer trying to take a photo of Parker as he was getting out of his car. Touchy touchy Senator Parker. He better get used to the attention, and particularly photographs - the mug shot variety.