Boyland Has Name Recognition Advantage in District 41 Race

NewYork, NY —

The communities of Oceanhill, Brownsville and Bedford Stuyvesant Brooklyn have long been plagued by poverty and crime. But there are signs the neighborhoods are improving – real estate prices are the highest they’ve been in decades and some residents say gunshots, once frequent, are now rare. City councilwoman Tracy Boyland has represented District 41 for the last 7 years and now her father a former assemblyman is running to take her place. But the question before voters on primary day is as the neighborhood changes, is it time for leadership in the community to change with it. WNYC’s Cindy Rodriguez reports.

REPORTER: The Boyland family has been a part of Brooklyn politics for decades. At their Democratic club on Pitkin Avenue, city council candidate William Frank Boyland who goes by his middle name spoke to a packed room of senior citizens, the majority of them women:

BOYLAND: Let’s hear it for Mr. Boyland. We’re coming down to the close of this campaign and I’d like to thank all of you for being consistent.

REPORTER: Before running to takeover his daughter’s seat on the city council, Boyland was a state assemblyman for 20 years. He retired from that position three years ago and handed his seat over to his son who is named after him. William Frank Jr. is also a district leader:

BOYLAND: There are a lot of people running and a lot of things being said and I don’t know how to respond to all of them because they are saying things I never heard of...

REPORTER: Boyland has repeatedly been criticized in newspapers and on websites for saying he is running to keep his daughter’s city council seat in the family. He spent most of his time defending himself to this group of loyal constituents who pay fifteen dollars annually to be part of the group:

BOYLAND: The other day the NYT came to me and said this guy says you never passed any bills, so I went over and got them boxes of bills that were signed into law…

REPORTER: Boyland’s time as an assemblyman has been described as unremarkable and several black politicians both in the neighborhood and outside it have chosen to back other candidates instead of him. Brooklyn city councilman Charles Barron represents East New York, and East Flatbush, the neighborhoods that border District 41:

BARRON: It’s time to give somebody else in the community a shot. Frank doesn’t need to come back. We’ve got people who can be more effective.

REPORTER: Barron is supporting community activist Stanley Kinard. Kinard runs a cultural literacy program in Brooklyn. There are 8 other people running for the seat including the owner of a clothing store, the head of a Baptist church, and a former city council legislative aid. But the two who have raised the most money to challenge Frank Boyland are Danny King a former New York City police officer and Darlene Mealy, a 41 year old transit worker who has the backing of her powerful union, the TWU.

REPORTER: Mealy is thought to be a more formidable challenger because along with her money are some high profile endorsements from people and establishments like Al Sharpton and the New York Times. Because she lacks name recognition, Mealy says she’s been knocking on the doors of voters practically everyday since she decided to run. Today she is at the Kingsborough Houses:

MEALY: If I was your city councilwoman which one them would you come talk to me about, Is it better schools for our youth, lack of jobs for our youth, affordable housing or crime in our neighborhoods?

JACKSON: Crime. They don’t keep this door locked.

REPORTER: 82 year old Marion Jackson complained about too many young people living in her housing project that is supposed to be for seniors only:

JACKSON: At night people go knocking on your door. I don’t answer but....and there are drug problems in this building..

REPORTER: Like in the rest of the city, the crime rate in the neighborhood has actually consistently gone down over the last 10 years but Jackson says the neighborhood is still a far cry from what it was in 1966 when she says the neighborhood was integrated. Mealy tells Marion she is experienced at fighting crime because as head of a group of block associations she successfully fought drug dealers who used to sell their products on the stoop of her home in Bedford Stuyvesant:

MEALY: We organized and we mobilized. We went not 10 people, not 20, 30 or more people went to every city councilman meeting and we demanded police safety. It took us about three months but we did it.

REPORTER: Mealy only knocked on the doors of registered democrats and some were more receptive than others:

UNNAMED DEMOCRAT: I’m very busy right now…

REPORTER: Others were loyal democrats who simply promised to vote for whoever was running on the ticket. If Mealy loses the Democratic primary she will still make it to the general election as the candidate for the Working Families Party.

REPORTER: Nigel Barr opened the door in boxer shorts and a robe. He told Mealy he worked as a pastor and wanted more jobs for neighborhood youth. He said he would not support Frank Boyland because he felt taken for granted:

BARR: Some people take people the right word to use is like a spare tire. A lot of people only look at the spare tire when they have a need for it…

REPORTER: Barr says Boyland has not been visible and thinks he can win on name recognition alone:

BARR: I call that an insult to the community you see.

REPORTER: There is no denying people know the Boyland name and with a crowded field of 10 other candidates it may be enough to win the race and keep the seat in the family for another four years.

For WNYC: I’m Cindy Rodriguez