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Health & Fitness

More Real Estate Interests, Overdevelopment, Friends and Family Coming to City Hall-

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The Mandel Administration is considering reappointing Stu Banschick to the Zoning Board; a pro-development, $1000 campaign contributor, clubhouse political operative whose wife is/was also LB Democrat Committeewoman and who has donated huge amounts of money to the LB Democrats. In addition their son was hired on the first day of the Mandel administration!


And so the long parade of real estate interests, and the appointment LB Democrat Clubhouse friends and family to City Hall positions continues. And LB's quality of life may very well suffer for it.

According to item #3 of the Council Agenda, next Tuesday, the city council may appoint another new member to the vitally important Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA).  Once again, despite the 2011 campaign promise made by Scott Mandel, Fran Adelson, and Len Torres not to appoint any "Family and/or friends to city positions, this appointment, if it happens, would be the 26th family member or friend hired since the took office in January 2012, at a cost of over $1.3 million of your hard earned taxpayer dollars.

Introducing, Stu Banschick. To many he may not need any introduction. Last I heard, Stu was an appliance salesman at a local appliance store. Stu's wife Ruth is or was, a loyal LB Democrat Clubhouse committeewoman and lawyer. Coincidentally, their son Aaron was one of the very first hires Jack Schnirman made in his very first days as city manager in January 2012. Jack was brand new to Long Beach so how he got to know and determine that Aaron Banschick was capable of a new city hall job is a mystery....maybe he had a good reference came from Mike Zapson the LB Democratic Leader.

Stu Banschick is not new to the Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA). The ZBA is the board that approves or denies building variances for height, occupancy, property subdivisions and other building variances. Banschick served on the Board for a number of years prior to 2004. However when the Coalition won control of the city Council in 2004, and I was elected President, we made a series of promises (which we kept). Many of those promises were to do whatever we could to stop the tide overdevelopment and building by greedy developers who seemed to be taking over the city to the detriment of resident's quality of life. Stu Banschick's term as a zoning board member had expired and after reviewing his voting record on the ZBA we saw a disturbing pattern in his voting. It was clear that Banschick had routinely voted to grant just about any application for a variance that came before him; at least too many for our liking. Thus, he was not reappointed to the ZBA.

In 2004, overdevelopment was one of the major issues facing our city. Banschick and others on the ZBA routinely and regularly granted variances for high rises, buildings, condo's (Marineland on New York Avenue and Park Ave) and single and multiple family homes  all over our city. The result of Banschick's and others unchecked and routinely granted pro-developer variances was severe overcrowding, parking problems, congestion, traffic, and other quality of life problems. The Coalition promised to change that trend, we made promises and we kept them.

First we passed a law so that the city council would have to approve, not the city manager, all future appointees to the ZBA. Secondly, we appointed a completely non-partisan board called the Planning Advisory Board. And third, we began work on a developing, writing, adopting and  executing a master plan to guide the smart growth of our city into the future. All three were goals were accomplished,

After the Coalition took won the city council in 2004, and after not re-appointing Stu Banschick and others (like present Council member Len Torres!) who appeared to be "pro-developer" and replacing them with free thinking, non political and caring residents, the total number of building variances  approved as submitted dropped by over 50%!!! The total number of total number of denied variances denied shot from a measly 18% in 2003 (Under the former Democrat administration) to over 44% of total variances submitted by 2006! In addition the total number of variances granted with conditions (GWC) grew as well as the reconstituted ZBA met the public's demands to stop overdevelopment (See data spreadsheet). Obviously, the newly reconstituted ZBA got the message, and the tide of overdevelopment was turned.

So why is Mandel, Adelson, Torres, and Goggin, considering Stu Banschick's return to the ZBA?  The overdevelopment issue is popping up again all over town with greedy developers moving in to build bigger and higher homes, and subdividing property that use to have one home, but will now have two.

Maybe its because the greedy real estate developers in and outside of town now have friends and access to real estate interests who have gained control of city hall once again.

Think about this:

  • LB Democrat Leader Mike Zapson is a high powered real estate attorney and a developer himself. His own law firms website boasts, "The group's expertise and strong relationships in local jurisdictions are used to help our clients obtain required approvals, such as variances, special use permits, wetlands permits and subdivision and/or site plan approvals."  "Strong relationships in local jurisdictions"??? Think about that; do they mean political connections and political control? That could explain why Zapson supported a slate of real estate interests to take over city hall. Zapson's own personal company website bio boldly brags, "We pride ourselves on our ability to OVERCOME hurdles and get transactions closed." Read between those lines"!!! It was Zapson and his committee who picked real estate interests Mandel, Adelson, and Torres to run for city council in 2011, and now they control the city and all the new appointments to the ZBA!
  • City Council President Scott Mandel is an attorney, who according to his own campaign literature, specializes in real estate law and transactions!
  • Council Member Fran Adelson is a real estate agent in Long Beach, she makes a living off of buying and selling homes. You may recall the scandal when her administration in city hall  arranged to allow real estate brokers and agents to park illegally throughout the city while the rest of us circled blocks endlessly waiting for a open spot!  Well, that appears to be just the beginning.
  • Council Member Torres was also a former member of the Zoning Board. He served with Stu Banschick on the ZBA when overdevelopment was rampant and greedy developers threatened our city's quality of life. Torres had an abysmal voting record, like Banschick, that routinely and regularly voted in favor of granting building variances to greedy developers to bypass laws that were supposed to protect residents from overcrowding, traffic, congestion and overdevelopment. Thus, like Banschick, we did not reappoint Torres to the ZBA.
  • City Council Member Goggin, was also appointed and served on the city's zoning board. She is also an attorney.
  • And now, it appears Stu Banschick may be reappointed to the ZBA, despite his abysmal pro-developer voting record. Coincidentally, a little more than a week before election day in 2011, Banschick gave Adelson, Mandel, Torres, and the LB Democrat Clubhouse a generous $1000.00 check. His wife Ruth Bernstein has donated huge sums of money to the LB Democrat clubhouse! Then, again purely "coincidentally" , Banchick's son was hired on Jack Schnirman's first day as city manager. Banschick's wife is also an attorney who has done real estate work and she is or was a LB Democrat Committee Member. In addition I have heard, but I cannot confirmed, that City Council woman Adelson is or was living with the Banschicks since Sandy. 
I hate to say it but during the 2011 campaign some of us warned residents of Long Beach about what could happen if the greedy developers from outside Long Beach teamed up with city council candidates and real estate interests who now control the city. We asked, "Whose interests will they put first? The greedy developers  and their profits or the taxpayers?" (See campaign video HERE).

Think about this as well. From 2004-2011 the city's bipartisan Planning Advisory Board met regularly and worked hard to stop overdevelopment and to guide smart growth in the city. While the city has packed other boards and jobs with their "friends and family" the Planning Advisory Board has not met once.

Unfortunately, the ZBA recently subdivided a property that used to hold one house in the canals and paved the way for two to be built there. That was the pattern occurring on the ZBA prior to 2004. For the record two of the three original Coalition appointees to the ZBA voted "NO" for the variance, but it passed and the canal residents are furious because this now sets a precedent for future subdivision of properties in the canals that were only intended to have one house, but can now have two. That's twice as many homes, cars, people, and twice less parking. Residents in the canals are fit to be tied. But this may be just the beginning of a new trend in Long Beach where greedy developers with their real estate friends in city hall run a muck throughout our city. They make money and play by their own rules while our taxes keep going up and our quality of life deteriorates.

For example, just a few months ago Mike Zapson, the LB Democrat Clubhouse Leader, real estate lawyer, and developer himself, who allegedly has some financial stake in the purchase of the Jackson Hotel on Broadway was cited by the building department for violating building requirements. Residents in that part of town were furious. It appears Zapson thinks the rules don't apply to him,maybe because he controls the city administration?

Developers have their greedy eyes andhands on property on Pennsylvania and the beach once again, after already being turned down by the previous ZBA. The same goes for property on New York Ave, in the West End and in the East End as well.

So what does all this mean? "They're back!!"

The ZBA is being filled with LB Democrat Clubhouse cronies, like Banschick, that are pro-developer, and pro-development. Furthermore the parade of family and friends of the LB Democrat Clubhouse continue to file into city hall positions, get contracts, taxpayer funded awards, promotions, and salary raises despite the so-called fiscal crisis, the hiring freeze, and salary freeze.

All of this while the Mandel city council raised our taxes twice in one year, an historically unprecedented move. In addition, the city's debt has nearly doubled in just over one year and taxpayers have to pay the huge interest payments on the over $30 million the Mandel administration borrowed in 16 short months!

City Manager Jack  "Shell Game" Schnirman continues to pump out taxpayer funded smoke and mirror press release like newsletters claiming, everything is just fine in Long Beach..... Well I guess everything is fine if you are a friend of Zapson, Mandel, Goggin, Adelson, Torres....or if you are a greedy developer!




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