Treyger’s Star Rises As He Replaces Menchaca As Co-Chair Of City Council’s Brooklyn Delegation

Sunset Park Councilman Carlos Menchaca was voted out of his position as co-chair of the City Council’s Brooklyn delegation last week and replaced by Councilman Mark Treyger – granting Treyger significantly more influence over the city’s budgetary negotiations.

The vote, which took place on Thursday, February 5, and was described as “a coup” by some, delivers a blow to the Council’s Progressive Caucus, which loses a decision-making position in Brooklyn, the borough with the largest delegation. The Brooklyn delegation chairs have a seat at the table during budget discussions, and are also responsible for organizing members’ support on the borough’s legislative priorities.

Initially, the delegation agreed to dissolve the leadership, which Menchaca shared with Councilwoman Darlene Mealy, but during the vote to replace the co-chairs, Mealy managed to regain her seat while Menchaca was replaced by Treyger. There have been some conflicting reports about the reason for Menchaca’s removal from his post.

In an email to his constituents Friday, Menchaca alluded to his dispute with the Mayor Bill de Blasio – a fellow progressive – over the city’s planned redevelopment of Sunset Park’s waterfront.

“I now find myself in a struggle with the administration over my insistence that my constituents have a voice in plans by the city’s Economic Development Corporation (EDC) to redevelop an underutilized 88-acre site on the Sunset Park waterfront in my district known as the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal (SBMT),” Menchaca wrote, adding that he remains committed to representing the voices of local businesses and residents affected by the plan.

Others say de Blasio and the EDC had nothing to do with the vote.

The New York Observer reports:

Mr. Treyger said that wasn’t the impetus for the vote. “That issue actually did not come up at all in our delegation meeting,” he said.

A source said the reason for the vote was that the operation of the delegation had become “totally dysfunctional,” falling behind on votes and missing out on having input in appointments. Members were looking for more organization ahead of the soon-to-begin budget process, the source said.

It should be noted that Treyger, too, has found himself at odds with the de Blasio administration on some issues, such as the building of the Gravesend Bay Waste Transfer Station and the city’s plan to replace the Riegelmann Boardwalk with concrete.