The Rock-to-Ridge Rep. will make it to Bay Ridge after all.
Rep. Dan Donovan (R–Bay Ridge) took heat last month when he announced a “coffee tour” of five informal meet-ups with constituents in Brooklyn and Staten Island — with none of them in the Ridge.
But last week Donovan’s office said that the last of his caffeinated confabulations — originally slated to take place at the Dyker Heights Library — would instead be held in Bay Ridge at Fort Hamilton High School.
One Ridgite who had complained about Donovan avoiding town halls earlier in the year, and later accused him of trying to limit face time with constituents by booking small venues for his coffee klatches, gave the congressman props for moving the event to a more accessible venue.
“It’s great he is trying to accommodate us,” said Sally McMahon, a co-founder of the progressive group Fight Back Bay Ridge, the same group that organized a town hall at Bay Ridge Manor in April that was remarkably well attended — except for the guest of honor, who was represented by an empty chair. “Fort Hamilton High School is a large venue, and I feel confident Bay Ridge will turn out and fill this venue. We are politically active here, and I think this move of venue acknowledges that.”
A spokesperson for Donovan’s office said that all of the meetings were moved to larger venues because of the high number of responses they received for each event — including the three in Staten Island, one in Gravesend now slated for at Boody Intermediate School, and the final one in the Ridge.
“We wanted to make sure the location would be able to comfortably fit everyone,” said Alexia Sikora. “We were looking for central, community locations that could accommodate the size of the RSVPs we were seeing. We wanted to make sure that we could accommodate everyone who wanted to come to ensure that everyone who wanted to get their voices heard could.”
Sikora added that the events do not yet have a set format, and that the goal is to facilitate conversations between Donovan and his constituents so that they can voice their questions and concerns and learn about available city agency and casework resources. The first event took place on Oct. 28 at the South Shore YMCA in Staten Island, and the rest of the events will take place every weekend until the Nov. 18 finale.
Another Ridgite added that he is pleased that the Ridge event will be held at a large venue, but that he is more concerned that he and other constituents will be able to ask questions that the congressman will answer fully.
“I am happy it’s here and am also pleased that it is at a bigger venue,” said Amir Shani. “But I’m even more encouraged if that means that there are a lot of RSVPs. I plan on attending both Brooklyn coffee events and hope there can be a vibrant discussion where Donovan answers questions and gives his honest opinions on the issues and gives specific plans of action of what Congress should do about them.”
Sikora said there is no cap on the number of constituents allowed to attend, and that they are focused on accommodating all attendees by finding and finalizing appropriate locations. The Congressman’s office has encouraged constituents to RSVP, and warned that last-minute changes in time or location may be necessary, in order to accommodate larger crowds, or any other “unforeseen circumstances.”
“The more people that RSVP the better so that we have a way to contact folks in case of location or time changes,” Sikora said.
