Carl Kruger didn’t give a damn about his bad reputation!
The embattled state senator, who was charged with taking $1 million in bribes by federal authorities in March and who is reportedly planning on resigning at the end of the summer, showed up at Borough President Markowitz’s Coney Island summer concert series Thursday night, where he rocked out with the Beep to headliner Joan Jett, known for the 1980 hit “Bad Reputation.”
The sasquatch of Brooklyn politics has been keeping a low-profile since his indictment in March, and wouldn’t say why he showed up at the concert, only stating “I’m here,” when asked if he is a fan of Joan Jett.
But Kruger (D–Brighton Beach) added that he is a fan of of Markowitz, telling us he supports the Beep’s controversial quest to build a $64-million bandshell in Asser Levy Park — a project that is jeopardized by accusations that amplified sound from the planned venue will violate a city noise code.
“Asser Levy Park is a great and nostalgic place for concerts,” he told us.
He and Markowitz were buddy-buddy as the posed for photos in front of the stage, but Markowitz did not invite Kruger up to riff with him in front of the massive crowd during pre-concert ceremonies.
But that doesn’t mean he wasn’t an invited guest of the Beep.
The Borough President’s office said that “all elected officials from New York City and beyond are welcome and given the chance to speak to the audience,” at Marty’s concerts, according to spokesman Jon Paul Lupo.
Kruger has been sighted rarely since his indictment. In March, a Courier reporter spotted Kruger at a Council of Jewish Organizations breakfast. But when that reporter tried to chat him up, the senator turned his back, and a staffer got between the lawmaker and the scribe.
Kruger is more easily tracked in Albany, where his footprints were all over the new law legalizing same-sex nuptials. The senator, who was outed by feds in their indictment, changed his famously anti-gay marriage stance by voting for the bill in June.
