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City Councilman Domenic Recchia was named Finance Chair this week.

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It was Christmas in January at City Hall and, as first reported by this paper, Coney Island City Councilmember Domenic Recchia received the biggest present.

Recchia was named chair of the council’s Finance Committee, worth an extra $18,000 tacked onto his annual councilmember salary of $112,500.

The position does come with a larger workload, however, as the Finance Committee chair plays an important role in negotiating the annual city budget with the mayor.

In getting one of the two top paying committees in the council (the other being Land Use), Recchia thanked Speaker Christine Quinn and his colleagues for putting their trust in him.

“We are facing a financial crisis unlike anything we’ve ever seen. We have a lot of tough decisions to make, and we need to make them without hurting middle and working class New Yorkers,” said Recchia.

Other Brooklyn legislators in leadership positions were Councilmembers Lew Fidler (D-Canarsie) and Al Vann (D-Bedford Stuyvesant).

Fidler retained his position as Assistant Majority Leader and chair of the Youth Services Committee, worth an extra $15,000, while Vann was named Majority Whip and chair of the Community Development Committee, worth an extra $11,000.

Several Brooklyn Councilmembers retained their chairs, including Erik Dilan (D-Bushwick) who kept Housing, Mike Nelson (D-Sheepshead Bay, Midwood), who kept Waterfronts, and Inez Dickens, who kept Standards and Ethics - all coming with a $10,000 stipend also known as a lulu.

Council member Diana Reyna (D-Williamsburg) switched from Rules to Small Business, taking over the position from outgoing Council member David Yassky (D-Williamsburg). The position is also worth a $10,000 stipend.

While the Land Use Committee chair went to Queens Council member Leroy Comrie (D-St. Albans), two new Councilmembers, Brad Lander (D-Carroll Gardens, Park Slope) and Steve Levin (D-Williamsburg, Brooklyn Heights) received influential subcommittee chairpersonships. Lander received the Landmarks, Public Siting and Maritime Uses while Levin received Planning, Dispositions and Concessions, both of which include a $4,000 stipend.

Incoming Councilmember Jumaane Williams (D-Flatbush) was awarded the Oversight and Investigations Committee, while his colleagues Councilmember Letitia James (D-Fort Greene) and Mathieu Eugene (D, East Flatbush) received Sanitation and Solid Waste Management and Veterans committees respectively. Each of these committee chairmanships receive a $10,000 stipend.

Bay Ridge City Council member Vincent Gentile will chair the Select Committee on Libraries worth $4,000.

©2010 Community Newspaper Group