At 11 am on the nose just as I crossed the street from the Borough Hall subway station at the  corner of Montague and Court Street to Borough Hall Plaza, I could hear Senator Chuck Schumer's voice in the distance.

So much for my mantra: the politician is always late.

"…together we saved affordable housing…"

I wanted to know who the we was. Was he talking about young Stephen Levin, who is running for City Council in the 33rd district and is chief of staff for Assemblyman Vito Lopez or Vito Lopez? Schumer continued…

"…creating new housing not letting developers run rough shod through our communities. You have to thread the needle. Some people say "yes." Some people say "no." I say neither is correct. You have to have a balanced and careful approach."

Senator Schumer, who was wearing a blue shirt and a green polka dotted tie, went on to to list some of Stephen Levin's endorsements. Levin, whose major endorsement far outnumber his opponents, has been endorsed by Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-Manhattan), the League of Conservation
Voters, the United Federation of Teachers and DC37, and the Working
Families Party.

Schumer also added that Levin is the cousin of "my good friend and colleague Senator Carl Levin. So if you put it all together I am proud to endorse him."

At the podium, Candidate Stephen Levin looked starstruck as his parents looked on.

Levin: I am deeply humbled, honored…

Schumer: "Let's not go overboard now…"

Levin: "I'd like to thank Senator Schumer for his endorsement and Vito Lopez for his support…"

Levin went on to talk about Schumer's support of Justice Sonia Sotomayer, the first Hispanic and third woman Supreme Court Justice.

Levin: "Schumer was her greatest champion in the Senate and he safely delivered her to the other side and that was the greatest gift to millions of children of NYC who can now look in the mirror and say: one day I can be a Supreme Court justice."

Levin talked about his familiarity with Senator Schumer's style of working. I gather he's worked with him as Lopez's chief of staff. "He identifies a problem, goes over it with his staff, comes up with a solution and then works like the Dickens. We are facing serious problems in this city and we will need that kind of creative problem solving," Levin said.

Finally, Levin thanked Schumer for taking time out of his busy schedule to come out. And then it was time for questions.

A man who seemed drunk asked Schumer about "the road over there." He pointed toward Atlantic Avenue.

"Fifith Avenue? Schumer said. "It's terrible. The road needs to be fixed. I just rode my bike on it today. It's awful."

"No the stadium," said the drunken fellow.

"What stadium?" Schumer said.

"The Nets Stadium," drunkman said.

"The Knicks stadium.." Schumer said.

"No, the Nets stadium," the drunkman said.

"The Brooklyn Nets stadium is moving forward. There are just some hearings about it. But it's going to happen and that's good," Schumer said.

A reporter from the Park Slope Courier asked whether Schumer's relationship with Senator Carl Levin inspired his endorsement of candidate Stephen Levin. Schumer waxed poetic about Carl Levin's work in the Senate.

"Carl Levin is the chair of the Armed Services Committee and he knocked out the F22s. Obama wanted that to happen but he couldn't have done it without Carl Levin in the Senate. Carl Levin created the Democrat's policy that will enable us to get out of Iraq with strength and fortitue and that was all because of the policy that Levin and Reid crafted. Stephen Levin is also first cousin once removed from Congressman Sandy Levin whom I also know and have worked with. If Steve can be 1/10th the public servant that Carl Levin is that'll be fine."

There were some questions about healthcare and then the press conference was over and there were photo ops for Stephen and his family with Senator Schumer

Surprisingly there were no television cameras on hand. Not even NY 1 or Channel 12—and Senator Schumer is a bit of a superstar. Oh well. Maybe Stephen Levin's people didn't get the work out early enough. Check out Homer Fink's video at the Brooklyn Heights Blog when he puts it up.