Liena Smith is either a racist, a fool, or both

I was one of several quoted(off the record) in the NY Times article about notorious Victorian Flatbush mega-agent Mary Kay Gallagher. A friend and fellow neighbor asked if I was interested in giving comment on a story that they were working on about Mrs. Gallagher. I was hesitant at first but when I was told that it would be mostly "background" info and I could be quoted in general I agreed.

I thought that the article was in general rather positive and quite fair to Mrs. Gallagher given her known history of her own form of redlining the neighborhood. I am not going to go into too much detail about our dealings with her but to be blunt: the old hag is a racist. Those are probably strong words but they are true. Mrs. Gallagher's "civic duty" are discriminatory and have been for decades. She's lucky she has avoided legal action but those that have the money and are minorities over the years have decided to go elsewhere and ultimately give her the middle finger. Kestyn is barely a step above Gallagher.

Noted "I'm not a racist" Liena Smith is disturbed that the Times would go on record for the world to see what Mrs. Gallagher is really all about. She acts as if the Times should not have printed the comments that Mrs. Gallagher is a racist. She is. Liena writes, ''that this sounds like quite the charge from the Times." If Liena Smith can prove otherwise that Mary Kay Gallagher is not a racist then she needs to do so.

Here is a suggestion Liena since you seem to know everything about the neighborhood and are popular--go door to door, census-style and ask who sold them their house. Document their race/ethnicity and get back to us. If you find a minority in which Gallagher was involved in the transaction, ask them if they paid all cash/more than 20% down payment(like yourself) or if they got conventional financing and how long did it take to closing and if there were any hiccups. This does not include the co-ops or condos I am only talking about the houses because Mrs. Gallagher's attitude depends on whom she is selling to and exactly what they are buying. Sure it may not be scientific but I think it will be very telling as to who sold whom their house. The minorities in this neighborhood who have dealt with Gallagher and those that wanted to buy in the neighborhood know the truth.

ETA: Pardon my language but it is this type of shit that gets me worked up. Liena Smith is not only acting as if Mary Kay Gallagher couldn't be a racist but completely acts as if redlining and other forms of racial discrimination did not occur when Mrs. Gallagher got her start or were practiced by Mrs. Gallagher herself. She acts as if racial discrimination in lending, buying, and selling of real estate never occurred. I know that she is a foreigner as she has said so herself, but her husband isn't. He couldn't have clued her in on the history of real estate racism that minorities faced in purchasing property. A brooklyn office of Corcoran was accused of doing this thing just a couple of YEARS AGO.