More about Lobbyists Mercury
de Blasio Using PAC Lobbyists Consultants To Get Around the Elections Law and Control Elections and the Press
Campaign LobbyistsControl A Secret Shadow Government
Lobbyists Red Horse
Lobbyists Hilltop
A Mayor Whose Pro Developer$ Housing Policy Failed Homeless Policy, Dumps Shelters on Communities That Won't Vote for Him
As Shelter Population Surges, Housing for Disabled Comes Up Short (NYT)
Advocates have been fighting for years for accommodations
for people with disabilities, and the shortcomings have become more pressing.
De Blasio BlamesMedia Coverage of Homeless For Surge in 311 Complaints (DNAINFO) de Blasio said
Thursday that heightened media coverage of the homeless in recent weeks is
fueling the surge in 311 complaints since he's taken office. He said
recent stories claiming an increase in the number of homeless people on city
streets are overstating the problem — but they are having an impact on the
public. "I think the media has put a lot of attention on this issue
lately, more than previously," he told reporters during a press conference
at Lincoln Hospital in The Bronx. "I'm not sure if the attention that's
been given is proportionate to what's happening. I think it's caused people to
be more and more concerned."
A Pol From An Era When Albany Leaders Where Challenged and Communities, Voters Come First Has Died
Frank J. Barbaro, Liberal New York Lawmaker, Dies at88 (NYT) Frank J. Barbaro, a former longshoreman and liberal state assemblyman
from Brooklyn who was Edward I. Koch’s chief challenger
for re-election to a second term as mayor of New York, died on Sept. 4 at his
home in Watervliet, N.Y. He was 88. The cause was congestive heart failure, his
wife, Mary, who is known as Patty, said.
Mr. Barbaro (pronounced BAR-ba-roe) was a liberal Democrat who won
election as a legislator 12 times. But he also shattered some of the lances he
wielded while championing sometimes quixotic causes during nearly 50 years as a
candidate. He first ran, unsuccessfully, on an antiwar platform for the Assembly
in 1968; last spring, he was elected as a Bernie Sanders delegate to the
Democratic National Convention from upstate New York. (He had moved to
Watervliet, in Albany County, a decade ago.) In between, he lost elections for
Brooklyn borough president, mayor and Congress. In the Legislature, Mr. Barbaro
was a fierce advocate for organized labor, tenants and minorities. He later
served for six years as a State Supreme Court justice. He attributed his
political radicalization to the Vietnam War. After leading neighborhood rent
strikes, he was elected in 1972 to the Assembly, where he was chairman of the
Labor Committee and served through 1996.
Are Their Now 8 Areas of Corruption the Feds Are Looking Into?
Probe Looks at Now-Closed Queens Restaurant Whose Owner HasTies to Mayor (WSJ) Investigators examine if officials in mayor’s office tried
to dissuade city agency from pursuing inquiries into finances of Water’s Edge
restaurant. Federal authorities investigating possible corruption in New York
City Mayor Bill de Blasio’s administration are looking into a now-closed Queens
restaurant that leased land from the city and whose owner has political ties to
the mayor, people familiar with the matter said.
Trial date set for Long Island restaurateur Harendra Singh | Newsday
Are Their Now 8 Areas of Corruption the Feds Are Looking Into?
Trial date set for Long Island restaurateur Harendra Singh | Newsday
Federal authorities investigating possible corruption in
the de Blasio administration are looking into a now-closed Queens restaurant
that leased land from the city and owner Harendra Singh, who has political ties
to the mayor, The Wall Street Journal reports.
H. Singh and Eric Kumar in de Blasio's inauguration team - new york
Cyclists Dying Despite de Blasio's Vision Zero
Despite de Blasio’s Vision Zero initiative, so far this year motorists have killed 17 cyclists, putting 2016 on the path to being one of the deadliest for bike riders in recent years, the Daily News reports.
H. Singh and Eric Kumar in de Blasio's inauguration team - new york
Trial date setfor restaurateur Singh via @Newsday - Singh needs to sing all truth
- good bad & ugly.
Cyclists Dying Despite de Blasio's Vision Zero
Despite de Blasio’s Vision Zero initiative, so far this year motorists have killed 17 cyclists, putting 2016 on the path to being one of the deadliest for bike riders in recent years, the Daily News reports.
IN INTERVIEW, BHARARA SAYS "PUTTING CORRUPT
POLITICIANS IN JAIL MAY BE NECESSARY, BUT IT’S NOT SUFFICIENT"
C&S: What impact do you think your office has had onthe culture of Albany or the culture of politics?
PB: I don’t know how much impact it’s had yet on
culture. The first and most important effect I think it’s had is it’s held
people accountable, over a dozen people accountable just in the state
Legislature, approximately. Just that alone I think is significant, and it
sends a message to everyone in the public that this kind of conduct is not
going to be tolerated. And people are paying attention and people are taking it
seriously. And people are not afraid to go after folks who have power and have
standing, and it doesn’t matter because no one is above the law. And I think, eventually,
that has an effect on the people and the institutions that we’re looking at and
investigating over time, and people get the message, I think. Particularly,
there are a lot of smart people who are in politics and realize it’s not worth
losing your liberty over, it’s not worth losing your reputation over, to engage
in that conduct and conduct that they know is bad and unlawful. And I think
over time that causes the situation to get better. But we can’t do it alone,
and nobody here pretends that simply bringing a series of prosecutions is
enough. I often say putting corrupt politicians in jail may be necessary, but
it’s not sufficient.
Fed Rat Rechnitz: "I got the Mayor on Lock Down for OMB Top Job"
Vinny the Chin de Blasio Does Not Remember Rechnitz's Money or Hug
Silver Lower East Side Falls to the Asians
Yuh-Line
Niou Defeats Sheldon Silver Ally in Primary for His Old Assembly Seat (NYT)
In one of several closely watched contests in New York, Ms. Niou won a six-way
Democratic race, defeating Alice Cancel, whom Mr. Silver, the disgraced former
speaker, had supported.* Disgraced
ex-Speaker Sheldon Silver's chosen successor loses primary race to Yuh-Line
Niou (NYDN) *
LES Democrats Make History, Select First Asian-American to Represent Chinatown in Albany
Estimate of turnout in yesterday's NYC Dem primary is 10%.
Apathy rules & political class loves it!
LES Democrats Make History, Select First Asian-American to Represent Chinatown in Albany
First Hasidic Woman Elected As Brooklyn CivilCourt Judge (WCBS)
Vote Totals
Vote Totals
Ron Castorina defeated challenger Janine Materna with 68
percent of the vote.
Incumbent candidates won races for the State Senate, State
Assembly and City Council.
The ex-pol touted a lifetime of public service during
his campaign, without any mention of his arrest.
State Senator Martin Dilan defended his seat in the
Sept. 13 primary, earning 55 percent of the vote.
Wright beat out challenger Karen Cherry in the 56th Assembly
District race Tuesday.
Few voters show up to decide on key races (Riverdale Press)
State Sen. Gustavo Rivera campaigned outside the
Kingsbridge Heights School (P.S. 86), before casting his vote. But few other
voters showed up during this week’s key races.
Cuomo IDC Rules Albany Now
Cuomo IDC Rules Albany Now
De
Blasio’s Nonprofit Must Comply With Ethics Panel’s Subpoena, Judge Says (NYT) A
judge in Albany has ordered Mayor Bill de Blasio’s political
nonprofit to comply with a subpoena from a state ethics panel, putting a damper
on the mayor’s widening effort to prevent the disclosure of certain
communications that he deems privileged. The decision by Justice Denise A.
Hartman of State Supreme Court involved an investigation by the Joint
Commission on Public Ethics into whether the nonprofit, the Campaign for One
New York, violated state regulations byfailing
to register in 2015 as a lobbyist. The two parties argued their
positions in
court in July, the first public court battle to emerge from various state
and federal investigations into the mayor’s fund-raising and political
activities, The ruling, issued last week but not received by the parties
until Monday, comes as Mr. de Blasio is also fighting in State Supreme Court in
Manhattan to keep emails and text messages between City Hall and a small number
of outside advisers — some of whom played central roles in the political
nonprofit before it closed
down this year — from being disclosed to reporters. * Judge
orders de Blasio nonprofit to turn over subpoenaed records (NYP) The nonprofit, which had taken in more than $4.4 million
since January 2014 to promote the mayor’s agenda, had refused
to fully comply with two subpoenas issued by the Joint Commission on
Public Ethics seeking documents, claiming the panel was embarking on a fishing
expedition. But Supreme Court Justice Denise Hartman wrote Thursday, “The
record before the court does not indicate that the challenged subpoenas
constitute harassment or impermissible ‘fishing.’”The ruling means CONY, which disbanded in March, must hand
over reams of documents and communications — including those between it and
de Blasio — between 2014 to 2016. CONY lawyer Laurence Laufer said he was
reviewing the decision. He continued to maintain that JCOPE — which has some
members appointed by Gov. Cuomo, a de Blasio enemy — was engaged in a
“politicized” probe. The mayor said that the administration disagrees with the
judge’s decision and “we’re exploring appellate options at this point.”
Manhattan Judicial Panel Blinks Supports Ling-Cohan
In an extraordinary reversal of a decision made by its own screening panel, the Manhattan Democratic Party will nominate Manhattan Judge Doris Ling-Cohan to be put on the ballot for re-election as a state Supreme Court justice this fall, the Post reports.
Judge wins re-election ballot battle after being barred @nypmetro - Manhattan v Brooklyn: Ct is a Bank & JSC Tellers
Transparency Bill Even Losing His Friends Brian and the Times
De Blasio Faces Mounting Pressure on Matters ofTransparency (NYT) For about 10 minutes, the WNYC radio host Brian
Lehrer hit Mr. de Blasio with a barrage of questions about secrecy and
transparency, pressing him on his stance on police disciplinary records and his
refusal to divulge certain emails and texts with outside advisers. The
questions came after a lawsuit filed by organizations challenging the de Blasio
administration over its denial of access to those communications. The radio
exchange and the lawsuit, filed
in state court on Wednesday, marked the boiling over of months of
simmering tension for the mayor, a Democrat who championed transparency and
police accountability as a candidate and now finds himself accused of failing
to deliver on his promises. Exhibit A for critics is New York City’s Law
Department, which is fighting multiple court battles to maintain the secrecy of
city records of officers’ past misconduct and that of Mr. de Blasio’s own
communications with outside advisers. The questions came after a lawsuit filed
by organizations challenging the de Blasio administration over its denial of
access to those communications. The radio exchange and the lawsuit, filed
in state court on Wednesday, marked the boiling over of months of
simmering tension for the mayor, a Democrat who championed transparency and
police accountability as a candidate and now finds himself accused of failing
to deliver on his promises. Exhibit A for critics is New York City’s Law
Department, which is fighting multiple court battles to maintain the secrecy of
city records of officers’ past misconduct and that of Mr. de Blasio’s own
communications with outside advisers. “On the police records, I have a clear
position that I want to see the state law changed and I want us to be able to
release those records,” Mr. de Blasio told Mr. Lehrer, referring to a 1976
state law that protects police personnel records. The issue emerged for Mr. de Blasio last month after the Police
Department’s decision to change a decades-old policy of posting certain
disciplinary information on a clipboard in its public information office at
Police Headquarters. The change, reported by The Daily News, coincided with the
filing by the Legal Aid Society of a Freedom of Information Act request. “For
the past two years it’s become increasingly clear that the lack of
accountability in police-involved deaths and other abuses is germane to the
public interest,” Cynthia Conti-Cook, a staff attorney at Legal Aid, said. Erica
Garner, Mr. Garner’s daughter, put it more bluntly on Twitter on Thursday,
accusing the mayor in particularly curt language of caring about black lives
only in a sexual context. The mayor insisted that the city had no choice but to
defend the secrecy of the records until Albany acted to amend the law. As for
the key outside advisers, Mr. de Blasio said, “when some individuals are very,
very close advisers, that it is appropriate to have a private relationship with
them.” Officials at City Hall have maintained for months that emails and texts
with a select group of outside advisers — including those whose firms have
clients with business before the city — can and should be kept from public view
if they contain advice for the mayor of the sort that his top city aides would
provide. (For emails to City Hall related to advisers’ clients, officials have
said those records would be turned over when requested.)Mr. de Blasio’s
position gained a kind of political infamy when in May his then-counsel, Maya
Wiley, deemed the advisers “agents of the city.” Reporters have sought through
Freedom of Information Act requests to pry open those records; NY1 and The New
York Post began their court challenge this week.
The No Show Council With A 32% Raise
For the future of New York’s kids: Post endorsements in legislative primaries(NYP)
STATE SENATE SD-25 (Bed-Stuy/Crown Heights/Red Hook): Michael Cox is challenging (too-) long-term incumbent Velmanette Montgomery. A Crown Heights native who served in the Obama administration, Cox became a devoted fan of choice, charters and education reform while teaching in East New York. SD-31 (Washington Heights/Inwood/West Side): In a four-way race to succeed Sen. Adriano Espaillat, the best choice is Marisol Alcantara, who’s backed by Espaillat and by the pro-good-schools Independent Democratic Conference. SD-33 (West Bronx): City Councilman Fernando Cabrera poses a real threat to incumbent Gustavo Rivera. That’s why the Fund for Great Public Schools, a union front, funded mailers smearing the challenger. In fact, this firm advocate of the EITC and charter schools has built a strong record of delivering solutions for his constituents.
ASSEMBLYAD-6 (Bay Shore/Brentwood/Central Islip): In his challenge to incumbent Philip Ramos, Giovanni Mata has also been the target of dirty-tricks mailers claiming he’s the pawn of “immigrant-bashing Republicans.” Yet it’s Ramos who is standing in the way of hope for black and brown kids in this Long Island district — and Mata who demands that all children have access to good schools.] AD-33 (Queens Village/Cambria Heights/Hollis): In a crowded field looking to replace the late Barbara Clark, Roy Paul stands out. He made history at 19 as the youngest African-American ever elected to public office in the state. Now 30, he’s been solid on charters and school reform ever since winning that school-board race. AD-46 (Bay Ridge/Coney Island): Pamela Harris, the incumbent, faces questions about her shaky personal finances and a nonprofit headquartered at her home. We strongly urge a vote for challenger Kate Cucco, who rightly calls the education tax credit a “win-win piece of legislation.” Daily News Newell for Assembly(NYDN) Newell is highly informed, fully in touch with a district that is 43% Asian, 33% white, 16% Hispanic and 5% black, and promises unusual independence in Albany. A native of Taiwan, Yuh-Line Niou grew up in Washington state, where she served as a legislative aide, focusing on health care, and worked as an advocate against predatory lending. Niou has lived in the district for three years, is chief of staff to Flushing Assemblyman Ron Kim and is backed by the Queens Democratic machine. She says that she was motivated to run in part as Chinatown residents were seeking constituent services in Kim’s Queens office. Newell has the edge over Niou in knowledge both of the district and of the issues. He is in touch with grass-roots concerns about traffic, schools, affordable housing and sustainable neighborhoods. Seeking to represent an area flooded by traffic from the Brooklyn, Manhattan and Williamsburg bridges, Newell backs congestion pricing to toll the spans and pour money into mass transit. * Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who has largely stayed out of New York politics since leaving City Hall, is re-entering the scene with a Monday night fundraiser for former aide Micah Lasher’s Democratic state Senate bid, The Wall Street Journal reports. * Micah Lasher for state Senate (NYDN) * A senator for the Bronx: Pamela Hamilton-Johnson is thechoice (NYT)
NY1 and Post Go After de Blasio Secret Agent Lobbyists Berlin Rosen at Last the Times See Nothing
NY1 and the Post filed a joint lawsuit against Mayor Bill de Blasio over the city's refusal to release correspondence between the mayor and Jonathan Rosen, one of five “agents of the city” who the administration has shielded from public disclosure, Politico New York writes. * De Blasio Faces Mounting Pressure on Matters of Transparency (NYT)
de Blasio Fights A Neighborhood Over the Homeless He Created With the Help of His Developer Friends
The co-owner of a Queens Holiday Inn slated to become a homeless shelter said he wants out of the deal because community opposition is too much, but City Hall sources said the plan will go forward and the opening only delayed a few weeks, the Daily News writes.
Now That the Feds Look to Book Him the Media Discovers How Capalino and the Other Lobbyists Ran City Hall
The Wall Street Journal reported on those boasts in February, in a story on how the lobbying biz has soared since de Blasio took office. Now Politico has detailed how Capalino earned his pay, by looking at the e-mail trail between Capalino’s firm and City Hall for the first 16 months of the mayor’s term. Capalino and his staff exchanged messages with more than 120 administration officials — including every deputy mayor and nearly a dozen different agency heads. The lobbyists made a lot of requests for their clients — and look to have gotten action more often than not, even when the “ask” was at odds with the mayor’s progressive values. Of course, Capalino “earned” his access, having raised more than $45,000 for de Blasio’s 2013 campaign. Since then, he’s kicked in more cash to the mayor’s re-election bid, his nonprofit slush fund and even the private Gracie Mansion Conservancy He’s now the city’s top lobbyist, with his firm’s earnings up 172 percent since 2013. But he’s also tied into at least two different scandals, with his firm subpoenaed by state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman. That prompted de Blasio to disclose last week, “I do not have contact with [Capalino] anymore.” Then again, a mayoral spokesman calls that an “ethical decision” the mayor made for himself alone — leaving other city employees free to make “ethical judgments every day in a wide variety of interactions with the lobbying industry. That won’t change. Sounds an awful lot like a recipe for business as usual, as long as de Blasio’s fingerprints don’t show. Which would be par for the course for a mayor who pledged to drive special interests out of City Hall — but instead has welcomed them with open arms. * Sixteen months of emails between the de Blasio administration and Capalino + Company, one of the largest lobbying firms in New York City, show employees cajoling City Hall on behalf of his clients, often with favorable results, Politico New York reports. * * Reports detailing de Blasio’s close relationship with lobbyist James Capalino shows that while the mayor once pledged to drive special interests out of City Hall, he has instead welcomed them with open arms, the Post writes. * City revokes registration of billboard group run by de Blasio backer (NYP)
Machine Man George Arzt: Brooklyn Machine, Bronx Machine and Queens Machine Non Profit, Developers
More About Lobbyists Campaign Manager George Arzt
As the CFB Ignores PAC Corrdination With Consultants UFT's UF, NYCLASS, But Goes After A 25 Year Old
Authorities said Celia Dosamantes, a young Queens politico who ran for New York City Council in 2015, was arrested for faking donations to get 6-for-1 matching taxpayer funds for her losing campaign and received nearly $19,530 from the city, the Post writes.
SHADY SECRECY: Mayor de Blasio fighting to keep cop records from public in unprecedented blow to transparency (NYDN)
* The Times writes
that de Blasio needs to wake up and shut down the carnage of J’ouvert,
the overnight ritual of music, dancing, shootings and stabbings that
precedes each year’s West Indian American Day Parade, even if it means
facing angry constituents. * The Daily News criticizes
de Blasio’s attempts to keep from the public the disciplinary history
of the police officer who choked Eric Garner to death and argues the
mayor’s description of state law is wrong and imposes too much secrecy
on police discipline.* IF IT AIN'T BROKE: NYPD, outgoing Bill Bratton defend controversial 'broken windows' tactics after DOI critique(NYDN) * Damn liars and statistics: NYPD IG's broken broken-windows report(NYDN) * Irish, Puerto Rican Communities Outraged Following De Blasio’s Comparison To J’Ouvert Violence (WCBS) *
After the NYPD inspector general concluded this summer that cracking
down on minor offenses had no effect on reducing more serious crimes,
the department rolled out its own detailed report defending “broken
windows” policing, The Wall Street Journal reports. * The Daily News criticizes
the New York City inspector general’s report that found quality-of-life
policing to be a crime-reduction sham and stands by peer-reviewed
studies about the relationship between NYPD enforcement and declining
crime rates.*
New York law makes the disciplinary history of police officers
“confidential and not subject to inspection or review,” but that means
the taxpaying public has no right to know when those cops misbehave or
whether they have been disciplined, Newsday writes. * 'JUST
CAUSE YOU LOVE BLACK P---Y DOESN'T MEAN YOU LOVE BLACK LIVES': Erica
Garner blasts de Blasio for refusal to release discipline record of NYPD
officer whose chokehold led to father's death (NYDN) * Michael Bloomberg to host fund-raiser for ex-aide running for New York State Senate(NYDN) * Bratton’s
blast back at the IG’s smear of the NYPD(NYP) * In one of his last acts as New York City police commissioner, Bill Bratton appeared with Schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña to announce that the 2015-16 school year was the safest on record for New York City’s public schools, The New York Times reports. * After it was revealed the officer who killed Eric Garner with a chokehold boosted his salary with overtime pay, officials announced overtime for cops accused of misconduct will have to be approved in advance by the NYPD’s highest-ranking uniformed officer, the Daily News writes.'* Bill
Bratton's Legacy Is Mixed as He Leaves NYPD, Police Observers Say (DNAINFO) Fans say his crime-fighting tactics set the standard, while
critics say "Broken Windows" was toxic.
Outrage in Manhattan to Party Turning on Sitting Judge Silence in Brooklyn About That Party Turing On Jacobson
Interesting
the Post does a story about a judge dump on by the Manhattan machine
but not the judge dump on by the Brooklyn Machine Which the Post work
with to dump on
Democratic leader won’t overturn decision to re-elect ‘lazy’ judge(NYP)
Democratic base rails against party pols for barring ‘lazy’ judge(NYP) Manhattan Democratic leader Keith Wright is coming under intense pressure from key members of his Democratic base — gay leaders and tenant activists — to reverse the decision of a screening panel that found Supreme Court Justice Doris Ling-Cohan not qualified for re-election.“I am outraged by the decision . . . I can assure you that this outrage is shared by the larger tenant community, tenant-advocacy community, legal services, Legal Aid and private tenant bar,” tenant leader Michael McKee told Wright in a letter.
McKee said Ling-Cohan is a champion of tenant rights and claimed the landlord lobby is out to get her. “It seems clear that Justice Ling-Cohan has made a lot of enemies among the landlord bar with her decisions, and somehow these enemies have been able to manipulate the screening panel in an attempt to end her career. I don’t know what Curtis Arluck and Louise Dankberg were smoking, but this decision is a travesty,” he said, referring to party officials overseeing judgeship selections.
“I urge you as Democratic county chair to intervene in this situation to correct this injustice.”
Lower East Side Councilwoman Rosie Mendez and other backers of Ling-Cohan are planning a press conference at City Hall Tuesday to demand the screening committee reverse itself. *Manhattan Dems Rejecting Justice Doris Ling-Cohan Sparks Outrage(Gay City News) *In manhattan, CL Wright is asking for re-hearing if screening rules not followed. In Bklyn, the County Committee Residency/Employment for Committee members not followed, and Screening Committee rules of Oral & Written Notice to Candidate of any issues not given + Screening Process Confidentiality breached with NYP's bad-sources saying knowingly false and defamatory statements with malice and reckless disregard of the truth.
Deptuy Mayor Capalino Emailed 120 Administration Employees
LOBBYING DE BLASIO -- Emails show Capalino's reach in City Hall -- POLITICO New York's Dana Rubinstein, Sally Goldenberg, and Laura Nahmias: "When a construction company with a tarnished reputation sought a contract from Mayor Bill de Blasio's public housing authority, it got it. When City Hall seemed like it would delay, if not outright stymie, a prominent developer's plan for a so-called "poor door," the developer ultimately won the day - with some minor concessions. When an energy company wanted a show of support for a microgrid project in Brooklyn, it got that, too. All of these companies had one thing in common - they employed Capalino and Company, the lobbying firm whose founder and CEO Jim Capalino was such an ardent de Blasio supporter that he raised nearly $45,000 for his 2013 mayoral run and personally wielded a "Come Meet Bill" sign at a rally that year."
DURING THE FIRST 16 months of the de Blasio mayoralty, Capalino and his employees exchanged emails with more than 120 administration employees, including each of its deputy mayors and nearly a dozen individual agency heads. They offered praise. ("Kudos on Deputy Mayor Glen's excellent ABNY speech.") And they offered commiseration. When Capalino failed to secure de Blasio's attendance at a tribute to the late Ed Koch in April 2014, mayoral scheduler Lindsay Scola urged Capalino lobbyist Tom Gray to "Please keep me posted on any events in the future." "Will do," Gray replied. "In my opinion you have the hardest job in government (politics), I absolutely appreciate your level of communication." "Thank you, this means a lot," responded Scola. "I worked for bdb for 8 years," said Gray, referring to de Blasio. "I know some of ups and downs folks face over there well ;)" Gray was de Blasio's director of land use from 2009 to 2011, when the mayor was public advocate. He also worked for de Blasio from 2005 to 2009, when he was in the City Council. In another exchange, Ellyn Canfield Nealon, who handles special events for the mayor, was asked whether First Lady Chirlane McCray would attend several events. "I finally had my weekly FLONYC meeting this past week and pitched tour AND food bank meeting and they were amenable to both," she wrote to Gray on April 2, 2014. "Things move VERY slowly through that team but I will keep pushing that." READ MORE: http://politi.co/2cvqaqd* Mayor Bill de Blasio has added about 16,000 New York City workers http://on.wsj.com/2cKIpMF via
It is Follow the Leader in Albany
The typical state Senate Republican cast his or her votes on legislation the same way as Majority Leader John Flanagan 98.9 percent of the time in 2016, up from 98.4 percent agreement with Flanagan’s predecessor, Dean Skelos, in 2014, Politico New York reports.
Charter Schools 10%
According to New York City Charter School Center statistics, for the first time in history the expanding charter school sector will serve roughly 106,600, or about 10 percent of all New York City school kids this year, and that number is growing, the Post reports. * DOE’s pricey ventures are overcrowding schools despite open seats: report (NYP) * A new report found overcrowding in New York City schools remains rampant even though there are more seats than enrolled students and the city Department of Education is focused on new building projects while empty classrooms collect dust, the Post reports.
Albany Pols Will Destroy Constitutional Convention Purpose
Candidates for state Legislature in the forthcoming local elections should sign a pledge promising to not seek a delegate position if voters approve a constitutional convention during their term, Hofstra University’s James Coll writes.
Trump Hits Cuomo On State Up NY TV Ads
While accepting the state Conservative Party’s endorsement, presidential nominee Donald Trump slammed the tens of millions of dollars in public funds Gov. Andrew Cuomo has spent on TV ads program promoting his Start-UP NY jobs program, the Post reports. * Despite the company’s financial problems, Cuomo defended SolarCity and said that its Buffalo factory, the centerpiece of his Buffalo Billion initiative, is part of a broader strategy focusing on the growth of the clean energy industry, The Buffalo News reports. * PolitiFact assesses Assemblyman Robin Schimminger’s claim that state officials reported an incorrect number of jobs created by companies participating in the Start-Up NY economic development program, and finds the lawmaker’s assertion to be “false.”
Judge Jacobson and Ling-Cohen Hack by Bar Committees? - The schematic moves....to 2 different sub-plots
Questions about why Manhattan, Brooklyn party committees have withdrawn support from judges (Progress Queens)
On September 4, 2016 at 1:47 PM Ravi Batra &ravibatralaw@aol.com; wrote:
I
have taken note of the fact that both Justice Jacobson and Justice
Ling-Cohen are women, hardworking, well-respected, and have created
legal precedent.
1. 2 clubs: Central Brooklyn
Independent Dems and LAMBDA are supportive of Justice Jacobson's long
and distinguished record of being a Straight Arrow and ruling without
Fear or Favor, the Bob Morgenthau gold standard of public service, to do
the right thing: merit-based justice one case at a time.
2.
As I do not represent Justice Ling- Cohen, I am unaware of her facts.
However, as to Justice Laura Jacobson, I am well aware of the documented
history for her exemplary service on the bench. Indeed, the complaint
filed in EDNY clearly alleges that J. Jacobson honored the strong public
policy of the state of New York disincentivizing residential
foreclosures while defendants Frank Seddio and Frank Carone have deep
and wide ties and relationships with banking and lending - which is the
root-support of real estate development. Of course, as the United States
attorney Preet Bharara has repeatedly shown by securing convictions of
the most powerful leaders, the sick and sordid self-benefiting
corruptive influence of the real estate industry: the true Masters of
the universe, as they actually own large swaths of most valuable parts
of the earth.
J. Jacobson's involvement in
LICH is a mere tip of the festering sewer of misconduct, that lies
below. Federal civil discovery, given the now-public record of SDNY U.S.
Attorney Preet Bharara's interest, will flush out the public-private
partnership(s) that made that LICH-to-Condos plan proceed and the
less-than-holy participants and their Kabuki Play to lull the public.
But,
at the heart of this case - which a federal jury will decide - is the
ignoble, illegal and unconstitutional destruction of a great and
fearless judge, a woman, who dared to honor her Oath, and that those who
did the foul and malicious deeds did it all wrong and violated their
own rules to do so. It's sorta like a gang that can't shoot straight or,
as I have commented for almost two decades, that there is a peculiar
political virus in Brooklyn: legal stupidity.
Keep
in mind that had the Edelman Committee approved her, as it must have
with only those sitting and voting that were allowed to, and the County
Committee played politics and knocked her out - Justice Scalia in Lopez
Torres said that was legal and constitutional.
What
is truly most troubling is the unconstitutional attempt to control the
court and make a judge into a political puppet by destroying judicial
independence - and it is judicial independence that make our cherished
separation of powers to function. The attempt to destroy judicial
independence is nothing short of the ultimate Un-American act, for it
destroys the very thing that makes America exceptional in human history
and as Ronald Reagan said, "that shining city on the hill."
de Blasio Not the Lobbyists Cause the Corruption - He Let Them Run City Hall
In truth, the poison oozes from the mayor who invited the lobbyists and donors in to feed at his political profit.
Fed Law Suit On Elections Fixing in the Bronx
Bronx activists file suit begging judge to stop ‘rigged’ primary (NYDN) An underdog group of Bronx activists is asking a federal judge to cancel September's primary elections — claiming the local Democratic Party runs an elaborate scheme to cheat voters. In a theatrically written lawsuit — which quotes from The Federalist Papers and demands $5 billion in damages — eight plaintiffs allege that intervention from a judge is “the Bronx’s only hope of holding our first free and fair election in decades.” Among the plaintiffs in the suit, filed in Manhattan Federal Court, are several women who say party leaders nominated them without their knowledge to a local political body called the county committee which meets twice a year to endorse candidates. After missing meetings because they were unaware they were elected, their seats were filled by cronies loyal to the party leaders or simply left empty, court papers allege. “I knew nothing about this,” plaintiff Ilka Rios, 31, told the Daily News. “How can they use my name without my permission?” "We're prepared to defend the integrity of the Democratic Party, the voters who have made their voices heard, as well as the hardworking elected officials in this borough, against these scurrilous and ridiculous accusations," said spokesman George Arzt. Update Bronx primaries will be held despite claims of rigging: judge (NYP)A Manhattan federal judge said she will not halt the upcoming Bronx Democratic primaries amid new allegations of election rigging — but warned that she will order a do-over if the alarming claims bear out.“I have the power to order a new election and will do so if I find irreparable harm,” Judge Kimba Wood said at a court hearing Tuesday.
Lobbyists Stanley Schlein
Even Bertha Lewis With All Her Baggage is Over the Mayor
The New Dominican Machine
Mr.
Espaillat, a Democrat who is favored to win a congressional seat in
November, is trying to help two fellow Dominicans win state primaries.
Bombshell 5 Million $ Lawsuit filed By A Judge Jacobson Who Was Dumped By Boss Seddeo, His Judicial Screening Panel For Trying to Keep Who Tried to Keep LICH Open, People in Their Homes, More . . .
"To protect & defend the Constitution, Judicial
Independence is necessary for the Third Branch to be co-equal with the two
political co-branches in our Separation of Powers regime. This lawsuit honors,
by deed, a lawyer's perpetual duty to protect and defend the noble judiciary
and the Constitution - here, it is painful, as it seeks to prevent destructive
overreach by persons one would easily have a friendly drink and break bread
with." Ravi Batra
The Law Suit is Aimed At Brooklyn Boss Seddio Law Firm But the Daily News Says Lawyers Affiliated With the Screening Panel Leaves Out Predicate Facts His LICH Hospital Mortgage Closing Connections
Cover-Up Is the NYP An Arm of the Brooklyn Machine? Not Reporting on Jacobson Law Suit
Fraud upon #NYPost ought make NYP angry and free to disclose Source-Identity w/o need for subpoena.
Where did the NYP Get the Information From?
Was not getting reappointed by the Brooklyn Bosses Screening
puppet revenge for Jacobson Ruling to Keep LICH Hospital Open?
On Jacobson's Ruling to Keep LICH Open
166. Retaliatory, Vindictive and Malicious Deprivation of Judge Jacobson’s Right to “Equal Protection of Law” and “Due Process”!
Why Have the Media Reformers Given Up on Judicial Reform Sen Kennedy and Judge Jacobson Started?
applications, Orders to Show Cause and ex parte applications
in Kings County Supreme Court.
Case 1:16-cv-04809
Document 1 Filed 08/26/16 Page 42 of 299 PageID #: 4243
155. One of the matters that was presented to Judge Jacobson
was a proposed Order
to Show Cause brought by The New York State Nurses
Association seeking to, inter alia,
enjoin the State University of New York (“SUNY”) from taking
actions inconsistent with a
“Court-ordered Settlement Agreement entered on February 25,
2014.”
156. The underlying matter, captioned as The New York State
Nurses Association,
et. al. v. New York State Department of Health, et. al.,
Index No. 5814/2013, involved, inter
alia, contests to the sale of Long Island College Hospital
(“LICH”) and efforts to ensure
continued employment of nurses then employed at LICH and the
continued provision of
emergency medicine services which were being provided by
LICH.
157. Appearing for SUNY, in opposition to the relief sought,
was Frank V. Carone,
Esq. of Abrams, Fensterman, Fensterman, Eiseman, Formato,
Ferrara & Wolf, LLP (“Abrams
Fensterman”).
Why Have the Reformers Given Up on Judicial Refrom and Judge Jacobson?
Why Have the Reformers Given Up on Judicial Refrom and Judge Jacobson?
Professional Service Limited Liability Company Seddio
& Carone PLLC. Upon information
and belief, based upon the records of the New York State
Department of State, Division of
Corporations, that law practice was formed on May 30, 2008
and functioned through its
dissolution on December 10, 2014. A true copy of a printout
of publically accessible records
of the New York State Department of State, Division of
Corporations is appended hereto and
made a part hereof as Exhibit 12.
159. Both Mr. Carone and defendant Seddio reportedly took
their practices and
joined them with partnerships at Abrams Fensterman.
Case
160. Defendant Seddio stopped practicing law with Abrams
Fensterman.
161. In addition to his partnership with Abrams Fensterman,
Mr. Carone also
serves as Counsel to the County Chair of the Kings County
Democratic County Committee.
162. Defendant Seddio is the County Chair of the Kings
County Democratic County
Committee. Accordingly, Mr. Carone is defendant Seddio’s
counsel.
163. Mr. Carone has also been, and may still be, the
chairperson of the “Law
Committee” of defendant Kings County Democratic County
Committee.
164. After vigorous oral argument before Judge Jacobson on
August 27, 2014,
wherein Mr. Carone insited that Judge Jacobson not enjoin
SUNY, Judge Jacobson issued an
Order With Temporary Restraining Order solely to preserve
the status quo for the brief period
until September 12, 2014. A true copy of this Order, which
Mr. Carone agreed to the form,
though not the result, is appended hereto and made a part
hereof as Exhibit 13.
165. Subsequent to argument before Judge Jacobson, The New
York State Nurses
Association apparently changed its position and sought
relief not contemplated by the papers
considered by Judge Jacobson on August 27, 2014.
Accordingly, on September 29, 2014, Hon.
Johnny Lee Baynes, the justice of the Supreme Court assigned
to matter, issued an Interim
Order denying The New York State Nurses Association’s
application procedurally and
substantively. A true copy of this Interim Order is also
appended hereto and made a part hereof
as Ex. 13, supra. Also included as part of appended Ex. 13, and
made a part hereof, are
electronic mail communications between Mr. Carone and
counsel for The New York State
Case 1:16-cv-04809
Document 1 Filed 08/26/16 Page 44 of 299 PageID #: 44
45 Nurses Association, which are part of the filings
maintained by the Clerk of the Kings CountySupreme Court.
Closing Hospitals, HHC, LICH
Did Arzt Plant These Stories Against Judge Jacobson in the NYP for His Boss Seddio Democratic Machine or His Law Clients?
City
judge deemed incompetent in ‘unheard of’ move (NYP) This is a
precedent no judge wants to set. In a first-of-its-kind rebuke, a
Brooklyn Supreme Court judge with 25 years experience on the bench has been
found unqualified by a Democratic Party screening panel — a move that will
likely doom her chances for re-election this fall. “She’s not the
brightest bulb in the courthouse to begin with,” said one party source,
explaining the Brooklyn Democratic Party Judicial Screening Committee’s
decision last month to find Justice Laura Jacobson unqualified to run on the
party line. “They looked at her track record, and they found an abnormal
percentage of cases were overturned by higher courts,” said the party source.
“And when also factoring in she has a poor reputation, she was found
unqualified.” Said another party official, who like the others asked not to be
named, “As far as we know, this is the first time in Brooklyn’s history the
committee did not reappoint a sitting Supreme Court judge — it’s unheard of.”
* Brooklyn
judge blows off work amid being deemed 'unqualified' NYP)
Nurses’
court order throws wrench into NYU’s LICH plans in Brooklyn (Daily Eagle,
2014) SUNY attorney Frank Carone told Justice Jacobson that SUNY “tried
to meet with NYU yesterday, but were unsuccessful.” He assured the judge that
SUNY was “committed to the content and objectives of the RFP,” and supports the
“full employment of the nurses.” “I’m sure the nurses in the courtroom are very
happy to hear that,” Justice Jacobson said.
166. Retaliatory, Vindictive and Malicious Deprivation of Judge Jacobson’s Right to “Equal Protection of Law” and “Due Process”!
In retribution for Judge Jacobson’s proper exercise of judicial discretion and independence which was
inconsistent with the desires of Mr. Carone who is defendant Seddio’s counsel and was
Seddio’s law partner, defendants Edelman and Decker abused their positions on the Edelman
Committee and defendant Seddio abused his position as County Chair of the Kings County
Democratic County Committee and aided, abetted and conspired with members of the Executive
Committee of defendant Kings County Democratic County Committee, members of the Edelman
Committee, defendant
Ajaiyeoba, defendants John and Jane Does and others not
named as defendants, including Mr.
Carone, in an effort to deprive Judge Jacobson of “equal
protection of the law” and “due
process,” in an effort to maliciously and vindictively
inflict maximum personal and
professional harm to Judge Jacobson.
167. Because of Judge Jacobson’s proper exercise of judicial
discretion and
independence, and refusal to judicially endorse Mr. Carone’s
opposition to maintaining the
status quo of keeping a hospital emergency department open
while keeping a discrete number
of nurses employed, defendants Seddio, Edelman, Finkelstein,
Decker, Ajaiyeoba, John and
Jane Does, members of the Executive Committee of defendant Kings County Democratic
County Committee, members of defendant Edelman
Committee and others not named as
Case 1:16-cv-04809
Document 1 Filed 08/26/16 Page 45 of 299 PageID #: 45
46 defendants agreed
to maliciously and vindictively destroy Judge Jacobson personally and
professionally. This conspiracy was carried out by
performance of overt acts including:
i. violating the rules of the Kings County Democratic County
Committee;
ii. violating the Rules and procedures of the Edelman Committee;
and,
iii. breaching the confidentiality of the judicial screening
process
concerning Judge Jacobson.
independence, and refusal to judicially endorse Mr. Carone’s
opposition to maintaining the
status quo of keeping a hospital emergency department open
while keeping a discrete number
of nurses employed, defendants Seddio, Edelman, Kings County
Democratic County
Committee, the Edelman Committee, Finkelstein, Decker,
Ajaiyeoba ,John and Jane Does and
others not named as defendants, including defendant KCDCC’s
media consultant George Artz,
did violate the rules of the Kings County Democratic County
Committee and the Edelman
Committee.
169. Because of Judge Jacobson’s proper exercise of judicial
discretion and
independence, and refusal to judicially endorse Mr. Carone’s
opposition to maintaining the
then status quo of keeping a hospital emergency department
open while keeping a discrete
number of nurses employed, defendants Seddio, Edelman, Kings
County Democratic County
Committee, the Edelman Committee, Finkelstein, Decker,
Ajaiyeoba ,John and Jane Does and
others not named as defendants, including defendant KCDCC’s
media consultant George Artz,
Case 1:16-cv-04809
Document 1 Filed 08/26/16 Page 46 of 299 PageID #: 46
47 did publically disseminate confidential information
obtained from and about Judge Jacobson which information was obtained solely as
a result of the judicial screening process.
Poor Door Lobbyists George Arzt
The Reformers and Progressives Have Abandoned the Judicial Reform Started by Robert Kennedy The Jacobson Case Will Show How Much the Democratic Party Machine Controls the Courts
Judge Jacobson Lawyer Letter to Brooklyn Boss Seddio to Dismiss the Brooklyn Judicial Screening Committee
Hon. Frank
Seddio
Democratic County Leader, Kings County
Re: Justice Laura Jacobson
Dear Frank,
As I'm "old school," respect is due to a
Leader. So, I called you first to remedy the wrong that your appointed Judicial
Screening Committee has caused out of personal malice or reckless disregard of
the truth. That they exacerbated their discretionary injury with violation of
statutory confidentiality under color of law is inexcusable - as the reputational
damage is total.
I respectfully request that you dismiss your Committee
and institute a new committee which does not carry out contract-kills and/or
pierce necessary confidentiality required for judicial screening; and then
re-interview Justice Jacobson - as Judicial Independence is the alter upon
which Lady Justice presides, something every Screener, aware of their
"Officer of the Court" status, ought cherish.
Let me know if you will dismiss the Screening
Committee for cause by Monday, August 15, 2016 4pm. The law is a many
splendored thing and it can remedy many wrongs, including, what has been done
to my client - Justice Jacobson. I include a copy of my September 9, 2004
Letter to Chairman Marty Edelman, when the late Justice Louis Marrero, fiercely
independent and a republican, was a victim of Screener-misconduct.
Warm personal regards to Joy and yo
Ravi BatraSent from my iPhone - excuse typos
Follow on Twitter @ravibatra
Judge Jacobson Lawyer Letter to the NY Post
"I have the high honor and sacred duty to defend the judicial independence of Justice Laura Jacobson from those who have maligned her in excess of their First Amendment rights, motivated by pecuniary, retributive or political interests. Sadly, it appears that Kings County Democratic County Committee's Judicial Screening Committee has ignored its obligation to be independent and to honor its statutory obligation to keep its process and conclusions confidential - on threat of being charged civilly and criminally.
That this Committee found a distinguished hardworking judge anything but, may speak to some members of that Committee who had illegal and dishonorable motives.
That NY Post was given false information, is besides the point - as no information should have been disclosed because it's confidential by law.
That some engaged in an orgy of insult to destroy Justice Jacobson's hard earned reputation of judicial independence is beyond the pale and defamation per se - as the damage to her reputation is total.
Since the Honorable Frank Seddio did not honor my request to fire the County's Judicial Screeners for obvious cause, we will be filing suit in federal court and inter alia naming the Screening Committee for its misconduct, and asking for all relief and remedies to protect judicial independence and judicial reputation from ignoble attack.
The Kings County Judicial Screening Committee has a history of contract-kills - I know, as I've witnessed them and blocked them repeatedly - be they for petty retribution reasons, or worse, serving pecuniary interests or "doing as told." But this gross confidentiality breach is a new low that cries out for appropriate federal rebuke that stings well and long.
Any honorable member of this Judicial Screening Committee ought resign now - and any such resignation will inform the lawsuit that will be filed. Of course, the Committee could disclose the Leakers for direct legal targeted action.
Given its complexity, and effect on the Judicial Convention, we will work overtime to get it filed in court before end of next week.
Ravi Bahttps://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=495268678289935103#editor/target=post;postID=4884909970391311010;onPublishedMenu=allposts;onClosedMenu=allposts;postNum=0;src=linktra
Sent from my iPhone - excuse typos
Follow on Twitter @ravibatra
Jacobson Lawyer Batra Letter to the Head of
Seddio Screening Committee and Op-Ed On
the Need for Judicial Reform
A Law Suit By A Brooklyn Judge Against the Brooklyn Party Screening Committee is Explosive
Judge ‘unqualified’ for re-election to file suit against party (NYP) A veteran Brooklyn Supreme Court judge deemed “unqualified” for re-election by a Democratic Party screening committee plans to file a lawsuit claiming the label was politically motivated. Ravi Batra, a lawyer representing Justice Laura Jacobson, told The Post he is drafting a suit to file next week in Brooklyn federal court against the Brooklyn Democratic Party Judicial Screening Committee. He said the suit seeks to have the committee’s 24 members replaced, so new ones can give a second chance to Jacobson, who has 25 years of experience on the bench, to get on the ballot this year on the Democratic line. Committee approval is usually routine for sitting judges, he said. Martin Edelman, the screening committee’s chairman, called Batra’s remarks “defamatory” and unfounded, adding that the committee “will not be intimidated into rescinding its decision and will vigorously fight” any lawsuit filed. * 'Greedy' NYC lawyer, paralegal who bribed court employees sentenced to nine years behind bars (NYDN)
Judge 'unqualified' for re-election to file suit against party http://nyp.st/2b0JARv @nypmetro - #JudicialIndependence must not be killed.
de Blasio Secret Agent Lobbyists Berlin Rosen Bags $10,000
Firms hired by de Blasio earned at least $10M from campaign and non-profits (NYP) It pays to be an “agent of the city.” The political-consulting firms that helped Mayor de Blasio get elected in 2013 have hauled in at least $10.6 million from the mayor’s campaigns and charities over the past six years, a Post analysis of public records shows. BerlinRosen, which was co-founded by p.r. gurus Valerie Berlin and Jonathan Rosen in 2005, has expanded from five employees in 2007 to more than 100 today. The firm hooked up with de Blasio for his long-shot 2013 mayoral bid — and it apparently paid off. De Blasio’s campaign paid the firm $309,200 in consulting fees and to mail fliers to voters’ homes for his 2013 and 2017 mayoral bids, state campaign filings show.
And his Campaign for One New York charity paid BerlinRosen $530,413 to promote his universal pre-K and housing initiatives since 2014, the charity’s records show. The progressive p.r. firm has billed political candidates a total of $13.4 million since 2009, according to state campaign filings.
Federal and city investigators subpoenaed BerlinRosen for records regarding CONY expenses and coordinating with City Hall and Democratic candidates in the 2014 election cycle. Rosen told The Post he is “proud of our growth over the past 11 years into one of the country’s leading public relations, digital strategy and political consulting firms.” De Blasio has refused to release his e-mail communications with Rosen and other advisers, including AKPD media consultant John Del Cecato, and Hilltop Public Solutions political strategists Nicholas Baldick and Bill Hyers, naming them “agents of the city.” Those “agents” have also done well in recent years. Hilltop Public Solutions, a veritable revolving door of former de Blasio staffers, has taken $588,068 from the mayor’s campaign and another $362,732 from his nonprofit. And AKPD, which wrote an ad featuring de Blasio’s son, Dante, that helped the mayor win the primary, billed the mayor $7,603,765 for media buys and
his nonprofit another $1,346,420.
Lobbyists Berlin Rosen Takes Over NYC Government
Silver Avoids Jail . . . Did Anyone Expect Him to Be Lock Up?
But Manhattan federal Judge Valerie Caproni, who presided over Silver’s trial, instead granted the Manhattan Democrat’s request that he remain free on bail.*
Instead, they had to track down where the proceeds from the sale went. They finally turned up a company that was created three weeks after Boyland was sentenced. That company, Solar Studios, was supposed to be producing a children's educational TV show. Its CEO, Andre Soleil, says Boyland loaned it $90,000 from the house sale, with the repayments set to pay off child support Boyland owed. Soleil says Boyland paid off the $155,000 he owed the state, although the state couldn't confirm that, citing privacy laws.* As for the $169,000 money judgment he owes the feds, documents filed May 6 by Brooklyn U.S. Attorney Robert Capers say he hasn't paid a dime. Capers has moved to garnish whatever money Boyland put into Solar Studios.
Critics Say Ethics Reform Bill Passed in Albany Does Little to Pursue Actual Corruption(NY1) * One day after signing his fourth ethics bill into law since taking office as governor, Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who is facing criticism from both sides, said there's still more work that's needed to be done, Time Warner Cable News reports.
In NY They Even Try to Clear Dead Corrupt Pol
The
lawyer for Thomas W. Libous, a former top New York State senator, has
moved to have his late client’s corruption conviction vacated based on
the doctrine known as abatement by death.
Bo Going After de at Least in A Newspaper Story
NYT Which is the Official Flack of the Developers Says What Happen to the Mom and Pop Stores
New York’s Disappearing Storefronts(NYT)
Sander Faces Machine Meeks Payback forAborted Run for Congress
Incumbent Sanders Faces Primary Challenger Who Has Backing of Queens County Democratic Organization (NY1)
Shady Nursing Home Partner Pulls Out of Bedford Armory Deal
The seller, the Allure Group, at the time was still working to get the city to lift deed restrictions governing the use of the property. “Guys, please make sure we do not discuss this deal with anyone on the outside right now,” Slate founder Matt Nussbaum wrote in an e-mail to 10 company officials in May 2015.“The seller is very concerned that the city and [the nursing-home] union will find out that he is in contract to sell at the price that we are buying it, which will directly
impact his ability to have the deed restriction removed,” the e-mail continued. “Once he has it removed, we can do whatever we want.”
Now Carmelo Anthony Drops Out of Bedford-Union Armory Development Deal
Carmelo Anthony Drops Support for Bedford-Union Armory
Redevelopment | DNAInfo Reports The team behind the controversial Bedford-Union Armory redevelopment has lost its star
player Following pressure from local activists, Knicks forward Carmelo
Anthony has dropped all affiliation with the Crown Heights project, a representative of the athlete
said Wednesday. But the move follows pressure from housing advocates (in the
form of a rally, open letter and online petition) calling for the basketball player to drop
a plan that “will further exacerbate the gentrification” of Crown Heights, the
petition by New York Communities for Change read. NYCC, working with the Crown
Heights Tenant Union and others, also called for the removal of developer Slate
Property Group from the project for their involvement with the controversial
sale and conversion of the Rivington House, a Lower East Side nursing home,
into luxury housing. Soon afterwards, Slate backed out of the redevelopment following
pressure from the mayor’s office, sources told DNAinfo New York. “Carmelo is
our hero,” said Bertha Lewis, the former CEO of NYCC when it was known as
ACORN, in a first report about Anthony’s decision in the New
York Daily News. Currently, the redevelopment project will continue
with BFC Partners, the real estate group chosen by the New York City Economic
Development Corp. to co-develop with Slate. But NYCC is pushing to start from
square one on the project.
Something About the Brooklyn DA's Office
Check, please, for the DA: Ken Thompson's big meal mistake (NYDN Ed) For
treating his security detail like gofers and for billing the
taxpayers for his meals, Brooklyn District Attorney Ken Thompson has
paid a hefty fine — and, more important, suffered a blow to his
reputation.Thompson took office in 2014 after leaving a private-sector
law firm at
which, no doubt, underlings fetched expense-account meals. He seems not
to have realized those days were over.Worse, Thompson seems to have
bypassed reading city regulations
governing official conduct — while running an office in which no one
stood up to say that sending cops to pick up lunches and dinners was a
no-no, that having them lay out the money was a no-no and reimbursing
them out of the office budget was a no-no.In fining Thompson $15,000,
the Conflicts of Interest Board hit
Thompson with a record sum against a DA. He will also pay restitution.
On the upside, the conflicts board applied a measure of punishment to a
top official, rather than just hammer those lower down. In one case,
the board forced a sanitation worker out of a job for taking a Christmas
tip. That may be a cautionary tale for Thompson down the road.
Ken Thompson, Brooklyn District Attorney, Is Fined for Misusing Funds on Meals (NYT)
Ken Thompson, Brooklyn District Attorney, Is Fined for Misusing Funds on Meals (NYT)
Mr.
Thompson used police officers to get his meals and pay for them before
being reimbursed with office funds, said the Conflicts of Interest
Board, which levied a $15,000 penalty. * Brooklyn DA Kenneth Thompson must pay $15G fine for taxpayer-funded lunch and dinners totaling more than $5,000(NYDN) * Ken Thompson’s $15K fine may not be end of free meal drama (NYP) Brooklyn District Attorney Ken Thompson refused to say Thursday whether
he’d been privately admonished for misconduct before getting blistered
by the city Conflicts of Interest Board — and it could spell trouble for
his law license if he was, an expert on legal ethics told The Post.* Investigator: Ken Thompson fired me because I’m former DA’s ally(NYP) * ‘Imperial Ken’ Thompson, the perk-crazed Brooklyn DA(NYP Ed) * Sister of 1986 hate attack victim sues Brooklyn DA for $15M, saying she was fired due to political ties(NYDN) * According to a new $20 million
lawsuit, a longtime investigator is calling out Brooklyn District
Attorney Ken Thompson for firing her because she’s a close ally of his
predecessor and claims she was demoted and replaced by someone who
worked on his campaign, the Post writes. * Post exclusive sparked probe into Thompson’s free lunches(NYP)
New York Police Dept., Citing Law, Stops Sharing Personnel Data (NYT) Some criticized the department’s decision to shield information from journalists as a step away from transparency. * Citing a clause in a 40-year-old
law, the NYPD has suddenly decided to keep records regarding the
discipline of officers under lock and key — and will no longer release
the information to the public, the Daily News reports.* Mayor de Blasio has no problem with keeping cops’ disciplinary records sealed, but once blasted NYPD’s lack of transparency (NYDN) * Think again, commish about hiding NYPD personnel info(NYDN)
Chartock Yes Albany is Rigged and Losing Bharara Make Me Queasy
What Do You Do When Facing 7 Federal Investigations Leave Town
Crown Heights Developer Generated Gentrification is Replacing the the Community That Blew Up 25 Years Ago
That could save precious properties from bulldozers and greedy landlords. Costa, founder of Crown Heights South Association, has been aiming her outrage lately at the city's plans for a century-old former armory on Bedford Ave. The city has said it would let developers known as Bedford Courts take over the structure and build luxury units. Half of the approximately 300 units would be "affordable," and of those 99 would rent within the price range of a family of three that earns $85,400 a year. Just 67 apartments would be affordable to households earning less than $40,000. That's just another way of telling current Crown Heights residents to get the heck out of the neighborhood, Costa and others say. The median income for all households in Crown Heights South, where the armory is located, is under $42,000.
Where Do the People Go After They are Push Out of Their Homes by Gentrification?
Why is the AG Going After A Corrupt Charity First Exposed in 2010? Ruben Wills Del
Cook’s charity shut down in 2010 after The Post exposed its wasteful spending.
Bharara Send Silver to Jail Now
Preet
Bharara wants Sheldon Silver to go straight to jail (NYP) Convicted
former Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver should go straight to jail, Manhattan US
Attorney Preet Bharara argued in a letter to a federal judge. The filing late Wednesday by Bharara’s
prosecutors cited an appeals court’s action hours earlier in upholding the
punishment to one of Silver’s corrupt colleagues: ex-Bronx Assemblyman Eric
Stevenson. “The Second Circuit’s decision in Stevenson further demonstrates why
Silver’s . . . argument raises no substantial issue for his appeal,”
prosecutors wrote Judge Valerie Caproni.* Convicted former Assembly Speaker
Sheldon Silver should go straight to jail, Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet
Bharara argued in a letter to a federal judge citing an appeals court
ruling in the case of former Assemblyman Eric Stevenson, the Post reports.
Sheldon Silver's $80K Yearly Pension Could Be Up For Grabs By Feds(DNAINFO)
A new court ruling could stop corrupt New York politicians from keeping their pensions.
Sheldon Silver's $80K Yearly Pension Could Be Up For Grabs By Feds(DNAINFO)
A new court ruling could stop corrupt New York politicians from keeping their pensions.
Now the Gov Wants to Subsidized 421-A Workers to Push Gentrification?
De
Blasio: Subsidized wages for construction workers are fine — if it doesn’t
cost city (NYP) Mayor de Blasio said he’s fine with the state
subsidizing higher wages for construction workers who build affordable housing
in the five boroughs – as long as it doesn’t impact the city’s bottom line. Asked
about a report
in the New York Times that Gov. Cuomo was considering reviving a suspended
real estate tax break program with a proposal that would see tens of millions
of state tax dollars going to ensuring union-level wages, de Blasio said “God
bless ’em.” “If that’s what the state thinks is the right thing to do with
state money, of course we can work with that,” he said at an unrelated press
conference on parks in The Bronx. “What’s not acceptable to us is to add to the
cost of the city’s affordable housing program, which is already stretched very
thin and trying to reach half a million people.”* De Blasio cautiously supports affordable housing tax break for developers — as long as it doesn’t drive up costs(NYDN) * In Attempt to Convince Lawmakers to Vote for Affordable Housing Project, Mayor Appears to Anger Queens Councilman(NY1) * Allies of Bronx Borough President Wonder if Politics Played Role in Lack of Funding for Orchard Beach Pavilion Repairs(NY1)
At a time when New York desperately needs housing, affordable housing most of all, the governor has boosted the cost and put the taxpayer on the hook.
* De Blasio, who has made creating
more affordable housing a priority, has faced fierce community
opposition on specific projects, slowing his plans to build more units
as a larger push to keep New York affordable for working class people, The Wall Street Journal writes * Critics rip Cuomo plan that combines tax and wage subsidies (NYDN) * A proposal to revive the lucrative
421-a affordable housing tax credit for developers by providing
government wage subsidies for the workers they hire is being blasted by
business groups, nonprofit providers and economic experts, the Daily News reports. * Cuomo wants the government to pay union workers higher wages (NYP) * Why Cuomo wants you to pay unions to build luxury housing (NYP) What Andrew Cuomo did this month was like a parody of a
black-and-white 1940s movie about beefing kids in the alley. Bully No. 1
has a baseball bat: “Why I oughta smash your head in!” Bully No. 2 has a
knife: “I’m gonna slice you up good.” It’s a standoff, until along
comes Andrew, kindly and whistling, the grown-up, the soothing Bing
Crosby character. “What seems to be the trouble, boys?” says Bing Cuomo. The two
bullies explain themselves. “He owes me money!” “No, he owes me money!”
And that’s when you happen into the picture. Yes you, the entirely
innocent New York taxpayer, the random citizen who happens to be walking
by.
Cuomo Wants to Use Government Money to Revive Gentrification Causing 421-a
Cost of a good intention on 421-a fix (NYDN) At the urging of construction unions, the governor smashed the renewal
of a property tax break, called 421-a, that is crucial to building
housing, including affordable units, in the city. By demanding a so-called prevailing wage rate, Cuomo threw the
economics entirely out of whack. He prevailed on the state Legislature
to bake into law an unusual mandate for the Real Estate Board of New
York, representing developers, and the construction unions to work out
wage rates both could live with. Without such an agreement, the law
fated 421-a to die. The two sides failed to reach a deal, and no wonder: financing higher
wages on top of the affordable housing would bust the developers’ tight
budgets, rendering many projects unbuildable. To break a months-long logjam, Cuomo now looks to dedicate potentially
tens of millions of dollars of state taxpayers’ money to achieve private
sector wage hikes that are acceptable to the unions.He pledges to kick in $15 an hour on wages of up to $65 for workers on
large rental towers in Manhattan south of 96th St. and $50 on the
booming Brooklyn-Queens waterfront.At a time when New York desperately needs housing, affordable housing most of all, the governor has boosted the cost and put the taxpayer on the hook.
The Courts Took Away Corrupt Pols Pension Which Albany Would Not Do
Court’s ruling on corrupt NY pols’ pensions is long overdue (NYP) Corrupt New York pols who dream of retiring with fat, taxpayer-provided pensions just took a big hit in court. Score one for justice and common sense. On Wednesday, a three-judge panel of the 2d US Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that pensions of convicted lawmakers can be seized — even though the state Constitution prevents those egg nests from being “diminished or impaired.” US Attorney Preet Bharara has been targeting the retirement pay of legislators he’s convicted, rightly calling it a “galling injustice” that crooked pols continue to collect cushy pensions until “their dying day.” The two corrupt former legislative leaders, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos, are in line for $80,000 and $96,000 respectively. But the judges said disgraced former Assemblyman Eric Stevenson must surrender the $22,000 he paid into the system because the state Constitution is “pre-empted” by federal law, which allows “forfeiture” of property derived from a crime “irrespective of any provision of State law.” In 2011, Albany stripped newly elected legislators of their pensions if convicted. But they couldn’t touch those already in office, like Silver and Skelos, because of the state Constitution. This year, after much kicking and screaming, the Legislature OK’d a constitutional amendment to allow the pensions of corrupt veteran pols to be seized retroactively. But it wouldn’t take effect for at least several years. Which makes the 2d Circuit’s ruling all that more important. Crooked pols have long rested easy knowing they had a taxpayer-funded cushion to fall back on if they got caught. That cushion was just yanked from under them.*
* A federal Court of Appeals ruled that disgraced former Assemblyman Eric Stevenson’s pension contributions are available to the feds as they seek to recoup $22,000 in ill-gotten gains, the Times Union reports.
An Amego Makes A Comeback
Disgraced former state senator Hiram Monserrate is looking to return to politics.*
de Blasio Limits the Press
de Blasio Limits the Press
De Blasio Imposes Limits On Reporters’ Questions At News Conferences (WCBS)*
* De Blasio appears to have imposed new limits on how many questions reporters can ask at his public news conferences, saying that a question and a follow-up is allowed but that if “everyone’s doing like three-part questions, it becomes a problem,” CBS reports.
de Blasio Runs A Political City Hall
Allies of Bronx Borough President Wonder if Politics Played Role in Lack of Funding for Orchard Beach Pavilion Repairs(NY1) *Mayor de Blasio fast-tracks renovation of Orchard Beach’s landmark bath house, thanks in part to Daily Newser(NYDN) * Let Orchard Beach bloom with a big investment by Mayor de Blasio(NYDN Ed) * PAY FOR MAY(OR): Cuomo is doling out big bucks in the Bronx, perhaps signaling he wants borough prez Ruben Diaz to start mayoral run (NYDN)
* De Blasio appears to have imposed new limits on how many questions reporters can ask at his public news conferences, saying that a question and a follow-up is allowed but that if “everyone’s doing like three-part questions, it becomes a problem,” CBS reports.
de Blasio Runs A Political City Hall
Allies of Bronx Borough President Wonder if Politics Played Role in Lack of Funding for Orchard Beach Pavilion Repairs(NY1) *Mayor de Blasio fast-tracks renovation of Orchard Beach’s landmark bath house, thanks in part to Daily Newser(NYDN) * Let Orchard Beach bloom with a big investment by Mayor de Blasio(NYDN Ed) * PAY FOR MAY(OR): Cuomo is doling out big bucks in the Bronx, perhaps signaling he wants borough prez Ruben Diaz to start mayoral run (NYDN)
1199 Close to the Mayor Pushed the Rivington Deed Lifting
Emails and texts show 1199 SEIU
helped a for-profit company build relationships with the de Blasio
administration as it persuaded the city to modify deed restrictions on a
nonprofit health facility in the Lower East Side, The Wall Street Journal reports Newly Released Documents Underscore Influence of Health-Care Union (WSJ) * While many New Yorkers are upset
with the way de Blasio runs the city, emails made public by New York
City Comptroller Scott Stringer show that union bosses are the ones
really calling the shots in City Hall, the Post writes.Smoking-gun evidence that union bosses run New York (NYP Ed) Many New Yorkers don’t like how Mayor de Blasio runs the city — but he’s not really the one calling the shots: Unions are. That became crystal clear from e-mails and documents City Comptroller Scott Stringer released this week linked to the city’s decision to lift deed restrictions from the Rivington House nursing home. When a top de Blasio staffer asked “how critical” the decision was, the reply from an aide, Sarah Samis, was telling: “Very critical b/c it involves 1199 jobs and they want this done,” said the e-mail, in a reference to the health-care workers union, 1199SEIU.
As New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio’s administration weighed whether to remove deed restrictions at a Manhattan nursing home—a
matter now under state and federal investigation—a top economic
development aide asked “how critical is this? “Very
critical b/c it involves 1199 jobs and they want this done,” wrote
Sarah Samis, an aide to First Deputy Mayor Anthony Shorris, in an email,
referring to 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East. Newly released
emails, text messages and other documents show 1199, the
nation’s largest health-care union and one of the most powerful in New
York City, played an integral role helping the Allure Group, a
for-profit nursing care provider, build relationships with Mr. de
Blasio’s administration as the firm successfully persuaded the city to
modify the deed restrictions on Rivington House. The deed change led
Allure to sell Rivington House, located on the Lower East Side, for what
appears to be a $72 million profit to developers who plan to build luxury housing, prompting several investigations.
The union wanted Allure to operate Rivington as a for-profit nursing
home, saving the jobs of some members, according to emails. The emails and other documents, which were produced as part of the city comptroller’s investigation into the Rivington House
deed change, underscored the outsize influence 1199 has in Mr. de
Blasio’s administration and the degree to which city officials assess
the union’s interests when making policy decisions. The union was the
only major organized labor group to endorse Mr. de Blasio’s 2013 bid for
the Democratic mayoral nomination. The union was one of the two largest
contributors to the Campaign for
One New York, a now-disbanded political nonprofit supporting the mayor.
The nonprofit received $500,000 from 1199, records show. A number of
Mr. de Blasio’s top aides once worked for the union and
one of his closest friends, Patrick Gaspard, formerly served as the
union’s political director. “They are very influential,” said City
Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito,
a Manhattan Democrat who once worked there. “There has been a weakening
of the unions on the national level, but unions in New York remain
strong…and 1199 is among them.” The union has long held considerable
power in New York politics, with
a member-mobilization operation and a large political-action committee
to contribute to candidates during election years. Jennifer Cunningham, a
former political director at the union, is credited with helping
resuscitate the political career of New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo
after he lost his first bid for governor in 2002. The union helped fund
Mr. Cuomo’s publicity campaign to raise the minimum wage to $15 an
hour. The union strategized with Mr. de Blasio in connection with the sale of Long Island College Hospital in Brooklyn. The mayor initially promised to keep healthcare on the site but later backed a plan by Fortis Property Group,
a real-estate company, to develop it into high-rise towers with some
health-care services. Neighborhood activists tried to block Fortis
because other bidders were offering more health-care services. The
union received a subpoena in connection with a federal probe into the
closure of the hospital and the property’s sale, a person familiar with
the matter said. In the effort to lift the deed restrictions at
Rivington House, Joel
Landau, an executive at the Allure Group, often talked to 1199’s
then-political director Kevin Finnegan, an ally of Mr. de Blasio, in
hopes of getting the union’s help to influence the city, according to
the emails and text messages. “Heard the mayor stood you up today,” Mr.
Landau wrote in a text to Mr. Finnegan. “He showed up late as usual,”
Mr. Finnegan replied. In one text from October 2014, Mr. Landau praised
Mr. Finnegan’s
success advancing the union’s interests in connection with the Brooklyn
hospital sale. In a December 2014 email, Emma Wolfe, the mayor’s
top political aide who once worked for the union, wrote that officials
at 1199 were upset and “urgently” requesting that the city help Mr.
Landau on Rivington House. A September 2014 memo prepared by city
aides on Rivington included a
chart comparing the interests of various stakeholders affected by the
deed change. The union was one of four groups represented in the chart.
Officials at the local community board on the Lower East Side also appeared aware of the sway that the union held with the mayor’s administration. The union is “very close” to the mayor and that is an “understatement,” wrote Susan Stetzer, district manager of Community Board 3, in an email. In an interview, Ms. Stetzer said the community board’s concern was transparency, and the community’s interests had been left out of the discussion. * Investigators have obtained the emails of Ross Offinger, a de Blasio fundraiser who connected him to wealthy donors but is now under scrutiny as part of a federal and state investigation examining the mayor’s fundraising activities, The Wall Street Journal reports.
Putting Students First is Always Printed on Pols Campaign Lit But Not A Reality Once Elected
Take the teachers union. It makes sure incompetent teachers can’t be fired and blocks kids from attending better-performing non-union charter schools. (Who can forget when City Council members actually read off a teachers-union cue card at a public hearing some years ago?) In Albany, Gov. Cuomo repeatedly bows to union demands — from holding up a tax credit needed for low- and middle-income housing to pushing his $15 minimum wage. The Legislature, too, takes orders from the unions. Just this week, Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie asked Cuomo not to back a plan to let city charters use public funds for pre-K without city oversight. Why do pols cede power to the labor bosses? Because the bosses control big blocks of votes — and donate handsomely to the pols’ causes. De Blasio’s Campaign for One New York got $500,000 from 1199. Surely the union expected something in return.* De Blasio should rethink his city schools better test scores victory lap via@nypost * More happy talk on the city’s worst schools (NYP)
3.0 de Blasio Details of UFT Pact 5
CUNY SUNY
Federal Investigation Upstate Updates
Officials at the local community board on the Lower East Side also appeared aware of the sway that the union held with the mayor’s administration. The union is “very close” to the mayor and that is an “understatement,” wrote Susan Stetzer, district manager of Community Board 3, in an email. In an interview, Ms. Stetzer said the community board’s concern was transparency, and the community’s interests had been left out of the discussion. * Investigators have obtained the emails of Ross Offinger, a de Blasio fundraiser who connected him to wealthy donors but is now under scrutiny as part of a federal and state investigation examining the mayor’s fundraising activities, The Wall Street Journal reports.
Putting Students First is Always Printed on Pols Campaign Lit But Not A Reality Once Elected
Take the teachers union. It makes sure incompetent teachers can’t be fired and blocks kids from attending better-performing non-union charter schools. (Who can forget when City Council members actually read off a teachers-union cue card at a public hearing some years ago?) In Albany, Gov. Cuomo repeatedly bows to union demands — from holding up a tax credit needed for low- and middle-income housing to pushing his $15 minimum wage. The Legislature, too, takes orders from the unions. Just this week, Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie asked Cuomo not to back a plan to let city charters use public funds for pre-K without city oversight. Why do pols cede power to the labor bosses? Because the bosses control big blocks of votes — and donate handsomely to the pols’ causes. De Blasio’s Campaign for One New York got $500,000 from 1199. Surely the union expected something in return.* De Blasio should rethink his city schools better test scores victory lap via
CUNY SUNY
Federal Investigation Upstate Updates
In court filings, attorneys for G. Steven Pigeon, a
Buffalo political operative indicted on nine counts of bribery and extortion,
argue the case should be dismissed because evidence was illegally collected
during a 2015 raid on his home, The Buffalo News reports.
* COR Development, a firm reportedly at the center of a federal
investigation involving Cuomo development projects, is suing Todd Howe, a
former lobbyist who is part of the probe, over an $85,000 loan the company says
it made Howe, The Syracuse Post-Standard reports. * * In the ongoing court battle over
“pay to play” allegations by a Cleveland developer, Buffalo Mayor Byron
Brown is shaking up his legal defense team, replacing one big name with
another, apparently to avoid a conflict of interest, The Buffalo News reports.
Ferrer Revenge Kicks Ass of the Ass Kisser Green Plotter Running for the Senate
Espaillat's Chosen Successor Gets Backing That Reopens Old Political (DNAINFO)
WoundsFernando Ferrer backed Espaillat's chosen candidate after a personal history with opponent Micah Lasher.
Daily News Calls It Bizarro World That New Housing Causes Gentrification Displacement . . . The Paper Should Interview the Long Term Residents of Crown Heights About the Effects of New Construction
Yes in their backyards: Affordable housing now (NYDN) Construction of affordable housing faces doom in New York at the hands of the very City Council that cries how desperately needed it is. The vote confirmed that a key component of Mayor de Blasio’s drive to spur affordable housing is in deep trouble. While the plan is widely lauded, Council members balk at construction in their communities. The committee vote killed a project slated for Inwood, which is represented by Councilman Ydanis Rodriguez, usually a loyal de Blasio ally. Rodriguez bowed to an uproar by constituents who are convinced — in a Bizarro World interpretation of the laws of supply and demand — that new apartments would hasten displacement of longtime tenants. By Council custom, fellow members defer to the desire of their local colleague. So, down went the development. Message received: Each Council member has veto power over new construction, rendering the entire Council captive to anti-development agitators while depriving places to live to New Yorkers hungry for housing.
Daily News Dump Gibson As Public Safety Chair for Dangerous Driving NYPD Cover-Up
Ticket outta there: Councilwoman Vanessa Gibson should fall from public safety chair (NYDN Ed) Councilwoman Vanessa Gibson let stand a report that she called a precinct commander to quash a ticket for dangerous driving — in string-pulling that demonstrates unfitness to continue as chair of the City Council Public Safety Committee. Officer Michele Hernandez says she pulled Gibson over after spotting her talking on the phone behind the wheel in 2014, a scant three months into Gibson’s term. Gibson faced a fine of up to $200 and five license points. But, unlike typical New Yorkers, she had the pull to dodge accountability, Hernandez revealed in a lawsuit that accuses the NYPD of retaliating against her for failing to meet summons quotas. The NYPD denies such quotas exist but has said nothing to dispute its officer’s account of the Gibson encounter. Hernandez says Gibson used the cellphone to call a precinct commander , sparking an order to nix the ticket. Gibson even put Hernandez on the phone with him to make sure she got the message. Asked for comment by The News, Gibson refused the chance to call the cop’s account false. She said that she “does not recall” any such incident, but “always takes very seriously and complies with all of our traffic laws.” Amnesia sets in with disclosure of a double dereliction. Dereliction one: Gibson anointed herself above the law by virtue of her position and special access to NYPD brass, demanding special treatment unavailable to her constituents. Dereliction two: Driving while speaking on a phone is not just a violation of state law; it is downright deadly, increasing fourfold the chances of a crash. Gibson well knew how deadly, because just two weeks prior to her NYPD run-in she had presided over a City Council hearing on Mayor de Blasio’s Vision Zero plan to reduce traffic fatalities. Her opening remarks spoke of safety’s urgency: “ We must do more to ensure that these horrific accidents no longer happen across our streets.” Family members of pedestrian crash victims then tearfully recounted their loved ones’ horrifying last moments. Said the uncle of a child mowed down by a cabbie: “There’s no moral difference between driving drunk and driving in an incompetent manner for another reason, whether you’re smoking pot, using a cell phone, road rage, impatience or turning into a crosswalk without looking.” Gibson might not recall that lacerating message, however. She had left the Council chambers. Now, she should leave her committee chair.
Cuomo Bites Back Hard
Gov. Andrew Cuomo and his aides have developed a
reputation for responding with searing personal attacks when criticized by
those who disagree with his policies, which has left even political veterans
jarred, The Wall Street Journal reports.
NYT Crime in the Parks Up Don't Worry . . .
The Times writes
that New Yorkers should not be worried about an analysis showing crime
has increased in parks, and that after years of increasing safety, New
Yorkers have rediscovered the ability to be shocked by crime, not numbed
by it. Spinning Education Numbers is the New Normal
The Post writes that the New York City schools’ relaxed
promotion policy has led to thousands of students being moved up even when they
should have passed summer classes or repeated a grade.*
De Blasio should rethink his city schools better test scores victory lap (NYP Ed) Mayor de Blasio might want to rethink the wisdom of that victory lap he took after state-test scores showed slight improvements for the city’s public-schoolkids. Especially since Regents Chancellor Betty Rosa on Wednesday dumped a bucket of ice water on his boasts of “progress,” noting that scores this year couldn’t be compared to those from last year because the testing changed so markedly. “The whole idea that we put the asterisk there . . . is that we really didn’t want people taking a victory lap,” she said. Ouch.
De Blasio should rethink his city schools better test scores victory lap (NYP Ed) Mayor de Blasio might want to rethink the wisdom of that victory lap he took after state-test scores showed slight improvements for the city’s public-schoolkids. Especially since Regents Chancellor Betty Rosa on Wednesday dumped a bucket of ice water on his boasts of “progress,” noting that scores this year couldn’t be compared to those from last year because the testing changed so markedly. “The whole idea that we put the asterisk there . . . is that we really didn’t want people taking a victory lap,” she said. Ouch.
The NYP Blames the Homeless Not the Loss Of Hundreds of Thousands Affordable Housing to Gentrification and Airbnb
Stuck-in-the-past Bill de Blasio still thinks more housing will end homelessness (NYP) Like most left-wing Democrats, Mayor de Blasio remains hopelessly mired in the past, declaring — as he did again just last week — that “the solution to homelessness” is more housing. De Blasio touted new figures he says show the success of the city’s programs — including emergency rental assistance and curbing evictions — in moving the homeless to permanent housing. Except for one missing detail: There are now more homeless families living in city shelters than ever before. But the reasons for this are not always strictly economic. In some cases, the same kind of substance-abuse and mental illness that leads to street homelessness among single men are at play.Also, some families claim homelessness because they know by law they are guaranteed an automatic right to shelter and will be given preferred access to public housing.*
The New York City Planning Commission declined to impose a zoning plank requiring affordable housing on a boutique condo proposed in Manhattan, and the borough president filed a letter objecting, which will send the matter to the Council, the Times reports.
Developer
Wants to Test Mayor's Inclusionary Zoning in Inwood, Councilman Opposes Project
(NY1) * City
Council Votes Against Sherman Plaza Development in Inwood, Which Would
Have Been the First to Use New Affordable Housing Regulations (NY1) *
The New York City Council voted against an apartment
project in Inwood, which would have been the first private development proposed
under de Blasio’s new zoning rules that require affordable units in any project
that needs city approval, the Daily News reports.
The Times Union writes that most state lawmakers running for re-election
would say they oppose a massive pay hike for themselves, and if they get one,
there’s nothing they could do about it, but that’s not being entirely honest.
The Daily News writes that the council’s vote against an Inwood project
shows a key component of de Blasio’s drive to spur affordable housing is in
deep trouble, and that the speaker should disabuse lawmakers of the idea that
they have veto power over new construction.
Sign A Petition to Stop Pay Raises to Lawmakers Until They Pass an Ethics Bill
Post reader starts petition to stop lawmakers’ 47 percent raise (NYP) A Post reader, spurred to action by a report about state lawmakers possibly getting a 47 percent raise, has started an online petition opposing the hike that has drawn more than 7,000 signatures in less than a week.
Pay Raises for His Staff to Keep Them From Walking? Keep Them Quiet?
De Blasio helps cronies but slashes pay for Bloomberg hires (NYP) *
Why City Hall staffers are getting big pay raises (NYP) The Mayor’s Office essentially admits the problem: The payouts are needed to “retain skilled staff,” it argues. But maybe the sums wouldn’t need to be as much if staffers better liked working for this administration.Start with the fact that Hizzoner is facing as many as seven different investigations into his team’s actions, including the Rivington nursing-home flap and his fund-raising for state Senate races. Then there are the reports of the mayor humiliating and upbraiding staffers at meetings and in “teachable moments.” And, of course, his ailing poll numbers and the (well-deserved) criticism of his mayoralty from so many voices (like ours). Refugees include Deputy Mayor Lilliam Barrios-Paoli, Press Secretary Karen Hinton and his short-lived social-media director. Environmental Commissioner Emily Lloyd, Sustainability Director Nilda Mesa and counsel Maya Wiley also gave notice.
de Blasio's Public School Report Card Grade F and Lying About Charter Success
Mayor de Blasio’s lame excuses for charter schools’ success (NYP) harters did better, de Blasio said, only because they focus on “test-prep.” He also (falsely) claimed charters have a “history” of “excluding” lower-performing kids. The mayor insisted his approach is outperforming charters in terms of “actually teaching kids.” And that union-run schools are “doing better” — despite their lower scores. (The proof? There isn’t any.) Note the hypocrisy: Even as he downplayed the value of test scores at charters, he emphasized it for district schools. The results “represent important progress” and “real improvements,” he said, noting an eight-point jump in the percentage of English-proficient kids at the districts, and a one-point uptick in math.
De Blasio fires back at Success Academy boss over school's rising test scores, claims they're based on ineffective 'prep-heavy' models (NYDN)
De
Blasio's agreement with teachers and principals doesn't ax enough bad educators
'to help kids' (NYDN)
Letter
to Cuomo Reveals State Senate’s Plan to Help Success Academy (NYT) In the letter, John J. Flanagan,
the Senate majority leader, urged the governor to do something about the
“regulatory burden imposed” by the city’s universal pre-K program.
Fariña must tell judge why computer failed special-education students (NYP) D epartment of Education Chancellor Carmen Fariña will have to tell a judge why the city’s school system has failed special-education students, a new ruling says. Manhattan Judge Lynn Kotler ordered the special tribunal in response to a suit filed by Public Advocate Letitia James in February. James had found that a $130 million computer program that monitors the city’s 200,000 special-education students is “incapable of providing citywide data.” As a result, disabled students have missed out on services and the city has had to pay $38 million in overtime, according to James’ lawsuit. Fariña has resisted an inquiry into the $130 million program, known as the Special Education Student Information System, or SESIS.
Fariña must tell judge why computer failed special-education students (NYP) D epartment of Education Chancellor Carmen Fariña will have to tell a judge why the city’s school system has failed special-education students, a new ruling says. Manhattan Judge Lynn Kotler ordered the special tribunal in response to a suit filed by Public Advocate Letitia James in February. James had found that a $130 million computer program that monitors the city’s 200,000 special-education students is “incapable of providing citywide data.” As a result, disabled students have missed out on services and the city has had to pay $38 million in overtime, according to James’ lawsuit. Fariña has resisted an inquiry into the $130 million program, known as the Special Education Student Information System, or SESIS.
de Blasio to "Take A Look At" Another City Deal With the Rivington Nursing Home $72 Million Owners
Schumer Hillary Not Clear on Political Corruption Fighter Bharara's Future
Chuck Schumer says Preet Bharara is doing a great job,but won’t reveal if he wants the prosecutor back under next President (NYDN) *
Time For Preet to Clear His Plate (Manhattan Institute) The multiplying investigations of the de Blasio administration need resolution.
Hillary Clinton won’t commit to reappointing U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara (NYDN) b Clinton during an appearance before the Daily News Editorial Board on Saturday would not commit to re-appointing Bharara should she win "I will take all that into account if I'm lucky enough to be elected President," Clinton said when asked about Bharara's performance in cracking down on government corruption. "I obviously want the very best people to be U.S. attorneys," she said. "I want them to give no favor to anybody. If there are cases to be investigated and made, they should do it." But she quickly added that "I'm not going to comment on any particular personnel decision."
Time For Preet to Clear His Plate (Manhattan Institute) The multiplying investigations of the de Blasio administration need resolution.
Hillary Clinton won’t commit to reappointing U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara (NYDN) b Clinton during an appearance before the Daily News Editorial Board on Saturday would not commit to re-appointing Bharara should she win "I will take all that into account if I'm lucky enough to be elected President," Clinton said when asked about Bharara's performance in cracking down on government corruption. "I obviously want the very best people to be U.S. attorneys," she said. "I want them to give no favor to anybody. If there are cases to be investigated and made, they should do it." But she quickly added that "I'm not going to comment on any particular personnel decision."
How the Rivington Nursing Home Owners Played the State's Economic Development Corp for Another Development
City urged to scuttle project over developer’s ties to nursing home scandal (NYP) The city should scuttle a project on publicly owned land in Crown Heights because one of the developers was involved in the Lower East Side nursing-home fiasco, community advocates said Monday Groups including New York Communities for Change and the Crown Heights Tenant Union plan a protest Wednesday to try to block the Slate Property Group. Slate bought the Rivington House nursing home for $116 million in February with plans to turn it into luxury housing — but only after the seller got the city to remove a deed restriction in place for decades. The deal has embroiled Mayor de Blasio in a storm of criticism. Slate founder Matt Nussbaum warned company officials in a May 2015 e-mail to keep silent until the restriction was removed and then “we can do whatever we want. Seven months later, the city’s Economic Development Corp. awarded Slate and BFC Partners a lease to develop the building. “Slate has proven they cannot be trusted — they’re a deceitful developer,” said Renata Pumerol, a spokeswoman for NYCC, whose protest was first reported by Crain’s.
When Will the Media and Pols Blame Airbnb and Gentrification for Loss of Affordable Housing and Increase In Homelessness?
We Will Have to Wait for the Indictments to Find Out About the Real Deal to Close LICH
LICH: Everything you want to know (almost) about the deal toclose Long Island College Hospital (Brooklyn Eagle)
Groundhog Day: Rivington Nursing Home, Special Agent Cover-Up At City Hall Continues
One Brooklyn PAC is Brooklyn BP Adams One NY Slush Fund
Feds probe Eric Adams’ non-profit over donor favor claims (NYP)A nonprofit created by Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams to advance his pet projects is being probed by both federal authorities and the city’s Department of Investigation, The Post has learned. The feds are scrutinizing the fund-raising of Adams’ One Brooklyn Fund, to see if it is being used to dish out pay-to-play favors, sources briefed on the matter said. One source said the investigation is “similar” to a probe by Manhattan US Attorney Preet Bharara into Mayor de Blasio’s Campaign for One New York nonprofit. Like CONY, One Brooklyn has solicited cash from entities under review by authorities and that have business before the city. The DOI is investigating whether Adams violated any city laws by routinely asking outside groups to cut checks directly to his nonprofit to rent space at Borough Hall, rather than have payments go into the city coffers, sources said. Those payments slip under the radar because city-affiliated organizations like One Brooklyn aren’t required to report donations and other types of revenue under $5,000 with the city’s Conflicts of Interest Board. Since its formation two years ago, One Brooklyn has reported $315,000 to $860,000 in donations, disclosure forms show. It has pulled in another $344,000 in City Council funds.
Brooklyn BP Lobbyists Capalino and Another Slush Fund PAC
 |
| Capalino Buying Silence |
As Airbnb Warehouse Apts Driving Up
Prices Media and Pols Support them
A bill that would make advertising short-term rentals illegal is the latest example of New York officials trying to strangle the “sharing economy” when it should be embraced, since these companies satisfy a demand, the Cato Institute’s Matthew Feeney writes in the Post.* Airbnb and the Battle of Suitcase Alley (NYT) In New York and other cities with steep housing costs, a longstanding objection to home-sharing sites is that some listings remove units from the residential market.
Lobbyist Howe Turns Federal Rat On Percoco and Cuomo
Cuomo cronie spills for leniency deal in corruption probe (NYP) The corruption probe of Gov. Cuomo’s two longtime associates has taken a critical turn with Todd Howe, onetime lobbyist and longtime Cuomo family confidant, signing a “cooperation agreement’’ with US Attorney Preet Bharara, a source close to the investigation told The Post. The agreement promises Howe, whose ties to Cuomo go back three decades, “favorable treatment’’ and “leniency’’ in the event that he’s criminally charged, in exchange for full details of his lobbying activities on behalf of several major state contractors with senior Cuomo administration officials. Those officials include Joseph Percoco, Cuomo’s closest friend and top aide who is currently senior vice president at Madison Square Garden, the source said.
Howe, who as a lobbyist had access to the highest levels of the Cuomo administration, and Percoco, who Cuomo has described as being like “my father’s third son,’’ were cut off from access to the administration after Bharara served a sweeping subpoena related to the activities of both men on the governor’s office in late April. The subpoena, which was followed by a state attorney general’s raid on Howe’s Albany office — located at the SUNY’s Polytechnic Institute, which he once represented — and a federal raid on Percoco’s Westchester home, was part of Bharara’s ongoing probe of Cuomo’s Buffalo Billion project, contractors for which hired Howe and at various times paid Percoco and Percoco’s wife “consulting” fees.*Comptroller rips Cuomo’s jobs program for its ‘lowered goals’(NYP)
A New President Could End the Era of Bharara Corruption Fighting in NY
There's a reason Preet Bharara may feel pressure to finish politician investigations (NYDN)With time possibly running out on crusading U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara's term, many in New York's political and legal circles are bracing for a frenzy of activity as his office works to finish up ongoing cases into the Cuomo and de Blasio administrations before the next President takes office. "When a U.S. Attorney is about to leave office, there's a lot of pressure on the assistants to finalize cases and indictments and bring them to fruition," former federal prosecutor Bradley Simon said. "In this case, he's concerned about his legacy and he's going to want all unfinished business completed." Simon said there's always a concern the next U.S. attorney may not place the same emphasis on particular cases. "The existing U.S. attorney doesn't want to take chances or see all their hard work going out the window," he said. "Once there is an indictment, a new US attorney can't go and pull it."
More SUNY Hospital Wasted $$$
Struggling hospital spends thousands on lavish travel, dinners(NYP) Struggling SUNY Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn allowed a top “restructuring” consultant to bill the state for $83,000 in lavish travel, lodging and dining expenses, a scathing audit by state Comptroller Tom DiNapoli reveals. The expenditures included pricey rooms at the Carlyle Hotel on the Upper East Side, a booze-infused “team dinner” at the Docks Oyster Bar in Midtown, and sticker-shock limo bills, the audit found. Baton Rouge, La.-based Pitts Management Associates was hired in 2011 to find ways to cut costs at the financially ailing state university-run hospital. But the consultants themselves were living large, with SUNY Downstate staffers approving eye-popping reimbursements for expenses, according to the audit of expenses from March through August 2014.
So, Again Rivington Deed Change Whodunit? Shorris?, Capalino", Wolfe? and Why? Politico $upport For Reelection
City Hall mystery: Burning questions on the Rivington deed swap
Silver Thinks Skelos McDonnell Will Keep Him Out of Jail Also
Skelos to Stay Out of Jail Until Appeal Ruling Thanks to SC's McDonnell Ruling
Not One Elected Officials Has Demanded That de Blasio Release Lobbyists "Agents of the City" Emails
