The Albany Big Business Giveaway of Tax Payer Money to Big Bussinesses to Contribute to Pols
NY's Big Breaks for Business: What our investigationfound (lOWhUD) ALBANY — New York spends billions of taxpayer dollars each year
to get new jobs and retain existing ones as a way to combat being one of the
most expensive places to live in the nation....
The Council Member Items Fly To Re-Elect Incumbents Training the Next Council to Be Hooked On Pork
When Will the Media Examine How Groups Like LIBRE Used Member Items to Reelect the Incumbents Who Gave Them the $$$
Where Are NYC's Elected Officials Calling Out Hot Air Bill? Why is the Press Ignoring Challengers This Year to the Mayor and Other Pols Calling Out the Mayor and Others Running for Reelection?
Cuomo is finally expected to name a leader for the
Metropolitan Transportation Authority this month, a key decision in determining
whether the agency can turn around its deteriorating service and Cuomo may push
to separate the chairman and chief executive positions into two jobs, the Times reports.
* After demonstrators gathered outside of Gov. Andrew
Cuomo’s Manhattan office Tuesday to pressure him to increase minority
appointments to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and other state
boards, his spokeswoman accused the protesters of “mind-numbingly dumb personal
attacks,” the Observer writes.
New Yorkers urge Mayor de Blasio to cut car trips toBrooklyn gym and work out locally (NYDN) The nonprofit Asphalt Green fitness
center is located two-tenths of a mile — a mere five-minute walk — from Gracie
Mansion. *
De Blasio could go to gym just blocks away without
using SUV(NYP) *De Blasio: I'll Stand Up For Straphangers, Having Been One In the'90s (Gotham Gezette)
This is de Blasio's excuse for driving 12 miles to the gym (NYP) Mayor de Blasio wants to be a man of the people — and claims he can’t do that if he’s not able to travel to Brooklyn to exercise and escape...*
This is de Blasio's excuse for driving 12 miles to the gym (NYP) Mayor de Blasio wants to be a man of the people — and claims he can’t do that if he’s not able to travel to Brooklyn to exercise and escape...*
Limousine liberals & all of us (NYDN) de Blasio,
for whatever reason, has publicly decided to play the role of, literally, a
limousine liberal. On the one hand, he insists on taking chauffeured SUV on an
11-mile trek from Gracie Mansion to his favorite YMCA in Brooklyn during the
morning rush hour; at the same time, he lectures the other 8 million of us
about the need to change our daily habits to be more sensitive to the
environment.
de Blasio "Ride the Subways I Use My Car Going to the Gym Because I Am More Equal Than You" Not Cheap Symbolism When It Comes to Broken Subways
Mayor De Blasio: Taking Mass Transit Would Be "Cheap Symbolism" (Gothimist)
Where are the NYC Elected Officials Calling Out This Mayor Who Was Under Criminal Investigation Before Something Stopped It?
de Blasio Still Owes Big Money to His Criminal Lawyer Lobbyist But Mayor Will Not Release Details As Lobbyists Email Cover Up Continues
De Blasio debt to active City Hall lobbyists totals atleast $250G (NYDN) Mayor de Blasio owes
at least $250,000 to $499,999 to law firm Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel —
at the same time the firm is actively lobbying his administration. Hizzoner listed an “unsecured loan” from the
white-shoe firm — which represented him in campaign finance and corruption
probes — in that price range for 2016 in his financial disclosure with the
Conflicts of Interest Board. That wouldn't include legal costs de Blasio
incurred in 2017, when the investigation was wrapped up with no charges in
March. Since January 2016 through March,
Kramer Levin has lobbied the Office of the Mayor for a total of 45 clients,
city records show. Most of those clients
are real estate developers seeking favorable zoning changes or lower property
taxes. Several of the developers are builders of affordable housing, a key
issue for the mayor. In 2016 and through
the first three months of this year, for example, Kramer Levin has pressed the
mayor's office and multiple City Hall agencies on behalf of Douglaston
Development. In March the city Housing Preservation & Development
Department (HPD) released a list of developers "pre-qualified" to bid
on HPD and Housing Authority projects. Douglaston was on that list. The mayor
has repeatedly said he was not sure of the total legal bills he owes the firm,
which employs his lawyer Barry Berke. But he's said he wants to establish a
legal defense fund, which would allow him to raise money to pay off the bills. That plan hit a snag when COIB issued an
advisory opinion saying such donations would qualify as a gift — meaning de
Blasio would be limited to $50 donations from anyone who wasn't a close friend
or family member. On Friday Phillips
confirmed the mayor has yet to set up his legal defense fund. He also could not
provide documentation spelling out the terms of the "unsecured loan"
from Kramer Levin.
After the Election Tax Payers Will No Doubt Pay de Blaiso's Pay to Play Legal Bills
Howwill de Blasio pay his huge legal bills? (NYP) Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel has yet to see a dime for repping the mayor in state and federal corruption investigations. Disclosure forms he filed Friday show he went in the hole between $250,000 and $500,000 in 2016, and that doesn’t include the bills for the first quarter of 2017. So how does de Blasio get out of this huge personal financial hole? His initial plan was to launch a legal defense fund so his fat-cat friends and those doing business with the city could kick in, as they did with his now-defunct Campaign for One New York. But the city Conflicts of Interest Board set a donation limit of $50 a person for the fund. At that rate, the mayor will need a whole lot of good friends. The law firm can’t just write off the tab: That would be an illegal gift. (Though does any other client merit a legal layaway plan?) * Then again, the mayor could cover it himself, by selling one of his Brooklyn properties. He’d hardly be the first person who had to pay out of pocket for his own legal defense. Or, as we’ve noted, he could send city taxpayers the bill. He’s legally entitled to do so — and the city is paying the tab for mayoral aides caught up in the probes. But that’s a risky move in an election year. De Blasio seems inclined to have the City Council pass a bill legalizing a defense fund with maximum donations at $4,950, the same as in campaign committees. Council members love the idea, since it would apply to any defense funds they might set up, too. But it’s also an end-run around those campaign-finance laws that the mayor and most of the council claim to love: It would effectively allow donors to double their gifts by kicking in to both campaign and legal funds. Of course, the council won’t want to talk about this before Election Day. But don’t be surprised to see swift action after the polls close to legalize what would essentially be another form of pay-to-play.
After the Election Tax Payers Will No Doubt Pay de Blaiso's Pay to Play Legal Bills
Howwill de Blasio pay his huge legal bills? (NYP) Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel has yet to see a dime for repping the mayor in state and federal corruption investigations. Disclosure forms he filed Friday show he went in the hole between $250,000 and $500,000 in 2016, and that doesn’t include the bills for the first quarter of 2017. So how does de Blasio get out of this huge personal financial hole? His initial plan was to launch a legal defense fund so his fat-cat friends and those doing business with the city could kick in, as they did with his now-defunct Campaign for One New York. But the city Conflicts of Interest Board set a donation limit of $50 a person for the fund. At that rate, the mayor will need a whole lot of good friends. The law firm can’t just write off the tab: That would be an illegal gift. (Though does any other client merit a legal layaway plan?) * Then again, the mayor could cover it himself, by selling one of his Brooklyn properties. He’d hardly be the first person who had to pay out of pocket for his own legal defense. Or, as we’ve noted, he could send city taxpayers the bill. He’s legally entitled to do so — and the city is paying the tab for mayoral aides caught up in the probes. But that’s a risky move in an election year. De Blasio seems inclined to have the City Council pass a bill legalizing a defense fund with maximum donations at $4,950, the same as in campaign committees. Council members love the idea, since it would apply to any defense funds they might set up, too. But it’s also an end-run around those campaign-finance laws that the mayor and most of the council claim to love: It would effectively allow donors to double their gifts by kicking in to both campaign and legal funds. Of course, the council won’t want to talk about this before Election Day. But don’t be surprised to see swift action after the polls close to legalize what would essentially be another form of pay-to-play.
Budget Passes Meaning Member Items That Incumbents Use for Reelection All Divided Up
Yes Daily News We Know the Developers are Gentrifying Harlem Old Story
But We Want to Know More About A State Senator Given His Dem Nomination by Party Leaders Who Also Like the Senator Were Elected by 4% of the Vote
SoHa complaints: A huge distraction fromHarlem's destruction (NYDN) State Sen.-elect Brian Benjamin is also expressing
righteous indignation. He’s the venture
capitalist-turned-developer-turned-community board chairman-turned elected
representative, after a resounding vote of 4% of registered voters.
Low Voting Caused by NY’s Undemocratic Voter Suppression Election Law Has Turned Modern Party Bosses into a New Tammany Hall, Cutting the Voters Out of Elections, While Enriching the Political Party’s Shadow Government . . . The 4% Party Elections
Our NY Democracy is Lost . . .
In the last few weeks, news outlets have reported on Congressman Joseph Crowley using the Queens Surrogate Court as his own personal bank. From reading the recent Crowley stories, you would never know that corruption of the Surrogate Court is not because of Boss Crowley, but is the result of the undemocratic Tammany Hall control of NY's voting caused by an election law that suppresses voter turnout. The NYS election law does not allow early voting or election day registration good changes that will not fix NY election system. Today like never before, the political system is run by and for the political class, their lobbyists consultants and their clients developers, city contractors! For these folks it's a business or their livelihood. The Public has been cut out and they have stopped voting and running for office. Tammany Hall Still Runs NYC's Political Parties in 2017 is the first in a series of True News investigative reports this municipal election year showing why voter suppression Tammany Hall election laws are responsible for falling voting rates and the lack of serious competition where 90% of the incumbents get reelected for city office.
Read More on Tammany Hall Still Runs NYC's PoliticalParties in 2017
Hiram Uncovers the Queens DA Cover-Up On Ferreras The Next Speaker the Fiances Director of the Council Has LIBRE Secrets
Hiram Monserrate gets a clear
path back into politics (NYP) Queens City Councilwoman Julissa
Ferreras-Copeland, a front-runner to become the next speaker, has suddenly
dropped her re-election run. The only contender in the race for her Corona
district seat is now Hiram Monserrate, the disgraced former state senator who
spent time in a federal lock-up for stealing government funds. He was also
found guilty of a misdemeanor for slashing his girlfriend with a broken glass
during a fight in 2008, while he was in the City Council. The news, first reported by Politico on
Thursday, sent shockwaves through the city’s political circles. One in-the-know political player suggested
it’s now likely the Queens Democratic Party would back Assemblyman Francisco
Moya to run for the open seat. Ferreras-Copeland, who married two years ago and
has a two-year-old son, cited family considerations for her decision. Although
this was not an easy decision, this is what makes sense for my son, for my
family, and for me,” she told Politico.
Insiders speculated that there had to more her decision though. “Everybody’s thinking something else is
happening here that we’re not immediately seeing,” said one insider. Ferreras-Copeland was considered one of three
top contenders to take over Council Speaker Melissa Mark Viverito’s post. The
other two are Councilmen Corey Johnson and Mark Levine, both from Manhattan.*
If Jimmy Breslin Was Reporting Today de Blasio Would Not Win Reelection
It Is NYC Weak and Clueless kiddee Press That is Reelecting de Blasio and His Fake City Council
HHC City Hospitals About to Blow Up and New Yorkers Will Die The City's Elected Officials Up For Re-Election Ignore Media Ignores and the Young Kiddies Reporters to Dump to Understand
New York hospitals brace for bloodbath of pink slips
(NYP) Nervous municipal hospital workers are bracing for a bloody Friday as
word circulates that hundreds of layoff notices are coming Friday as the huge
system struggles to close a projected $1.1 billion deficit next year.* Flood of Manager Layoffs Announced at City-Run HospitalSystem (NY1)
Even the Failing NYT Says the Mayor's Blame Everyone Immature Management Style Losing Him Support From Women
Why Have So Many Women Quit on Mayor de Blasio? (NYT) In the
run-up to his election and throughout his first term as mayor, Bill de Blasio built a
reputation for advancing women’s rights. He was
endorsed by the National Organization for Women; held
a ticker-tape parade for the United States women’s soccer squad, the
city’s first for a women’s team; and won points for placing many women
in high-level positions. But now, as
he seeks re-election in November, Mr. de Blasio has seen a puzzling exodus of
female talent. Thirty-one high-level
officials hired by Mr. de Blasio have left City Hall since he took office in
2014. Of those, 22 were women, more than twice the number of men who left. The gender imbalance of the departures has
raised questions as to why so many women, including many who are black or
Hispanic, have jumped ship on a mayor seen as welcoming to women and
minorities. Interviews with a dozen
women who either have left City Hall or continue to work there pointed to
several factors fueling the departures. Several of the women spoke on the
condition of anonymity because they did not want to damage relations with the
mayor or other city officials. One factor mentioned repeatedly was the mayor’s
management style. It can be deliberative to the point of plodding, and several
people said that it had produced a high level of frustration among top
officials. They said that promising projects sometimes go many months awaiting
approval or simply languish, drowned in a flood of memos, indecision and
political strategizing. Another factor cited by some who frequently dealt with
the mayor involved his personality; he often lectures his staff during meetings
in what people describe as a condescending tone, and he is known for berating
or belittling subordinates in front of others or shooting off emails
criticizing them in brusque terms. Nearly
everyone experiences this, the women said, but they suggested that women may
have less patience. “You’re at a point
in your career where, why should you put up with the nonsense,” said one woman
who left a senior job at City Hall. “If you came to make a change and to make a
difference, your tolerance is going to be a lot lower than if you just came for
the title.” immature
Albany DA Elected by WFP Lobbyists, Who Has Been AWOL On Corruption Investigations Looking At IDC "Lulu" Payments
Update
The Albany DA joins a political witch hunt (NYP Ed) In a desperate bid to return one-party rule to Albany, the Working Families Party has declared all-out war on the centrist Senate Independent Democratic Conference. And now Albany County District Attorney David Soares — whom the WFP backed in his defeat of the Democratic incumbent in 2004 — is probing the WFP-targeted IDC and Senate Republicans over the legality of so-called “lulu” payments. It’s a very sudden interest in possible wrongdoing in the Legislature: Soares has been AWOL in probing all the corruption that has rocked Albany since he took office.
Albany DA won’t probe controversial stipends paid to 8state senators (NYDN)
The Albany DA joins a political witch hunt (NYP Ed) In a desperate bid to return one-party rule to Albany, the Working Families Party has declared all-out war on the centrist Senate Independent Democratic Conference. And now Albany County District Attorney David Soares — whom the WFP backed in his defeat of the Democratic incumbent in 2004 — is probing the WFP-targeted IDC and Senate Republicans over the legality of so-called “lulu” payments. It’s a very sudden interest in possible wrongdoing in the Legislature: Soares has been AWOL in probing all the corruption that has rocked Albany since he took office.
When Audits are Blocked Pay to Play Grows
Removing the
comptroller’s option to review construction contracts for state projects under
certain economic development nonprofits was intended to expedite the process,
instead it became more secretive and allowed the awarding of lucrative
contracts to companies that had made significant campaign contributions, the Times Union writes.
NYP Copies True News Labeling of Queens Boss Crowley As Tammany Hall Joe
Low Voting Caused by NY’s Undemocratic Voter Suppression Election Law Has Turned Modern Party Bosses into a New Tammany Hall, Cutting the Voters Out of Elections, While Enriching the Political Party’s Shadow Government . . .
Our NY Democracy is Lost . . .
In the last few weeks, news outlets have reported on Congressman Joseph Crowley using the Queens Surrogate Court as his own personal bank. From reading the recent Crowley stories, you would never know that corruption of the Surrogate Court is not because of Boss Crowley, but is the result of the undemocratic Tammany Hall control of NY's voting caused by an election law that suppresses voter turnout. The NYS election law does not allow early voting or election day registration good changes that will not fix NY election system. Today like never before, the political system is run by and for the political class, their lobbyists consultants and their clients developers, city contractors! For these folks it's a business or their livelihood. The Public has been cut out and they have stopped voting and running for office. Tammany Hall Still Runs NYC's Political Parties in 2017 is the first in a series of True News investigative reports this municipal election year showing why voter suppression Tammany Hall election laws are responsible for falling voting rates and the lack of serious competition where 90% of the incumbents get reelected for city office.
Read More on Tammany Hall Still Runs NYC's PoliticalParties in 2017
Crowley Paying Campaign Rent to Lobbyists Brother Who Has Raked In $550,000 From the Surrogate Court the Queens Boss Controls
Crowley Dodges Press
Crowley dodges questions about campaign rent paid to lobbyist brother (NYP) Rep. Joseph Crowley ducked questions Thursday about 10 years worth of rent payments his campaign made to a company controlled by his lobbyist brother. A day after The Post broke news of the arrangement, Crowley hightailed it through a side door immediately after speaking about federal policies affecting New York City at an Association for a Better New York breakfast in Midtown. When he was approached to explain the deal, one of his staffers slammed the door on a reporter
Dem leader paying campaign rent to lobbyist brother (NYP) Rep. Joseph Crowley, who serves as Queens Democratic leader, is using campaign funds to rent office space in a family-owned property outside his district, records show. Crowley has paid at least $69,700 since 2007 to Killean Enterprises LLC, which is controlled by his brother, lobbyist John “Sean” Crowley. As chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, Joseph Crowley is the fourth-highest ranking member of his party in the House. “This, without a doubt, raises red flags about conflicts of interest,” said John Kaehny, chairman of the NYC Transparency Working Group. “The rental structure that was put in place was done so on the advice of legal counsel,” Florez said. The campaign office in Elmhurst is about 10 blocks outside Crowley’s congressional district. But as party boss, he already has space at Queens Democratic headquarters in Forest Hills three miles from the Elmhurst office. “It’s not physically in his district — that would be a key point,” said Ken Boehm, chairman of the National Legal and Policy Center. “What he uses it for — it’s as old as politics — it’s called a slush fund. And what do you know? It goes to a family-connected entity.” The Elmhurst address is also home to Crowley & Kaufman, the law firm of Crowley’s campaign treasurer, Scott Kaufman, an attorney who since 2006 has raked in at least $550,000 in fees via appointments from Queens Surrogate’s Court.*
Another de Blasio Failed Reform School Custodial Services
Crowley Paying Campaign Rent to Lobbyists Brother Who Has Raked In $550,000 From the Surrogate Court the Queens Boss Controls
Crowley Dodges Press
Crowley dodges questions about campaign rent paid to lobbyist brother (NYP) Rep. Joseph Crowley ducked questions Thursday about 10 years worth of rent payments his campaign made to a company controlled by his lobbyist brother. A day after The Post broke news of the arrangement, Crowley hightailed it through a side door immediately after speaking about federal policies affecting New York City at an Association for a Better New York breakfast in Midtown. When he was approached to explain the deal, one of his staffers slammed the door on a reporter
Dem leader paying campaign rent to lobbyist brother (NYP) Rep. Joseph Crowley, who serves as Queens Democratic leader, is using campaign funds to rent office space in a family-owned property outside his district, records show. Crowley has paid at least $69,700 since 2007 to Killean Enterprises LLC, which is controlled by his brother, lobbyist John “Sean” Crowley. As chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, Joseph Crowley is the fourth-highest ranking member of his party in the House. “This, without a doubt, raises red flags about conflicts of interest,” said John Kaehny, chairman of the NYC Transparency Working Group. “The rental structure that was put in place was done so on the advice of legal counsel,” Florez said. The campaign office in Elmhurst is about 10 blocks outside Crowley’s congressional district. But as party boss, he already has space at Queens Democratic headquarters in Forest Hills three miles from the Elmhurst office. “It’s not physically in his district — that would be a key point,” said Ken Boehm, chairman of the National Legal and Policy Center. “What he uses it for — it’s as old as politics — it’s called a slush fund. And what do you know? It goes to a family-connected entity.” The Elmhurst address is also home to Crowley & Kaufman, the law firm of Crowley’s campaign treasurer, Scott Kaufman, an attorney who since 2006 has raked in at least $550,000 in fees via appointments from Queens Surrogate’s Court.*
Another de Blasio Failed Reform School Custodial Services
De Blasio plan failed to improve school custodial
service: study (NYP) Mayor de Blasio promised to clean up
school custodial services last year — but the mess is as bad as ever, according
to a new report. De Blasio handed control
of custodial services to a not-for-profit organization, promising big savings
and improved transparency. But a
Families for Excellent Schools study concluded that the setup is marred by the
same problems as before — high costs, murky visibility and erratic management. The charter-school backers said transitioning
to New York City School Support Services has cost at least $105 million — more
than 2.5 times de Blasio’s original $40 million price tag.
Blow Up Badly Managed Excess-A-Ride and Used Accessible Taxis Instead
Blow Up Badly Managed Excess-A-Ride and Used Accessible Taxis Instead
End Excess-A-ride by using accessible taxis instead (NYDN Ed) How else to explain how in January the MTA was ready to jack up
the fare for the awful service by 9% — and it was only the day before the vote,
when this column alerted Gov. Cuomo, that he intervened to keep the fare flat? It’s time for Cuomo to intervene again to fix
Access-A-Ride. The MTA’s network of
paratransit vehicles delivers 20,000 rides a day for New Yorkers with
disabilities. For the staggering cost of a half-billion dollars a year — an
average of $68 per ride — passengers get a quality of service that wouldn’t be
acceptable in the Third World. Reservations
for rides must be made at least a day in advance. The passenger must then wait
for the ride to arrive — and must wait up to 30 minutes, because with
Access-A-Ride, 29 minutes late is considered on time. Of course, it doesn’t work the other way. If
a passenger is more than five minutes late, the van will leave and your account
will get a chit against it. Get three or four, and you get suspended. Cancellations
must be made at least two hours in advance, again, with penalties if you don’t
comply. And once you get in, be prepared
for a tour of the city as other passengers get picked up and dropped off. So those 50 hardy souls who wanted to testify
about how very bad Access-A-Ride is all had to make their plans in advance and
build in lots of extra time and go out and wait and drive all around, just to
tell the MTA how very bad Access-A-Ride is.
MTA Chairman Freddy Ferrer, answering the outcry, replied: “I’m unhappy
with Access-A-Ride too. The board doesn’t have a complete level of contentment
with how we provide that service.” True
example: A few weeks ago a woman who uses a wheelchair arranged for an
Access-A-Ride van to take her from her Upper West Side home to a doctor’s
appointment in Midtown. The white van arrived on time, but had a flat tire. Fortunately there was one of the 1,763
wheelchair-accessible yellow cabs right in front of her apartment building. She
got in and arrived at the doctor in time.
However, instead of paying the $16 fare on the meter, she insisted on
paying only the Access-A-Ride fare of $2.75 — which is set for the sake of
fairness, because the service is designed to be a bus-and-subway alternative. On Access-A-Ride, the fare would have cost
the MTA, and the taxpayers, $68. The
moral of the story? The MTA was willing to pay $68 for the ride (and $68 on the
return) for a ride that, in real life, only cost $16 each way.
de Blasio Shock About Parking-Placard Abuse
De Blasio’s self-serving solution to a problem he
just created (NYP) Mayor de Blasio just pulled a 180 on the
issue of parking-placard abuse — announcing what he called a major crackdown
just a week after he massively increased the problem. With much fanfare and many buzzwords
(“tough,” “strict,” “imperative”), the mayor Wednesday unveiled a series of
measures to combat fraud he says “is starting to erode faith in the integrity
of government.” Missing was the most obvious and effective anti-abuse step:
Rescinding his election-year gift to the United Federation of Teachers in
the form of nearly 50,000 new placards.
Instead, de Blasio proposes to boost bureaucracy and the city payroll.
He aims to create a new dedicated Department of Education unit responsible for
the permits and to hire 100 new (unionized) ticket agents. Plus, yes, stricter enforcement and tougher
penalties for abusers.*
de Blasio's Fink Get A Pay Raise for A Lot of Dirty Pay to Play Business
de Blasio's Fink Get A Pay Raise for A Lot of Dirty Pay to Play Business
De Blasio aide tied to questionable campaign donorsreceives fat raise and promotion (NYDN) As investigators probed questionable
contributions to Mayor de Blasio, a City Hall staffer linked to the donors
under scrutiny got a promotion and two raises, the Daily News has learned. Avi Fink was promoted to deputy chief of
staff and got a raise from $123,483 to $160,000 in October, city records show. Another
raise, on the order of $15,000, came March 1, records show. Fink, 31, has repeatedly been linked to
questionable campaign donors. The list
of alleged rogues includes businessmen Jeremy Reichberg, 43, and Jona Rechnitz,
33, who each raised thousands in campaign cash for de Blasio. Fink, the mayor's liaison to the Jewish
community, played a central role in introducing the mayor to the pair, who
served on Hizzoner's inauguration committee, according to multiple sources. Reichberg was charged last June with bribing
a group of NYPD officers and keeping them as "cops on call" to assist
with a host of personal issues. The bribes allegedly covered pricey meals and
prostitutes. The Borough Park bigwig has
pleaded not guilty. An elected official and a political consultant familiar
with Fink's community criticized him for doing nothing to warn de Blasio to
stay away from Reichberg, who played up his wealth despite no obvious source of
income. Fink also played a major part in
connecting the mayor to Yitzchok (Isaac) Sofer, according to multiple sources. Sofer, a
prominent Hasidic leader with ties to the Central United Talmudic Academy,
hosted a de Blasio fund-raiser shortly before the September 2013 primary,
records show. The academy has lobbied city agencies to grant favorable zoning
changes and building permits, according to multiple sources. Sofer was also a driving force behind a
failed policy the mayor championed in an effort to prevent rabbis from
infecting babies with herpes during a controversial circumcision ritual called
metzizah b'peh. The 2013 fund-raiser did
not come under investigation. But Sofer was charged last December with lying
about his income to obtain $30,000 in food stamps over four years, according to
a federal criminal complaint. The case is pending. Fink, who declined an
interview request, was questioned by authorities investigating the scandalous
Rivington House deal that enabled a Lower East Side nursing home to be flipped
and redeveloped as luxury condos. Fink admitted he "took a meeting"
with Landau, the co-founder of the Allure Group, in City Hall in 2014. But he told investigators from the city
controller's office that he "didn't have a great recollection of it." The City Hall staffer and more than 30 of his
colleagues have maintained that they were unaware that lifting a deed
restriction on the former AIDS nursing home would generate a $72 million profit
for the donor.
Glenwood Covered Up $700,000 to Pols But JCOPE Gave No Fines?
The state Joint Commission on Public Ethics has reached a
settlement with nonprofit lobbying group Pledge 2 Protect that is expected to
require the group to disclose that real estate giant Glenwood Management gave
it nearly $700,000 in previously shielded donations, the Times Union writes.
Now the NYCHA Will Blame Its Mismanagement, Lack of Repairs, Budget Gap on Trump
Trump’s budget proposal would cost NYCHA tenants dearlyas it simultaneously cuts public housing funds (NYDN) The budget plan unveiled Tuesday by President
Trump is even tougher on New York public housing tenants than originally
thought. The plan not only would cut up
to $340 million from the Housing Authority’s already teetering budget, it would
also make tenants pay more. For the
first time since 1981, the U.S. Housing & Urban Development Department
proposed raising the amount of income tenants must pay toward rent from 30% to
35%. Some tenants predicted the hike —
which needs congressional approval — would have a devastating effect on their
already tenuous ability to pay their bills.* The federal budget plan unveiled Tuesday by Trump would
cut up to $340 million from the New York City Housing Authority’s already
teetering budget, and would raise the amount of income tenants must pay toward
rent, the Daily News writes. * NYCHA wants private developers to help convert 1,700apartments into Section 8 housing(NY1)
Will Flanagan Take Control of the Schools Away From the Mayor? Majority Leader Says He Wants to Know How City Spends State Money BUT Fight Over Charter Schools
Fight over mayoral control over NYC schools is
heating up (NYP) The fight over extending mayoral control
of New York City schools is heating up with state Sen. Majority Leader John
Flanagan said he can’t consider the issue until he knows how the city spends $9
billion in state funds. The Republican
leader sent a letter to de Blasio on Monday, claiming the city has failed to
meet a state requirement by filling out a form that shows, building by
building, how schools spend local, state and federal tax dollars. The city has sent several reports but not
filled out one mandated by state law and provided by the state Division of
Budget, said Flanagan, R-Long Island. “A
fundamental shortcoming of this administration has been a lack of transparency
and response to requests for information,” the letter states. “The lack of
detail on how New York City spends almost $9 billion provided to it by the
state has been one of the key determining factors in a short-term extension of
mayoral control.” The letter says that one of the chief reasons for mayoral
control is to hold one person accountable for the schools. It also demands that
the state reports be filled out in the format dictated by the state — before
Flanagan will consider extending mayoral control. Control is set to expire next month.* The charter school network Success Academy said it will
transform the historic South Bronx building known to many as the Old Bronx
Borough Courthouse into its first high school in the borough, The Wall Street Journal
writes.
The Senate in the End Will OK a One Year Extension Because Nobody Wants to Handle the NYC Schools Hot Mess System
NewYork State lawmakers clash over extending mayoral control of schools (NYDN) Although Flanagan and other Republican senators have said they support the concept of mayoral control they have questioned de Blasio’s stewardship of the system and balked at granting anything more than a one-year extension of the law. Flanagan has also argued recently that any extension of mayoral control should be linked to an expansion of charter schools — a linkage rejected by Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie (D-Bronx).
The Senate in the End Will OK a One Year Extension Because Nobody Wants to Handle the NYC Schools Hot Mess System
NewYork State lawmakers clash over extending mayoral control of schools (NYDN) Although Flanagan and other Republican senators have said they support the concept of mayoral control they have questioned de Blasio’s stewardship of the system and balked at granting anything more than a one-year extension of the law. Flanagan has also argued recently that any extension of mayoral control should be linked to an expansion of charter schools — a linkage rejected by Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie (D-Bronx).
Daily News Supports Constitution Convention to Fix Albany Corruption Restore Democracy Leaders and Special Interests Move to Block
Fix this government and vote this fall for a Constitutional Convention (NYDN Ed) The
surest sign New York voters should approve a state Constitutional Convention in
the once-every-two-decades opportunity coming this November is the caterwauling
against the con con among the power players in Albany’s Legislature. A threat to the rights New Yorkers hold dear,
frets Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie. A
gazillon-dollar boondoggle, projects Senate Majority Leader John Flanagan. An open invitation “in this dangerous era of
Trump” for “powerful corporate interests” to wreak havoc, warns Senate Minority
Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins. The lady
— and gentlemen — doth protest too much.
The singular truth, and at the root of their fears, is that Election Day
referenda will enable citizens to clean up New York’s rotten system of
government, in ways highly inconvenient to the power of legislative leaders and
the special interests that butter their English muffins. New York’s Constitution,
older than our nation’s, reaches at once toward powerfully high aspirations and
low bogs of muck. They would then put
the results before the people for approval, a step that should put to rest any
fears in this majority-Democratic state that a runaway convention would strip
cherished protections for union organizing or welfare benefits. Gov. Cuomo, almost alone among Albany
leaders, has voiced his support, in echo of his father’s failed effort to get a
convention called the last time New York had a shot, in 1997. The words this Editorial Board wrote in
support of a con con back then hold, to the letter, today, their resonance over
time only underlining the necessity of finally fixing festering flaws: “The state’s government is a scandalous
embarrassment. It is tilted to keep incumbents in power, to please special
interests and to thwart reform. It is a system that, even on its good days, is
maddeningly dysfunctional.” At a moment of
pervasive political cynicism and a hopelessness that government can get much
good done, New York has a chance to renew itself for the sake of future
generations. Take it.
UFTVerified account @UFT
A
constitutional convention is a politicians' convention. New Yorkers should vote
NO in November!
Newsday to End NY's Voter Suppression Vote for A Constitutional Constitutional Convention in Nov. Dem Senate Leader Stewart-Cousins Against Convention
If state lawmakers refuse to make it easier to cast ballots and to run for office in New York, the re-energized public can get it done on its own – by voting in November for a constitutional convention, Newsday writes. * Democratic lawmaker warns against convention to change N.Y. constitution (NYDN) State Senate Democratic Minority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins is the latest state leader opposing a push for a convention to make changes to the state constitution. “While the intent of one may be good, the reality is much different,” Stewart-Cousins told the Daily News Monday. “In this dangerous era of Trump there is a concern that powerful corporate interests will try, and possibly succeed, in making fundamental changes to our State Constitution that are antithetical to our New York values.” The Yonkers Democrat is the latest legislative leader to oppose the measure. Only Assembly GOP Minority Leader Brian Kolb backs a constitutional convention. Every 20 years, including this year, New Yorkers are asked to vote in a public referendum whether to hold a constitutional convention. The head of the state AFL-CIO, fearing potential anti-worker changes could be adopted, has said he is “adamantly” against a constitutional convention while a number of government reform groups support the idea as the best way to get needed ethics and other changes enacted. Gov. Cuomo recently told the Daily News Editorial Board that he supports the idea in concept but fears it would be controlled by special interests groups. Democratic activist and Effective New York founder Bill Samuels, who is funding an effort in support of a convention, recently called on Cuomo to take a position on the issue “without any equivocation.”
What A Constitutional Convention Can Fix
Among the high points: a guarantee that the Adirondack
Park will “be forever kept wild” and, as of 1938, assertions that promoting
public health, educating all kids and aiding the needy are the government’s
obligation. But our state Constitution
also lies at the root of some unacceptable failings, among them:
l A byzantine court system, with a preposterous 11
different tiers in some places and 13 different levels in other areas. All
those patronage jobs cost the state dearly while complicating the delivery of
justice.
l Voter registration restrictions that give New York
one of the lowest rates of election turnout in the nation, prohibiting same-day
registration an mail-in voting.
l The power of state lawmakers to gerrymander
districts to preserve their own perches, and to ultimately control their own
ethics reviews.
Delegates to a convention — who would run for election in
2018 if voters do the right thing and say yes this Nov. 7 — could consider
solutions to any of the above plagues and much more.
When the Going Gets Tough at the MTA, Andrew CuomoDisappears via @StreetsblogNYC
Cuomo Does Not Take A Genius to Replace An Ancient Signal System and Aging Fleet Cars
MTA Covers Their Ass on Subway Delays as City and State Leaders According to the Times Hide From Commenting on Bad Service Cuomo Does Not Take A Genius to Replace An Ancient Signal System and Aging Fleet Cars
MTA will pay you $1M to fix the subways
(NYP) Less than a week after the MTA announced its six-point
plan to fix rampant delays in the subway system, Gov. Andrew Cuomo is
telling the agency to look elsewhere for better ideas. Cuomo told the MTA to hold a “Genius Award”
contest to find the best ideas on how to overcome the seemingly unfixable
subway problems of the ancient signal system, the aging fleet of cars, and the
lack of cellular and wi-fi connections on trains and in tunnels.
Service disruptions on New York City’s subways have
escalated from a frequent annoyance to what advocates have deemed a crisis, but
with two weeks left before state lawmakers break for the summer, solutions are
not on anyone’s agenda, Politico New York reports.
How Did the Subway Get So Bad? Look to the C Train (NYT) The story of the old train cars — far past their prime at 53 — exemplifies the political and financial obstacles that have the system on the verge of collapse.
Cuomo Takes Responsibility for Fixing New York City’s Transit Problems (NYT) Recognizing the looming track repairs at Pennsylvania Station as a potential crisis, the governor calls for a plan that’s on par with the response to Hurricane Sandy.*
MTA's battle plan won't fix your dreadful commute for months (NYP)
FDR car that Cuomo drove over Kosciuczko as a stunt is same vintage as subway signals millions still rely on today
Subway riders live out every commuter’s worst nightmare
(NYP) * SUV-loving de Blasio says he does plenty to help
save planet (NYP)
Cuomo Drives Old-Timey Car Across Brand New Bridge WhileSticking NYers With Old-Timey Transit System (Street Blog) The governor’s Twitter feed was wall-to-wall Kosciuszko beginning Wednesday night, ahead of a light and music show — another Cuomo production — broadcast live online when the bridge officially opened to traffic not long before midnight yesterday. The coup de grace of the daytime festivities: Cuomo motoring across the bridge, alone, in a 1932 Packard once owned by Franklin D. Roosevelt. As it happens, FDR’s car is the same vintage as many components in the signal system of the New York City subway. The difference is that the signal system isn’t a museum piece that Cuomo can commandeer for a day — it’s real equipment that keeps millions of people moving on a 24/7 rail system. Equipment made from parts that ceased to be manufactured long ago, which the MTA now refurbishes in-house. Equipment that leads to a staggering number of subway delays. Equipment that was superseded by modern technology decades ago. The MTA awarded the first contract to upgrade the signal system in 1999. The potential to improve the capacity and reliability of the subways is huge, but today only one subway line has modern signals. What has Cuomo done to accelerate the replacement of this key system? At a time when severe transit delays have become an everyday fact of life for New Yorkers — with multiple incidents in the past week alone * Brooklyn subway station literally crumbles as systemmishaps spark citywide commute delays (NYDN) * Mayor de Blasio places blame for subway mayhem on Gov.Cuomo (NYDN) * Following Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s letter to President Donald Trump, a
bipartisan coalition of New York’s House delegation released a statement urging
the federal government to take action and alleviate delays at New York Penn
Station, State of Politics reports. * * Six weeks before Amtrak’s track work at New York Penn
Station is set to start, Cuomo has waded into the mess and positioned himself
as the fixer, but to pull off this rescue, he needs a strong follow-through, Newsday writes. *
Cuomo doesn’t merit all the blame for years of neglected maintenance now
“coming home to roost” at New York Penn Station, but it shouldn’t have taken
more than six years to get him to notice, the Post writes.
The MTA Created in 1968 Gave the Opportunity to the Pols to Avoid Blame on Bad Subway Service
Key to Improving Subway Service in New York? Modern Signal (NYT) * Get the MTA on track, gov (NYDN Ed) * Looking at Who's Actually in Charge of City Subways (NY1) * Cuomo tries to disown the MTA (NYP Ed) * De Blasio claims it's Cuomo's job to fix the subway (NYP) *Angry About Subway Delays? De Blasio Says Blame Cuomo, and Vice Versa (NYT) On a day with more significant subway delays, Mayor Bill de Blasio lashed out at Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo in an interview, saying the state, which oversees the system, is at fault for its problems. * Why Does New York State Control the Subway? That’s the 20-Cent Question (NYT) * Only Thing Worse than the Subway? Not Being Able to Ride It (NYP)
More on the MTA Waste, Fare Increases and Delays
Should Those Lobbyists, Political Consultants, NY1, the Daily News Apologize to New Yorkers for Using A Very Sick Weiner?
The MTA Created in 1968 Gave the Opportunity to the Pols to Avoid Blame on Bad Subway Service
According to the NYT the Subway Buck 75 Never Stops At de Blasio's Desk
De Blasio Says Stick to Subway (but Don’t Blame Him if You Run Late) (NYT) The mayor said the biggest impediment to getting around was the city’s roads and blamed the state for continued problems with the subway system.
De Blasio Says Stick to Subway (but Don’t Blame Him if You Run Late) (NYT) The mayor said the biggest impediment to getting around was the city’s roads and blamed the state for continued problems with the subway system.
Should Those Lobbyists, Political Consultants, NY1, the Daily News Apologize to New Yorkers for Using A Very Sick Weiner?
DiNapoli Who Got Away With the Lopez Silver Hush Fund Payments Exposed By Cuomo Cutting Controversial Senate Stipends Checks
Cuomo criticizes DiNapoli over controversial Senatestipends (NYP) Cuomo put state Comptroller Tom DiNapoli on the hot seat Thursday over the state Senate’s controversial practice of paying out stipends to lawmakers for leadership positions they don’t hold. Cuomo said the state comptroller reviews the Legislature’s payroll submissions and determines whether to cut the checks. “He either did it legally or illegally. I’m assuming his position is it’s legal. But it’s either legal or not legal,” Cuomo told reporters following a housing event in Manhattan. *
2017 Mayoral Candidate Update
Mayoral candidate slams rival for missing Celebrate
Israel Parade (NYP) Just
days after saying he’d skip the Puerto Rican Day Parade for political reasons,
Republican mayoral candidate Paul Massey missed the Celebrate Israel Parade on
Sunday for personal ones —...*
Joe Lhota, De Blasio’s 2013 opponent, endorses NicoleMalliotakis in mayoral race: ‘The only real Republican’ (NYDN) * Mayoralhopeful Paul Massey says de Blasio should have stronger strategy to fight NYC’sopioid crisis (NYDN)
From The Alliance for a Human Scale City:
Data Shows Real Estate Industry Dominates the Mayor’s Reelection Campaign . . . What does it get back?
May 16, 2017- If you heard that Big Real Estate is ignoring de Blasio’s re-election campaign, you heard wrong. Our new research shows that of the total amount of money de Blasio has raised so far from donors of any size, more than half, 54%, is from the real estate industry. Equally troubling are our findings that 86% of Mayor de Blasio’s reelection money comes from big donors and that 62% of the money in that ‘big donor pot’ comes from the real estate industry as well. It means that Big Real Estate is drowning out all other lobbies in this city and the rules that allow this need changing. We defined big donors as those who gave more than $400: that is the maximum contribution allowed for those “not doing business with the City” and an amount well above the $175 maximum contribution that is eligible for public matching funds. Our definition makes sense. We then ask: what is the real estate industry getting for their money? We found that there are big donors who are also big developers who will benefit hugely from the Midtown East Rezoning now under public review (eg: Rudin Management, Fisher Brothers, Witkoff, Inc.). How many others big donors are benefiting from other large projects such as the Brooklyn-Queens Connector (BQX) or the rezonings of the Bronx and East Harlem? Clearly, it is time to re-open a new line of investigation in the pay-to-play problem. This graphic story of who is financing the Mayor’s re-election is attached. If you would like a copy of our short report summarizing our research, please contact us.
After the Investigation End With Bharara Firing and NY DA Whatever Same Day The Special Interest Money Coming Back to the Mayor
Campaign finance records show New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio raised $663,000 from more than 2,200 donors, which marks the first time he raised more than his best-funded Republican challenger, Paul Massey Jr., the Times reports.
Post Editorial City Hall For Sale
The ‘stunning’ proof that de Blasio’s City Hall is for sale (NYP) The Post’s Rich Calder just made it blindingly clear why Mayor de Blasio is having so much trouble compiling that long-promised list of the “stunning number” of his campaign donors who’ve gotten no special favors from City Hall. The “stunning number” is how many did get repaid. As Calder reported Monday, at least 67 of the 102 bundlers for de Blasio’s 2013 mayoral campaign reaped various political rewards from City Hall. That’s fully two-thirds — and those who didn’t manage to snag a favor mostly were responsible for donations of $10,000 or less. The big-bucks bundlers, on the other hand — who raised up to $236,425 for de Blasio”s mayoral run — wound up with something to show for it far beyond the joy of backing a winning candidate. Some of those bundlers wound up with appointments to various political committees, like lawyer Jay Eisenhofer and Broadway Stages CEO Gina Argento, whose husband has charged she was pressured to donate and raise money. But four of de Blasio’s top 10 bundlers were lobbyists and advocates for the taxi industry and got private sitdowns from the new mayor, who then pushed a crackdown on Uber and other app-based ride-hail companies that compete with yellow cabs. Another was the mayor’s cousin, the co-founder of a hotel-workers union that has been aided by a similar de Blasio crackdown on Airbnb apartment rentals. Yet another big bundler, Charles Hocking, got the most obvious favor: $146 million in city contracts for his engineering firm since de Blasio took office. None of this comes as any surprise. It’s been obvious since Day One that donors and power-brokers like the mayor’s “agents of the city” call the shots at City Hall. Which is why Manhattan DA Cy Vance, in declining to bring criminal charges over the mayor’s fund-raising, said some of his actions violate “the intent and spirit” of the law. And why that op-ed piece the mayor promised listing his unrewarded donors is likely to be a very short one — if we ever see it at all.
de Blasio "Bundler" Get Special Treatment and No List of Donors Who Got No Favors
De Blasio's biggest 'bundlers' got special political treatment (NYP) de Blasio has long claimed he didn’t dole out favors to his top donors — but financial records from his 2013 campaign show otherwise. Nearly two-thirds of the “bundlers” who raised more than $1.5 million to help put de Blasio in office later got special treatment from City Hall, a Post analysis shows. The list includes 23 big-bucks donors who got appointed to municipal boards and committees, eight developers who benefited from government actions or policy changes, six political allies put on the city payroll and five business owners who scored lucrative contracts. In all, 67 of de Blasio’s 102 bundlers reaped rewards after pouring cash into his political war chest or raising money for his transition effort and inauguration ceremonies, records show. Meanwhile, the 35 who don’t appear to have gotten official favors mostly contributed $10,000 or less each — and include at least five people who have had run-ins with the law.
Several of de Blasio's 'bundlers' have had sketchydealings (NYP) de Blasio’s 2013 bundlers included a real-estate executive who cut a deal to testify against crooked ex-pols Sheldon Silver and Dean Skelos — and another poised to take the witness stand in the NYPD corruption scandal. Charles Dorego of Glenwood Management raised $9,000 for the mayor, while developer Jona Rechnitz got a seat on de Blasio’s inauguration committee after bundling $44,650 for him and donating another $50,000 to Hizzoner’s now-defunct nonprofit, the Campaign for One New York. Another bundler, Brooklyn auto dealer John Giuffre, was ordered to pay more than $500,000 in fines and restitution after being accused of “persistent fraudulent, deceptive and illegal business” by state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman. Records show de Blasio returned the money raised by Chatwal. He has pledged to return money tied to Rechnitz.
Albany Will Not Pass New Ethics Laws in Spite of the Dirt Exposed in the Silver and Skelos Trials
How do Reform Clubs Back Mayor Who Never Produces A Promise List of Donors and Supports Who Got No Favors?
How do Reform Clubs Back Mayor Who Never Produces A Promise List of Donors and Supports Who Got No Favors?
Nearly a year ago, the mayor pledged to identify the “stunning numbers of donors and supporters” who got nothing for their money, but he never produced any names. And last month, the mayor walked back that promise and instead said he would “give examples,” possibly “in the form of an op-ed” column that has yet to appear in print.
We are Having A Mayoral Election and Our Pols and Media Are Not Talking About the City's Hospitals Debt
With All the Corruption de Blasio's Mismanagement and Commissioners Who Failed are Overlooked
Ponteis only the latest de Blasio hire to leave a failure (NYP) If Friday’s “retirement” of Correction Commissioner Joseph Ponte seemed familiar, it’s because it follows the unceremonious exits of so many other of Mayor de Blasio’s hires. Homeless Services Commissioner Gilbert Taylor; Department of Citywide Administrative Services chief Stacey Cumberbatch; Administration for Children’s Services boss Gladys Carríon — all forced out after notorious failures.Namely: out-of-control homelessness, the OK’ing of that notorious Rivington Street nursing-home flip and massive mismanagement linked to a series of deaths of young children. Which agency will next stand revealed as horribly mismanaged — the Housing Authority? Deadly elevators, toxic mold, Legionnaires’ disease and years-long repair backlogs plague NYCHA tenants as agency management struggles to get its act together.Or Health and Hospitals? Dr. Ramanathan Raju left as head there last November. The 11-hospital system has a $776 million operating loss, faces a projected $1.1 billion deficit in 2020 — and 600 layoffs reportedly loom. The Post documented that Raju in less than three years took 52 out-of-state trips for all or part of 78 workdays. City taxpayers forked out $15,196 for 20 of those trips. Ponte’s fall was prompted by his own extensive travels, in his case with improper use of city-owned vehicles. But it’s also true that violence rose at Rikers on his watch. Yet the mayor defended Ponte for two weeks after his indefensible abuses hit the news, just as he had earlier denied the failures of Taylor and Carríon. And of course he stands by Schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña, despite the poor results of the Renewal Schools program. Nor does de Blasio ever admit that the failures of so many of his top managers reflect on him. Far from it: As Ponte announced his “retirement” Friday, the mayor was in Connecticut, picking up his son at Yale. Ironically, the mayor always (quite legally) heads up there in a city-owned vehicle.
Why Did It Take So Long Ponte Gone de Blasio Still Supports Times: Mismanagement and Dysfunction at A City Agency (Another?)
Amid Eavesdropping Accusations, City Jails Agency Official Is Fired (NYT) * Gregory Kuczinski, New York City Correction Department’s top internal affairs officer, was quietly fired this week, which comes after he was accused of eavesdropping on calls between investigators and informers on Rikers Island, the Times reports. * New York City Jails Take Another Blow: Respected Official Is Retiring (NYT)The Correction Department, which is still reeling from a series of scandals, is losing its top uniformed official, Martin Murphy.
Fake News Mayor to Speak About Fake News? What About: Ponte, Homeless, ACS, Special Agent Emails, Lawyer Lobbyists, Riverton Deed, No News Conferences, NYCLASS PAC, CONY PAC, Grade Inflation, No Building on NYCHA Property
De Blasio may be the city’s top expert in faking news (NYP) Mayor de Blasio will speak next month at a conference titled “ ‘You Are Fake News’: Truth, Lies, Politics in the Age of Trump.” He’s certainly an expert at denouncing news he doesn’t want to hear — and at faking news of his own. The whole thing should be bizarre. The sponsors are Buzzfeed and The Intercept. Buzzfeed, recall, published that infamous dossier on President Trump’s supposed ties with Russia. Intercept star Glenn Greenwald slammed it as “a totally anonymous, unverified, unvetted document filled with scurrilous and inflammatory allegations about which its own editor-in-chief says there ‘is serious reason to doubt the allegations.’ ” The host-vs.-host fireworks might be worth the $400 fee. But what will de Blasio offer? After all, the mayor has a long record of telling New Yorkers not to believe their own lying eyes — or news reports. He spent months denying that homelessness was soaring, even as The Post was running photos of out-of-control encampments, before he finally admitted the truth. Last year, he refused to take a Post reporter’s questions because he was mad over an exposé about political operatives paid by the taxpayers as “special assistants.” He said he was only “calling on real media outlets.” Back when he was actively denying the massive mismanagement at the Administration for Children’s Services, his answer to The Post’s citing details of a report from city Comptroller Scott Stringer was to accuse us of colluding with Stringer to create fake news. Every paper in town is reporting on Correction Commissioner Joseph Ponte’s misdoings, yet, before it emerged late Thursday night that Ponte would resign, the mayor insisted that the commissioner had done nothing wrong and that the facts “as described in the press” were purely subjective. The mayor’s minions staged a fake exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum to bolster his anti-crime cred. His City Hall creates YouTube videos that allege that racism explains public resistance to his homeless-shelter plans. De Blasio isn’t so much an expert on fake news as an exhibit.* De Blaiso has never really been shy about airing his displeasure with the media coverage his administration receives. That grievance has taken a variety of shapes - from polite rebuttals to the premise of a reporters' question, to limiting opportunities to ask him questions. Next month, he'll have more to say on this, when he participates in a panel discussion about fake news and the media, hosted by BuzzFeed and The Intercept, in Brooklyn. The editorial page of the New York Post - already one of his favorite targets of criticism - is eagerly awaiting the event.
Albany IDC and GOP Leaders Break the Law for Seven Senators to Give Them Extra $$$ Where is JCOPE?
Democrats in Congress Urge Democrats in Albany to Return to the Party (NYT) *
* All 18 House Democrats representing New York signed a letter demanding that the three clashing factions of their party in the state Senate reunite, so as to make Albany the seventh solid-blue state capital nationwide, the Observer reports.
Stipend Scandal Fuels Divide Among New York’s Democratic State Senators (NYT) *
New York Senator Seeks Inquiry Into ‘Apparent Abuse’ ofStipends (NYT) The State Senate’s top Democratic leader asked law enforcement on Tuesday to investigate how stipends were seemingly improperly awarded to eight senators aligned with that chamber’s rival, majority coalition.
Lulu Rises From her Cryupt of Journalism Cover-Up Because of IDC GOP Greed That Lead Them to Go Around the Law
Casey Seiler: Lulu rises from her crypt (TU) * N.Y. Senate Republicans’ counsel says stipends polsreceived after falsely claiming to be panel chairs were legal (NYDN) The opinion from counsel David Lewis further argued that the Senate Republicans did not commit a crime by submitting payroll records to the state Controller’s Office that falsely reported that the senators were committee chairs when they were actually vice chairs — positions that do not carry stipends. “The Legislature’s allocation of institutional resources to its own members, a classic example of internal administrative prerogatives is properly left to the Legislature to make, in furtherance of the duties particular to that body, without interference from the other two branches of government,” Lewis wrote.* State Senate Dems' conference costs taxpayers $2.2M a year (NYP) Taxpayers could save more than $2 million a year if it weren’t for a group of breakaway Democrats who need their own support staff in the state Senate, critics say. The Independent Democratic Conference, who vote with Republicans, pay some 40 staffers about $2.2 million a year, Senate payroll records show. “The bottom line is that money is going to a conference that doesn’t need to exist,” one critic told The Post. * Insiders say state Senate Majority Leader John Flanagan’s decision to dole out stipends meant for committee chairs to seven other lawmakers is due to a lack of legislative pay raises and the Senate’s fragile majority coalition, the Daily News’ Ken Lovett reports. * Critics say taxpayers could save money if it weren’t for the state Senate Independent Democratic Conference, which votes with the Republicans and pays about 40 staffers about $2.2 million a year, the New York Post reports. * More than 90 pension- and benefit-sweetener bills have been introduced in Albany, and if passed in the final six weeks of the legislative session, the measures could cost the state and local governments at least $200 million, the Post reports. * Lawmaker refuses bonus in midst of legality probe (NYP) With critics questioning its legality, a Republican lawmaker on Monday announced she is refusing the $12,500 bonus she’s getting as vice chair of the Committee on Crime Victims, Crime and Correction. “My office is in the process of returning these uncashed checks to the taxpayers of our state,” said state Sen. Pam Helming. * How Albany Justifies Paying Senators for Others’ Work (NYT) * Alulu of a scam: State Senate GOP breaks the rules on a corrupt scheme (NYDN) * State senators who received stipends for chairing committees when they did not technically hold that post faced a barrage of questions in Albany and state Sen. Patty Ritchie said she would consider returning some of the money, The New York Times reports.
We are Having A Mayoral Election and Our Pols and Media Are Not Talking About the City's Hospitals Debt
Our flatlining hospitals require emergency care by deBlasio (NYDN Ed) The red-raw math of keeping the city’s public hospitals open comes down to this: The money brought in by patients and their insurance, if they have it, amounts to hundreds of millions of dollars less than their care costs each year — a gap yawning toward $1.8 billion in 2020. If you prefer metaphors of the medical variety, this patient — 11 public hospitals and network of clinics — is on the table in the ER, hemorrhaging red ink. And only now, after hours of all-too-timid interventions by Mayor de Blasio, is a physician in the room prepared to operate. He is interim Health + Hospitals president and private hospital veteran Stanley Brezenoff, and he is scrambling to make up for precious time squandered through half-measure mayoral reforms. Having already pink-slipped 73 of the 46,000-employee workforce, he anticipates downsizing now by hundreds more.
With All the Corruption de Blasio's Mismanagement and Commissioners Who Failed are Overlooked
Why Did It Take So Long Ponte Gone de Blasio Still Supports Times: Mismanagement and Dysfunction at A City Agency (Another?)
Amid Eavesdropping Accusations, City Jails Agency Official Is Fired (NYT) * Gregory Kuczinski, New York City Correction Department’s top internal affairs officer, was quietly fired this week, which comes after he was accused of eavesdropping on calls between investigators and informers on Rikers Island, the Times reports. * New York City Jails Take Another Blow: Respected Official Is Retiring (NYT)The Correction Department, which is still reeling from a series of scandals, is losing its top uniformed official, Martin Murphy.
EmbattledDOC Commissioner Joseph Ponte retires (NYP) Departing City Jails Chief: ‘They Just Want to Hammer Somebody Forever’ (NYT) * De Blasio concedes that correction boss Ponte ‘retired’as DOI probes the 35 work days he spent at Maine home (NYDN) * The island of Mr. de Blasio (NYDN Ed) Over the vocal protests of a mayor who believed his appointee to run the city’s violence-racked jails could do no wrong, Joe Ponte, the city’s correction commissioner, has resigned. We say good riddance to him — and, to Mayor de Blasio, wise up. The final straw for Ponte was an ethical one. He got caught spending months of last year hundreds of miles away in Maine, shuttled there and back at city expense, on the city clock, in his city-issued SUV, while mayhem overtook Rikers Island. But Ponte had committed fireable offenses long before, ones that grew not out of incompetent management but out of pie-in-the-sky policy reforms de Blasio championed. But by ordering up through the Board of Correction a rapid end to solitary for all inmates under age 22 — a group known to commit violence far more than any other — de Blasio and City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito replaced one human rights nightmare with another. Now that jailhouse predators know that consequences will be little to none, inmates are twice as likely as they were before to attack other inmates — and twice as likely to victimize correction officers. Even with a hiring spree expanding guards to a number greater than inmates, and elaborate efforts to house gang members far from one another and fill young inmates’ days with uplifting programs, slashings and stabbings committed with smuggled weapons have spiked.
Fake News Mayor to Speak About Fake News? What About: Ponte, Homeless, ACS, Special Agent Emails, Lawyer Lobbyists, Riverton Deed, No News Conferences, NYCLASS PAC, CONY PAC, Grade Inflation, No Building on NYCHA Property
Albany IDC and GOP Leaders Break the Law for Seven Senators to Give Them Extra $$$ Where is JCOPE?
IDC's Jeff Klein: "If I have anything to do with it,
John Flanagan is going to be the leader for a long, long time"
Mayor de Blasio praises breakaway Dem days after partyurges unity in Albany (NYDN) Just days after national Dems called for party unity in Albany,
Mayor de Blasio heaped praise on state Sen. Jeff Klein — leader of the rogue
Independent Democrat Conference that governs in a bloc with Republicans. The mayor and Klein were celebrating the
Senate passage of an IDC-backed bill to expand a senior citizen property-tax
exemption.
Democrats in Congress Urge Democrats in Albany to Return to the Party (NYT) *
* All 18 House Democrats representing New York signed a letter demanding that the three clashing factions of their party in the state Senate reunite, so as to make Albany the seventh solid-blue state capital nationwide, the Observer reports.
Simcha Felder Tells Fellow Rogue Democrats to Rejoin the Party Fold (NYT) The
call for a breakaway faction of Democrats in the State Senate to abandon its
Republican allies and rejoin the party’s fold picked up a surprising supporter
on Wednesday: Senator Simcha Felder, a Brooklyn Democrat who also sides with
the Republicans. Mr. Felder sent a letter urging Senator Jeffrey D.
Klein, the leader of the faction, the eight-member Independent Democratic
Conference, to “unconditionally and publicly rejoin the Democrats.”
Stipend Scandal Fuels Divide Among New York’s Democratic State Senators (NYT) *
New York Senator Seeks Inquiry Into ‘Apparent Abuse’ ofStipends (NYT) The State Senate’s top Democratic leader asked law enforcement on Tuesday to investigate how stipends were seemingly improperly awarded to eight senators aligned with that chamber’s rival, majority coalition.
Lulu Rises From her Cryupt of Journalism Cover-Up Because of IDC GOP Greed That Lead Them to Go Around the Law
