Meet Eric Adams agents of the city committee

 

AOC drops out of EDC's Sunnyside Yards development committee

 

QNS


The Sunnyside Yards Steering Committee, organized by the Economic Development Corp. (EDC), officially lost two members in Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Justice for All Coalition Chair Sylvia White.

The EDC is leading a multibillion-dollar effort to build new land atop Sunnyside Yards, a 180-acre rail yard considered one of the busiest in the country, partly owned by Amtrak, MTA and the city. 

They created the Steering Committee with citywide and local leaders to advise and guide them through their Master Planning process.

But after several months of the EDC’s community outreach portion of the process, many Queens residents and leaders are protesting the project and calling for the city to instead use the funds they want to allocate for the project toward the community’s more immediate needs.

Justice for All Coalition (JFC), a community organization based in Astoria and Long Island City, is one of the organizations leading the fight against Sunnyside Yards. In November 2019, they sent letters to several elected officials asking that they step down from the EDC’s Steering Committee.

In response, Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer and Ocasio-Cortez sent a joint letter, obtained by The City, in which they emphasized that their roles in the Steering Committee didn’t “imply endorsement of the project” and that the EDC’s current proposal “reflects a misalignment of priorities.”

Senator Michael Gianaris also sent a letter, stating that while his name and office appeared in the  Steering Committee, he never accepted the invitation. Gianaris added that although the planning process includes some public input, “that input does not appear to be reflected in the public facing materials released about the project and rather tinkers around the edges providing a few token benefits.”

On Jan. 24, Ocasio-Cortez sent the EDC her letter of resignation. She wrote that while she understands that the ambitious project requires a “lengthy, complex, and multi-stakeholder driven planning process,” she felt the need to resign due to the project’s proposal.

“Despite the many outreach meetings that you have cited, I have yet to see sufficient inclusion of the feedback from those meetings in the current plan,” Ocasio-Cortez wrote in the letter. “This feedback, both from community members and from my office, includes but is not limited to community land trusts, truly affordable housing, and public and green infrastructure of the scale necessary to meet our 21st-century housing and environmental justice challenges.”

Pay to play (or be an appointee)

From the Daily News:

Companies owned by two big contributors de Blasio appointed to VIP slots had serious integrity issues before the mayor rewarded them for their money-raising, a Daily News review has found.

One co-owned a company the city had declared lacked “good character, honesty and integrity,” while the other owed the city $1.2 million in lease payments and fees.

Not a problem. The mayor appointed both to several advisory boards.

The two showed up on an internal spreadsheet of top donors, lobbyists and other New York power players up for mayoral appointments to unpaid boards and commissions revealed by the Daily News Monday.

Businesswoman Gina Argento made the list after raising $97,780 for the mayor through bundled checks from friends and employees of her firm, Broadway Stage.

And in January 2014, she was first in line to write checks totaling $50,000 for the Campaign for One New York, the fund de Blasio set up to support his causes.

Most of Argento’s checks to de Blasio started arriving Oct. 1, 2013 — a month before he was elected and not long after the city Business Integrity Commission found a firm she co-owned, Luna Lighting Inc., “lacks good character, honesty and integrity.”

In May 2013, the commission rejected Luna’s request for a waste hauling license on two grounds: Luna had paid an $18,000 fine after admitting it repeatedly illegally hauled construction debris and ignored city demands to pay off a $620,000 IRS tax lien.

A little over a year later, de Blasio put Argento on his Fund for the Advancement of New York City, a nonprofit run by his wife, Chirlane McCray, that raises private funds for city programs.

And he put her on his committee to try to lure the Democratic National Convention to Brooklyn, and the city’s Workforce Investment Board, which advises the city on workforce issues and oversaw a $65.5 million budget in 2014.

It’s unclear whether Argento paid the back taxes. She did not return repeat calls seeking comment.

On Tuesday, mayoral spokesman Peter Kadushan declined to address the integrity panel’s license rejection, stating only that Argento was put on the Workforce Board “because of her experience in the film and television industry and years as a small-business owner who has created local jobs.”

Ok. I exposed this 2 1/2 years ago, so what took the Daily News so long to figure this out? Have they also figured out that she's married to John Ciafone of ridiculous canopy fame?

Attendance not important to council members

From Gotham Gazette:

Gotham Gazette monitored 13 City Council hearings over a ten-day period, from late February into early March, collecting data that shows more often than not, the committee chair is the only Council member that remains to hear testimony from members of the public at the end of a hearing (7 of 13); more often than not, at least one Council member had two committee hearings scheduled for the same time (8 of 13); and committee hearings never start at their scheduled time, with the earliest start time nine minutes after the scheduled time and the latest start time 54 minutes after. The average start time of the 13 hearings was 23 minutes past scheduled start.

It can be frustrating for members of the public to miss work and spend hours at committee hearings waiting for their turn to testify, only to find that most Council members have left before they’ve had a chance to speak. Yet to Council members, leaving hearings early or arriving late is often seen as necessary, either due to conflicting hearings or meetings, or to take care of something in their home districts.

(Or to meet with lobbyists.)

Response received from CB2

08-31-15 CB 2 to JOR Response to Email Request by Queens Post

CB2 finally replied to John O'Reilly, and you can read the whole exchange and his response over at Sunnyside Post:

Richards to take over zoning committee

From the Daily News:

Queens City Councilman Donovan Richards was named the new head of the Council’s zoning committee on Friday.

The influential panel has authority over all zoning changes in the city — including a slew of neighborhood rezonings that Mayor de Blasio is soon expected to start pushing to make way for his affordable housing plan.

Richards, a Democrat who represents Far Rockaway, takes over from longtime chairman Mark Weprin, who quit his seat to take a post in the Cuomo administration.

Queens delegation winners & losers

Here are the new City Council committee assignments, in order of importance:

The big winner

Jimmy Van Bramer - Majority Leader
Cultural Affairs, Libraries & International Intergroup Relations, Chair

Sits on commitees:
Leadership, Finance, Health, Parks & Recreation, Public Housing, Transportation
________________

Julissa Ferreras
Finance, Chair

Sits on committees:
Consumer Affairs, Cultural Affairs, Libraries & International Intergroup Relations, Economic Development, Public Safety, Standards & Ethics
________________

Danny Dromm
Education Committee, Chair

Sits on commitees:
Civil Rights, Civil Service & Labor, Immigration, Oversight & Investigations
________________

Donovan Richards
Environmental Protection, Chair

Sits on committees:
Economic Development, General Welfare, Land Use, Public Housing, Recovery and Resiliency, Zoning & Franchises
________________

Peter Koo
Landmarks, Public Siting & Maritime Uses Subcommittee, Chair

Sits on committees:
Contracts, Cultural Affairs, Libraries & International Intergroup Relations, Health, Immigration, Land Use, Small Business
________________

Daneek Miller
Civil Service & Labor, Chair

Sits on committees:
Contracts, Economic Development, Finance, Transportation
________________

Elizabeth Crowley
Chair, Fire & Criminal Justice

Sits on committees:
Civil Service & Labor, Community Development, Cultural Affairs, Libraries & International Intergroup Relations, Mental Health, Developmental Disability, Alcoholism, Drug Abuse & Disability Services, Women's Issues
________________

Karen Koslowitz
State & Federal Legislation, Chair

Sits on committees:
Aging, Consumer Affairs, Economic Development, Housing & Buildings, Small Business, Women's Issues
________________

Mark Weprin
Zoning & Franchises Subcommittee, Chair

Sits on committees:
Economic Development, Education, Land Use, Technology, Transportation
________________

Eric Ulrich
Veterans, Chair

Sits on committees:
Environmental Protection, Housing & Buildings, Recovery and Resiliency, Small Business
________________

Costas Constantinides
Libraries Subcommittee, Chair (subcommittee of one)

Sits on committees:
Civil Service & Labor, Contracts, Cultural Affairs, Libraries & International Intergroup Relations, Environmental Protection, Oversight & Investigations, Sanitation & Solid Waste Management, Transportation
________________

Ruben Wills
Drug Abuse Subcommittee, Chair (subcommittee of one)

Sits on committees:
Contracts, Economic Development, General Welfare, Small Business
________________

Paul Vallone
Subcommittee on Senior Centers, Chair (subcommittee of one)

Sits on commitees (ranking last member):
Aging (because of the Subcommittee), Fire & Criminal Justice, Mental Health, Developmental Disability, Alcoholism, Drug Abuse & Disability Services, Small Business, Veterans, Waterfronts
________________

Rory Lancman

Sits on committees:
Consumer Affairs, Environmental Protection, Fire & Criminal Justice, Juvenile Justice, Oversight & Investigations, Public Safety

Some of them ain't too happy.

What was promised

From the Queens Tribune:

Sources say the Progressive Caucus was originally split, 12-9, between Mark-Viverito and Dan Garodnick, with Garodnick getting the support of County Leadership.

That’s when the calls started, with the Progressive Caucus telling Council members that they had the votes, and that if a Council member pushed back, those committees would be gone.

“If you’re not with them, you’re not getting a committee,” QConf was told.

Among the promises made to the Queens delegation, Julissa Ferreras (D-East Elmhurst) would be named Majority Leader. Jimmy Van Bramer (D-Woodside) would head up the Finance Committee and Daniel Dromm (D-Jackson Heights) would get the Education Committee.

Daneek Miller and Donovan Richards (D-Laurelton) were also reportedly promised committee slots, although specifics were unknown as of press time. melissa mark-viverito

“The other three we know, because they were openly talking about it,” a source said.

Republican Councilman Eric Ulrich (R-Ozone Park) was also reportedly promised a committee chairmanship in exchange for his support of Mark-Viverito.

Sources within the real estate industry, who supported Ulrich in his most recent election battle, have expressed disappointment with Ulrich. The sources say that they feel betrayed, since Ulrich promised he would stand against the Progressive Caucus, but instead went back on his word for a promised chairmanship.

QConf was also told that David Greenfield (D-Brooklyn) was offered the Land Use Committee as a means of swaying Brooklyn.

Lipstick on a pig

UPDATE: Chuck Apelian has called a CB7 Buildings Committee meeting for 5:30pm tonight.. Also, a multi-agency task force is sweeping through Phase 1 closing down businesses.

Reliable sources say that Queens Community Board 7 – whose Building and Zoning Committee voted last week 7-2 to deny the Willets West mall/Willets Point ULURP application – has contacted members of that committee and instructed them to set aside time beginning at 5:30PM this afternoon, Monday, May 13, in case the committee needs to convene again for an emergency meeting prior to the CB7 public hearing to be held tonight at 7:00PM.

If such an emergency committee meeting occurs, it can only mean one thing: That powers-that-be do not accept last Wednesday's "No" vote to deny the Willets West mall/Willets Point application, and want a last-ditch opportunity to strong-arm the committee into re-voting to approve the application with "conditions" prior to the start of the public hearing. The seeds for this were planted during last Wednesday's committee meeting, when board members who voted in the minority discussed with committee Chair Chuck Apelian the possibility of continuing discussions with the City and the developers, and possibly re-convening the committee prior to Monday's public hearing.

Last Wednesday's vote was duly taken after the committee had convened four separate times for a total of roughly 13 hours, during which the City and the developers had carte blanche to present whatever information they wished in support of the project. Having heard everything, the committee then voted to deny the application. If the committee does convene again on Monday, the application certainly will be unchanged, so there would seem to be no legitimate basis to solicit a re-vote, when a vote has already been taken. Doing so anyway would be just another example of project proponents stopping at nothing, as they have done before, to shamelessly push this Bloomberg legacy project.

With the CB7 committee having done its duty and made its decision, why should there be any interest in facilitating a reversal? Well, you should all know that Harry Giannoulis, a lobbyist for the Parkside Group (as well as former TLC Commissioner), has had private discussions with Chuck Apelian after committee meetings regarding Willets Point. Interestingly, neither Wachtel, Masyr & Missry, LLP nor Parkside have  listed Community Board 7 as a lobbying target as required by law. This document shows that people who lobby community boards must register as lobbyists. And once registered, the requirement is to disclose the "targets" of the lobbying on the periodic reports, which are filed 6 times per year. Check Flushing Willets Point Corona LDC's 2008 reports to see correct disclosure of "targets", including Apelian and Kelty. If Parkside is lobbying CB7, then everyone is entitled to an honest disclosure of that fact -- not more concealment, as Claire Shulman did during 2008. (Shulman's records were audited and corrected after Willets Point United shed light on her shenanigans.)

In addition, I have been informed by multiple CB7 members that there have been a series of clandestine meetings between a lot of them and Parkside lobbyists at the North Flushing Senior Center, a non-profit founded and funded by late State Senator Leonard and current State Senator Toby Stavisky, parents of Parkside co-founder Evan Stavisky. Hello, conflict of interest?

If this isn't enough proof that the EDC, Parkside and the Wilpons are cooking something up behind the scenes, then how about this: The Real Deal posted an accurate story on their website last Friday about the outcome of last Wednesday's CB7 committee vote, and then the next day deleted it and replaced it with a line of B.S. from "a spokesperson for the project" stating that the CB7 committee "voted to not vote" and did not vote on the project itself, which is patently false. A CB7 member rebutted the ridiculous assertion in the article's comments section and now The Real Deal has egg on its face.

I guess the bottom line here is that last week's vote seemed too good to be true...and we'll find out tonight if it was.

Prediction: Either there will be a hastily called committee meeting prior to the full board meeting to discuss conditions for voting yes, or Chuck Apelian will pull a list out of his pocket after the public hearing and make a motion to vote yes on them. The latter would be in blatant violation of the Open Meetings Law, but that never stopped him before.

With all this crap going on it begs the question:

WHERE THE HELL IS THE FBI????

I'll allow the project opponents to have the last word:

The bigger their mouths, the harder they fall

From the Daily News:

Queens City Councilman Dan Halloran was out of his district but in his element as he laid out the political facts of life for the man sitting across from him at a Manhattan restaurant.

“You can’t do anything without f-----g money,” the blustery Republican said.

“That’s politics, that’s politics, it’s all about how much,” Halloran said. “Not about whether or will, it’s about how much, and that’s our politicians in New York, they’re all like that, all like that.”

What Halloran didn’t know on Sept. 7, 2012 was that the man he was confiding in was working for the feds — and apparently wearing a wire.

Halloran’s ignorance was clear as he dove into a Devil’s bargain with a confidential witness dangling campaign cash for a congressional bid, court papers revealed.

Halloran emerged from the meeting $7,500 richer, the papers state.

“Money is what greases the wheels — good, bad, or indifferent,” Halloran said.

Twenty days later, it was Halloran’s turn to make good on his promises. And this time an undercover FBI agent posing as a rich real estate developer was in on the Sept. 27, 2012 meeting at a Manhattan hotel.

The G-man came bearing $6,500 in checks for Halloran — and the cooperating witness came with a request for $20,000 from the City Council’s discretionary fund.

“Absolutely, that’s easy, that’s not even an issue, not even an issue,” a clueless Halloran said. “In fact ... I might even be able to get you more.”

Halloran said he could “call in some favors” with other members of the council.

From The Politicker:

“These allegations represent a reprehensible abuse of the public’s trust,” Council Speaker Christine Quinn said in a statement earlier this afternooon. “If true, then the full weight of the legal system should be brought to bear on all parties implicated. The matter will be immediately referred to the Council’s Standards and Ethics Committee.”

Jamie McShane, a spokesman for Council Speaker Christine Quinn, confirmed that the City Council rules committee, as well as council members, will vote to strip Mr. Halloran of his numerous committee assignments. Mr. Halloran will also no longer be able to making funding allocation decisions for his district, which will instead be made by Ms. Quinn’s office in consultation with the Queens Delegation Chair, Councilman Leroy Comrie.

Carrion has missing money issues

From the Daily News:

Mayoral hopeful Adolfo Carrion may be in more hot water over his political finances.

As Bronx borough president, he created a political fund that regularly made large cash disbursements in apparent violation of state election law, the Daily News has learned.

The existence of the political committee, BXNY PAC, was not widely known until now. It received $172,000 in contributions, mostly from developers and other business interests with dealings in the Bronx, records show.

Carrion’s committee made cash payments of $500 — $15,800 in all — but didn’t specify what the money was for, records obtained by The News show.

The fund spent another $3,380 on unspecified “expenses” and $2,789 more to pay off a credit card bill, again without listing the charges that were incurred.

Board of Elections spokesman Tom Connolly said it appears that the PAC violated laws that forbid political committees from distributing more than $100 in cash and that require them to detail the purpose of all spending over $50.

Quinn to hold meeting that no one can attend

(click photo for larger view)

"Go to the Council calendar linked below, and chose "This Week" from the drop-down menu. You will see that every single Council meeting and Committee hearing has been canceled -- EXCEPT for the Economic Development Committee's oversight hearing on the EDC merger, which is still on for Thursday.

http://legistar.council.nyc.gov/Calendar.aspx


Is this for real???

How will they hold the hearing, with no electricity and no elevators in
250 Broadway? Are they pulling our chain?" - anonymous

Of course it's for real. How else can Bloomberg and Quinn protect their favorite tweeding vehicle? How else can the agency's relationship with Claire Shulman escape scrutiny? What fellow tweeder on this board will speak up about any of this? None of them.

Schneiderman hopes Assembly removes Lopez

From the Daily News:

State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman says the Assembly has the power under state law to boot Assemblyman Vito Lopez over allegations of sexual harassment.

“If the Assembly wanted to, they can convene a committee,” Schneiderman told the Daily News, explaining the removal process. “The only requirement is that there is an investigation by a committee that issues a report to the full house.” A vote is then held.

The Assembly Ethics Committee has already reviewed and substantiated two claims of sexual harassment that former staffers made against Lopez, the once-powerful boss of the Brooklyn Democratic Party. But Schneiderman, who became the latest high-ranking Democrat to call on Lopez to resign, said a new committee must conduct a second investigation before the Assembly could hold a vote to expel.

There is recent precedent. When Schneiderman was a state senator in 2010, he headed a committee that recommended the expulsion of then-Sen. Hiram Monserrate, who had been convicted of misdemeanor assault on his girlfriend. The full Senate voted to get rid of him, making Monserrate the first sitting state lawmaker to be expelled since 1861.

A lawmaker is automatically expelled from the state Legislature if convicted of a felony. Lopez has not been charged with a crime. Monserrate’s expulsion, however, was officially linked to the fact his actions damaged the “integrity and reputation” of the Senate and showed a lack of fitness to serve.

“You do not need to have a criminal conviction for an expulsion,” Schneiderman said. “That was not the basis for our expulsion of Monserrate.”

Great, now how do we can Schneiderman for not only knowing about this, but going along with it and saying nothing until the shit hit the fan?

Why is the press giving the state's biggest watchdog a pass for his involvement in this mess? And since Cuomo is saying it was an open secret deal, why not investigate him, too?

Beginning of the end for Vito?

From CBS New York:

Stunning allegations of sexual harassment have been levied against one of the city’s most powerful Democrats. Assemblyman and Brooklyn Democratic Leader Vito Lopez has been censured, stripped of his committee chairmanship and barred from employing young people.

Lopez has most frequently been seen with a bevy of New York City politicians, including Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who wooed Lopez like nobody’s business for an endorsement, CBS 2′s Marcia Kramer reported.

But now another kind of ‘wooing” — the alleged sexual harassment of two female employees of the State Assembly — has led to the downfall of Lopez.

In a stunning move that has sent shock waves through the city and the capital, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver censured Lopez, stripped him of his Housing Committee chairmanship and seniority and barred him from employing interns or anyone under the age of 21.

In a letter to Lopez, Silver said that allegations of verbal and physical misconduct during June and July of this year were “credible.”

“There were multiple incidents of unwelcome physical conduct toward one complainant,” Silver wrote. “Wherein you put your hand on her leg, she removed your hand, and you then put your hand between her upper thighs, putting your hand as far up between her legs as you could go.’

Eliminating governmental dead weight

From NY World:

Buried deep in New York City’s laws lurk obscure bits of bureaucracy like the Tattoo Regulation Advisory Committee and the Horse Drawn Cab Stand Report. Many have endured for decades in name only, while others carry on, with or without a reason for being.

These dusty corners of government are about to get a housecleaning. This Friday a new Report and Advisory Board Review Commission — that’s right, a commission on commissions — will hold its first public hearing, reviewing 21 mandated reports and boards that city agencies say have outlived their usefulness.

The commission consists of three members of the City Council — Speaker Chris Quinn, Gale Brewer and Leroy Comrie — and four appointees of the mayor, including his budget, technology and legal chiefs. By a majority vote, they will be able to suspend any or all of the reports and task forces. The Council will then vote to ratify the commission’s recommendations.

As requested by a majority of city voters last fall, the group will review all 175 reports and advisory bodies that have piled up in the City Charter and administrative code, the two blocks of law that govern New York City. Most are vestiges from past crises and administrations — like the Arson Strike Force, initiated in 1978 by the City Council and run until 1993 by the Fire Department in cooperation with the city’s police department and housing, welfare and finance agencies.