City Council members are taking cabs, buying MetroCards, hiring photographers and paying pricey consultants on the taxpayers' dime, the Daily News has learned.Lawmakers spent $7,364 on MetroCards last fiscal year, $11,234 on photographers, $254,480 on consultants and $17,502 on travel, which includes black cars, E-ZPasses and cabs, documents show.
The perks are allowed under funding each member receives for staffing and other office matters. They have wide latitude on how to spend the funds, and it's one of the few areas not being reduced in the upcoming year.
City Council members get $277G for little extras, on top of $112G salary
Nearly 60 past and present MTA board members - many of them millionaires many times over - get free, taxpayer-funded E-ZPass tags for life.
Not only are taxpayers footing the bill for tens of thousands of dollars in free rides, but many of the well-heeled honchos get tags for other cars they own - as many as eight for former Metropolitan Transportation Authority Chairman Peter Kalikow.
The multimillionaire developer gets the multiple electronic tags so he doesn't have to switch them from car to car in his private fleet.
Kalikow has so many E-ZPass tags because he has alot of cars - "45 or 48" of them, he said, many vintage or custom-made, and each worth a small fortune.
Kalikow & MTA cronies get passes for life - and YOU pay
4 comments:
Free passes....eh?
Excuse me while I pass some wind in the general direction of city hall!
Jack Nicholson in the role of the "Joker" from "Batman":
"What this town needs is a good enema"!
I wonder how much of the OTPS money is going to The Parkside Group for PR consulting expenses?
So Mr. Eric "I was for congestion pricing before I was against it" Gioia is making us foot the bill for his cab rides? What nerve! Take the freaking subway, Doorman!
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