Saturday, August 8, 2009

New Jersey's been busted. When will New York be?

From CBS880:

Federal authorities couldn't have picked a more fertile target than New Jersey's Manhattan-facing waterfront towns for a fake cash-for-development undercover sting, longtime observers say.

The majority of those arrested in a sweeping FBI bust that netted 44 people on corruption and money laundering charges had ties, real or feigned, to development along the Hudson River.

The criminal complaints paint a picture of building and zoning departments where influence, connections and payoffs determine who gets a prompt hearing and a smooth approval process on their applications and who is left at the mercy of a process so seemingly dysfunctional that developers sometimes budget for bribes.

Jersey City, where more than a dozen of those arrested in the corruption probe either lived, worked or had connections, has been at the epicenter of a development boom that has transformed former polluted industrial rail yards and warehouses into gleaming waterfront high-rises with unparalleled views of the Manhattan skyline.

Certain developers have made fortunes off the city and received tax abatements that continue today, even though there's little open space left along the waterfront, where luxury housing and office buildings housing large Manhattan firms have earned it the nickname "Wall Street West."

"Everybody knows developers run New Jersey," said Joe Morris of the Interfaith Community Organization, which has been pushing for environmental remediation of contaminated land in Jersey City. "The developers run local government in every place in the state."

Jersey City councilman Steven Fulop said developers raise a lot of money for politicians in New Jersey, something he said should change.

"When you have that kind of toxic mix of money and political influence, there's the potential for what could be perceived as deal making that's not in the best interest of the community," Fulop said.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yes, is it not funny that every year its seems a batch of NJ pols get harvested a crop of corn.

Nothing in NY. Funny, we are downwind, too.

Now there is one big difference: the people in NJ seem to ACT UP a lot.

In NY we either apologize for them, or in good peasant fashion, just shrug our shoulders and passively put our hands in our pockets.

Capital City of the World my ass. More like Doormat Central.

Suzannah B. Troy artist said...

I sent out http://bloombergnewzzz.blogspot.com/
and my YouTube link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tzo1tvBFZWw to the press and activist lawyers asking for Term Limits votes by New York City Council members to be tossed because they are tainted do to corruption. We have 3 guilty pleas, and the rest the press has so far let us know about being investigated all voted to extend term limits.

Since I sent out the email to the press they have almost gone silent reporting any information on the on going investigation at City Hall.

Larry Seabrook and Kendall Stewart aides pleaded guilty and surprise Seabrook and Stewart claim innocent which is hard to believe. Most people agree the aides are taking the fall for the council members but either way their votes are tainted.

The term limits votes are tainted and never should have happened in the first place.

Also the city council members including Quinn, Katz and others took campaign money from developers that appears to be kickbacks for pork and looks like a commission. The lists of developers donating campaign money should include if they owe DOB or ECB fines and if they do they should not be able to donate to politicians doing their dirty work instead of politicians protecting the people of NY from shady developers.

Instead of donating to campaigns they should be paying their fines and being respectful to the communities city wide which these politicos are supposedly representing.


My newest YouTube calls for Mike Bloomberg and his mini-me Christine Quinn to be drug tested or impeached or because they give out raises in the midst of a recession when New Yorkers are getting laid off, taking pay cuts, fired and the employment rate continues to rise.

Vote Bloomberg out of office.

I want Tony Avella for mayor.

thanks Queens Crap,
Suzannah B. Troy
www.mayorbloombergkingofnewyork.blogspot.com

Taxpayer said...

Right after Commissar Death and Taxes is defeated, he will wreak his infantile vengeance tantrum on all those around him who were supposed to prevent the defeat.

His revenge will take the form of turning in all his cronies to Lev Dassin Acting United States Attorney - Southern District of New York.

If you have some useful information to put these people away now, or to convict the Commissar, see: http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/nys/contacts.html for contact info.

Then, do your duty. Contact this fellow. He's your employee. Keep him busy.

All of those deputy mayors and commissioners surely have plenty to say after all these years. They won't talk until their jobs start to disappear. Help make that happen.

Anonymous said...

WANTED
8 dollars
Lincolm Tunnel
Holdan Tunnel
GWB
toll