"As of today, April 15 (Tax Day) 2010, Community board 7 has once again chosen to ignore the "Community" it represents. We at the Malba Gardens Civic Association submitted a FOIL (FREEDOM OF INFORMATION LAW) request to view a biased survey sent out under protest. This survey was sent out in order to vote on a seriously dangerous situation regarding our residential streets, in effect pitting neighbor against neighbor in a contest over safety vs. convenience. According to the Committee on Open Government, CB 7 had five days to respond to our request. CB 7 sent an email acknowledging receipt of the request on April 8th 2010, which would make today five business days. When Councilman Halloran's office contacted Marilyn Bitterman about viewing the surveys and what the results were, she informed them that she would not release the information until after the committee saw the results at their next scheduled meeting. I am a member of the same committee and was never given the opportunity to help compose the survey letter, the exact number of homes involved, the exact blocks including side streets involved, nor was I given any time to view letter CB 7 had prepared. When I finally was able to view the letter, we immediately sent a letter requesting the wording be changed. In typical CB 7 fashion, they ignored our emails. After several requests the response was "SURVEY WAS SENT". So after the March 26 deadline for responses, we FOIL requested to view returned surveys and received the acknowledgment email. After the legally binding five days I put in a call to CB 7 following the advice of Robert Freeman from Committee on Open Government. When I asked Ms. Bitterman about our request she proceeded to tell me "No one is going to see the surveys until the committee convenes, and that is final". I asked who the Appeals officer was at the Community Board and she informed me she did not know. I then asked her if she was denying my FOIL request to which she responded, “No I sent you an email acknowledging your request”. Well acknowledging a request is not the same as granting it. Today, April 16, 2010 I receive a phone call from the chairman of the Committee (still no official written response) who proceeds to tell me he does not know who the appeals officer is and that no one is going to see the surveys until the committee meets.
Under the Freedom of Information Law, my organization was to have been granted the opportunity to view the returned statements. “Community Board” 7 had five business days to respond, they chose not to. As with our first meeting with CB 7 on this issue when, after claiming that he was representing Whitestone Boosters, (a local beach club) and not CB 7. Chairman Kelty was then invited to a Back Door meeting with DOT Commissioner McCarthy. When I opposed to this I was told By vice Chair Appelian that Mr. Kelty was the CB Chair and therefore privy to the closed door meeting. This is typical of CB 7 and is an outrage, a citizen is shut out of the process and Civic Associations are denied access to what should legally available to all.
WHERE IS THE OPEN GOVERNMENT AND WHY ARE THEY ALLOWED TO GET AWAY WITH IT?" - Alfredo Centol, Malba Gardens Civic Association
Foil Request to See Surveys
_________________________________________________________
The following is unrelated and in addition to the above-described experiences:
"I recently submitted a Records Access Request (the "Request"), pursuant to FOIL, to CB7. However, rather than disclose the requested records, CB7 deliberately destroyed them.
CB7 District Manager, Marilyn Bitterman, responded via email: "Once the minutes are typed the short hand notes are thrown out...
CB7's destruction of the records despite being aware of the pending Request for those records, appears to be contrary to FOIL; contrary to Section 240.65 of the Penal Law; and may also be contrary to Section 1133 of the New York City Charter, which mandates the preservation of records for specified minimum periods of time. I understand that a person found guilty of a violation of Section 240.65 of the Penal Law may serve up to fifteen days in jail and/or be fined up to $250.00.
CB7's policy is that it will not disclose the original hand-written minutes notes of meetings, but will only disclose minutes in typed form which are subsequently prepared. Meanwhile, CB7 also apparently exploits the typing process as an opportunity to edit and sanitize the minutes, resulting in final typed minutes that typically are devoid of any content that is unflattering to CB7. Such is the case with the typed minutes of the January 11, 2010 public meeting during which CB7 determined the composition of its executive committee. A direct comparison of the final typed minutes with the original hand-written minutes notes would illustrate the extent to which the typed minutes are edited and sanitized. But such comparison is not possible, because CB7 has destroyed the original hand-written minutes notes. Moreover, CB7 destroyed those records, despite being aware that they were responsive to a pending Request made pursuant to FOIL." - Robert LoScalzo, WhitestoneAll this comes on the heels of new Sunshine Laws!
49 comments:
This is going to get juicy.
Get rid of the Community Boards.
G U I L T Y ! ! ! !
Throw them all to the curb as they've done to the community.
BRING IN THE FEDS!
It's the only way to guarantee that this WILL NOT be swept under the rug in the usual political fashion!
I'm greatly disappointed.
They always say to , "Follow the money".
Well..."follow the buck" Chuck Apelian has a lot of explaining to do.
Is there any truth in a "rumor" that CB7's district manager Bitterman has received some "perks" in the past from Wellington Chen (TDC, Fultonex, F&T)?
I agree fully with #2.
If this is the kind of "representation" that the community gets from community boards, then we're better off without them!
In this case I agree with Mayor Bloomberg. Dump them and save NYC a lot of money for their rent and staff's salaries.
Maybe we can use the savings to keep our libraries, etc. open.
Apelian has held his "job" too damn long to be fully trusted any more.
I'm putting in a call to the director of the borough's community boards.
And in case he's also on the take...to the FBI as well!
Their local office is located at Queens B'lvd & Union T'pke. in case anyone wants to drop in and "drop a dime" on any of your local CBs or a particular CB member!
Be a responsible citizen and participate or you wind up getting what you pay for with your apathy!
CB#7 is the crossroads for covert racism.
They favor the interests of Asians with money to pour into political campaigns over poorer people of color who can not afford to put that kind of money into the political cookie jar.
It looks like time and the elements have been busy shredding Marilyn.
Retire before you're indicted!
What about Halloran? An Attorney who doesn't know the FOIL law and or how to get the information? This guy did with one phone call? Hope he isn't protecting the CB and or with them. Dan, This neighborhood got together behind you , you need to do the right thing.
nice tribune-style journalism crapper. nothing from the other side. i love how all the commenters are happy to shit on the fuckers at CB7 without giving them a fair shot at responding. did uhire that assbag orovic as an intern?
i love how all the commenters are happy to shit on the fuckers at CB7 without giving them a fair shot at responding.
Who's stopping them, troll?
If CB7 wants to send me a response, I'll be more than happy to print it. I don't see how they could possibly come up with an explanation for this, though.
What dangerous situation was the survey about, that it pitted "neighbor against neighbor in a contest over safety vs. convenience"? Can you get a pdf of the survey up?
I'm calling bullshit on Robert LoScalzo's complaint. You want the nitty gritty of a meeting, show up. They're open to the public. If it's behind closed doors, challenge it. It's your right. Even unedited minutes are completely useless.
You really have no clue what you are talking about. He was at the meeting. He wants to see if the notes taken adequately reflect the count that was reported. I'm sure there was a difference, otherwise the originals would not have been destroyed. Formal complaints have been or soon will be filed and when the results are known, I will post them here.
The CB has 5 days to acknowledge the receipt of the FOIL request and give a reasonable time line for fulfilling it. Seems like bitterman did half her job.
When the records are readily available and they are clearly public, there is no justification for delaying access to them. FOIL regulations require Bitterman to "promptly" grant access to the records, but contrary to the regulation Bitterman is not doing so. CB7 is not entitled to impose an arbitrary delay before granting access to the records, but that is exactly what CB7 is doing.
Also note how CB7 does "not know" who its appeals officer is, although CB7 is required to have an appeals officer. Lunacy.
CB7 is the poster-child for the elimination of community boards.
Omigod let's hang them all. Get a life you morons. None of you here can shine Gene Kelty or Chuck Apelian's shoes. Yeah Kelty, a NYC hero battalion chief is shredding documents. Are you all for real or is that you just have way too much time on your hands. You are a sorry bunch of misfits who take what could be a source of news about all our Queens communities and turn it into crap. Hence your name.
If he's such a hero why did he keep his mouth shut on his safety concerns regarding Flushing Commons?
"Omigod let's hang them all. Get a life you morons. None of you here can shine Gene Kelty or Chuck Apelian's shoes. Yeah Kelty, a NYC hero battalion chief is shredding documents. Are you all for real or is that you just have way too much time on your hands. You are a sorry bunch of misfits who take what could be a source of news about all our Queens communities and turn it into crap. Hence your name.'
Troll much? The evidence that was presented means nothing to you? I have one thing to say to you, if moron was gold, you'd be a multi-billionaire!
If he's such a hero why did he keep his mouth shut on his safety concerns regarding Flushing Commons?
-----------------------------------------------
PRECISELY!
They may not be elected officials but Kelty and Appelian are tweeder feeders!!!
That's a few steps below bottom feeders.
It is obvious that Community Board #7 is no longer representing the community. Get rid of them!!!
"Is there any truth in a "rumor" that CB7's district manager Bitterman has received some "perks" in the past from Wellington Chen (TDC, Fultonex, F&T)?"
Has Marilyn "the perk-a-lator" Bitterman and her husband been on any trips lately?
Kelty a Hero? Do your research, he was on a Golf Course on 9 11 and went to the Fire house when he heard about an hour after the fact and then include travel time. The Heros I knew went immediately to the site and guess what? Most of them lost their lives. HERO? Where did he Serve? NAM? Stop wrapping this Piece of Classic Shit up in the AMERICAN FLAG and hold him accountable. Commons Meeting was Way beyond overcrowded yet "HERO" Fire Battalian Chief Kelty still allowed it to continue till the wee hours of the Morn. LETS GET REAL PLEASE...
Hey, was he one of the many that stole or confiscated stuff from the Site??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
Sounds like a loud sewer mouthed CB7 member is (LOL) trying to defend their "honor".
I didn't say "hang 'em all"...just the prime guilty parties.
The rest can do jail time or pay healthy fines for sitting there as accomplices before and after the fact.
NAZI-TIME-TALK:
"I vaz unly following orders'.
"Ve didn't know vat vuz going on".
Yeah, right!
If you knew...you were crooks.
If you didn't...you were stupid.
Author Alexander Dumas once said:
"I prefer the wicked to the stupid because the wicked sometimes rest"!
In other words for the simpleminded:
Being a DUMB-ASS is a 24/7 job!
What this board needs is a good enema!
Has Marilyn "the perk-a-lator" Bitterman and her husband missed a USTA US Open Tennis event since the controversial expansion of the USTA Tennis Center? I understand that Jack Bitterman contacts Sid Davidoff's office, yearly, for the freebee tickets to the event and to the VIP dining.
File an Article 81 action in State Supreme Court and just make them do it. Stop their BS. They're full of hacks, incompetents and the occasional well-meaning person who is just plain naive.
how does one go about filing an article 81? I have heard of Article 78, never Article 78.
I think the person meant article 78. Article 81 is for mental incompetency and filed to obtain guardianship.
Yes, I meant Article 78. Sorry. I was off by 3. lol (Although some of the CB 7 members might benefit if someone filed an 81 for them, too).
File both!
Crap Dog-
Centola's contention that he wasn't involved in determining the blocks involved is wrong. He attended the meeting when the boundaries were set, which was also featured on this blog on February 28th. He is a member of a committee and his views were heard but overruled by the committee. He had his chance. Changing the direction of these streets would have a neighborhood-wide effect and the neighbors wanted to be involved; why doesn't your blog discuss these facts? Centola didn't get what he wanted and now he comes off like a spoiled child.
Moreover, your post is clearly one-sided and doesn't reflect facts. Your fail to acknowledge that there isn't a traffic problem on 5th Avenue. Traffic volumes on 5th Avenue are low and there has been only two accidents. 3rd Avenue is worse; higher volumes and more accidents. Centola's plan would make this block worse, yet you don't talk about that. Why? You don't need to get CB 7's response, you just need to accurately report the facts. What is wrong with that? What is your agenda?
I really don't give a rats ass about your pissing contest with each other over the number of accidents in Whitestone.
The issue is not whether traffic exists or not; the issue is that documents created and held by a public agency that were to be made available for public review were not, and apparently, in the other case, destroyed.
Crapper's right, it doesn't matter what the motivation was for the FOIL, just whether the documents were produced, and they were not.
Crapper's right, it doesn't matter what the motivation was for the FOIL, just whether the documents were produced, and they were not.
Agreed!
I understand that CB7 still has not provided the survey records requested by the Malba Gardens Civic Association. Therefore, CB7 is once again deliberately ignoring its lawful obligations, and thumbing its nose at the Freedom of Information Law.
In addition, although Council Member Dan Halloran's office has been informed of CB7's failure to comply with FOIL, Halloran's office has not interceded on the community's behalf to insist that CB7 provide the requested records.
Barry Grodenchik, who oversees the Queens community boards, is likely asleep at the switch instead of working to correct CB7's non-compliance.
The community should not have to resort to filing a legal challenge in court, only to obtain what the community is absolutely entitled to in the first place. My advice: A group of representatives of the Malba Gardens Civic Association should go into the office of CB7 (with copies of the FOIL Request and all related letters and laws) and demand that CB7 provide, then and there, the survey records that have been duly requested pursuant to FOIL but which CB7 will only disclose after illegally imposing its arbitrary delay. When CB7 conceals the survey records instead of providing them, immediately call the police to respond to the CB7 office. Unlawful prevention of public access to records is a violation of Section 240.65 of the Penal Law, which states:
"A person is guilty of unlawful prevention of public access to records when, with intent to prevent the public inspection of a record pursuant to article six of the public officers law, he willfully conceals or
destroys any such record. Unlawful prevention of public access to records is a violation."
A person found guilty of a violation of Section 240.65 of the Penal Law may serve up to fifteen days in jail and/or be fined up to $250.00.
A critical point to convey to the responding NYPD officers is that CB7 is not within its rights to arbitrarily delay providing the requested records. Per the Committee on Open Government's advisory opinion f12681, "if a record or report is clearly public and can be found easily, there would appear to be no rational basis for delaying disclosure for even as much as five business days." And, CB7's records access officer is obligated, 21 NYCRR Part 1401, to "make records promptly available for inspection". Interposing an arbitrary delay is not "promptly" providing the records, and is unlawful.
Let us know how it goes.
"In addition, although Council Member Dan Halloran's office has been informed of CB7's failure to comply with FOIL, Halloran's office has not interceded on the community's behalf to insist that CB7 provide the requested records."
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
What a Bozo! I'm sorry I voted for him. He's falling in line with the rest of the tweeders. He'll have no political future if his term in office continues to go in that direction!
Traffic numbers are low? 107 cars per hour on average 31% speeding with over 20 children under 15 living on the block is acceptable? What about the fact that Bob Tramunti was able to get the divider off the exit extended so cars could no longer turn onto 6th ave. Why? What about the fact that 7th avenue was to be the original exit street, look at the size and the fact that it leads to a commercial strip? Centola and his block had to re ignite a civic association because of the fact that no one could come up with any solutions. One of the neighbors on the block allowed Kelty to string him along because they were both Firemen and he thaught Kelty would do the right thing, he wound up moving. They tried making Ed look like a cook and a "Spoiled Child" I was at that meeting and Centola never got to see the Survey as written, until after it was mailed out. I saw Bitterman hand him what appeared to be a survey and when he went to show it to one of his Civics members she snatched it from his hand and said "I will mail you one, I have to go to another meeting, and this is my only copy right now". Although boundries were set, why were 147 place, 148th st, 149 st, and 149pl between 3rd avenue and
5th ave. not surveyed? LET PUSH THE EXIT BACK TO ITS ORIGINAL DESIGN. OR LETS HAVE CB 7 PLAY BY THE RULES. THIS POST WAS ABOUT CB 7 NOT RESPONDING TO A FOIL REQUEST, AND HE IS A SPOILED CHILD? YOU BRING UP THE STREET ISSUE.
YO CENTOLA, YOU THOUGHT YOU COULD GO UP AGAINST KING KELTY AND QUEEN BITTERMAN WITH JESTER APPELLIAN? ARE YOU KIDDING ME, BUILD A DEVELOPMENT, PASS SOME MONEY AROUND AND THEN MAYBE THEY WOULD AGREE. A CIVIC ASSOCIATION, GET REAL THEY GIVE A SHIT ABOUT CIVICS,, KELTY IS A LIVING HERO DON'T YOU KNOW, HECK HE IS CHAIRMAN OR PRESIDENT OF A BEACH CLUB FOR HEAVENS SAKE, COME ON. JUST GIVE IT UP AND FALL IN LINE LIKE EVERYONE ELSE DOES. DON'T YOU KNOW WHOSE NEIGHBORHOOD THIS IS, DON'T YOU KNOW WHO HE IS? YOUR TRYING TO PROTECT YOUR INVESTMENTS AND YOUR FAMILIES? FUCK THAT? SHUT UP AND FALL IN LINE. HEIL....
"NEIGHBOROOD WIDE EFFECT" How? by focing King Kelty to drive an extra two avenues to get to his beach club? Go to Jones Fat Ass.
Malba Gardens Civic's main problem is that Kelty is against any changes and the Board will not go against Kelty. At this point they, the board will not vote against him for fear of retaliation. This board does whatever Kelty, Chuck and BITTER Man say end of story. Sorry to break it to you guys but it is what it is, next time move to another neighborhood. Who is the annonymous CB 7 member that called Centola a spoiled child? nice tactics, like what the establishment is doing to the TEA Party movement, try to make them seem like irrational crazy children. GOD BLESS AMERICA. OH WHAT HAVE WE BECOME?
GOD BLESS AMERICA.
1776-2009 R.I.P.
Where is Senator Padavan on this?
Where is the Congressman on this?
Where is the Mayors office?
Where is Helen Marshall?
Where are the people place in power by the voters to serve the best interest of their constituents?
I don't know these people in the Malba Gardens Civic Assoc. But, I know the block in question, I use it and have had to stop at a stop sign behind 8 or 9 cars. I have seen the cones on the block to slow the cars down. Somebody with some sort of Political Power or from an Agency such as D.O.T. needs to come up with a sollution for these people. Good Luck.
I say to Queen's Crap>When did Caring About the Children & People in Your Neighborhood Become a SIN? If it is a Sin Then Centola is Guilty. But We Know He's Not. And his Asking for Something We All are Allowed to see, now that's become a Big Crime too. We all Can't just Sit on Our Asses & Do Nothing & then Complain about Centola When he want's to do what's Right for the People of his Community. The one's Complaining the Most about Him are the one's doing nothing to Help
I , Centola, just had several interesting phone calls with some name calling involved. After the meeting I will elaborate more with information and other items sent to me via the State Department. Stay Tuned boys and girls, The Democratic process will prevail. I live in an area that was home to the man that basically declared war against a seemingly unstoppable army, when he and his cronnies had no army, Mr. Francis Lewis. To the person that called me a spoiled child, it is the children we are trying to protect, come to the block and meet with us, see for yourself. As for the person that said I am guilty of trying to protect our families and children, thank you, thank you to everyone who has supported our cause and may the just prevail.
Centola
CAN SOMEONE TELL ME WHO DO YOU GO TO IN ORDER TO GET COPIES OF D.E.P. IMPACT STUDIES THAT WERE NEEDED IN ORDER TO APPROVE THE WHITESTONE CYO PROJECTS. I CAN'T UNDERSTAND HOW THE LACK OF SEWERS AND SOME OTHER SERIOUS ISSUES THAT EFFECT THE ENVIRONMENT WERE NOT ADDRESSED?
PLEASE HELP.
Post a Comment