Smith's ice cream money went outside his district

From the Times Ledger:

State Senate President Malcolm Smith (D-St. Albans) may represent Queens, but nearly 70 percent of the $5.7 million in funding he doled out to nonprofits last year was given to organizations not based in the borough, according to a New York good government group.

The largest beneficiary of the pool of money Smith controlled in 2009, known as member items, was the Manhattan-based Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center, which received $500,000 from the senator, based on data compiled by the New York Public Interest Research Group.

Smith was allocated $5.7 million in member item funding, $3.9 million of which went to organizations with offices outside the borough.

Smith was elected minority leader of the Senate by his colleagues in 2007 and rose to majority leader in 2009. He later became president of the Senate later that year following a coup led by dissident Democratic senators.

Smith’s district includes Jamaica, South Jamaica, St. Albans, Cambria Heights, Laurelton, Rosedale, Hollis, Queens Village and the Rockaways.

Out of 103 organizations Smith gave money to, 43 had a mailing address outside of Queens.

Of those 43, 30 had a Manhattan mailing address, four had a Nassau County address, two were based in Albany, another two were from Brooklyn and one apiece were based in the Bronx, Monroe County, Erie County, Orange County and Westchester County.