Brooklyn’s borough president and a top deputy spent 11 days traveling in China at the expense of a nonprofit run by one of their own volunteer staffers, The Post has learned.
The Sino-America New York Brooklyn Archway Association Corp. shelled out nearly $7,000 for Beep Eric Adams and his deputy, Diana Reyna, to visit seven Chinese districts between May 22 and June 1.
The Chinese government kicked in an additional $787 for hotels, meals and travel in the city of Yiwu.
Winnie Greco, Borough Hall’s honorary ambassador to the local Chinese community for the past several years, formed the corporation as a noncharitable group in October 2012 — meaning it’s not required to file annual reports with the state attorney general.
Adams’ staffers say the trip, which was intended to promote economic development and tourism by signing two sister-city agreements and by securing a “Friendship Archway” for the Chinese community in Sunset Park, was cleared by the city’s Conflict of Interest Board one day before the departure date.
But they refused to provide a copy of the board’s letter clearing the trip, citing a policy of not releasing “interagency communications regarding official counsel.”
An itinerary of the trip shows the delegation, which included Greco and several members of the nonprofit, toured local schools on five of the six days that listed planned events — but the visits produced just a single proposal for a “teacher exchange and classroom learning exchange through Skype.”
Discussions for securing the archway, which would be donated by the Chinese government, but installed and maintained at Brooklyn’s expense, took up just one day.
5 comments:
We don't need or want a damn "friendship archway"!
Thus is absolutely insane. Brooklyn has enough problems, and building a stupid arch should not even be mentioned. Let the President of the United States forge relationships with China. That's his job. Mr. Brooklyn BP, it's not your job. Take care of your constituents, and the heck with International politicking!!!
More corruption.... big surprise!
This city is bring sold to China right out from under us!
I suspect the last comment is quite true. The incredible uneconomical proliferation of clusters of 99cent stores being built and open by Chinese nationals makes me suspect the EB% visa program is being utilized to the max by families fleeing China in droves--under a program that allows the whole family to come if they invest 500,000 to 1MM and file a plan saying they will create 10 jobs.
did they just want to get their district share of the treasonous giveaway of the nyc outer boro's over the last 60 years. ? to the Maoists...?
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