State made unnecessary Medicaid payouts

From Crain's:

Thanks to a lack of oversight, the state Health Department doled out $1.3 billion in six years in Medicaid premiums for people who were already enrolled in other comprehensive health plans, according to a new report from state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli.

The report found that the state Health Department is not quick enough to disenroll people when they sign up for coverage with another insurer. The overwhelming majority of those funds—about $1.2 billion—are not recoverable.

"Glitches in the state Department of Health's payment system and other problems led to over a billion dollars in unnecessary spending," DiNapoli said. "The department needs to improve its procedures and stop this waste of taxpayer money."

Elevator inspections are lax

From PIX11:

Subcontractors paid by New York City’s Department of Buildings are — in thousands of cases — not properly inspecting elevators, a report by the New York State Comptroller’s office alleges.

The City Department of Buildings is responsible for inspecting 71,000 elevators every year. To do this, an army of subcontractors are hired. In some cases lack of data suggests inspections mights not be happening at all.

A multi-year audit by the Comptroller said there is no data for thousands of inspections assigned to those sub-contractors. In 2016, more than 6,700 inspections may have been skipped. In 2015, 8,800 inspections were possibly ignored.

In debt up to our eyeballs

From the Observer:

New York State has the second-highest debt total in the United States, and it’s expected to grow in the coming years, according to state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli.

New York’s state-funded debt is expected to reach $63.7 billion at the end of the current fiscal year and increase over the following four years to $71.8 billion, according to a report released by DiNapoli on Thursday morning. New York’s current total state debt is second only to California’s, which is at $87 billion.

The average amount of debt for every man, woman and child in the state is $3,116, three times the median for all states, the report found. And the annual debt service payments — the amount of money needed to reimburse debts over a period of time — are projected to surpass $8.2 billion by the end of state fiscal year 2021-2022.

City to shelter providers: "Name your price"

From the NY Times:

Under pressure to shelter close to 58,000 homeless people on a daily basis, New York City has been paying widely varying rates to shelter providers and, until recently, had no set procedure for determining how much to pay, according to a new audit.

The state comptroller’s office could not determine whether the city is paying reasonable rates for nearly 750 shelters that have cost the city more than $1.1 billion annually, according to the audit, which looked at a sampling of contracts over a four-year period.

Examining 23 new contracts for shelters, auditors concluded that shelter providers named their own prices with little pushback from the Department of Homeless Services. The rates charged by two comparable shelters might differ by as much as $225 per person per day, according to the audit.

Nightlife noise complaints are way up

From AM-NY:

City nightlife is bringing the noise — and the headaches, according to a report released last week.

An audit by the state comptroller’s office found the number of 311 noise complaints related to bars, clubs and other nightlife establishments soared from 38,000 in 2010, to more than 93,000 in 2015.
Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli called on the state Liquor Authority to take action against repeat violators.

“Establishments with hundreds of complaints lodged against them faced little or no repercussions. For the sake of city residents, more action must be taken to address noisy clubs and bars,” he said.
The report showed 277 businesses each received 100 or more complaints.

DiNapoli said the state doesn’t access 311 data readily and can’t adequately assess the complaints. He recommended the state Liquor Authority design and formalize a process to go over the data themselves.

Public is subsidizing apartments for the well off

From the Daily News:

When David Sans applied for a $722-a-month two-bedroom in a luxury Manhattan apartment tower that includes taxpayer-subsidized affordable units, he claimed a full-time salary of $24,745.

At the time, however, records Sans filed as a registered stockbroker listed him working full-time for securities firms as an investment banker specializing in health care companies.

When he came up for recertification to continue living in his ninth floor low-rent aerie, he now provided a 2012 tax form showing his income had suddenly jumped to $238,000.

The next year, Sans — who added a second job as a top executive at Mount Sinai Hospital three months after snagging his low-income apartment — reported an income of $456,502.

Sans’ sweet housing deal surfaced in an audit released last week by state Controller Thomas DiNapoli that looked at how tenants with six-figure incomes are able to obtain “affordable” apartments subsidized by the public.

DiNapoli found that as of December 2015, 160 tenants living in affordable units in New York City were making $100,000 or more, with eight making $250,000 or more.

BdB investigation halts sale of prison to film studio

From SI Live:

The sale of the old Arthur Kill prison site to Broadway Stages was rejected by the state comptroller's office because of the company's ties to investigations into Mayor Bill de Blasio's political fundraising.

The office of State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli returned the sale contract to state agencies unapproved for "lingering vendor responsibility issues" and questions over the public's investment in the land deal.

The $7 million sale price may be as much as $45 million below market value.

Charlotte Davis, the comptroller's director of contracts, detailed reasons for rejecting the sale in a letter to Frank Pallante of the state Office of General Services on Dec. 21, 2016.

"As discussed," Davis wrote, "Broadway Stages and its owner and president, Gina Argento, appear to be involved parties in State and Federal investigations into campaign contributions to New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio."

While the state can resubmit the contract, the rejection further stalls plans for a new production studio at the closed Arthur Kill Correctional Facility in Charleston.

Three years after the state selected Broadway Stages to develop the land, concerns have been raised over political contributions, tax issues, business integrity and the property's value.

Exactly when the new studio will open is still unclear.

Subway service sucks even more than before

From NY1:

Grab a seat, check your phone, get comfortable - the wait for a train could be long.

"They've been having a lot of track, signal problems and stuff like that. So I find that the timing is off," said one subway rider.

So does a new audit from state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli. It says riders are enduring longer waits for trains on three quarters of the MTA's 21 major lines.

"Service has deteriorated. I don't think it's any big surprise to most of the riders waiting on the platform for a train that hasn't arrived yet," said Matt Sweeney, a spokesperson for the state comptroller's office.

The audit examined wait times, the MTA's targets for the number of minutes between trains.

The comptroller says in the first half of 2015, the MTA met those targets systemwide 78.4 percent of the time, a falloff from the previous year.

But DiNapoli says the MTA's measurement may make subway performance appear better than it is because the agency tallies each line’s average performance, treating puny shuttle service the same as longer lines like the A train.

"When they average in shuttles with something as major as the Lexington Avenue line, it raises the performance of the Lexington Avenue line," Sweeney said.

In all, 16 major lines saw an increase in wait times last year. Just five lines saw an improvement.

Removing garbage cans doesn't reduce garbage in subway

From Crains:

A state comptroller's audit is critical of a Metropolitan Transportation Authority pilot program that removed trash cans from 39 subway stations to reduce garbage and rats.

The report is critical of how the MTA measured the program's success and says there's no clear sign the four-year experiment is working.

The MTA says it disagrees. It says the trash can removal produced less trash, thus leading to a reduction in the rat population at those stations.

It says it will continue the program but has no plans to expand it.

Fewer Queens foreclosures

From the Queens Courier:

According to the comptroller’s report, areas immediately outside of New York City – such as Long Island and the mid-Hudson region – have seen the greatest number of pending foreclosures with cases rising 63 percent from 25,097 at the beginning of 2013 to 40,985 this year.

However, although pending foreclosure cases across upstate grew by 47 percent, New York City experienced nearly a drop of 10 percent over the two-year period.

For Queens, the situation looks to be “improving,” according to the report, with a high foreclosure rate of around 1.25 percent but decreasing caseload. At the beginning of 2013 Queens had 12,497 pending foreclosure cases and in the beginning of this year it saw 10,667, a decrease of 14.1 percent.

Nonprofit boozed it up and got reimbursed

From Crains:

A Queens nonprofit received more than $150,000 in reimbursements from the state Office of Mental Health for inappropriate expenses, including almost $11,000 for alcohol at a two-day executive and board retreat in Montauk, L.I.

From July 1, 2012, to June 30, 2013, the Office of Mental Health paid PSCH $6.8 million to provide services and housing to people with mental illness. During that time, the Flushing nonprofit, whose initials stand for Promoting Specialized Care and Health, submitted $152,580 in expenses that were not in compliance with its contract terms, according to an audit conducted by the office of New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli.

An October 2012 retreat at the Montauk Yacht Club for board members and executive staff cost the nonprofit about $63,000. The state agency reimbursed PSCH for half those costs: OMH paid $10,723 for alcohol, $6,312 for dinner and $5,746 for rooms for an additional night's stay.

"The rules for conference costs are clear," Mr. DiNapoli said in a statement. "And lavish parties with alcohol, cruises and extra guests are not allowable. State agencies must make sure that contractors are reimbursed for legitimate expenses only."

About two-thirds of PSCH's $152,580 were costs that were "not actual, reasonable and necessary in the provision of contract services," the audit said. They included duplicate charges, and expenses that were incurred during a different period than the one in which PSCH was applying for reimbursement.

The auditors also found PSCH was reimbursed $22,901 for a staff picnic at Cunningham Park in Queens, where expenses included $14,955 for the picnic and $3,420 in gifts to staff, such as coolers, T-shirts, pens and umbrellas. Another $1,300 was spent on ice cream.

Public authorities spend like mad

From Capital New York:

New York’s largest public authorities have increased their spending by $3.5 billion since 2013 and their combined debt has grown to more than a quarter of a trillion dollars, according to a new report released by state Comptroller Tom DiNapoli.

DiNapoli’s report found that 95 percent of the state’s public debt has been issued by public authorities, much of it through debt issued without ever being approved by voters—a process critics have dubbed “backdoor borrowing."

And the cost increases at state authorities, whose spending isn’t accounted for in the state’s budget, are being used to disguise hundreds of millions of dollars in extra state spending, DiNapoli's report shows.

The 1,180 state and local authorities employ 153,578 people, costing the state $10 billion a year in personnel charges and salaries, with nearly 13 percent of those employees earning more than $100,000 annually. By contrast, less than 8.7 percent of state employees, and 14.7 percent of New York residents earn that much.

But the authorities’ spending is also subject to fewer oversight and accountability measures, despite repeated audits showing failures among authorities to adhere to contracting rules and rein in improper spending.

Subway stations are falling apart

From Crains:

A new report says that a majority of New York City's subway stations are in need of structural and architectural repairs.

The report by state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli found that only 51 of the system's 468 stations didn't require repairs to stairs, columns, platform edges and lighting.

Mr. DiNapoli says NYC Transit said it was making progress. But the comptroller says the pace is too slow.

He says damaged stairs and platform edges pose risks for riders.

The report was based on the most recent data available—a 2012 survey conducted by NYC Transit.

The MTA, which runs the system, says none of the stations were unsafe.

Don't blame Schneiderman

From the Observer:

After yet another lawmaker from southeast Queens faced criminal charges from his office, Attorney General Eric Schneiderman denied today he is taking particular aim at the area.

Mr. Schneiderman, along with State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli and Northern District U.S. Attorney Richard Hartunian, announced the indictment of Assemblyman William Scarborough this afternoon, making Mr. Scarborough the third southeast Queens pol to be arrested following an investigation from Mr. Schneiderman’s office. But Mr. Schneiderman, a Manhattanite, argued he treats all regions equally.

“We’ve brought dozens and dozens of cases and if you ask the people we’ve indicted in Niagara County or in St. Lawrence County or in Elmira or in any other part of the state, I don’t think they’ll tell you that we’re concentrating all our efforts on Queens,” Mr. Schneiderman, a Democrat, told the Observer at a press conference in his Manhattan office.

“We’ve pursued people, town clerks and town supervisors and their cronies all over the State of New York and we will continue to do so,” he added.

The optics of a white Manhattanite indicting black elected officials has set off some grumbling in southeast Queens political circles, even if Mr. Schneiderman has a perfect conviction record there. State Senator James Sanders, Ms. Huntley’s rival in that 2012 race and her successor, raised the possibility last year, with little direct evidence, that prosecutors were unfairly targeting black lawmakers.

Is it Schneiderman's fault that Shirley rolled over on all her friends, and that they all happen to be black?

State comptroller believes Rockaway rail line is feasible

From the Queens Chronicle:

In a report released last week, state Comptroller Tom DiNapoli said the reactivation of the Rockaway Beach LIRR is not only feasible, but a good investment for the financially-shaky Metropolitan Transit Authority.

The document alleged that the MTA has not restored the entire transit system to a state of good repair because it has not received all the funding it has sought and because cost overruns on large capital projects siphoned off resources that could have been used to modernize the system. In it, DiNapoli says restoring the route would cut down on costs of transporting residents in South Queens and the Rockaways and spur development in the area.

“The MTA has stated that given the fiscal constraints of the current economy, it will need to respond with new strategies to boost capacity and accessibility, and which are more strategic in scale and location and are accomplished within customers’ commuting lifetimes,” the state comptroller said in the report. “Potential new strategies include rebuilding constrained subway junctions and terminals, expanding station stairways and platforms, and converting available rights-of-way. The MTA cites the former LIRR Rockaway Beach Branch as an example of this approach. Restoring service on the Rockaway Beach Branch would be a less costly way to speed commutes between South Queens and Manhattan, improve travel within the borough, and promote economic growth.”

Forest Hills educators socked by audit

From the Daily News:

A Queens-based provider of bilingual pre-school special education services was hit by state Controller Thomas DiNapoli in a new audit for improperly spending taxpayer money on fancy cars, a Manhattan apartment, and even a recent hire's funeral expenses.

The audit, set to be released Monday, found that Bilinguals Inc. received reimbursements to help cover the cost of rent on a Manhattan apartment for Executive Director Trudy Font-Padron and her husband, Robert Padron, an assistant executive director, "so they wouldn't be too far from the office," even though the headquarters are in Forest Hills.

Taxpayers also paid parts of the leases, insurance and other costs related to three upscale vehicles - 2009 and 2011 Lexus SUVs and a 2010 Honda CRV - for Font-Padron and her husband, as well as cable TV at their Manhattan apartment, auditors found.

Bilinguals Inc., which has provided services since 1995 to special needs kids ages in New York City and the surrounding suburbs, also wrongly billed governments for excessive compensation for Font-Padron and her husband, employee bonuses, meals and parties, gift certificates, and college tuition for employees, the audit found.

Samaritan Village seems to be a shady charity

From the Forum:

The city’s Department of Homeless Services has reached out to various Queens officials with hopes of setting up a face-to-face meeting before making any final decisions on a controversial homeless shelter proposed in Glendale.

The city has been mulling over a bid to open a 125-family temporary housing spot at 78-16 Cooper Ave. in the footprint of a former sewing mill and airplane part manufacturing warehouse for months. But a spokeswoman for the DHS said the agency would likely meet with Queens elected officials from the city, state and possibly federal levels by early April before acting any further on the issue, which has drawn harsh criticism from varying members of the western Queens community.

“We still want to have an open dialogue – leader to leader,” the spokeswoman said. “No definitive decisions have been made as of yet because we want to hear from the officials and have them at our office together.”

Those against the proposal penned a letter to Mayor Bill de Blasio, as well as DHS Commissioner Gilbert Taylor, earlier this year expanding on their opposition.

“If one of the primary criteria for evaluating a particular proposal’s cost-effectiveness correlates to the ability of the facility’s residents to quickly transition to permanent housing, we fail to see how developing a program at a location that is not conveniently accessible to basic public resources needed for a family’s success can be classified in such a manner,” they wrote in the letter. “We hope that, as a new administration, you will look to address that particular problem by undertaking a comprehensive analysis of how all DHS operations have combined to create that very unfortunate increase in turnaround time for families in need.”

Hevesi also penned a letter to the same parties earlier this week requesting an indefinite suspension of contract negotiations between the non-profit Samaritan Village and the city to operate a transitional housing facility in Glendale. In that letter, the elected official said the organization was cited for financial irregularities in a state report.

According to the report, Samaritan Village submitted a proposal to DHS’s open RFP in August of 2013 to operate a 125 unit transitional housing facility. The proposal went before the mayor’s office of contract services and the operating costs were projected to exceed $27 million over the initial 5-year contract period.

“New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli recently released a report of a prior contract with the non-profit Samaritan Village,” Hevesi wrote in his letter. “The comptroller and his staff, while fulfilling their role as the state’s chief financial officer and fiscal regulator, identified nearly $1 million in spending of state and taxpayer funds by this organization that raise questions about Samaritan Village and its operations.”

Hevesi argued that in light of the developments, the city should suspend further consideration of new contracts with Samaritan Village until a deeper investigation and analysis is complete.

Report says that Port Authority needs to expand airports

From Crains:

The two international airports in Queens rev up that borough's economy to almost rival Manhattan's, but further growth will require new infrastructure investments that remain uncertain at best.

LaGuardia and John F. Kennedy International airports generated $42.4 billion in economic activity in 2012, according to a recent report from state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, and directly employed 46,000 people, more than half of whom live in Queens. That translates to 9.5% of the borough's private-sector employment. Indirectly, the airports are responsible for about 300,000 jobs.

With passenger traffic growing, the air transportation sector is a key component of the borough's recovery from the recession, the comptroller notes. Unemployment fell to 8% in October, higher than Manhattan and Staten Island, but beating out Brooklyn and the Bronx, while private-sector jobs climbed to 486,000. The borough's average salary of $44,350 is second only to Manhattan's.

"There is a capacity problem at JFK — you have more airplanes trying to land at the peak time than you have ability to handle them," said Joshua Schank, president and chief executive at the Eno Center for Transportation, a think tank. "That is the biggest constraint on growth, and new terminals don't really help it."

A recent Eno Center report projected that by 2030, JFK will be operating above its capacity the majority of each day. A separate report from the Regional Plan Association estimated that the region will lose out on $26 billion in annual economic activity by 2030 unless major changes are undertaken at all three Port Authority facilities.

The Regional Plan Association argues that a new JFK runway would be the best way to address the issue — no small task. The updated navigation systems being slowly implemented by the Federal Aviation Administration would also help, according to Mr. Schank, but all of these ideas would need to be implemented by the public sector and, for now, are nowhere near takeoff.

Behind in the budget

From Capital New York:

New York finished November nearly $590 million behind its projections, according to a monthly cash report issued by state Comptroller Tom DiNapoli.

The shortfall is mostly the result of lower-than-expected income tax revenues and expected payments from the federal government that have not materialized. The report also showed New York benefited from an unexpected $203.4 million in payments from Native American tribes who settled with the state to prevent the authorization of new casinos near their existing gambling operations.

Still, the report found that all state funds were $589.8 million behind projections, while the general fund—which by law must be balanced when the the fiscal year ends in late March—was $456.7 million ahead of projections in the state's November update to its financial plan.

Officials at Governor Andrew Cuomo's budget division said the cash reports represent only a snapshot, that has little long-term meaning. Cuomo has been speaking about a suite of tax cuts in next year's budget but it's unclear exactly where the state will find the resources necessary to pay for it.

Double-dipping still rampant

From the NY Post:

According to a just-released audit by state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, New Yorkers, too, are getting hosed by some public employees.

The audit reviewed 345 workers at six state agencies and public authorities. It discovered that 75 held two public-sector jobs, lied about it on their timesheets and reaped double the pay.

“Dozens of public employees working for more than one public employer have managed to take advantage of lax oversight and take credit for hours they didn’t work,” DiNapoli said. “Our audits found supervisors were lax and often complicit in allowing employees to game the system.”

Like the nurse who claimed to work for both the state mental-health agency and a Bronx public school. Or the MTA track-equipment worker whose work schedule overlapped with his other job at the city Department of Environmental Protection.

What’s legal may be even worse. As The Post reported last week, a lawyer leaving the office of departing Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes will collect more than $280,000 in unused vacation pay.