Mayor de Blasio prefers that his appointed officials testilie instead of testify

NY Post

Mayor Bill de Blasio is opposing a bill requiring officials correct the record if they give inaccurate statements in sworn testimony — and is allegedly threatening to prevent his commissioners from testifying before lawmakers if the bill passes.

The administration’s reluctance to support the legislation comes just a week after The Post revealed that de Blasio officials mislead the City Council about the ouster of a whistleblower.

Mayoral spokeswoman Freddi Goldstein called the bill Tuesday “unnecessarily duplicative.”
“It’s our policy to correct the record with the City Council if someone misspeaks at a hearing,” Goldstein said.

Councilman Ritchie Torres blasted the administration’s response as “Trumpian.”

“There’s no rational justification for obstructing legislation that would require public officials to tell the truth unless you have something to hide,” he said.

The bill, which Torres introduced in 2018 and had a hearing last March, would amend the City Charter by requiring agency heads who give a “materially inaccurate statement” in sworn testimony or an official report to correct the record.

“There is a clear obligation not to make knowingly false statements,” Torres told The Post. “But there’s no obligation to subsequently correct false statements that might have been made unknowingly. The bill is to close that gaping loophole.”

He claims members of the city Law Department essentially put the proposal on ice by threatening, “If you pass the bill then we will no longer allow commissioners to testify before the City Council.”

Torres called “threatening obstruction of City Council oversight a Trumpian assault on the separation of powers.”

 

Human Rights Commissioner got boyfriend a contract

From the Daily News:

The second-in-command at the city agency that goes after local businesses for bad hiring practices is resigning from her job after investigators looked into a sweetheart contract she gave her lover — a man once described as “quite possibly the sexiest man in New York.”

Melissa Woods, first deputy commissioner and general counsel at the Human Rights Commission, tendered her resignation following revelations that she had gotten her artist and singer boyfriend a no-bid consulting contract at her agency that paid him $12,750, according to sources.

Woods gave notice two weeks ago, but she is officially leaving in June.

Her resignation comes after the city Department of Investigation opened a probe into her actions on behalf of the Conflicts of Interest Board, according to sources.

BDB still doesn't see why Corrections commissioner's trips are a problem

From CBS 2:

It was a simple question about Corrections Commissioner Joseph Ponte, and a scathing Department of Investigation report showing he drove his city car out of state, logging 18,500 miles — charging gas and tolls to the city as well.

“You have to live under a rock not to know it’s not proper to take a city car and use it for personal use, no matter what your guidance is, something should say to you, it’s not the thing to do,” CBS2 Political Reporter Marcia Kramer asked Mayor Bill de Blasio.

“The bottom line is, he’s not from New York City. He’s not used to the New York City government, he’s used to other jurisdictions, each jurisdiction has a different approach,” de Blasio said.

Maybe not Mr. Mayor.

CBS2’s Kramer did some digging, and found out that prior to coming to the city, Ponte ran the Department of Corrections in Maine where he personally approved the policy on the use of state-owned vehicles.

“Off duty use of state-owned vehicles is prohibited,” the policy said.

And.

“Under no circumstances are state-owned gas credit cards and electronic toll devices to be used for personal use,” it continued.

A different jurisdiction, but the same approach as New York City.

A few more points to up the BDB sleaze factor.

Bye, bye, Bill (not that one)

From NBC:

NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton is stepping down as the city's top cop and will be replaced by Chief of Department James O'Neill in September, Mayor de Blasio announced Tuesday.
De Blasio lauded the commissioner's contributions to New York City since taking over the job in January 2014 and praised the man who will replace him, a veteran cop with more than 30 years on the force who grew up in the city and whose experience he said will advance the work of neighborhood policing.

Under Bratton, the city already has made plans to shift toward that strategy, one predicated on building trust and working relationships between police and communities. O'Neill has been heavily involved in those efforts, and de Blasio said neighborhood policing would be in place in 51 precincts as of this fall.

LiMandri's current gig is helping developers

From Crains:

The former head of the Department of Buildings is aiming to help developers adapt to the city’s new building codes, which were implemented late last year.

Robert LiMandri, who ran the city's Department of Buildings for five years before joining architecture firm Vidaris last year, has established a new division within Vidaris that will focus on assisting developers clear the requirements.

Mr. LiMandri said the codes have created an extra hurdle for builders at a time when construction is booming and the Department of Buildings is backlogged with projects waiting for approval.

“There’s confusion about the changes,” Mr. LiMandri said. “It has become a lot more stringent.”

A big element of the new codes include making buildings safer, but these changes have had a direct influence on design. Developers constructing glassy high-end residential towers, for instance, have to design and install enhanced fire-protection systems to compensate for the bigger window lines, which can feed a blaze. Additionally, emergency elevators, which are used to evacuate a building in the event of a fire, require a special design that will properly ventilate smoke.

“More and more, builders are looking for experts to help them vet their designs” before handing them to the Buildings Department, Mr. LiMandri said.

Making sure that projects are approved expeditiously has become a major concern for developers, given the rising costs of land, building materials and labor. There is mounting pressure to quickly get through the construction process in order to alleviate carrying costs. Developers also want to complete their projects while the real estate market is still hot.

All in the family at BOE

From the Times Ledger:

City Board of Elections President Jose Miguel Araujo put his wife on the payroll so their family could get health insurance, but the move may not have been a benefit now that city attorneys are involved.

The city Conflicts of Interest Board announced last week it levied its maximum fine of $10,000 against Araujo, Queens’ Democratic BOE commissioner, and issued a $1,500 penalty against a Queens borough manager who also breached city law by hiring a relative.

Araujo admitted he employed his wife, Rita Araujo, as a temporary clerk in the Queens BOE office for more than 2 1/2 years in a signed disposition.

“I hired my wife so that she could obtain health insurance for our family under the city’s health benefits program,” the document read. “Rita was employed by the BOE from approximately Feb. 21, 2010 to Oct. 11, 2012, during which time she was enrolled in a city health benefits program.”

Araujo, who lives in East Elmhurst and works as an attorney at Renfroe, Driscoll & Foster, LLP, said he terminated his wife when his commissioner position was up for renewal and officials told him he needed a waiver to employ her, according to the disposition.

Araujo did not return calls for comment.

He was named Queens’ Democratic BOE commissioner in 2008 and reappointed twice. His fellow commissioners voted him president in July 2014.

U.S. Attorney warns Cuomo against witness tampering

From the NY Times:

In an escalation of the confrontation between the United States attorney in Manhattan, Preet Bharara, and Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo over the governor’s cancellation of his own anticorruption commission, Mr. Bharara has threatened to investigate the Cuomo administration for possible obstruction of justice or witness tampering.

The warning, in a sharply worded letter from Mr. Bharara’s office, came after several members of the panel issued public statements defending the governor’s handling of the panel, known as the Moreland Commission, which Mr. Cuomo created last year with promises of cleaning up corruption in state politics but shut down abruptly in March.

Mr. Bharara’s office has been investigating the shutdown of the commission, and pursuing its unfinished corruption cases, since April.

In the letter, sent late Wednesday afternoon to a lawyer for the panel, prosecutors alluded to a number of statements made by its members on Monday, which generally defended Mr. Cuomo’s handling of the commission. The statements were released on the same day Mr. Cuomo first publicly responded to a report in The New York Times that described how he and his aides had compromised the commission’s work.

At least some of those statements were prompted by calls from the governor or his emissaries, according to people with direct knowledge of the situation who were unwilling to be named for fear of reprisal.

One commissioner who received a call from an intermediary on behalf of the governor’s office said he found the call upsetting and declined to make a statement.

The letter from prosecutors, which was read to The New York Times, says, “We have reason to believe a number of commissioners recently have been contacted about the commission’s work, and some commissioners have been asked to issue public statements characterizing events and facts regarding the commission’s operation.”

“To the extent anyone attempts to influence or tamper with a witness’s recollection of events relevant to our investigation, including the recollection of a commissioner or one of the commission’s employees, we request that you advise our office immediately, as we must consider whether such actions constitute obstruction of justice or tampering with witnesses that violate federal law.”

Margery Perlmutter headed to BSA

From the NY Observer:

Mayor Bill de Blasio has tapped Margery Perlmutter, a land use attorney and architect, to be commissioner of the Board of Standards and Appeals — as well as swapping out a previous nominee for the Landmarks Preservation Commission due to potentials for her to recuse herself from votes.

Ms. Perlmutter’s name was submitted for approval to the City Council Monday night, the mayor’s office told the Observer, along with two picks for the LPC.

Ms. Perlmutter is a partner in the land use practice group at the law firm Bryan Cave LLP, where she helps shepherd clients through the city’s zoning and land uses processes, including the types of appeals she’ll soon oversee. She previously worked as an architect for two decades, and sits on the city’s Landmarks Preservation Commission. She did not respond immediately to a request for comment.

While it’s not the highest profile appointment, the BSA wields significant power — it can grant zoning variances, special permits, and reviews appeals to the determinations of the Department of Buildings.

The mayor’s office will also announce Tuesday two new nominations to the Landmarks Preservation Commission — and the rescinding of one prior nomination, Marcie Kesner. The firm where Ms. Kesner works, Kramer Levin, had enough clients with business before the city that there was concern she’d have to recuse herself from LPC votes often.

In the meantime, Mr. de Blasio has nominated Adi Shamir Baron and John Gustafsson for spots on the LPC.

DeBlasio finally chooses DOB Commissioner

From the Observer:

Mr. de Blasio announced that he was making Hunter College’s assistant vice president of facilities Rick Chandler commissioner of the Buildings Department...

The mayor said that Buildings is badly in need of a change both in its dealings with New Yorkers, and in its office atmosphere.

“We have to change the culture of the Buildings Department. There has to be a totally different sense of time and efficiency,” Mr. de Blasio said, blaming bureaucratic delays and excessive fines on internal attitudes among personnel at the agency.

Mr. Chandler was part of the Buildings Department teams that inspected structures surrounding Ground Zero following 9/11 and damaged buildings after Hurricane Sandy, and said he was up to the task of guiding the agency. He promised to cooperate with the mayor in his ambitious goals of creating and maintaining 200,000 units of affordable housing, and of refitting school buildings to accommodate universal pre-K–as well as helping everyday families with work on their homes and properties.

No one interested in being DOB Commissioner

From Capital New York:

Six months and still no buildings chief, by Capital’s Dana Rubinstein: Bill de Blasio has been mayor for almost six months but still hasn’t named a commissioner for the Department of Buildings. Former buildings commissioner, Robert LiMandri resigned at the end of the Bloomberg administration, leaving acting commissioner Thomas Fariello to lead a department that’s synonymous we the the term bureaucracy. “In a lot of ways, the department is pretty self-sufficient, at least over the near term. It’s got five borough commissioners and a staff of roughly 1,000. But what it’s lacking, say experts, is leadership.”

The administration hasn’t been sitting on its hands. The mayor’s aides “have been turned down repeatedly,” Dick Anderson, president of the New York Building Congress, said. Sources said Maggie Kwan, an executive with high-rise experience at Tishman Construction, is being looked at closely. Kwan had no comment and the administration would not confirm that she was a candidate. “We have a strong leadership in place and will announce a new DOB commissioner once the decision is made,” said Maibe Ponet, a de Blasio spokeswoman, in an email.

Who needs a DOB commissioner?

From NY Observer:

Mayor Bill de Blasio has yet to pick a new commissioner for the Department of Buildings nearly four-and-a-half months into his tenure, but that doesn’t seem to have affected the pace of construction in the city.

Construction approvals are up significantly in the first four months of this year compared to the same period in 2013, according to DOB records. Approvals for new buildings rose 38.2 percent over last year, with 500 permits issued versus 691, while approvals for demolition permits rose 24.8 percent, from 602 permits to 751.

The numbers are yet another sign of the city’s continuing recovery from the last recession, which stalled construction across the city, observers say.

The DOB also credited improvements in its own operations.

“The Department’s online permitting services are facilitating more approvals and we are seeing shovels hit the ground faster,” said a department spokeswoman. “This contributes to the growth of our city and translates into good paying construction jobs for New Yorkers.”

When it comes to approvals for new buildings, the borough of Queens saw the biggest increase, with 251 permits issued in the first four months of this year, versus 139 last year–an increase of 80.6 percent.

Queens Museum director appointed commissioner of Cultural Affairs

From the NY Times:

Tom Finkelpearl, the president and executive director of the Queens Museum, is scheduled to be named the cultural affairs commissioner by Mayor Bill de Blasio on Monday, the mayor’s office confirmed, putting Mr. Finkelpearl in charge of a $156 million budget and making him the point person on the arts for a city widely considered the cultural capital of the world.

The appointment is in keeping with the new administration’s emphasis on the disenfranchised; in his 12 years at the Queens Museum, Mr. Finkelpearl, 58, has hired community organizers to professionalize outreach efforts and emphasized the diversity of the local immigrant population. (He frequently cites the 138 languages spoken in the borough.)

And his institution’s recently completed $68 million renovation was largely aimed at making the museum more inviting and connected to the neighborhood.

“Tom believes that art is for everybody, and has developed an exceptional record of fortifying the city’s cultural institutions across all five boroughs,” Mr. de Blasio said. “That’s exactly the kind of energy, leadership and creativity that we want.”

The appointment, to be formally announced on Monday at the Queens Museum, begins to shed some light on Mr. de Blasio’s plan for the arts. He succeeds a mayor who was heavily involved in cultural affairs, Michael R. Bloomberg, and who used his own wealth to advance the mission of many arts organizations. Mr. de Blasio’s profile on culture has been something of a mystery.

Meet the new Parks commissioner

From Crains:

The new city parks commissioner was introduced by the de Blasio administration Friday as an "internationally-renowned planning director and expert who has worked extensively on parks policy."

The language might have been a bit grandiose for Mitchell Silver, who had been the chief of planning and development for Raleigh, N.C., but he is being asked by Mayor Bill de Blasio to fulfill a substantial mission: to bring "a holistic perspective" to the city’s parks and infrastructure, "while also expanding access, sustainability and public health initiatives throughout the city’s 29,000 acres of parkland," according to the mayor's office.

At a press conference in Seward Park in the Lower East Side—the city's first municipally funded open space, according to Mr. de Blasio—Mr. Silver was introduced as "visionary" who will bring a deep expertise in urban planning and a "passion for fairness" to the job.

"He's someone who's devoted his career to thinking where we need to go, and then finding ways to get it done," Mr. de Blasio said.

Mr. Silver's appointment had been anxiously awaited by many in the parks community, who fretted over Mr. de Blasio's slow decision-making. A native of Brooklyn, Mr. Silver worked as a planning official on several New York projects, including the Harlem-on-the-River redevelopment and the Jamaica Center in Queens, before decamping to Raleigh nine years ago.

If DeBlasio doesn't want you, go work for Bloomberg

From A Walk in the Park:

Parks Commissioner Veronica White quietly left the agency on December 31 and landed a job at Bloomberg L.P. after lobbying efforts to stay on failed NYC Park Advocates has learned.

Sources say Ms. White had attempted to enlist the help of several prominent people including DC 37 head Lillian Roberts to lobby the new administration but those efforts were ultimately unsuccessful.

No public announcement was made regarding her departure and Ms. White did not send out a customary Broadcast email announcement to all parks employees. Instead she sent an email to upper management on Dec. 31st thanking them and stating it was her last day according to several park employees.

Ms. White began her employment the following day on Jan. 1 at Bloomberg L. P. as chief of staff to Thomas Secunda, Vice Chairman & Global Head of Financial Products & Services, and a founding partner of Bloomberg L.P.

"She was more of a figure head," said a long-time parks employee of White's sixteen month tenure, and speaking on the condition of condition of anonymity.

"Liam's been running the agency since Adrian left," the employee said.

First Deputy Commissioner for Parks Liam Kavanagh has also been the Acting Parks Commissioner since Ms. White's departure.

Saying goodbye to Bloomberg means saying goodbye to Amanda Burden

From WNYC:

She's one of the longest serving members of his administration, and her time as a member of the commission goes back even farther, to 1990.

Reflecting on her time in office, Burden talked about her greatest accomplishments (the High Line), the planning challenges the city must contend with in the future (the effects of global climate change) and her sometimes prickly relationship with developers.

She also had some advice for Mayor-Elect Bill de Blasio, who has a goal of creating 200,000 units of affordable housing.

"The challenge for the new mayor is to persuade communities to accept additional height and density, so that more affordable housing can be accommodated and that can be a big challenge for him. It certainly was for us," Burden said.

Burden is joining the outgoing mayor at Bloomberg Associates, which will help governments around the world implement projects based on his signature policies in New York.

Bratton chosen as next police commissioner

From the Daily News:

Former New York top cop William Bratton, bounced from One Police Plaza in 1996, is returning as the city's new police commissioner.

Bratton, 66, was announced Thursday as the new commissioner at the Red Hook Justice Community Center by incoming Mayor Bill de Blasio.

“Bill Bratton is a proven crime-fighter,” de Blasio said of his new commissioner. “He knows what it takes to keep a city safe, and make communities full partners in the mission.”

De Blasio said he and Bratton “will preserve and deepen the historic gains we’ve made in public safety” while protecting the civil rights of the city’s 8 million citizens.

“This is an administration that will do both,” he said.

This marks the second time that Bratton will succeed departing Commissioner Raymond Kelly as head of the nation's largest police force.

Gruesome twosome may team up

Photo from SHoP

From Crains:

The city's transportation chief, Janette Sadik-Khan, and planning czar, Amanda Burden, are close friends who share a passion for creating vibrant, sustainable cities. They have been travel companions—to India, Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Copenhagen—and even sat next to each other at a recent benefit gala honoring Ms. Sadik-Khan.

And when the Bloomberg administration draws to a close this year, the powerful pair could go into business together, spreading their brand of urban planning across the globe. Several former Bloomberg administration sources confirmed that the two have been in discussions about forming their own urban-planning policy institute, either as an offshoot of Mayor Michael Bloomberg's foundation or as a stand-alone entity. Another source said they were angling to open a global consulting firm.

"Those two have traveled together on their own time," a former administration official said. "They've done the urban-planning grand tour."

The pair are the latest administration all-stars planning their exodus as part of a transition that is as likely to transform the private sector as it is the face of government. Aides to Ed Koch, the last three-term mayor, turned their government experience into prominent careers. Some, like developer Bruce Ratner and transportation planner Sam Schwartz, continue to influence public policy. Top Bloomberg alumni may go even further.

Districting Commission makes withdrawal official

From NY1:

The city's districting commission, charged with redrawing the lines that make up the 51 City Council districts, voted to withdraw their original plan Tuesday and hold more public hearings before coming up with a new one. NY1's Zack Fink has the story.

The hastily called meeting came amid questions about whether the commission had the authority to withdraw the maps it had already submitted.

After receiving assurances from the the city's law department, the commission voted unanimously to take back its maps and hold a new round of public hearings.

But that wasn't all. The commission also voted for two changes to the maps.

One change addressed a controversy involving the embattled Assemblyman Vito Lopez.

After the maps had already been voted on by the commission, Lopez's ally, City Councilman Erik Dilan, requested that Lopez's home be moved to the neighboring 34th district where it would be easier for Lopez to run for City Council.

"My concern was that in voting on these several changes, which I don't disagree with, we leave the perception that that's all we are going to do," Padavan said.

Several organizations are seeking additional changes to the maps and their concerns were not addressed.

"I just wanted to make sure that it was understood that this plan isn't adopted because we just revised it," Ognibene said. "There still needs to be public hearings, this is not part of the adopted plan, and I wanted that clear."

The new round of public hearings are expected to take place in January.

N.B. The word unanimously is crossed out because Padavan actually abstained from voting.

Derek Lee back as Queens DOB Commissioner

From DOB press release:

Buildings Commissioner Robert LiMandri today announced a rotation of the Department’s Borough Commissioners in an effort to increase the efficiency and productivity of the agency’s operations. For the second time in four years, the Borough Commissioners have been rotated to further standardize plan review operations and streamline the construction project approval process citywide. Each Borough Commissioner oversees the review of construction-related applications and plans in their respective boroughs, and in 2011, Department plan examiners reviewed more than 450,000 sets of construction plans. Effective immediately, this latest rotation shifts experienced professionals into new leadership roles to better facilitate development and ensure builders, developers and design professionals follow the City’s strict safety standards. The Borough Commissioners have a combined 124 years of experience in the architectural, engineering and construction fields.

Derek Lee, Queens Borough Commissioner – Derek Lee is a New York State Registered Architect with 35 years of experience with commercial, industrial and institutional buildings. Joining the Department in 2000 as a Plan Examiner, Borough Commissioner Lee was promoted to Plan Examiner Squad Leader in 2001, then Deputy Queens Borough Commissioner, where he participated in the structural assessment of buildings in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2011, and the jetliner crash in Belle Harbor, Queens. In 2006, he was appointed as Queens Borough Commissioner, then Brooklyn Borough Commissioner in 2008 and Manhattan Borough Commissioner in 2009. Prior to joining the Department, Borough Commissioner Lee served as a Principal at Lee Associates, an architectural and engineering firm, an Architectural Designer and Construction Manager at Graf & Chan Architects and a Designer at Galson & Galson Consulting Engineers.

Former commissioner has a big debt to pay

From the NY Times:

A former senior Bloomberg administration official has been fined $22,000 by the city’s Conflicts of Interest Board, primarily for using a city computer account to send e-mails related to her paid service as a board member of a real estate company.

Martha E. Stark, a former Department of Finance commissioner who resigned in 2009, acknowledged that she sent roughly 300 e-mails from her city account, over a four-year period, related to the Tarragon Corporation. Ms. Stark also acknowledged that she asked a former first deputy commissioner, as well as an executive assistant, to work on administrative tasks related to Tarragon.

Tarragon, which does not do business with the city, had paid Ms. Stark more than $134,000 in 2006 and 2007, while she was serving as finance commissioner. She had received permission from the Conflicts Board to serve on the Tarragon board, but with the requirement that she not use city resources for Tarragon work.

According to the conflicts board (see report below), Ms. Stark also asked, using her city e-mail, the vice president and general counsel of a corporation that owns luxury rental apartment buildings to help her former domestic partner look for an apartment. And, again using her city account, with her default signature as city finance commissioner, she asked a senior official at a real estate trade association to help her recently laid-off stepsister find a job.