Broadway Stages is suing the state to block probe into donations to de Blasio's corrupted CONY fund

NY Post


A major donor to Mayor de Blasio’s since-shuttered nonprofit is suing to block a state probe of its $60,000 in contributions.

Broadway Stages claims that the Joint Commission on Public Ethics exceeded its authority by slapping the TV and film production company with an Aug. 19 subpoena.

The subpoena seeks copies of “all communications” between Broadway Stages and de Blasio, his defunct Campaign for One New York charity and lobbyist James Capalino, according to the lawsuit filed in state Supreme Court in Albany.

Broadway Stages — whose CEO and president, Gina Argento, raised more than $110,000 for de Blasio’s 2013 campaign and transition, making her Hizzoner’s No. 2 bundler — claims that state law allows JCOPE to investigate only officials who receive gifts, and not those who give them.

Its lawsuit, filed Thursday, also denies that the company donated to CONY “at the direction of the Mayor (or any other public official).”

Cozy relationships may have brought shelter to College Point

From the Times Ledger:

City Councilman Paul Vallone (D-Bayside) confirmed Thursday that a controversial men’s shelter will open in College Point next year.

The Department of Homeless Services (DHS) spoke to Vallone Nov. 14 and notified him that they would be moving forward with the proposed shelter at 127-03 20th Ave.

According to the Vallone, the shelter could come as early as next September.

“Our fears were confirmed that 127-03 20th Avenue has been approved for use as a homeless shelter as early as September 2019,” Vallone said. “David Levitan’s greed sold out all of College Point for profit over the needs of our entire community.”

“This is a site that was deliberately purchased and converted for use as a homeless shelter — a despicable act by one owner who has no regard for the communities he infiltrates. We will continue to fight and stand with College Point,” he added.

Despicable act by one owner?

Yes, it was deliberately purchased and converted for use as a homeless shelter by David Levitan and Steven Berger. So who really sold out College Point since everyone knows what those two are all about? Why, it was none other than Gina Argento of Broadway Stages fame, a close friend of the mayor! Let's not forget that her husband, John Ciafone, has organized at least one fundraiser for Peter Vallone, and has been friends with the Vallone family for decades. Hmmm....

Also note that the sale of the property happened more than a year ago (just before the City Council election), but the transfer didn't happen until well after, in March.

Not to worry, we're sure Vallone and the born-again progressive, John Liu, will be right on top of this one. The voters of northeast Queens are to be applauded for their wise choices at the polls.

Ciafone throws BdB under the bus

From the Daily News:

Directly hit up for big-dollar donations by Mayor de Blasio and his associates, the owner of a movie and TV production services company complied for fear that her business would be crippled if she failed to raise money for the mayor’s causes, her husband told the Daily News.

“There was never a threat or anything, but if your boss says you gotta do it, you gotta play ball,” lawyer John Ciafone said of his wife Gina Argento, the power behind Broadway Stages in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.

“He’s asked her (for money) and then his minions asked her and Broadway Stages.”

The requests paid off — Argento raised $167,000 for the mayor and his causes, including writing four checks totaling $70,000 from herself and her companies.

“Here’s their concern, which is why they have to play the game of giving,” he said of Broadway Stages. “In the film industry, you have to take over parking on the block for the filming. At different times it was difficult to film because the mayor’s office would arbitrarily issue hot spots.”

He described the “hot spots” as areas “where you can’t film in that area.”

“They get complaints, they say ‘We’ve been oversaturated with complaints. We want a freeze.’ That was done in Long Island City, parts of Brooklyn, Greenpoint. Specifically Broadway Stages, they were given hot spots right outside of where they’re located. They had hot spots right outside their building. No explanation. It’s their discretion. It is what it is,” he said.

Ciafone said if the mayor’s office denied a permit, there was no recourse.

“There’s not much you can do about it. It’s up to the discretion of the mayor's office of film where they’re going to instill those hot spots,” he said. “For TV or movie productions, it can be devastating. Suppose you’re filming and you want the flavor of a brownstone neighborhood or you want the flavor of New York City skyscrapers?”

And then there's the stop work order that de Blasio allegedly had lifted for another of his donor pals.

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.

Preet scrutinizing campaign donors

From the NY Times:

A federal investigation into Mayor Bill de Blasio’s campaign fund-raising has zeroed in on whether donations were exchanged for beneficial city action in about a half-dozen cases, according to people with knowledge of the inquiry.

The matters under scrutiny, the people said, involve, among others, a company whose soundstages are used to film television shows such as “The Good Wife” and “Blue Bloods” that wanted to expand its operations, and that depends on city permits; those connected to a lucrative development deal on the site of a former hospital that needed city approvals; a popular restaurant and wedding site that was negotiating a new lease with the city; and a garbage bag company seeking a city contract.

Some of the earliest and most generous donors to the Campaign for One New York are among those whose contributions — along with their actions and those of the mayor and members of his administration and campaign staff — are under scrutiny, several people with knowledge of the inquiry said.

The first two donations to the group, made on Jan. 24, 2014, just weeks after Mr. de Blasio was sworn in, were for $25,000 each and came from Broadway Stages, the soundstage company seeking to expand, and the company’s president, Gina Argento.

By then, Ms. Argento and her company were well known to the mayor. She was the second-largest bundler of contributions for his 2013 run — city records show she brought in over $100,000 for the campaign and transition — and even spent $250 to rent the costumes that Mr. de Blasio and his wife, Chirlane McCray, wore at a 2014 Halloween party for children at Gracie Mansion. (The company said it also paid for costumes for more than 100 children from homeless shelters who attended the party.)

One of Ms. Argento’s companies also gave $10,000 to the Putnam County Democratic Committee in October 2014, when the mayor was urging his donors to support Democratic efforts to wrest control of the State Senate.

Broadway Stages also gave $35,000 to the Mayor’s Fund to Advance NYC, a charity that is led by Ms. McCray. Ms. Argento served on the group’s advisory board until July.

John J. Ciafone, a lawyer who is married to Ms. Argento and represents her and Broadway Stages, would not confirm the existence of a federal inquiry, but said that neither she nor the company had engaged in wrongdoing. Neither, he said, had sought help from the administration for Broadway Stages’ expansion plans, which include new soundstages in Brooklyn and on Staten Island, in exchange for its contributions.

“Broadway Stages and Gina Argento has not gotten a penny from the city for any of these projects — not a penny!” he said.

Mr. Ciafone suggested that his wife and the company had been pressured to donate. Their business, he said, relied directly on the discretion of the mayor’s office, which issues film permits from the film commissioner.

“They put a lot of pressure on people like Broadway Stages and I’m sure the other film people to give money to the mayor, to give money to C.O.N.Y.,” he said, referring to the mayor’s nonprofit.

Mr. Ciafone said there could be “repercussions in terms of not contributing,” adding, “People don’t understand that.”

Mr. Ciafone said the pressure had not come from Mr. de Blasio himself, but rather “from several people — fund-raisers, staff fund-raisers, several people on behalf of the mayor” whom he could not name.

He also denied suggestions that Ms. Argento had engaged in a so-called straw donor scheme, saying Mr. de Blasio’s campaign had attributed donors to her whom he said she had not solicited.

Press questioning Broadway Stages campaign contributions

From the NY Post:

Donors affiliated with a major TV and film production company who never gave more than $250 to any city office donated thousands to Mayor de Blasio in 2013 — and are now dodging questions about the big-money contributions.

Of some two dozen donors employed or affiliated with Brooklyn-based Broadway Stages who were contacted by The Post, only the husband of company President Gina Argento said the $4,000 he gave came from his own pocket.

Argento rounded up $111,805 for Mayor de Blasio’s campaign and transition committee in 2013, making her one of his biggest financial backers.

Most of the generous donors didn’t respond to calls, but four told The Post they either couldn’t recall giving, had no knowledge of the donations or referred questions to their lawyers. “I don’t know anything about it,” said Bianca Netto, listed as giving $9,450 to de Blasio’s campaign and transition committee in October and December 2013.

Two other donors listed as part of Argento’s bundling efforts weren’t able to confirm the accuracy of donation records.

Monica Holowacz gave $4,000 through Argento while working as an office assistant at Lights on Brooklyn, records show.

But when asked about the donation, she said: “I don’t know what you’re talking about” before hanging up.

Joshua Huffman, a production coordinator for Woodridge Productions who gave $3,050 according to records, said he couldn’t remember the donation.

“I don’t recall, but I’d have to talk to my lawyer about it,” he said.

Once again, Miss Heather had this whole thing figured out in 2014. It took the press awhile to notice.

Pay to play (or be an appointee)

From the Daily News:

Companies owned by two big contributors de Blasio appointed to VIP slots had serious integrity issues before the mayor rewarded them for their money-raising, a Daily News review has found.

One co-owned a company the city had declared lacked “good character, honesty and integrity,” while the other owed the city $1.2 million in lease payments and fees.

Not a problem. The mayor appointed both to several advisory boards.

The two showed up on an internal spreadsheet of top donors, lobbyists and other New York power players up for mayoral appointments to unpaid boards and commissions revealed by the Daily News Monday.

Businesswoman Gina Argento made the list after raising $97,780 for the mayor through bundled checks from friends and employees of her firm, Broadway Stage.

And in January 2014, she was first in line to write checks totaling $50,000 for the Campaign for One New York, the fund de Blasio set up to support his causes.

Most of Argento’s checks to de Blasio started arriving Oct. 1, 2013 — a month before he was elected and not long after the city Business Integrity Commission found a firm she co-owned, Luna Lighting Inc., “lacks good character, honesty and integrity.”

In May 2013, the commission rejected Luna’s request for a waste hauling license on two grounds: Luna had paid an $18,000 fine after admitting it repeatedly illegally hauled construction debris and ignored city demands to pay off a $620,000 IRS tax lien.

A little over a year later, de Blasio put Argento on his Fund for the Advancement of New York City, a nonprofit run by his wife, Chirlane McCray, that raises private funds for city programs.

And he put her on his committee to try to lure the Democratic National Convention to Brooklyn, and the city’s Workforce Investment Board, which advises the city on workforce issues and oversaw a $65.5 million budget in 2014.

It’s unclear whether Argento paid the back taxes. She did not return repeat calls seeking comment.

On Tuesday, mayoral spokesman Peter Kadushan declined to address the integrity panel’s license rejection, stating only that Argento was put on the Workforce Board “because of her experience in the film and television industry and years as a small-business owner who has created local jobs.”

Ok. I exposed this 2 1/2 years ago, so what took the Daily News so long to figure this out? Have they also figured out that she's married to John Ciafone of ridiculous canopy fame?

Ciafones dabbling in dead storage

44-19 Broadway, Astoria. You may recall this property from a previous post that noted that Gina Argento owes $30K in fines on it.

It also still has a stop work order on it.

But there's something I forgot to mention last time.

The used car parking lot/dead storage in the yard next to it, also owned by Gina.

Step right up, folks. Johnny Ciafone will give you a great deal!

Proposed Atlas Park development site sold to Gina Argento-Ciafone

From the Queens Courier:

Glendale is ready for its close-up.

Brooklyn-based television and film production company Broadway Stages plans to build a massive film studio and retail complex in the neighborhood with existing warehouses.

The firm purchased Atlas Terminals, a huge industrial park with buildings adjacent to The Shops at Atlas Park mall, for $19.5 million, as first reported by The Courier on Monday.

“We’re excited to turn the existing warehouses at Atlas Terminals into some TV and film studios and create rental space for local mom and pop retail businesses,” said Jackie Kessel, Broadway Stages spokeswoman. “We look forward to working with local officials as we develop our plans to draw on all of the energy around Atlas Park, bringing new jobs, business growth and economic development to Queens.”

you may recall that this site was promoted as a future shopping center, and in recent months, Fairway was rumored to be the anchor tenant. I guess that's not happening.

Hey, maybe Gina will donate to the anti-homeless shelter fund!

Argentos to receive "good Catholic" awards

From the Catholic Foundation.

I guess they've been spreading their dough around...

Big campaign donor paid for DeBlasios' costumes

From the Observer:

Mayor Bill de Blasio and his wife Chirlane McCray were decked out in Greek finery at Tuesday’s Gracie Mansion Halloween party, and they didn’t have to pay a single drachma.

The First Couple’s Halloween costumes were paid for by Broadway Stages, a Brooklyn company whose employees donated $25,000 to Mr. de Blasio’s campaign. The outfits were rented from Abracadabra for $350.

Broadway Stages, a film, television and music production facility, was responsible for the mayor appearing on The Good Wife in March.

The company also paid for the costumes of 100 children from city homeless shelters who attended the Gracie monster mash.

No conflict of interest there. Nah...

Newtown Creek projects still in limbo

City Parks Foundation released an update on the status of the Newtown Creek projects. The North Brooklyn Boat Club is still working on an agreement to be located inside Gina Argento's hotel next to the Pulaski Bridge. They are potentially sitting on $3M, but have not been given a deadline to ink an agreement. I'd like to remind you all that they came in 3rd place in the voting.

Meanwhile, the only Queens project on the list, the Dutch Kills basin park, has been given a deadline of May 2015 to find a new site or their funding gets taken away. I'll also take this opportunity to remind you that this project came in first place in the voting.

But everything going on with regard to these funds is totally above board.

Guess who bought the Sunnyside Theatre?

From the Sunnyside Post:

...Center Cinemas’ lease comes to an end December 31 and Rudy Prichard, the owner of the movie theater, has yet to hear whether his lease will be renewed. He is not hopeful.

As for PJ Horgan’s, its lease ends June 2018. The owner of the bar could not be reached for comment.

The former bank building, on paper, is owned by 42-25 Queens Boulevard Realty Corp.

However, according to several sources, Gina Argento, the president of Broadway Stages, the Brooklyn-based TV and movie production company, is the owner.

Argento could not be reached for comment.
____________________________________________

Just click the link above and you'll see it's true.

I suppose we'll see a John Ciafone banner hanging off the side of whatever is built here.

Google Street View reveals Ciafone-mobile

31-76 38th Street. This one grabs attention not for illegal signs hanging off the building, but because John Ciafone's campaign van is parked on the paved-over front lawn and sticking out onto the sidewalk. The curb cut was unauthorized as well. The joke of it all is that Ciafone's wife, Gina Argento, paid a $500 fine and the issue was marked "resolved" after legalization papers were filed. The fact that the illegal driveway led to an illegal parking pad was not an issue, I suppose.

"Mayor's Fund to Advance NYC" is full of notorious developers

From Capital New York:

Mayor Bill de Blasio wants the city's parks and playgrounds to offer year-round equipment and recreational activites for adults and senior citizens, not only children.

The mayor presented that idea Monday morning, when he laid out several of his fund-raising goals during a closed-door meeting of the newly formed, 58-member board of advisers to the Mayor's Fund to Advance New York City, according to a document obtained by Capital.

His wife, Chirlane McCray, chairs the Mayor's Fund, a 20-year-old organization that solicits donations to bolster initiatives run out of City Hall.

The three-page document outlines three priorities for de Blasio and McCray, who met with the board at Gracie Mansion.

The first idea is upgrading parks, pools and playgrounds.

"In addition to the conventional park equipment for children and passive recreation space, the model envisions: multi-purpose equipment for adults and seniors; year-round programming for kids and adults; wifi connectivity; site specific apps complementing on-site programs; unique public safety elements grounded in community policing models - all of which will build on local community partnership and park 'ownership,'" according to the memo, which was distributed to those attending the meeting.

That program will be run jointly by the city's health, education and parks departments, the mayor's Community Affairs Unit and the NYPD.

And here are the members of the Fund. Miss Heather has the poop, er, scoop:

The Mayor’s Fund to Advance New York City Board of Advisors:

Husam Ahmad, HAKS Construction
Marisol Alcantara, West Harlem District Leader
Jo Andres, Artist, Filmmaker & Choreographer
Gina Argento, Broadway Stages
Barry Berke, Kramer Levin
Anthony Bonomo, Physicians’ Reciprocal Insurers
Barbara Bowen, Professional Staff Congress
Jill Bright, Conde Nast
Steve Buscemi, Actor
Derrick Cephas, Weil, Gotshal & Manges
Janet Dewart Bell, Communications and Policy Consultant
Cheryl Effron, Founder, Conjunction Fund & Founder, Greater NY
Jay Eisenhofer, Grant & Eisenhofer
Steven Feldman, Bullion International
Hal Fetner, Sidney Fetner Associates
Marian Fontana, Writer, Performer & Founder, 9-11 Families Association
Charlene Gayle, Macon Realty
Aron Govil, Ducon Technologies
Beth Green, Attorney
George Gresham, 1199 SEIU
Jon Halpern, Halpern Real Estate Ventures
Fred Heller, Metro Systems
Louis Hernandez, Former President, NYPD Hispanic Society
Anne Hess, MADRE & Philanthropist
Lorna Brett Howard, Philanthropist
Laura Imperiale, Tully Construction
Amabel Boyce James, Philanthropist
Orin Kramer, Boston Provident
Pam Kwatra, Kripari Marketing
John McAvoy, Con Edison of New York
Mary McCormick, Fund for the City of New York
Cheryl McKissack, McKissack & McKissack
Ron Moelis, L+M Development
Rud Morales, Primary One, Inc.
Mike Muse, Muse Recordings
Charles Myers, Evercore Partners
Cynthia Nixon, Actor
Ronald O. Perelman, MacAndrews and Forbes
Bruce Ratner, Forest City Ratner
Steven Rubenstein, Rubenstein Communications
Bill Rudin, Rudin Management
Bill Samuels, Effective New York
Mary Sansone, Congress of Italian-Americans Organization
Chris Shelton, CWA, District 1
Harendra Singh, Singh Hospitality Group
Daisy Soros, Paul and Daisy Soros Fellowships for New Americans
Jerry Speyer, Tishman Speyer
Rob Speyer, Tishman Speyer
Mary Alice Stephenson, GLAM4GOOD
Stuart Suna, Silvercup Studios
Ken Sunshine, Sunshine Sachs
Carol Sutton Lewis, Carol Sutton Lewis and William M. Lewis, Jr. Charitable Foundation
Jon Tisch, Loews
Dan Tishman, Tishman Construction
Estela Vasquez, 1199 SEIU
George Walker, Neuberger Berman
Jeff Wilpon, Sterling Equities
Steven Witkoff, The Witkoff Group

The names highlighted should get your attention. So much for the DeBlasios being real progressives. They're nothing but tweeders. Filling an advisory board with folks that have resisted and/or gotten around providing promised affordable housing, taken advantage of eminent domain for private gain, as well as a chick with an on-the-record a shady past, patners-in-grime with a slumlord who plans to use Newtown Creek environmental settlement money to build a hotel? What a joke.

You simply can't make this sh*t up.

Broadway Stages now doing cellar repairs

Well here we are at the John Ciafone-owned 23-22 Steinway Street.

Last year, he applied for a permit to "CONVERT EXISTING ONE FAMILY APARTMENT TO STORE AND CREATE DUPLEX WITH CELLAR". The plans were justifiably rejected.

Now he's got a permit to do "minor concrete slab repairs in the cellar". I didn't realize you needed a permit to do "minor repairs". You'll note that the general contractor hired for this work is none other than Broadway Stages, which he supposedly works for part time and his wife half-owns. (Hopefully he'll go elsewhere for his garbage hauling needs.)

Gina Argento owes the City $30,000 just for one property

44-19 Broadway in Astoria. This property has been hit with an illegal sign violation for Ciafone's offensive banners that still hasn't been corrected. You'd think the psychic would have told him that was coming.

It also has a stop work order on it from 2010 and $30,000 in outstanding fines.

What would we do without the gruesome twosome? Well, we know the boathouse would be up shit's creek, that's for sure. It's ok to fraternize with slumlords so long as you can store kayaks on their property.

Mrs. Slumlord has her own thing going on

"So I recently came across your complaints against Ciafone, my former landlord. He refused to give my roommate and I our security deposit back, telling us individually that the other roommate used it for a month of rent. So we brought him copies of all the checks he deposited, with "Gina Argento" signature on the back. He avoided our phone calls for the next couple of months. Until finally we had a lawyer friend get in contact with him. He then proceeded to take down our new addresses where he would then be sending our security back to us. That never happened, and we could never get in contact with him again. During this whole process John would only tell us that he was NOT the landlord of the building, and when we asked who Gina Argento was (the person the checks were going to) he claimed he had no idea what we were talking about.

What do I do!! I want to catch this scumbag. Thanks!"

Anonymous

I inquired as to which building this person lived in.

"I lived in the one on Steinway, 25-59. Really run down, didn't have smoke detectors when we moved in. But we wrote the checks to Gina Argento and slid them under his door every month, and I still have copies of the checks."

Ah, slid them under his law office door...

Here's the list of 25 open violations for this property. And here's what you get on HPD's website:

Why isn't this building currently registered at HPD? It is, by all appearances, a rent-stabilized building. Do the tenants of this building realize they are living in rent-stabilized apartments, or is deception about that also part of the game?

I replied to this unfortunate individual that the best course of action would be a report to HPD and a small claims court lawsuit.

Furthermore:

• Why does the Brooklyn Borough President continue to allow Gina Argento to sit on Brooklyn CB1?
• Why do politicians fawn all over her considering her history?
• Why are DEC and City Parks Foundation allowing a boat house to be constructed with taxpayer money on a parcel she half-owns since her city-regulated properties have lots of unresolved issues?

Boathouse meeting attempts to "clear the air" but instead raises more questions

"Harbor Master" Dewey Thompson speaks at one of the meeting sessions

Last week, 2 meeting sessions were held that were meant to settle the controversy surrounding the North Brooklyn Boat Club's attempt to stealthily move its proposed permanent location from the Greenpoint Manufacturing and Design Center to a yet-to-be built hotel owned by the Argentos.

Unfortunately, the meetings raised more questions than they answered.

Adam Perlmutter, speaking on the behalf of the NBBC, noted that the boat club/"education center" could not be located at the GMDC because the GMDC lacked a Certificate of Occupancy. He really harped on this point. If this is the case then:

Why was a proposal (to be voted upon) filed in the first place for the GMDC location?
Why move to the new location, 51 Ash Street, which does not have a valid C of O?

A land use attorney - incidentally, one behind the Williamsburg-Greenpoint Rezoning of 2005 - knows full well that a new C of O is obtained upon change of use of the building, so it's uncertain what the purpose of this explanation was.

As per Curbed:

Nonprofit City Parks Foundation, which, to put things as simply as possible, is actually responsible for getting the boathouse built, paid one architect until the project's lack of progress rendered that firm unavailable. Then funds were spent hiring a second architect. Madonna Architects received $3,000, and Ed Weinstein Architects received $36,444.13.

City Parks Foundation was charged with determining the feasibility of the projects before, during and after the vote. If an agreement to locate the boathouse at the GMDC was not made prior to the vote, then why was it even on the ballot and put in first place? Quite a few other projects were jettisoned by City Parks Foundation due to lack of feasibility before the vote, but not this one. Why is that?

The club is currently operating out of a temporary location at 51 Ash Street. That site is owned by Broadway Stages, and negotiations are now underway to build the boathouse at that location instead of the Manhattan Avenue one. There are renderings, but due to ongoing negotiations, Thompson said the NBBC cannot share them at this time.

So we're how many years past the vote and we're still negotiating a new location? This seems pretty asinine, especially for a project that came in 3rd place in the voting.

...meanwhile, a revised budget for the 51 Ash Street site has not yet been released.

And why is that? City Parks Foundation was required to report back to the DEC with a revised budget at regular intervals, so this sounds rather lame. The GMDC plan would have been a much larger undertaking, so the new revised cost should be much less - freeing up money for other projects on the list. Is this dilly-dallying fair to the rest of the stakeholders?

As for New York Shitty's assertion that boathouse funds are being used for a "transient hotel," Thompson said that landlord Broadway Stages is working on its own separate commercial plans for the site, but hasn't announced what their function (or functions) will be.

Actually, Gina Argento quite clearly stated to the Daily News that she was building a hotel at that location (and expected to split the cost of construction with the boathouse). Perhaps the NBBC is still in negotiations with the Argentos because it was revealed to Gina that she won't be seeing any of that money?

Now here's where it gets really interesting. From the The Greenpoint Gazette:

Brian Coleman, the CEO of GMDC said his organization was unceremoniously dumped from the process involving the boathouse’s construction.

“How is this project in any way benefitting the community in its new location?” he asked at the meeting. “Why have we yet to receive any formal notice regarding our participation in the project?”

As the process dragged on, the Boat Club temporarily relocated to 51 Ash Street, a property owned by Broadway Stages, which is offering the space rent-free to the Boat Club.

Coleman said he was never informed of the change and that his organization was never formally asked to step away from the project. In addition, he argued that the Ash Street location would not offer as much open space to the project as the location on Manhattan Avenue.

Coleman and other concerned residents argue that the Ash Street property will soon be home to a private club and hotel owned by Broadway Stages and the Boat Club’s presence on the same property will mean that Broadway Stages will pocket part of the funds.

From the Brooklyn Paper:

Coleman wanted too much money for the waterfront plot, which floods, and worried the building lacked the proper permits to house the education programs the paddlers want to conduct, according to club founder and harbor master Dewey Thompson.

See point above about getting a new C of O, and as for asking for too much money, when you advocate for the massive upzoning of your neighborhood, that's generally what happens. GWAPP, sponsors of the boathouse, supported this rezoning.

Original boathouse proposal at GMDC

The proposal that the community actually voted on was one that would provide repair of the large bulkhead at GMDC which would allow public access to the Creek, an esplanade/park on the waterfront, an environmental center/boathouse and educational programs run by the boathouse out of an historical building.

What they will instead be getting is: no public esplanade/park on the waterfront, no repair of the large bulkhead at the GMDC, but repair of a much smaller one at the new location and an environmental center/boathouse IF and WHEN the Argentos build their "transient" hotel. And how funny is it that so-called "environmental groups" are coalescing around the Argentos, considering their unauthorized actions in the waste trade business?

It sounds like a bait-and-switch, with the focal point being a free boathouse for these folks, in return for them providing only a fraction of what was promised. What's worse is when the CPF and DEC come out with statements like the following:

The mariners contended that Greenpoint Manufacturing was only on the forms as a possible landlord, not a partner, and a state spokeswoman agreed, saying at the hearing that the club had the right to look elsewhere for boat-housing when negotiations collapsed.

"They have the right to look for a new location for the boathouse" is basically letting the public know that this is all this vote was ever about. Let me remind you about the conflicts of interest that abound here. Some in attendance stated that it seemed that the NBBC simply wanted a boathouse and didn't care where it was built, so long as they could find someone to pay for it. And all else involved went along happily.

Thompson said he hopes the boathouse will be open by 2016.

And back when the vote was taken, we all expected the boathouse to be open by now... Instead we got this:

Reform pol doesn't care who gives him money

From City and State:

Another progressive whose TIE fundraising appears to be incongruous with his politics is Councilman Carlos Menchaca, who, like Johnson, was selected as a freshman by his borough colleagues to be a co-leader of their respective delegations. Menchaca ran as a reformist insurgent against Sara Gonzalez, whom he vilified as a tool of “Manhattan millionaire developers” for receiving support from Jobs for New York, the Real Estate Board’s independent expenditure arm. But soon after taking office, Menchaca accepted $1,500 in TIE funding from Taxpayers for an Affordable New York, which is essentially run and funded by the same major property owners who spearheaded Jobs for New York.

Menchaca also took $1,500 from John Ciafone, a Queens lawyer and property owner who was listed on Public Advocate Bill de Blasio’s Worst Slumlord watchlist in 2011. De Blasio returned two large contributions from Ciafone when it was revealed that he was a donor, but Menchaca is apparently untroubled by or unaware of whom he is accepting from.

John Ciafone’s wife is Gina Argento, the CEO of Broadway Stages, a large television and film production studio and sound stage company in Brooklyn and Queens. Argento and her brother Anthony Argento are prolific contributors to political campaigns, and each gave $1,500 to Menchaca’s TIE committee.

Last year the Argentos applied to have a subsidiary company, Luna Lighting, receive a license to operate as a trade waste business, which would allow the company to cart demolition and construction debris from worksites. As the Argentos have ownership interest in many industrial sites that they would like to repurpose for other commercial uses (for example, the Knockdown Center in Maspeth), owning their own demolition hauling company would provide vertical integration to their business. The city’s Business Integrity Commission issued a harsh denial of the Argentos’ application, citing a history of illegal carting by Luna Lighting, and also misrepresentation by Anthony Argento of his arrest record.

Furthermore, Anthony Argento was shown to have over $1 million in federal tax liens against him, as well as his business. As of April 2013 Argento owed the Internal Revenue Service more than $600,000. This information was all published by the city and is a matter of public record. One imagines that Menchaca or his staff must have done some cursory analysis of who was giving him money. Or perhaps the Argentos have papered the city with enough contributions that their questionable business practices do not raise the eyebrows of even the most progressive elected officials.
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"Today's reformer is tomorrow's hack." - Meade Esposito