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From the
NY Times:
A campaign donor to Mayor Bill de Blasio secretly pleaded guilty in federal court to bribery, admitting that he used his contributions to the mayor to try to win favorable lease terms for a restaurant he owned on city property, newly unsealed court records show.
While the court papers included no charges against Mr. de Blasio or other city officials, a federal criminal information in the case makes it clear that the donor, Harendra Singh, got something in return.
The court documents said that the mayor took steps to benefit Mr. Singh in exchange for the contributions, and that an unnamed senior aide to Mr. de Blasio arranged a meeting to pressure a city agency to offer more favorable terms to Mr. Singh.
Last March, federal prosecutors who had investigated Mr. de Blasio’s fund-raising decided not to bring criminal charges against the mayor based on what they described as a high burden of proof and the challenge of proving corruption without “evidence of personal profit.”
Mr. Singh’s plea hearing occurred in a sealed Long Island courtroom before United States District Court Judge Sandra J. Feuerstein on Oct. 17, 2016; Mr. Singh said that his donations were intended as part of a quid pro quo, according to a transcript of the hearing.
“I gave these donations to the elected official in exchange for efforts by that official and other city officials to obtain a lease renewal from the city agency for my restaurant on terms that were favorable to me,” he said.
Mr. Singh did not name the mayor, and the court documents refer instead to an “Official #2” who received the donations; various details in the documents make it clear that the unnamed official is Mr. de Blasio.
From the
Daily News:
Mayor de Blasio avoided questions Sunday about his alleged intervention on behalf of a big campaign donor who threw two free fund-raisers for him.
The Daily News broke the story on its website Saturday, revealing that a former city deputy claims he was fired after protesting City Hall's interference for Harendra Singh, whose Queens restaurant owed the city nearly $750,000 in back rent.
The News revealed that de Blasio's campaign didn't bother paying the bill for fund-raisers in 2011 and 2013 at Singh's Water's Edge restaurant until the city Campaign Finance Board demanded documentation during an audit in 2015.
The News also revealed that de Blasio's top aide, director of governmental relations Emma Wolfe, personally intervened in the Water's Edge rent dispute with the city Department of Citywide Administrative Services.
Ricardo Morales, DCAS' deputy commissioner for asset management, was handling the Water's Edge negotiations and says he was fired in February because he complained that City Hall's "inappropriate involvement" violated city conflict-of-interest rules.
From
LIC Talk:
In February of 2016 the City decided to develop the land in and around the former Water’s Edge Restaurant on 44th Drive by the East River. Given the prospective zoning variance the city was offering, a pair of 60-story towers were possible on this choice piece of property, so the proposed project is massive. RFP’s from developers were due that May and were required to include a new school, some affordable housing, and a few other stipulations most notably a set aside for light manufacturing.
After submission the proposals would be reviewed by the NYCEDC (Economic Development Corp) and I was under the belief that shortly after the New Year they would pick 2-3 of those they deem viable for a bake-off, during which time there would be some community review and recommendations and then a winner would be chosen. Now I’m hearing grumblings that the city is going to bypass the middle step and just render a final decision.
Which is really a shame because in addition to ignoring those who are in the best position to determine local needs, it will also completely cut-off the possibility of what could be a fully integrated grand master plan for the entire northern riverfront section of Long Island City. The most obvious piece of this puzzle, the large lot just north of the Water’s Edge, is already ‘in-play,’ and the group controlling it has submitted a proposal incorporating this piece of land. This group had previously been shopping a plan just for their property that would have included a pedestrian bridge to the Cornell Technion campus on Roosevelt Island.
I don’t know anything about the rest of their plan, but that bridge alone might be worth its weight in gold to Long Island City. As an interested resident I would very much want to see how their plan stacks up to whatever other proposals the NYCEDC chooses.
From
DNA Info:
Riverside restaurant and wedding venue Water's Edge is once again shuttered — closed for renovations for the second time since its owner was indicted on federal charges this fall.
The waterfront eatery, located at the end of 44th Drive in Long Island City, is closed for construction "under new owners and new management," according to a sign posted on the front door, which promises the venue will "re-open very soon."
The future of the restaurant has been under scrutiny since owner Harendra Singh was indicted on bribery and fraud charges in September, including an allegation that he lied about damages the Water's Edge suffered during Hurricane Sandy to score federal relief funds, prosecutors said.
