It's good to be Borough President!

From the New York World:

They have grandiose titles, but the city’s five borough presidents are actually invested with little power by the city charter. Blame the U.S. Supreme Court, which 24 years ago said it was undemocratic for tiny Staten Island and massive Queens have equal voting power, and forced the end of the once powerful Board of Estimate.

Candidates are nonetheless swirling to replace the four beeps who are being term limited out of office this year, in Queens, Brooklyn, Manhattan and Staten Island. So far they’ve convinced donors to throw more than $5.3 million their way, and are poised to qualify for nearly $1 million in public matching funds.

Why would anyone want a job whose power appears so slim? Maybe it’s because borough presidents have grown highly creative in finding ways to wield what relatively little they’ve got. Sometimes, they’ve accomplished great things for their communities. And sometimes for themselves.

The new crew can learn from the moves of veteran masters:

1. Make nice with developers
2. Clean up Sin City
3. Bank on the capital budget
4. Be king or queen of your own nonprofit
5. Nerd out
6. Why show up at all? Just take a vacation!

Each motive is explained in the article.

Our tax dollars used to bail out huge developer

From the Wall Street Journal:

When the city agreed to pick up the tab for the extension of the No. 7 subway line to ease the creation of a new office and residential district on the far West Side, it expected the project could begin paying for itself as early as 2008.

Instead, a single 1.7 million square-foot office tower in the Hudson Yards area has broken ground, while the project envisions 25 million square feet of new office space. And the district generated 40% less revenue from taxes and other development fees than projected between 2006 and 2012, according to a report to be released Wednesday by the New York City Independent Budget Office.

Hudson Yards was expected to produce $283 million in revenue through 2012, but it actually created $170 million, according to the report by IBO, an independent city agency that studies the local economy.

"The commercial development has been much slower than they thought," said Ana Champeny, a supervising analyst at IBO.

The city issued $3 billion in bonds to pay for subway construction and other infrastructure upgrades guaranteed by tax revenues in the area. If those revenues weren't enough to meet interest payments on the bonds, the Bloomberg administration agreed to pay those with additional money drawn from the city budget.

Real estate experts and budget-watchers have said the city was taking on too much risk by agreeing to make interest payments on the bonds out of the budget.

Nice, eh? Bloomberg is always there to bail his buddies out with our tax money. By the way, his buddy in this case is Related Company, the one he is giving a chunk of city parkland over to at Flushing Meadows so they can build a mall with the Wilpons.

Pols plead not guilty

The things you learn from TV. Malcolm Smith's office is in back of a Popeye's restaurant. Only in Jamaica!

Mayoral candidates won't say whether they are for or against soccer stadium

From Capital New York:

On Monday, Earth Day, the mayoral candidates appeared at a forum hosted by the New York League of Conservation Voters and held at the Great Hall at the Cooper Union, where President Abraham Lincoln delivered the "right makes might" address that helped propel him to the White House.

At one point well into what was a largely uneventful mayoral forum, moderator Brian Lehrer, of WNYC, asked the candidates to raise their hands if they were "solidly for the stadium."

Council Speaker Christine Quinn, Public Advocate Bill de Blasio, Comptroller John Liu, former comptroller Bill Thompson, former M.T.A. chairman Joe Lhota, former Bronx Borough president Adolfo Carrion, oil and supermarket magnate John Catsimatidis, former councilman Sal Albanese, and Doe Fund founder George McDonald all kept their hands in their laps.

"Is anybody solidly against the stadium?"

No one raised their hands.

Purves Street lot for sale (hooray?)

From The Real Deal:

A development site in the Court Square area of Long Island City is slated to hit the foreclosure auction block May 17 with an outstanding lien of $38.54 million.

The residential development site, at 44-30 Purves Street, was formerly controlled by developer and landlord Baruch Singer and investor David Weiss, who financed a residential project at the site in 2006 with a $13 million mortgage-backed loan from G3-Purves Street LLC, an entity which appears to be linked to Goldman Sachs.

The lender filed to foreclose on the property last year after Singer and Weiss reportedly broke the terms of their non-recourse loan agreement with G3 by failing to pay $90,000 they owed in real estate taxes and several other liens against the property.

Baruch and Weiss acquired the property for $9 million in 2006, public records show. The duo also appears to have purchased an adjacent site for $5 million; that site is subject to the same foreclosure action. They listed the property for sale in 2007 with a broker team from Pinnacle Realty but failed to find a buyer before losing control of the site.

You may recall Purves Street from previous posts with assistance from Miss Heather.

Hank Morris on his way out of prison

From the NY Post:

Hank Morris -- a top political adviser to disgraced ex-state Comptroller Alan Hevesi imprisoned in a pay-to-play pension fund scam – was granted parole in his fourth bid for freedom, state officials said today.

Morris had served 26 months behind bars after pleading guilty to securities fraud, admitting he used his connections to Hevesi to get millions of dollars for himself form firms seeking state pension fund business.

The state Parole Board approved Morris’ release in a decision on Monday after a state judge ordered a new hearing after claiming the board had unfairly held up the convict’s release by “inexplicably” failing to consider evidence in Morris’ favor.

Morris, 59, could be released June 3 or sooner.

More arrests of pols expected by voters

From the Daily News:

New Yorkers think their local pols are rotten to the core.

A new poll following the high-profile arrests of a raft of elected officials finds that that 81% of New York voters think more corruption busts are on the way — and a third think their own Senate or Assembly rep could get snagged.

“More than half of voters describe themselves as ‘distrustful’ and ‘cynical’ of New York politics and 91% say legislative corruption is a serious problem,” said Steven Greenberg of Siena College, which found Empire Staters split on whether law enforcement action or election reform might best clean up the mess.

New rules of the road for delivery bikes in effect

From NY1:

Delivery cyclists are facing new rules of the road today.

The City Council has updated the laws for commercial bicyclists in an effort to make the streets safer.

Under the new rules, commercial cyclists must wear reflective vests and bicycle helmets.

They must also carry a business ID card at all times.

Business owners must supply all of these items.

They must also make sure bikes are equipped with a bell, lights, brakes, reflectors and a sign showing the business name and bike ID number.

Violators face fines from $100 to $250.

For more on the city's bicycle laws, visit nyc.gov/bikes.

Mayoral candidate promotes illegal conversion of cellars

Finally, an honest candidate for mayor!

Vince Tabone is an angel

From the Daily News:

Former GOP honcho Vince Tabone has lawyered up -- and his new rep says the ex-operative will beat the bribery charges against him.

On the same day U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara raged against a pervasive corruption culture he said can only be changed through wholesale reform, Tabone's attorney called her client a "pillar" of his community who will be vindicated by the truth.

Tabone, former vice-chairman of the Queens County Republican Party, is charged with accepting payoffs to help state Sen. Malcolm Smith score a pass into the GOP mayoral primary while remaining a Democrat.

Lawyer Deborah Misir pushed back against characterizations of Tabone as a greedy, self-impressed hack in the wake of the federal case, which also resulted in charges against Smith, Queens City Councilman Dan Halloran, former Bronx GOP Chairman Jay Savino and the mayor and deputy mayor of Spring Valley.

Instead, she said, Tabone not only worked thousands of unpaid hours in the GOP's service, but has been a dedicated familiy man, active member of his church and loyal community servant.

Adult day care centers feel like cruise ships

From the NY Times:

Scores of elderly Russian immigrants played bingo under the chandeliers of a former funeral parlor in Brooklyn on a recent Monday, with a free dinner and door-to-door transportation from anywhere in the city.

Zhang Di Hua, 69, playing table tennis at Centre Street Adult Day Care in Chinatown, which receives money for serving impaired or disabled Medicaid recipients.

Nearby, older people speaking Chinese filled a supermarket-size storefront with vigorous games of table tennis, billiards and mah-jongg, and ordered free lunch from a takeout menu featuring minced pork, beef and salty fish.

In Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, at the new R G Social Adult Day Care Center, known locally among elderly immigrants for luring clients with cash and grocery vouchers, most people there for lunch did not stay to eat. Instead, many walked briskly toward the subway carrying bags stuffed with takeout containers, and two elderly men rode away on bicycles with the free food.

Not a wheelchair or walker was in sight at these so-called social adult day care centers. Yet the cost of attendance was indirectly being paid by Medicaid, under Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s sweeping redesign of $2 billion in spending on long-term care meant for the impaired elderly and those with disabilities.

Such centers have mushroomed, from storefronts and basements to a new development in the Bronx that recently figured in a corruption scandal. With little regulation and less oversight, they grew in two years from eight tiny programs for people with dementia to at least 192 businesses across the city.

Managed care companies, financed by Medicaid, pay the centers to provide services to members. But the door swings both ways: Centers also refer new clients to the companies.

With the largest Medicaid budget in the country, $54 billion, New York is trying not only to rein in runaway spending, but also to “rebalance” it, away from costly institutional care, like nursing homes and medical models known for overbilling, to inexpensive supports that keep people safely in their communities.

In that context, Jason Helgerson, the state’s Medicaid chief, defended the rapid expansion of social-model adult day care, saying that without a chance to socialize and connect with others, Medicaid clients would suffer a decline in health that would add costs. But when a reporter described some of the practices observed at centers, he expressed surprise and anger.

Some Mets live in Queens and the Post acts like it's a big deal

From the NY Post:

Blue-collar Mets stars have forsaken Yankee-style Manhattan condos to pitch their tents in two rental buildings on the Long Island City waterfront — a 20-minute drive or quick No. 7 train jaunt to Citi Field.

Neighborhood sources said the young players, along with manager Terry Collins, are concentrated in a shimmering 39-story building along the East River, where rents range from $2,200 to $6,000 a month, and a 32-story sister skyscraper two blocks away.

Residents say LIC has become an Amazin’ enclave.

“There aren’t too many areas of Queens where celebrities are living,” said Andrew Kleinberg, a portfolio manager and neighborhood blogger. “It adds cachet, and that’s hard to get here.”

Okay, just have to say that several members of the '86 Mets lived in Queens, some of them near where I lived. They hung out in local bars and lived among the unwashed masses. Most of the Brooklyn Dodgers lived in Brooklyn. This isn't something new so I have to wonder why it's newsworthy. Someone with a vested interest in filling buildings in LIC must have a friend at the Post.

Commercial advertising not welcome in historic districts

From Brownstoner:

Anti-corporate messages have appeared on Citi Bike stations in Fort Greene and Clinton Hill, and some Brooklyn residents are calling for removal of the stations on the grounds that they are inappropriate in historic neighborhoods, or that residents were not consulted about the locations.

Interesting point, they are hideous to begin with and really don't belong in an historic district, but do these folks really think that the plan would come before the LPC and that they wouldn't have approved it?  They do what the mayor wants.

Will white rooves prevent blackouts?

From DNA Info:

An environmental group is looking to help Astoria go green — by coating its rooftops in white.

The White Roof Project is bringing its initiative to Queens for the first time next month. The nonprofit covers sunlight-absorbing black tar roofs with white solar-reflective coating to keep buildings cooler, cut energy costs and relieve stress on the power grid.

Their first Astoria roof-coating will take place next month and is being funded by the U.S. Power Generating Company, which operates a power facility in the neighborhood.

White Roof Project is working with Queens Community Board 1 and Councilman Peter Vallone Jr. to find a local nonprofit or affordable housing group that would benefit from the rooftop makeover, which can cut a building's energy costs by up to 40 percent.

The white coating not only saves individual tenants money, but aids the whole city by reducing stress on the energy grid, lessening the likelihood of blackouts and so-called brown outs.

Astoria was home to a massive blackout in 2006, when much of Western Queens lost power for a staggering nine hot summer days.

A sad example for Earth Day

From SI Live:

Despite being approved by the state and city, a handful of local organizations have come together to try and prevent a Mansion Avenue property from having three residential structures built on it.

Protectors of Pine Oak Woods, the Great Kills Yacht Club, and the Natural Resources Protective Association (NRPA) are working together, hoping to convince the state to withdraw a wetland permit that allows for construction of three new homes near Great Kills Harbor.

"No houses in Great Kills Harbor!" is the slogan of the new coalition formed to fight against construction on the tidal wetlands.

Citing dangers to natural wetlands and the possibility of the constructed homes being flooded from massive storms, Ellen Pratt, conservation committee chairperson for Protectors, said the DEC approval makes no sense.

"The developer is fighting to build in wetlands at the same time (Federal Emergency Management Agency) funds are being used to buy tidal wetlands," Ms. Pratt said.

The coalition plans to press the state Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to withdraw a wetland permit which allowed for construction of three new homes at the water's edge, a permit granted prior to Hurricane Sandy.

The permit request was approved last June.

In the summer of 2011, every Staten Island politician, at the request of the Great Kills Yacht Club, united against the proposal that involved building on Mansion. They wrote to the state agency to voice their concerns, but were not able to prevent the DEC from green-lighting the project.

The latest garbage update from Jamaica

Will keep this short and sweet.



Apartment Building at 89-19 170th St, 89-17 170th St, 89-15 170th St. I have complained a million times in regards to this building and their trash containers which always have no lids and loose garbage in them. The winds blow this shit always over to our building across the street. DOS keeps going out there and fines them, but this continues over and over again. The owners must be forced to properly store their garbage. Right now it is not too bad but by Monday it will be much worse. This is a constant pattern.

2.169-23 90th Ave, corner empty lot at 170th St/90th Ave. Have been complaining about the condition of the sidewalk for over a year. DOB issued a violation several months ago, but the situation still has not been fixed. This owner rarely comes out to clean-up the garbage along side the sidewalk, does not cut the grass/weeds which is beginning to already get high and does not clean out the lot every now and then. Since I am always cleaning, I think I will claim this property through individual eminent domain but before I do that I will have a lawsuit against both the owner and the city, should I just happen to trip and get hurt while walking there.

3. Abandoned House at 89-24 168th Pl. Garbage in front of house including a bathtub that was dropped off there and the structure seems to be a hazard, especially since there is no fence around it. The low class scum on both sides of this house obviously have no problem since this has been like this for awhile. Garbage begats Garbage and low class scum begats low class scum.

4. Empty House at 89-25 168th Pl. This house has had a stop work order for a long time now, but the metal face is broken and all kind of shit can be dumped in there. Another eyesore on this skid row block, which could be a really nice little block if low class scum did not live there.

Here are the two options:

1. FIX IT

or

2 FIX IT DAMMIT.

Joe Moretti
Jamaica, NY 11432
http://cleanupjamaicaqueens.wordpress.com/

Developers not paying workers as promised

From the Daily News:

Real estate developers who are getting massive tax breaks to set aside a portion of their housing units for low- and moderate-income tenants are gypping their employees at those sites out of pay and benefits, the workers’ union is charging.

The Bloomberg administration’s little-known tax-abatement program has been used by developers to build housing in the city while taking advantage of an incentive that saves them millions of dollars in taxes.

To reap the benefit, the developers have agreed to set aside 20% of the housing units in a given project for affordable housing.

The program also requires building owners to pay their employees a prevailing wage comparable to workers at similar projects.

But the established pay scales are being ignored by many deep-pocketed developers, charge officials from 32BJ SEIU, the union that represents office cleaners, security officers, apartment building workers and others.

In Park Slope, six building employees at 150 Fourth Ave. were fired in February after they complained about working for $10.50 an hour without benefits, far lower than the estimated prevailing rate of $21 an hour.

The majority of the 92 sites that qualified for so-called 421-a benefits have been luxury developments in Manhattan, but 26 Brooklyn projects also have taken advantage of the tax break.
In 2011, the program cost the city more than $900 million in lost revenue, according to the Independent Budget Office.

Want a nice park? Raise a lot of money!

From the NY Post:

Central Park is about to get even more green.

Six months after hedge-fund billionaire John Paulson pledged $100 million to the Central Park Conservancy, the nonprofit that oversees the lush 843-acre park is due to get $90 million from the city under a new 10-year management contract.

That’s a huge increase over the current pact, which expires on June 30 and provides $39.2 million over eight years.

Parks officials defended the higher spending as necessary to keep the heavily used park in peak condition.

“Clearly, the city thinks they’re doing a great job, which they are, for the most part,” said Geoffrey Croft of New York City Park Advocates, who has never shied away from pointing out parks shortcomings.

But Croft questioned how other parks in the 29,000-acre system will get by without wealthy benefactors or large city subsidies.

“There is an enormous difference [in] what this park gets and what others parks get,” he said.

Claire states why she was needed

Op-Ed from the Queens Courier:

The Power of the Position
BY CLAIRE SHULMAN

Why the borough president, I am asked.

The 1989 Charter has the council voting on both land use and budgets, so what do you do to warrant the existence of the office?

I will tell you.

I can best describe it by telling you what we did before and after the 1989 Charter revision.

My staff and I were determined to make a difference in Queens.

Before 1989 we had to negotiate for money; after 1989 the borough president got five percent of the enhancements in the expense budget and five percent of the capital budget. Queens got 33 percent of the five percent capital money, which enabled us not only to build, but to influence the construction of the following institutions:

Queens Museum of Art
New York Hall of Science
Queens Hospital Center
Flushing Town Hall
Family Court
Civil Court
Queens Theatre
Queens Zoo
Roy Wilkins Park and Recreation Center
Creedmoor Educational Company
Flushing Library
P.S.1
Townsend Harris High School
SE552, $100 million sewer project to relieve flooding in SE Queens
American Museum of the Moving Image
Flushing Meadows swimming pool and ice skating rink
BP and the mayor’s office get Fort Totten from the feds

These are just a few things we accomplished which makes the borough president’s office one of the best bargains in New York City.

We helped to enliven the cultural life of Queens, thereby creating a harmony in a very diverse population. We were involved in so much, none of which was mentioned or prohibited in the Charter.

For example we spent five years saving non-eviction conversion co-ops, thousands of units that helped cooperators, renters and neighborhoods survive.

There are many people currently running for this office because they want to continue the effort.

This is a big city and one cannot know everything, so local government, the planning boards, the council and the BP’s office are our good government.

Together we help deliver services through the Borough Cabinet where it is needed and deal with land use issues and budgets through the Borough Board.

If borough presidents didn’t exist it is my opinion that Manhattan would walk away with all the resources that currently cover major projects in Queens.

I will continue to advocate for the office of borough president and the relative autonomy of our great borough.

Don’t fool yourself — if you are elected by a county of two million people, that’s power and everyone listens!

Quinn has her own personal tweeding unit

From the NY Times:

Its friendly name and sizable budget suggest an altruistic resource for all five boroughs: the Community Outreach Unit of the New York City Council, a taxpayer-financed office that has organized rallies to protect student subway discounts and sponsored adult education fairs.

But members of the City Council say that the unit frequently functions as something else as well: a publicity and public relations machine for Christine C. Quinn, the Council speaker, who maintains firm control over its operations and the good will that it generates around the city.

As Ms. Quinn pursues the mayor’s office, the outreach division — with an annual payroll exceeding $1 million — demonstrates the potent political advantages of her perch as Council leader and the sometimes blurry line between her roles as speaker and candidate, according to interviews with current and former lawmakers and their staffs.

The division has a political cast: it employs a former campaign aide to Ms. Quinn, a Democratic district leader from Queens, a onetime spokesman for a Quinn ally, and a former political operative for a union whose support the speaker has courted in the mayor’s race, records show.