It's all legal...technically

From Gotham Gazette:

When Rockland County Democratic Party Chair Kristen Zebrowski Stavisky fills out her annual state disclosure forms, she consults her husband for question six, which requires the listing of contracts held with a state or local agency held by the filer, filer’s spouse, or unemancipated child.

Evan Stavisky, a partner in the prominent Albany lobbying firm The Parkside Group, after checking with the firm’s lawyer, has told his wife that his company does not represent any government entities. So, for the past six years, Kristen has entered “none” for the question, according to the disclosure documents obtained from the Joint Commission on Public Ethics (JCOPE).

At the same time, between 2010 and 2016, Parkside pulled in more than $1 million from representing quasi-public entities, including four foundations affiliated with city and state universities, three New York City-based public library systems, and a local economic development corporation, according to the lobbying firm’s disclosure filings that can be viewed on the JCOPE website.

One of these contracts, on behalf of the Queens Economic Development Corporation -- which is treated by state law as a public authority -- expired in 2010, so according to filing instructions, Kristen Stavisky was not required to declare it on her JCOPE form for that year. But the other clients -- foundations associated with the CUNY Graduate Center, Queensborough Community College, Queens College, CUNY Creative Arts Team, and SUNY’s University at Buffalo, as well as Brooklyn Public Library, New York Public Library, and Queens Public Library -- fall into an ambiguous zone, defined as local or state agencies in some statutes of New York State law, but not others.

Parkside’s government-affiliated nonprofit contracts picked up in 2009-2010, the last time Democrats held a ruling majority in the Senate. Toby Ann, a former social studies teacher, chaired the Senate’s Higher Education Committee that year.

At the time, Toby Ann, seeking an advisory opinion, wrote to JCOPE that though she was not required to, she would prohibit her son, but not his partners, from lobbying members of the Senate. Despite calls for a probe from ethics watchdogs, a 2009 advisory opinion from the state's Legislative Ethics Commission deemed the arrangement “appropriate,” the New York Daily News reported.

AG candidate wants Parkside Group investigated

From the Daily News:

Ramon Jimenez, a Bronx lawyer and Green Party candidate for Attorney General, called on the state Joint Commission on Public Ethics to investigate the actions of a lobbying firm representing FreshDirect in its bid to move to the Bronx.

In the complaint, filed Friday, Jimenez accuses the lobbyist, The Parkside Group, of contacting Mayor de Blasio’s office on behalf of the online grocer and not properly disclosing its activities to the ethics commission.

“We want the law followed as far as them having to record all contact they have with officials,” Jiminez told The News Friday. “It’s a concern for the people of New York, and especially to everyone in the South Bronx.”

A Parkside representative said the group was well within the boundaries of New York’s lobbying laws, and chalked up the complaint as a campaign tactic.

“We are proud to be working on a project that is creating thousands of good paying jobs in the poorest Congressional district in America, and we have always complied with all requirements of city and state lobbying laws,” said Evan Stavisky, a Parkside Group spokesman. “This is just another last-ditch political stunt.”

Isn't it interesting that a political leader who purports to represent part of Queens is actively lobbying to move jobs out of the borough?

Happy Mothers Day from Queens Crap!

NY Public Library hires Parkside Group

From the NY Times:

The New York Public Library is paying a prominent lobbying firm $25,000 to help promote the library’s controversial renovation plan, according to a contract obtained by The New York Times.

Opposition to the library plan, which calls for creating a circulating library in the area now occupied by stacks, has arisen “from a loose coalition of scholars opposed to circulation returning to the 42d St. building and anti-development activists,” the contract says. “These opponents have attracted some press coverage and some support from elected officials and prominent New Yorkers. Therefore the library seeks public affairs representation in order to build support for their innovative model with key stakeholders.”

The library has enlisted the Parkside Group, whose team will be led by Evan Stavisky, the contract says.

Asked about the decision to hire Parkside, library officials said in a statement that, like other large cultural institutions and library systems that rely on government financing, “the library has for decades used a variety of consultants to help amplify our own efforts at community and officeholder outreach.”

Legislators and lobbyists "connected at the hip"

From the Daily News:

A growing trend in the state capital is raising alarms for ethics watchdogs: political consultants who work to elect lawmakers, then turn around and lobby them on behalf of private clients.

At least two dozen political consulting firms are also registered lobbyists with the state, according to an analysis done for the Daily News by the New York Public Interest Research Group.
Those 29 firms were paid a combined $5.1 million for election work in 2011 and 2012, the analysis shows.

When the campaigns were over, they descended on the Legislature as part of the $200 billion annual lobbying culture.

“It’s one more way that legislators and lobbyists are often connected at the hip,” said NYPIRG’s Bill Mahoney.

He suggested state leaders consider barring the practice as they negotiate a possible campaign finance reform package.

“Many of these lobbyists who are helping elected officials win these seats turn around then tell them how to vote on specific bills,” Mahoney said. “It’s an area they should at least look at.”

No one has played the dual role better than the Parkside Group, a consulting firm with close ties to Senate Democrats.

Parkside took in $2.77 million from campaigns the past two years and $1.8 million in lobbying fees last year alone.

One senator Parkside represents is Queens Democrat Toby Stavisky, the mother of Parkside partner Evan Stavisky and ranking minority member of the Senate Higher Education Committee. An ethics ruling allows Stavisky’s firm to lobby his mom, but not him personally.

“We are proud of the work we do for a variety of clients and we pride ourselves on upholding the highest standards of ethical conduct in all of our activities,” Evan Stavisky said.

Parkside is not alone. The Advance Group, the Mirram Group and Mercury Public Affairs are among other notable groups that play both roles.

All in the family...

From the NY Post:

State Senate Democrats steered more than $1.5 million in campaign money this year to the Parkside Group, the political consulting firm of Evan Stavisky — son of state Sen. Toby Ann Stavisky (D-Queens).

Both Staviskys defended the arrangement, insisting that the senator plays no role in the Democrats’ central fund-raising committee and that the son’s firm worked hard for the money.

“We produced more than 3 million pieces of campaign literature, multiple TV ads and other essential campaign materials that propelled Democratic candidates to important victories in tough races throughout the state,” said Parkside spokesman Pat McKenna.

Records show that Parkside also conducted polling for the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee. The firm scored a 2010 contract guaranteeing itself 80 percent of all DSCC business.

Tribune bucks the status quo

From the Queens Tribune:

The Stavisky family has been exposed to the Albany culture of corruption years before Senator Toby replaced her deceased husband in the Senate. She had gone to Albany with her husband, who had been a member of the legislature for 34 years before his untimely death.

Toby has extended the Stavisky hold on the legislature for the past 14 years.

In the close to 50 years the Staviskys have made their living as legislators, their only child Evan was exposed to Albany and learned very well how to make a huge amount of money by playing the lobbyist game. Don’t get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with lobbying Albany. There is nothing wrong with being a lobbyist.

However, when your mother is chairperson of a committee, there is something wrong with that committee legislating and funding your firm’s clients and their industry or giving grants or member items to your firms’ client. There is something wrong when you profit because your mom is an elected official or she does anything as an elected official to help your firm, its clients or to help you to recruit clients.

But such is the culture of Albany.

Evan Stavisky has run the fastest-growing lobbying firm since its inception a decade ago, and his mom’s elective office is one of the firm’s biggest assets with its Albany clients.

If it’s not illegal, it should be. Either way, it stinks.

Et tu, Rory?

From Queens Politics:

A source very close to Gottlieb indicates that a little over two years ago, Gottlieb was to oppose the Staviskys on a matter of leadership.

What came in return was Evan and Toby threatening that they would unearth Jeffrey’s fiery problems from the 1970′s.

Jeffrey decided not to confront them and he laid low and stayed behind the scenes, but this time around Jeff thought that Evan and the Staviskys were working with Grace Meng, so there would be no real conflict because his campaign would be focused against Rory Lancman.

Jeff was wrong.

What Jeff didn’t know is that Lancman had retained Stavisky as an advisor prior to the nomination of Grace Meng. Rumor has it, and it’s been pointed out here, Stavisky is in fact working behind the scenes with Lancman.

From True News for Change NYC:

For the first time since the rise of Brian McLaughlin, Parkside is not running a major race for the Queens organization. It was not the string of losses, including Weprin and the Democratic Majority that knocked them out of the Meng campaign. It was the anti-Semitic flyers that the company attacked her father with when he beat Parkside candidate Barry Grodenchik in 2004. What Gottlieb did not understand is that Evan fears that a Meng win could destroy his million dollar consultant and lobbyist business. Congresswoman Meng would demand that County no longer deal with Parkside.

This is news?

From City and State:

Evan Stavisky and Kristen Zebrowski Stavisky are husband and wife. He is a well-known political consultant in Queens; she is the head of the Rockland County Democratic party. When they attend the Democratic National Convention in North Carolina in September, they will represent districts an hour’s drive apart.

Their dual lives have led to grumbling among Queens Democrats and questions about the state’s porous residency laws. But Evan Stavisky says the arrangement is proper, if convoluted, as he remains as devoted to his native Queens as his wife is to her native Rockland.

Still, even though his drivers license gives a Queens address, some of his neighbors there say he is a scarce presence. “He’s rarely ever home,” one said.

What complicates the picture are Evan Stavisky’s dual roles as a Democratic district leader and a consultant with the Parkside Group, which represents some of the county’s leading candidates—including his mother, Sen. Toby Ann Stavisky, who has paid Parkside more than $440,000 over her career.

Democratic operatives claim Evan Stavisky keeps the Queens home in part to maintain his position as district leader, giving him a vote in picking local candidates and access to potential Parkside clients – accusations he angrily denies.

How funny is it that they credited this website for the photo when I quite clearly credited City Hall News - the paper that City and State used to be - for the photo back when I used it on the site? Evan's Flushing apartment is not the only place where the light's on but no one's home.

Zeroing in on Sais

From Queens-Politics:

Both male district leaders in AD 26, Evan Stavisky and Michael Sais, have been absent from participating in community functions for as long as they’ve been elected. But who exactly are they? Michael Sais, who once worked for the Parkside Group, is presently the chief-of-staff for Senator Michael Gianaris of Astoria, who is also a client of the Parkside Group and a former Albany roommate to Stavisky who founded the firm.

Evan Stavisky does not live in Queens, he lives in Rockland County and Michael Sais has moved around Queens chasing rumors of open seats more times than someone in witness protection.

This is not breaking news. For a long time it has always been a topic of interest in political circles, a running joke of epic proportion. Outside analysts and commentators have even accused community members of being silent, until now. Sais has been registered to vote in College Point, Bayside, Bell Blvd. even Auburndale. Landlords loved him. He was never home.

Hey, I agree wholeheartedly with your analysis, but several firms do the same thing with regards to lobbying the people they represent during campaigns. Until the law changes, that aspect of politics won't. And we all know it's in everyone's best interest to maintain the status quo.

This about sums it up!

From True News from ChangeNYC.org:

In Queens, the local newspapers, the political machine and government all work together. The papers do not perform the role of checks and balances that Founding Fathers envisioned to protect the people from the government and ensure a working democracy. Instead, Queens local newspapers have gamed journalism to operate as a co-machine in Queens. They work in campaigns and are lobbyists to the same elected officials they help elect or reelect. The papers operate as the house organ for the Democratic party for controlling who gets elected or becomes a judge in Queens county. The judges in turn send the legal ads worth tens of thousands dollars to the local papers.

At the heart of the queens newspaper conspiracy is Michael Nussbaum. He wears many hats. Executive V.P. and Associate Publisher TRIBCO owners of the Queens Tribune and several other papers and magazines in that borough. Nussbaum owns the papers along with Congressman Ackerman and Mike Schenkler who services as publisher of the operation. Schenkler calls Nussbaum the driving force behind Multi-Media, which he calls the paper's printing, promotion arm. What Schenkler does not tell us is that Multi-Media does campaign printing for elected officials like State Senator Shirley Huntley, Assemblyman Edward Braunstein and Councilman Peter Koo. One of Nussbaum's papers hired the wife of Councilman Leroy Comrie, Marcia, to run their southeast Queens local edition.

A Queens pol says Nussbaum and a large political consultant lobbyist group work together often in printing for candidates. Parkside is run by Evan Stavisky who works for almost all the candidates backed by the Queens machine. Stavisky moved into the big time by working for Brian McLaughlin and many of the organizations that led to the former Queens congressman's conviction. Stavisky was in the middle of the city council slush fund non-investigation where Quinn and the others walked away untouched. Stavisky is part of the permanent government. In 2009, he lost 5 out of 6 council races. In 2010, he was paid over $2 million by the Senate Democrats who lost their majority. This year, he lost a congressional district which was 4 to 1 Democrat to Republican.

Newspaper V.P. Nussbaum is not only a campaign consultant, he is also a lobbyist for developers like Patrick Thompson who is trying to clear FAA clearance to finally redevelop the illegally partially torn down 20 years ago RKO Keith's. Schenkler wrote that Nussbaum “brings us Asian clients and friends. His network includes the very top government officials and business giants in the Far East as well as their counterparts here in our country.” If you want to know where Nussbaum gets his Asian clients, all you have to do is check with one of the other papers owner Congressman Ackerman. The congressman is a member and the former Chair of the Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific which has oversight on U.S. policy towards nations in Asia. Ackerman has already show that he knows how to use the paper to benefit himself and his partners. He was Nussbaum's paper's publisher and weekly columnist until 1978 when he was elected to the State Senate.

Not only is Queens and the rest of New York stuck with newspapers designed to control them, but that control really means an uninformed public has helped cause Queens to become the most corrupt borough in the city. Where assemblymen rip off hospitals and little leagues, a comptroller rips off the CFB and taxpayers and a congressman get free mortgages from developers.

Evan leading a dual existance?

From Nanuet Patch:

Rockland Democrats gathered at Clarkstown Town Hall Thursday evening to elect Kristin Zebrowski-Stavisky their new chairwoman.

Stavisky, 40, is the sister of Assemblyman Kenneth Zebrowski, D-New City.

And in case you haven't figured it out, she's also the wife of Evan Stavisky.

So Rockland County Democratic Party Chair Kristen Stavisky lives in a big house in Rockland County & her District Leader husband Evan Stavisky lives in a small apartment in Queens?

It couldn't be that he needs to be a resident of Queens to be a District Leader there and continue his "Pay to Play" game of handing out Democratic Party Endorsements?

Why doesn't anyone challenge this?

Photo from City Hall News

Top Dems collude to line Parkside's pockets

From City Hall:

According to the terms of a contract kept secret during the campaign, the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee was prepared to sign over a full 80 percent of all money spent on political mailers, radio commercials and robo-calls for the 2010 campaign cycle to one firm: the Parkside Group.

Stunning several people involved and a number of outside campaign operatives, the contract—which was ultimately discarded amid internal disagreements about spending decisions—guaranteed that this massive percentage of campaign business was required of both the DSCC and all money transferred to individual campaigns by the DSCC. And it almost went even further: the original draft of the contract limited firms other than Parkside to 10 percent of mailers, radio commercials and robo-calls—in other words, guaranteeing the firm 90 percent of this business for the DSCC and candidates it was supporting.

The contract also contained a clause triggering repercussions: if any of the candidates running with the DSCC’s support had used another firm for mailers, radio ads or robo-calls, “the DSCC shall retain the Parkside Group to provide any television media buys made by the DSCC, or the supported candidate or political committee, in that district.”

The contract was signed by DSCC executive director Josh Cherwin after being vetted by the law firm of [Melinda Katz employer] Greenberg Traurig and emailed to Democratic Conference Leader John Sampson’s top aide Paul Rivera, apparently without the prior knowledge or approval of several key members, including DSCC chair Jeff Klein. However, when the contract was presented, there was such resistance that it was never ultimately acted on, and the DSCC instead contracted with a more diverse array of consultants for the remainder of the election season. This included shifting polling and several mail contracts to other firms.

The DSCC’s relationship with the Parkside Group has grown increasingly close over the course of the past year. Sampson was making fundraising calls out of Parkside's offices as far back as January. And though the firm was paid officially only as a vendor, Harry Giannoulis and Evan Stavisky, the two principals of the firm, were involved in internal planning and decisions with the DSCC and conducting polls which helped determine which races the Democrats would prioritize in terms of financial resources going into the November elections. This culminated in a two-week trip Giannoulis and Rivera took over the summer to visit various campaigns and candidates, followed by a memo they wrote and presented to the Democratic leadership in August about where to allocate resources.

Giannoulis, who was the one to sign the contract for Parkside, disputed that there was anything unusual either about Parkside’s contract or with the level of involvement he and Stavisky had with the DSCC.

In 2010 alone, the DSCC reported paying Parkside $2.2 million so far during a cycle that the campaign committee finished the cycle $2.4 million in debt while losing the majority. Parkside also billed a total of $500,000 to the individual campaigns of Democratic candidates David Carlucci, Tony Avella, Toby Stavisky, Andrea Stewart-Cousins, José Peralta, Mike Gianaris and Mike Kaplowitz. This does not include the nearly $200,000 the firm billed Peralta for working on his special election campaign in the spring, nor the $150,000 billed to State Sen. Bill Perkins for his primary campaign.

That amount would not include money which may have been spent out of the DSCC’s housekeeping account, as that committee does not have to file a report until January.

The firm also has a lobbying practice that deals extensively with state government.

Check out this mailer that was sent out during the Democratic primary pointing out Toby Stavisky's blatant conflict-of-interest:

The next cog in the Queens Machine!

From the Daily News:

The crowded field of candidates running for Assemblywoman Ann-Margaret Carrozza's soon-to-be-vacant 26th District seat are furious about a flyer being mailed out by Ed Braunstein.

"Albany is an embarrassment. We deserve better," reads the colorful piece of literature, which appeared in mailboxes in northeast Queens last week. "Career politicians are completely out of touch with our values."

Braunstein, a newcomer to the local political scene, has the backing of the powerful Queens Democratic Party. He also works for Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, which makes his claims questionable, according to primary opponents.

"All the candidates are running on our records," said Democratic hopeful Steve Behar. "We have a history in the district of activism. It's indefensible to call himself a reformer."

Behar pointed out that Braunstein's uncle is high-caliber lobbyist Brian Meara.

"We're outraged," said Elio Forcina, a Whitestone Democrat vying for the seat. "He is tied in with lobbyists and lobbyists are running his campaign and he works for Sheldon Silver, and he tells the public he is a reform candidate?"

Former Assemblyman John Duane, another Democratic candidate, said there is a "disconnect" between Braunstein's claim to be an agent of change and his deep connections to the Queens Democratic Party and top elected officials.

"He's running a campaign on status-quo party organization," he said, "These people haven't done anything to change Albany."

In another "Odd Couple"-like twist, Braunstein's camp sent out a press release touting endorsements by Democrats Jerry Iannece and Paul Vallone.

Vallone and Iannece faced off in a bitter Council primary battle last year. They both ended up losing to newcomer Kevin Kim, who was then defeated by Republican Dan Halloran in an even uglier general election.

Just when you thought it couldn't get worse...

From the Times Ledger:

Evan Stavisky, a spokesman for Braunstein’s campaign, pointed out that Cuomo, who is running on a campaign of reforming Albany, had thrown his weight behind Braunstein.

All in the family?

From the Queens Tribune:

State Sen. Toby Stavisky (D-Flushing) and Assemblywoman Grace Meng (D-Flushing) were instrumental in getting the funding appropriated to the LLC.

Stavisky alluded to F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, which alludes to the "small foul" Flushing River and the adjacent "valley of ashes" - or Willets Point to the rest of us.

"We have the opportunity to clean the contamination and create a sustainable community with residential, commercial, recreational and entertainment complexes," Sen. Stavisky said. "I hope when someone writes about the area again, it will not be as a valley of ashes, but as a Phoenix, the bird that rises from the ashes to begin life again."

Claire Shulman, President of the Flushing Willets Point Corona Local Development Corporation, welcomed the added funds.

First of all, it's an LDC, not an LLC. And an illegally formed LDC under investigation at that. Toby quoting Fitzgerald? Makes me want to gag. Seriously, why don't these reporters connect the dots and explain that Toby's pushing for Claire to get taxpayer money in order to pay Evan? This isn't about cleaning up the Flushing River. It's about cleaning out the treasury and benefiting from 'honest graft'.

Here's someone from the NY Times that seems to understand:

Redevelopment can look easy on paper, but there are always neighborhood concerns, even in a place like Willets Point, a 62-acre industrial shanty town of body shops and scrap yards near Shea Stadium in Queens. The administration viewed it as an area ripe for economic development if the 225 existing businesses could be cleared.

But such ambitions had flummoxed city planners for decades.

No less a builder than Robert Moses had been unable to make room in the area for the 1964 World’s Fair.

Mr. Doctoroff was determined to do better. In 2006 he enlisted the help of Claire Shulman, who had been Queens borough president and had long thought the area had potential as a business, retail and transit hub. She enlisted local business leaders who supported the idea: Queens people fighting to re-envision Queens.

In reality, though, the organization, the Flushing-Willets Point Local Development Corporation, received half its money from the city. And about half the group’s money was spent doing something not allowed under state law: lobbying city officials. The City Council adopted the Bloomberg plan last fall, citing Mrs. Shulman’s efforts.

The group’s lobbying, has led to an investigation by the attorney general’s office. City officials have said they never authorized Mrs. Shulman’s lobbying, which she has disputed.

Jersey boy wants Flushing Council seat

This filing shows that Council District 20 candidate S.J. Jung lived in Bergen, NJ until earlier this year.

So, he's in NJ; Peter Koo lives in Port Washington and has a fake address in downtown Flushing that Evan Stavisky camped out in front of for two months; and Yen Chou lives in Bayside. Bayside Assemblywoman Ann-Margaret Carrozza was caught living in Nassau County and Paul Vallone can't decide whether he's from Astoria or Bayside.

That's what Queens neighborhoods are viewed as by the tweeders: Nice places to make money off of, but they wouldn't want to live there.

Queens Machine vs. Paul Vallone

From City Hall:

Democratic district leaders, including political consultant Evan Stavisky, his mother, State Sen. Toby Ann Stavisky (D-Queens) and Assembly Member Ann Carrozza (D-Queens), have pressured Paul Vallone, one of the race’s two presumed frontrunners in the six-way race, to drop out, Vallone said.

But Vallone is refusing.

“Three people don’t control the district,” said Vallone.

Party leaders are instead backing Jerry Iannece, a longtime community activist and chairman of Community Board 11. They maintain that Vallone, an attorney, does not have deep enough roots in the district to win a general election.

Thankfully there are still 4 others to choose from...

Call for probe into Staviskys' conflict of interest

From the Daily News:

Senate education bigwig Toby Ann Stavisky's son is a lobbyist for a firm that goes before his mother - and also lists her as a client, the Daily News has learned.

Evan Stavisky is a partner with The Parkside Group, which has a client list that includes SUNY-Buffalo and several CUNY entities, including Queens College.

Toby Ann Stavisky (D-Queens) became head of the Higher Education Committee in January, when Democrats took control of the state Senate.

Parkside, which also does political consulting for a host of elected officials, lists the senator as a client, and records show she paid the firm more than $200,000 last year.

Toby Ann Stavisky and Parkside deny there is any undue influence.

Also from the Daily News:

Susan Lerner of Common Cause-New York called the commission's opinion "exhibit 1 on why we need real ethics reform. ... It's just not reasonable to ask members to sit in judgment of other members."

Lerner said she agrees with Padavan and Golden that there should be an ethics probe but fears the state lacks a proper mechanism to do it.

"If the commission already issued a letter saying they don't see the obvious conflict of interest, which is as big as a barn, why would we get a different outcome?" she asked.

Senate Majority Leader Malcolm Smith defended Toby Ann Stavisky, just minutes after calling for changes in the state ethics law to help restore public confidence.

"The question ... at hand that we want to answer for the public is, 'Are you guys doing business on behalf of the people or on behalf of your friends?'" Smith said when announcing a bill requiring more disclosure by lawmakers.

Smith said he is not concerned about his Senate Higher Education Committee chairwoman being lobbied by her son's firm.

Lobbyists not affected by recession

From the Daily News:

Lobbying data for last year won’t be released until May, but interviews with the main players make clear that Albany’s top lobbying firms are scrambling to switch their lineups to accommodate the shifting political landscape.

Lobbyists pull strings on virtually every issue affecting New Yorkers, including rent regulation, gun control, gay rights, school spending and health care.

It’s a big-bucks business. Though numbers aren’t yet out, officials expect last year’s haul to exceed the $171 million the state’s 5,300 lobbyists pocketed in 2007.

Especially well-positioned, insiders agree, are Patricia Lynch, former top aide to Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver (D-Manhattan), and Parkside Group’s Evan Stavisky, longtime Democratic strategist and son of state Sen. Toby Stavisky (D-Queens).

No lobbyists are closer to the throne than those at Meyer Suozzi English & Klein.

The venerable law firm’s principals include the governor’s father, Basil Paterson, and Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi’s dad, Joseph.

Hey, how much did NYS spend lobbying itself? Did we outdo NJ?

An excellent piece about tweeding

Some people claim that the way the media covers Fidler shows a racial bias in its reporting of political corruption. By reading the dailies we know how Councilmembers Erik Martin Dilan and Leroy Comrie sent member items funds to nonprofits that hired their wives. Maria del Carmen Arroyo sent money to nonprofits that employed her sister and nephew. Darlene Mealy tired to find a nonprofit to hire her sister. Hiram Monserrate, Larry Seabrook and Kendall Stewart used nonprofit money to help in their campaigns.

Pork Pig Fidler’s Media Friends Put Lipstick On Him

What is never covered is a more complicated corruption in the white community where member item funds and campaign contributions go through interlocking nonprofits, lobbyists and special interests developers. Umbrella nonprofits like Fidler’s Millennium Developers are just the tip of the iceberg of corruption; Emily Giske of Bolton-St. Johns, Parkside’s Evan Stavisky, Jeff Plaut’s Global Strategy, George Artz, Yoswein, Geto & De Milly, and Knickerbocker SKD help campaigns more than Councilman Hiram Monserrate’s nonprofit Libre get a free ride from the media’s corruption coverage.

The Parkside Group used their relationship with former Speaker Miller, former Queens Democratic leader Tom Manton and convicted felon Brian McLaughlin to pull in over $7 million in consulting fees from nonprofits receiving council funding. Former Thomas Jefferson Club leader Bruce Bender, now working for as chief lobbyist for Atlantic Yards developer Bruce Ratner, helps fund Borough President Markowitz’s umbrella nonprofit Best of Brooklyn.

George Orwell would have to write a new chapter in 1984 to explain how 34 City Councilmembers under investigation for illegally using the member items slush fund were able to receive press coverage that basically said that extending their time in office would increase choice, democracy and improve our economy.

Without an informed public, elected officials act like organized crime mobsters, working against the voters’ needs for personal gain. They create government-funded umbrella-type nonprofit reelection organizations to stay in office. They also create a dysfunctional, unregulated government with no legal accountability to carry out their greedy friends’ scams to make money at the cost of the public good. Our city would be a lot better off if it listened to a few independent voices about the dangers of repealing the Glass-Spiegel Act, rather then constantly devoting their coverage to political celebrities and their meaningless news conferences.