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.

If Parkside isn't Dems' preferred vendor, then who is?

From Progress Queens:

A spokesman for the New York State Democratic Party has denied allegations that candidates for the State Senate were forced to use a preferred campaign vendor, according to a report by Zach Fink from NY1 and published on the Time Warner Cable News Web site, State of Politics.

In news reports, the preferred campaign vendor has been identified to be The Parkside Group.

A recent report by Ross Barkan, published in The New York Observer, noted how the New York Democratic Senate Campaign Committee, or DSCC, headed by State Senator Michael Gianaris (D-Queens), required that "DSCC-backed candidates must use Parkside to print their campaign mail, an arrangement some Democrats have long bristled at."

The report in The New York Observer was followed by a report in Progress Queens showing how almost a decade ago, the Brooklyn District Attorney's Office filed charges against the former chair of the Brooklyn Democratic Party for coercing judicial candidates to use a preferred campaign vendor. Queens District Attorney Richard Brown was unable to comment on the Progress Queens report.

District Attorneys in New York City run for public office with the consent of the respective county committee of the Democratic Party, the dominant political party. Government reform activists have long claimed that district attorneys avoid investigating political corruption, because, in order to first run for office and to keep running for re-election, the district attorneys must campaign with the approval of the chair of their respective Democratic Party. In other parts of New York state, the chair of the dominant political party will have a say in determining which candidate for the respective, local district attorney's office will receive institutional campaign support. In Queens, conflicts of interest for the District Attorney's Office may also arise through the various campaign consultants and lobbyists employed by other politicians, who share relationships with the chair of the Queens County Democratic Party, some government reform activists say. The chair of the Queens Democratic Party is U.S. Representative Joseph Crowley (D-Queens). In the past, Rep. Crowley has also employed the services of Parkside.

Loyalty to Parkside may cause Gianaris' downfall

From Progress Queens:

A requirement that Democratic Party candidates running for the New York State Senate use The Parkside Group for campaign mailers reminds government reform activists of the years-long prosecutorial effort to bust the corrupt Brooklyn party machine.

The New York Democratic Senate Campaign Committee, or DSCC, headed by State Senator Michael Gianaris (D-Queens), required that "DSCC-backed candidates must use Parkside to print their campaign mail, an arrangement some Democrats have long bristled at," according to a report published by The New York Observer.

The DSCC requirement is similar to requirements demanded of some candidates over a decade go by the Democratic Party of Brooklyn. In 2002, Karen Yellen ran as a candidate for a judgeship for Brooklyn Civil Court. When former Kings County Democratic Party chair Clarence Norman tried to shake down Ms. Yellen’s campaign for costs associated with the printing of campaign literature for a slate of candidates, the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office, led at that time by Charles Hynes, later brought criminal charges against Mr. Norman, alleging that forcing candidates to pay for the costs of campaign literature designed by Ernest Lendler was a way to funnel money to the party's favored political campaign vendors, one sign, according to the District Attorney's Office, that the Brooklyn Democratic Party’s endorsement in judicial races could be had -- for a price, according to various news reports at the time.

In due course, Mr. Norman was found guilty in a jury trial of "coercion, grand larceny by extortion and attempted grand larceny by extortion" stemming from charges of having "coerced two candidates for civil court judge to pay thousands of dollars to favored campaign consultants, or lose his organization’s support in the 2002 primary," according to a 2007 report published by The New York Times.

For years, former Brooklyn District Attorney Hynes had scrutinised the Brooklyn Democratic Party over persistent allegations of corruption. At the time of the 2007 conviction of Mr. Norman, then District Attorney Hynes said of the Brooklyn political machine : “We have exposed it for the evil that it is,” adding in his comments to The New York Times that, “Any political leader who engages in this kind of rank extortion, and think about it, any political leader who tries this, does so at her or his peril.”

A message left with a principal at The Parkside Group, seeking more information about the nature of the firm's work for the DSCC, was not answered.

Seven years after Mr. Norman's conviction, some government reform activists say that the Democratic Party may be back to its old tricks, this time in Queens, but, activists note, there no longer appears to be any prosecutorial appetite by the city's District Attorneys' offices to investigate political corruption as there was a decade ago by former Brooklyn District Attorney Hynes.

Efforts were unsuccessful to reach the Queens District Attorney's Office about the DSCC's requirement to likewise use party-favored political campaign vendors.

A request for an interview with Senator Gianaris went unanswered.

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?

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.”

Strange days, indeed!

From NY1:

More negative campaign mail, this one’s out of Queens. Here’s a picture of Dan Halloran getting hauled off. He’s part, of course, of a corruption inquiry. He’s been arrested. “Our community has suffered enough.” You flip it on the other side – “Paul Graziano would be another embarrassment to our community.” Now let’s be clear, folks: Paul Graziano has absolutely nothing to do with Dan Halloran, with the corruption inquiry, or anything involving legal wrongdoing. So this is a pure slam. It’s put out, by the way, by Jobs For New York, Inc. and I should note that it says absolutely nothing about jobs or anything else positive. I thought you should see that.
_______________________________________________________________

The following was sent to Congressmember Meng, Senator Stavisky, Assemblymember Braunstein, Assemblymember Kim and Councilmember Weprin and cc'd to the five District 19 Council candidates:

During the course of the City Council Race in District 19, Jobs for New York has sent a series of "hit pieces" against three of the candidates for the benefit of Paul Vallone. The mailers are paid for by Jobs for New York and upon information and belief, were designed, printed and distributed by Parkside. All legally done and done in the name of politics for the good of the county machine and to promote and theoretically ensure the election of a candidate who will serve the interests of his benefactors, the Real Estate Board of New York.

That legally a candidate can have no connection to the sponsor of such correspondence is a convenient legal fiction enacted into law by the very people it serves to protect. Such politics benefits no one but the County machine and candidates who are willing to sell their offices to the highest bidder at the expense of their communities.

Jobs for New York has thrown down the gauntlet of negative campaigning with a level of vengeance that is beyond comprehension in a local race. The lies, innuendo, out of context quotes and literally inflammatory graphics should be as deplorable to any sitting politician or candidate as they are to me and members of the 19th Council District. They should especially be deplorable to a candidate who continually touts integrity, family values and his Christian church as his hallmarks.

That you all endorsed and continue to support the Vallone candidacy without reservation speaks volumes about your desire to remain in the good graces of the county machine and uncontrolled future benefactors and very little about your actual support of this or any other endorsed candidate. However, there comes a time in human events, including political campaigns, when courage, integrity, decency and standing up against what is wrong separates the public servants from the hacks.

This campaign tactic is one of those watershed events. All of you are current office holders who have either the power to introduce legislation to take back total control of your campaigns and to disallow such spending and return the political process to the constituents you claim to serve or to influence colleagues who have such power. The" poor little candidate" who cannot stop a big bad entity from spewing unwanted campaign literature throughout your districts doesn't play well. It is time to take responsibility for your campaigns and to be accountable to your constituents for what is put out in your names.

This may turn out to be one of those issues which empowers voters to say "NO" at the polls to candidates who support negative independent expenditures, who refuse to take accountability for their campaigns and who are willing by extension to sell their offices. The beginning of such a movement in District 19 may have been the joining of five civic associations in common voice against the practice though the civics themselves support different candidates.

It is unfortunate for the political process, the integrity of your offices and your standing in the community that none of you have publicly repudiated this practice.

Rhea O'Gorman
Station Road Civic Association
______________________________________________________________

And finally, residents of the 19th Council District received this call last night:

Kim forgot to mention Parkside income

From the Daily News:

Quite a few state officials leave to become lobbyists, but Assemblyman Ron Kim is special: He’s a lobbyist who became an elected official.

Before taking office in January, Kim, a Queens Democrat, was a registered lobbyist for the Parkside Group, an influential lobbying and political consulting firm, his financial filings with the state show.

Kim did not disclose his Parkside ties when he first filed his statement in May. But in June, records show, he filed an amendment disclosing that he made between $75,000 and $99,999 with the firm.

Lobbying records show he was registered to represent such clients as the state trial lawyers association, the owner of the Indian Point nuclear power plant and the powerful Service Employees International Union Local 32BJ.

Before becoming a lobbyist, Kim had been a staffer for former Govs. Eliot Spitzer and David Paterson. He also was a staffer for the City Council and then-Assemblyman Mark Weprin of Queens.

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.

Another former lobbyist to run for Queens BP

From the Queens Tribune:

Deputy Borough President Barry Grodenchik is stepping down from his position to launch a bid for borough president.

Grodenchik, who is leaving Borough President Helen Marshall’s executive staff to solely be the director of community boards, will now be able to raise money for his borough president campaign because the New York City Charter precludes deputy borough presidents from raising money for political campaigns.

Grodenchik, a former Flushing assemblyman, created a campaign account and recently spoke with Queens Democratic Party Chair U.S. Rep. Joe Crowley (D-Jackson Heights) about the possibility of receiving the party’s endorsement. A pivotal decision on which candidate the Democratic Party backs is many months away, but insiders believe Grodenchik would not be running unless he knew he would be receiving Crowley’s endorsement.

From Willets Point United:

We could not conceive of a more frightening idea-or an individual less qualified to represent the interests of the citizens of Queens. Grodenchik, after all, is a long time sidekick to Claire Shulman and was the go-to lobbyist for the Parkside Group when the proverbial stuff hit the fan about the illegal lobbying done by Shulman-aided and abetted by Grodenchik's firm. In what was a fascinating coincidence, Grodenchik took a powder from Parkside right when the controversy began in the summer of 2009.

What has never been told publicly is that the Shulman LDC listed the payments to Parkside as "marketing money," and not the lobbying expenditures that the money was used for. So in essence Grodenchik and Parkside were right in the middle of the illegal scheme-co conspiritors, as it were.

What's clear is that Grodenchik is a perfect continuation of the longstanding Queens tradition of anointing hacks to the BP position. Were he ever to win a race, the lobbyists and special interests will be salivating while the citizens of the borough will be left holding the bag.

Parkside running Iannece campaign

From the Politicker:

Jerry Iannece, the chairman of Community Board 11 in Queens, is gearing up his campaign as primary season for the State Assembly district he’s seeking fast approaches. Accordingly, he’s rolled out the endorsement of Comptroller John Liu in a press release indicating he’s also hired the Parkside Group to handle at least his communications.

Of course, Mr. Liu’s support is hardly a surprise, as Mr. Iannece has the formal backing of the Queens County Democratic Party, an organization notable for the loyalty it commands among its elected officials.

Although some aspiring politicians may shy away from Mr. Liu, who’s often referred to as “embattled” due to the federal indictment against his campaign treasurer, he remains quite popular in the city’s Chinese-American community. And that’s not a bad get as he campaigns for the demographically diverse seat held by outgoing Assemblyman Rory Lancman.

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.

To whom should the finger of blame point?

So whose fault was the Weprin loss?

Barack Obama

Joe Crowley

The Parkside Group

My guess is all of the above, plus the candidate himself.

And who is the biggest loser in the whole Dem debacle? The Forum says it's Crowley.

True News from ChangeNYC.org has this to say:

In addition to the Democratic Campaign Committee taking over the election the last week and sinking over $600,000 in the dummy Weprin campaign, the local consultant group Parkside was mostly responsible for the poorly run campaign. In addition to making over $2 million last year from the State Senate Democrats for losing control of the senate, Parkside, who is joined at the hip with corrupt Boss Crowley, has more power to make money from government than any dictator anywhere in the world.

The good news for all of them is that the 2 hacks that were chosen for vacant assembly seats both won in landslides and that Allen Jennings was beaten back again.

Photo from Capital New York.

Parkside hires Cuomo aide

From the Daily News:

The influential The Parkside Group consulting firm has hired a former Andrew Cuomo aide.

Paul Thomas will serve as a Parkside Vice-President and work out of the group's New York City office.

Thomas was the assistant director of intergovernmental and community affairs under Cuomo in the Attorney General's office. He served as a liaison to federal, state, and local government officials.

He also has worked for the City Council and both houses of the state Legislature, including for Assemblyman Carl Heastie (D-Bronx), Sen. Kevin Parker (D-Brooklyn) and City Councilwoman Maria Baez (D-Bronx). He also worked on Carl McCall’s 2002 gubernatorial campaign.

Halloran Denounces “Secret Contract,” Corrupt Democratic Campaign Practices

Press release from Dan Halloran:

After City Hall News reported this week that the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee (DSCC) had a “secret contract” with the Parkside Group, guaranteeing the massive Manhattan lobbying firm 80% of the DSCC’s expenses, Council Member Dan Halloran (R-Whitestone) denounced the “secret contract” and called on an Attorney General investigation.

Halloran said: “Where does the Democratic Party stop and the lobbyists begin? This 'secret contract' shows that ethics be damned, Democrats will take care of their friends first and worry about the results later.

“This corrupt bargain reverberates throughout New York State, and Northeast Queens is not exempted. The Senator-elect, Tony Avella, claims to be independent, but is already bought and paid for by his corrupt Albany Democratic cronies. This is extortion. I’d be surprised, but like millions of New Yorkers, I’ve seen this from the Albany Democrat crowd too many times before.

“The Parkside Group, which lobbies throughout New York State and has close connections to Democratic elected officials all over Queens, has been given a blank check in the form of this secret contract. And unwitting donors to the DSCC now realize 80% of their money went to a handful of downtown Manhattan lobbyists – and they still lost the State Senate.

“I am calling for the Attorney General to investigate this ‘secret contract’ for any illegalities. And I call on Senator-elect Avella to do right by his constituents and disown these backroom dealings.”

Photo from Daily 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:

More lobbying shenanigans

From the NY Post:

Why lobby others when you can lobby yourself?

Two part-time city commissioners who work fulltime as lobbyists are paid tens of thousands of dollars by clients who stand to gain from the commissions on which their conflicted lobbyists serve.

Landmarks Preservation Commissioner Margery Perlmutter is on New York University's payroll to lobby for the school's large-scale expansion -- which first needs a green light from Perlmutter's commission, according to lobbying records.

Meanwhile, Taxi and Limousine Commissioner Harry Giannoulis is the president of a lobbying firm that represents an alternative-energy group that wants vehicles to run on biodiesel.

Perlmutter and two of her colleagues at the Bryan Cave lobby firm have been paid more than $42,000 by NYU to lobby the Landmarks Commission and seven other agencies for approval to build in the heart of Greenwich Village. Among its plans is a 385-foot skyscraper.

Perlmutter plans to recuse herself from the commission's vote, a source said.

Since joining the unpaid commission four years ago, Perlmutter has gained a reputation as pro-preservation and critical of high-rise projects like NYU's.

The city's Conflicts of Interest Board warned Perlmutter in 2006 to steer clear of landmark matters in her day job as a lawyer and lobbyist at Bryan Cave -- and not to share in her firm's profits from lobbying her commission.

Perlmutter told The Post there was no conflict because she claims her work for NYU is limited to the parts of the plan that don't require approval from her commission.

"There are many components -- it's a huge project -- and I'm not involved in the landmarks component," she said.

Giannoulis of the TLC lobbies for the National Biodiesel Board.

He declined to comment.

A source said the biodiesel group hired Giannoulis' Parkside Group to track heating-oil legislation, and that Parkside doesn't work on the biodiesel board's transportation agenda.

Helen's major accounting mistake

From the NY Times:

It’s one thing, in the heat of a campaign, to overlook a taxi receipt buried in the back of a wallet. But how does an elected official who has run several six-figure campaigns in New York fail to include her campaign’s largest bill on expense reports filed at the time of her last race?

Eleven bills totaling $101,963 have come back to haunt Helen Sears, a thrice-elected councilwoman from Queens who was defeated in September by Daniel P. Dromm in a three-way Democratic primary.

Four of the bills, including the largest, went to pay Ms. Sears’s longtime political strategists at the Parkside Group. By law, those four bills should have been disclosed to regulators no later than one week after the Sept. 15 primary. But public records show they were not reported to the Campaign Finance Board until Jan. 15, months after Ms. Sears had left the race.

These previously unreported transactions, including four from the throes of last year’s campaign, surfaced in the campaign report that Helen Sears submitted to regulators in January.

Ms. Sears, who is 80, said she did not know why the bills were overlooked, and would have to look into the matter. "You’re asking me a question I can’t answer," she said, adding that her campaigns “have always been in compliance.”

Her son Todd, who was paid $18,400 by the campaign to serve as his mother’s treasurer and to handle compliance, was also puzzled. "As far as the Campaign Finance Board is concerned, I’m not in violation of anything," he said. He noted that the board’s preliminary audit did not cite the campaign for tardiness, though he and the board declined to release a copy of that audit.

Driscoll leaves Parkside

From the Queens Campaigner:

A founding partner of the Parkside Group who has been involved in Queens politics for decades has left the political consulting and lobbying firm for Gotham Government Relations, a Long Island-based lobbying firm.

Bill Driscoll, one of three founding partners of the Parkside Group, which runs a number of campaigns for Queens political candidates, was the former chief of staff to the late Tom Manton, a congressman and Queens Democratic Party chairman, and was counsel to Manton’s successor, U.S. Rep. Joseph Crowley (D-Jackson Heights).

Driscoll’s departure comes as Parkside is gearing up for its busiest political season, [Evan] Stavisky said.

He said Parkside is handling former City Councilman Tony Avella’s campaign to unseat state Sen. Frank Padavan (R-Bellerose) and other Senate candidates stretching from western New York to Long Island.

Stavisky said Driscoll had been focused on the lobbying side of Parkside’s business during his latest years at the firm.

Driscoll is one of three lobbyists joining Gotham Government Relations, which has addresses in Manhattan, Albany and Washington, D.C., along with Mark Lieberman and Tiffany Raspberry, who also formerly worked for Parkside.

Unlike Parkside, Gotham does not do political consulting. Its clients include insurance giants Allstate and Geico, the New York Tobacconist Association and John Catsimatidis’ Red Apple Group and Gristedes supermarket chain, according to its website.

Driscoll, an attorney, also once served as counsel to the Queens County clerk’s office and chief of staff to members of the City Council and state Assembly.

And if that doesn't work out for him, he can always become a Deputy Queens Borough President.

Lack of living wage may become an issue for TDC

From the Daily News:

The $800 million plan for a complex of condos, shops and a YMCA set to be built atop a municipal parking lot got a thumbs up on April 5 from Community Board 7.

But area business owners aren't raising the white flag just yet in their fight against the controversial project.

"Every week goes by and I hear the developer talk about this great place, but they're killing us little by little," said Ikhwan Rim, a jewelry store owner and president of the Union St. Merchants Association. "I feel very hopeless because nobody is helping us."

Members of the merchants group have turned to Jim Gerson, chairman of the Flushing Business Improvement District. Gerson has hired the Parkside Group to lobby for area businesses.

"I thought that the merchants of Flushing should have a voice," said Gerson, who hired Parkside through his real estate company, Gerson Properties, rather than through the BID, which is prohibited from lobbying activities.

Rim said he and his fellow merchants are chipping in donations to Gerson. "We have a common goal," he said.

That goal includes securing funding for merchants during construction. The city Economic Development Corp. has allocated $2million for a business assistance program and City Councilman Peter Koo (R-Flushing) is ironing out its details.

From the Neighborhood Retail Alliance:

Our own take is that the Parksiders will sit this one out-and given their propinquity to the powers that be in Queens, this is probably a good thing. Taking on the battle against this over development-one that involves a breach of faith by the city and EDC over the original agreement with former council member (and now comptroller) John Liu-will involve bumping ugly with some powerful development proponents; and Parkside's skillful insider status would prove to be as much of a potential drawback as it would be an asset.

Gee, isn't this project being built on land that is currently publicly owned? And isn't the sale price below market rate-an indication of a level of public subsidy? Ipso facto, shouldn't the slated 250,000 sq. ft. of retail space be subject to the same living wage requirement that the folks up at the Kingsbridge Armory insisted on? Hmm.

In addition, the way in which this development is being structured, it could well prove to be a knife in the heart to the area's vibrant, but struggling, small businesses. Why? Because as planner Paul Graziano has pointed out, "The developer will introduce a ‘validation’ system – under which local businesses will likely be forced to pay for at least part of their patrons’ parking fees or lose business to other business areas."

And the parking provided-lower than the number agreed to by Liu-is inadequate for the amount of traffic that Flushing Commons will generate in the already gridlocked downtown. As Garaziano goes on to explain in his fact sheet on the project: "Loss of adequate, competitively-priced parking will very likely lead to serious job losses and small-business closings in Downtown Flushing.

• A ‘validation’ system will amount to a new tax imposed on small business in Flushing, as they will be compelled to subsidize customer/client parking to remain competitive.

• After the sale, as things stand now the developer will legally be entitled to deny parking to local businesses in favor of his own tenants, or charge non-tenants higher rates."

Well I don't know about Parkside, but today at 10:30am is the Borough Board meeting. Should be a fun time for all.

Just another cog in the Queens Machine

From New York Magazine:

...the favorite, Jose Peralta, hasn’t been convicted of anything, so that’s progress. But hold the cheers for now. One new senator isn’t going to fix the dysfunction, of course, yet Peralta’s path is depressingly typical of what helps keep state government mired in this mess. He began his political career working for Brian McLaughlin, the former assemblyman and labor union chieftain who two years ago pled guilty to stealing $3.1 million. Peralta was elected to the state assembly in 2002 and, like most of the Democrats in that body, he has been a dependable cog in Shelly Silver’s machine ever since. His bid to shift to the other chamber of the state legislature was only possible with the blessing of Congressman Joe Crowley, the Queens political boss; his campaign is backed by the unions — including the UFT, SEIU 1199, and 32BJ — who have the most clout in Albany; and Peralta’s campaign strategist is from the Parkside Group, a firm that is amassing a list of senate electoral clients nearly as long as its list of corporate lobbying clients.

Peralta has played the election game exactly right. Whether that benefits the public is a different matter. “The relationships I’ve nurtured over the years can help me build bridges in the legislature,” Peralta says. “And those unions supporting me represent actual people in my district, and it’s those people whose needs I’ll be protecting.”

Perhaps. “Jose is smart,” a fellow Queens Democrat says. “But he isn’t an improvement at all for the Senate as a whole. At least Hiram was at times an independent advocate. You won’t get that out of Jose.”