Telling it like it is

Ray Rogers condemns NYC's rezoning policies as REBNY policies that benefit fat cat developers like Rob and Jerry Speyer (Tishman Speyer), Jed Walentas (Two Trees Management), Gary Barnett (Extell Development Company) and Daniel Brodsky (The Brodsky Organization). Rogers says REBNY is run by "bullies and racketeers" while speaking at Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer's rezoning hearing in East Harlem (7-13-17).

Public authorities dishing out ridiculous salaries

From the Daily News:

It's nice work if you can get it.

Nearly 5,500 employees spanning more than three dozen state public authorities raked in six-figure salaries last year, the Daily News has learned.

That amounts to 6% of the 90,237 state authority employees on the payroll, according to a recent review by the Authorities Budget Office.

Overall, the budget office found that the average total compensation package for a state authority worker is $70,600.

Long considered a "shadow government," public authorities serve as patronage mills that operate in secret and ring up hundreds of millions of dollars in debt, critics charge.

Former Assemblyman Richard Brodsky, who pushed for the creation of a body to oversee public authorities, said the new numbers shed light on the previously "secretive, Soviet-style bureaucracies."

"To finally have a light on the salary practices will require people to justify salaries which strike the average citizens as strange - and unusually high," Brodsky said.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority topped the charts by employing the most staffers pulling in six figures.

Reforming and fining public authorities

From the NY Post:

An Assembly committee says the agency that oversees more than 700 public authorities in New York needs statutory authority to impose fines on the quasi-public entities that fail to report their borrowing, bonus payments or other activities.

In a report Monday, the Committee on Corporations, Commissions and Authorities says more than 100 authorities are essentially defunct and hundreds more are duplicative and should be shuttered.

The report urges applying technical analysis and common sense, noting a recent “disturbing trend” by local governments in establishing not-for-profit organizations that assert they aren’t subject to the oversight.

Committee Chairman Richard Brodsky says reform under the Authorities Budget Office has begun.

Con Ed didn't pay out enough

From the NY Post:

Con Ed reimbursed only a fraction of the money lost during a 2006 power outage in Queens that lasted 10 days.

That's according to a Pace University study that says the July 2006 blackout affected 174,000 people and cost about $188 million. The report says the utility reimbursed residents and companies $17 million.

Assemblyman Richard Brodsky says the company should be required to pay for all the damages. He says he's sponsoring a bill that would require utility companies to pay for any negligent damages for which they are responsible.

Con Edison spokesman Chris Olert said losses could have been much worse. He said the company is doing a better job at tracking and preventing power outages.

State investigators said the massive outage was triggered by a failure of company executives to heed warnings by employees that large portions of the Queens power grid were in need of repair.

Many Dems shy away from Cuomo reform pledge

From the Village Voice:

Andrew Cuomo, New York's likely next governor, has made it known that fellow Democratic office seekers should sign onto a single-page pledge to reform Albany if they expect to win his endorsement for this fall's election. But only two of his hopeful AG successors, Nassau County DA Kathleen Rice and attorney Sean Coffey, have chosen to do so, and there is similar hesitation elsewhere on the ticket.

From the sound of things, Cuomo may not have an easy go at collecting endorsements from the other candidates on the statewide Democratic ticket either. New York's two sitting senators were noncommittal when their offices were contacted by the Voice.

[Comptroller Tom] DiNapoli's dodging may mean his allegiance lies with Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, also a Democrat but whom Cuomo has clearly targeted in his call to reform Albany. "I don't sign anybody's pledge," Silver told the media in response to the challenge.

Agency proposes eliminating many public authorities

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP/ 1010 WINS) -- Two New York lawmakers want to shutter 129 public authorities and agencies established to address urban renewal, industrial development, waste management and other public enterprises.

Assemblymen Sam Hoyt and Richard Brodsky say the state's new Independent Authorities Budget Office recommended the closings in its review of more than 700 quasi-governmental agencies.

Many are currently dormant.

Hoyt, a Buffalo Democrat, says taxpayers have had to deal for years with the organizations, which have been accountable to nobody.

Brodsky, a Westchester County Democrat, says this is the first and easiest step toward reform. Earlier Tuesday, Brodsky said he's pressing the Fulton County Economic Development Corp. for information about its finances after it paid almost $1 million in bonuses to two of its top executives.

Senate says to give refunds now

From the Times Union:

The state Senate on Tuesday called on Gov. David Paterson to abandon his proposal to potentially delay state tax refunds to alleviate the current fiscal crisis. The resolution, proposed by Senate Conference Leader John Sampson, D-Brooklyn, passed by a unanimous vote.

"This is the taxpayers' money, not the governor's," Sampson said in a statement.

Senate Republicans complained the chamber could go much further than merely expressing its displeasure. Sen. George Winner, R-Elmira, spoke in support of his proposed law that would require the state Department of Taxation and Finance to process refunds within a 30-day period, or explain why it has not. Winner's bill is sponsored in the Assembly by Westchester Democrat Richard Brodsky, who was in the Senate chamber for the debate.

Student MetroCards will still be funded

From the Daily News:

Relax kids: A key state legislator all but guaranteed Thursday that students will not lose free or discounted MetroCards.

"We're going to deal with that in a timely way ... and we're very confident there's going to be a good outcome," said Assemblyman Richard Brodsky, flanked by two other members of the State Assembly during a break in a hearing on MTA finances.

The MTA board last month voted to end the student MetroCard program after Gov. Paterson and the state Legislature -- dealing with their own budget woes -- slashed funding.

Despite that cut, Brodsky said paying for student travel should be the state and city's responsibility.

The city currently contributes $45 million. The state contributed $45 million in 2008 but only $6 million last year.

Paterson signs Public Authorities Bill

From the NY Times:

After years of debate and a string of corruption scandals, state officials moved on Friday to impose sweeping new oversight provisions on the state’s hundreds of public authorities, which have long functioned as a virtual shadow government largely immune to public accountability.

The law, passed by the Legislature this month and signed by Gov. David A. Paterson on Friday, was hailed by government watchdog groups as one of the most significant reforms in decades. It was one of the few such efforts led chiefly by the Legislature, long a place where bills intended to promote greater government accountability go to wither and die.

Public authorities have been a powerful yet inscrutable force in New York for decades, charged with running the state’s highways and mass transit systems, spearheading economic development and managing power plants. They range from the sprawling Metropolitan Transportation Authority to the small Oneida-Herkimer Solid Waste Authority.

“Today, we return to the control of the people of the state their most powerful institutions,” said Assemblyman Richard L. Brodsky, a Westchester Democrat, who was a chief sponsor of the new legislation. “If you go to school in New York City, you use the School Construction Authority. If you go to a hospital, you use the Health and Hospitals Corporation. The subways. The buses. The lives of New Yorkers are impacted by the operations of state authorities to an infinitely greater extent than they are by the departments of state government.”

For the first time, board members of those authorities will have a legal obligation, known as a fiduciary duty, to protect the interests and mission of the authorities they supervise, rather than being beholden to the mayors, governors and legislative leaders who appoint them. The new law will require authorities to seek approval from the state comptroller for most contracts of over $1 million that are not competitively bid.

Public authorities need reform now

NY 'Shadow Government' Debt Rises To $140 Billion

NEW YORK (AP) ― The latest state records show New York's public authorities -- long criticized as a shadow government subject to little outside scrutiny -- have increased their debt to more than $140 billion. That's a 16 percent increase over the past five years, reflecting more borrowing even when fiscal times were good and revenue was healthy.

Democratic Assemblyman Richard Brodsky says Wednesday the growth in borrowing by public authorities through unelected boards shows the need for reform required in a bill now before Gov. David Paterson.

The bill would create an oversight board and require more transparency in how authorities provide services, including operations of the Thruway Authority and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

Perkins and Brodsky are onto Bloomberg

From Atlantic Yards Report:

Blaming New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg for Gov. David Paterson’s apparent reluctance to sign sweeping legislation that would reform the governance of the state’s public authorities, state Senator Bill Perkins (D-Harlem) and Assemblyman Richard Brodsky (D-Westchester), yesterday urged Paterson to sign the bill, offered forceful rebuttals to Bloomberg’s concerns, and said they were considering public meetings and hearings to focus attention on the bill.

“This bill is as American as apple pie,” Brodsky (right) said of the Public Authorities Reform Act of 2009. “This is a power struggle between the needs of the people and the needs of a powerful mayor.” The bill has drawn broad support from editorialists and civic groups.

Perkins said Paterson should “return to his roots,” noting that, “when the governor had this office [state Senator from Harlem], he was a leading voice for reform.” They spoke at a hastily-called press conference at Perkins’s Harlem office, attended by journalists from the Associated Press, WNYC, and City Hall News, along with AYR.

Perkins and Brodsky, serving as the chairmen of committees that oversee public authorities, shepherded the bill through the legislature to nearly unanimous approval.

At least nine newspapers, including the New York Times, Newsday, the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle, the Buffalo News, the Albany Times-Union, and the Syracuse Post-Standard, have endorsed the bill.

Likening the debate over the bill to the polarized and distorted national discussion over health care reform, Brodsky said “were not going to allow the mayor or anyone else to mischaracterize what’s in the bill.” He noted that the authorities operate all over the state, with many of their activities having nothing to do with New York City. “This is not a New York City issue,” he said, citing widespread support for the bill.

Bloomberg apparently objects to a provision that requires records kept detailing all contact with lobbyists, including those from other government agencies.

“They don’t want the public to know when the mayor’s office calls in and tells the governor what to do,” Brodsky said.

As the Wonkster points out, the heat is on.

Paterson has said he supports 90% of the reform bill, but the 10% is no doubt what Bloomberg wants to see changed.

Yankees fail to produce subpoenaed documents

Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images

NEW YORK (AP) -- State Assemblyman Richard Brodsky says the New York Yankees have produced only a fraction of the documents subpoenaed as part of his investigation into whether the team's new $1.5 billion stadium is a good deal for the city.

The Yankees turned over documents at a legislative committee hearing Friday in Manhattan. But Brodsky said they weren't all the records legislators sought on the ballpark's tax-exempt financing and ticket prices.

Team president Randy Levine called the assemblyman's inquiry a "witch hunt."

Brodsky is a longtime critic of the stadium deal, which is backed by hundreds of millions of dollars in public subsidies.

The price was estimated at $800 million when announced in June 2005.

The stadium is due to open April 16.

If you can't take the scrutiny, don't ask for a break from taxpayers.

Breakdown of the Yankees' bond request

From the Daily News' Juan Gonzalez:

There's $137 million to pay for concessions at the new stadium - including a swank new Yankees Steakhouse, a Hard Rock Cafe, a museum and a conference center. The Yankees added most of those items to the stadium budget after the city approved the original financing plan.

Other enhancements include:

- $14.2 million for various scoreboard changes.

- $5 million for fancy public- bathroom improvements, including "burnished and glazed block" and "solid surface countertops."

- $10.5 million for new "suite level upgrades."

- $10.7 million for a huge new "video board."

- $8.7 million for the team's administrative offices.

The financial details that the team submitted list such a complicated split between public and private funding for those costs that it's almost impossible to separate them.

"This is bizarre," said Assemblyman Richard Brodsky (D-Westchester), a longtime critic of the stadium deal. "We don't have enough money for our schools or the subways, yet they want to give the Yankees money for a steakhouse and granite ramps?"

Bloomberg keeps telling ordinary New Yorkers we need to tighten our belts in hard times. He needs to tell it to the Yankees.

The NY Times' Jim Dwyer has more:

When New York goes through a drought, it is the custom to shut down public fountains, like those in front of the Metropolitan Museum of Art — not because they use all that much water, but because the dancing towers of water give the illusion of abundance.

They just turn off the spigots.

Brodsky: Postpone Vote on Bonds for Mets, Yankees

NEW YORK (AP) -- A state assemblyman investigating the financing agreements for the Mets and Yankees new ballparks is asking to postpone a vote on additional public bonds for the projects.

Assemblyman Richard Brodsky released a letter Friday requesting the city Industrial Development Agency to delay the Jan. 16 vote.

The baseball teams are asking the city for $450 million more in public bonds to pay for their new parks, and the IDA has scheduled a Jan. 15 hearing to discuss the additional public support.

Janel Patterson, an IDA spokeswoman, said the agency had followed the public process and would vote as scheduled.

The Yankees are asking for another $259 million in tax-exempt bonds and $111 million in taxable bonds, on top of the $940 million in tax-exempt bonds and $25 million in taxable bonds already granted for its $1.3 billion stadium.

The Mets want another $83 million, in addition to the $615 million already approved for their $800 million park.

Brodsky has said the first round of public support for the ballparks was granted without sufficient public input, and wants the city to provide more documentation about the process before any vote takes place for more bonds.

State Dems to reform eminent domain laws

A Democratic takeover of the Senate in November could result in changes to the state's eminent domain law, possibly complicating several of the city's largest development projects.

State Senator Bill Perkins, a Democrat of Harlem, is calling for a moratorium on the use of eminent domain and said he is willing to push for more restrictions on the use of eminent domain, provided the political climate is right in Albany.

"I don't know of too many other issues where you have such diverse and pervasive outrage," he said yesterday in an interview.

Victorious Senate Democrats Could Target Eminent Domain

With the Republicans holding a one-seat edge in the Senate, a changing of the guard in Albany could lead Mr. Perkins and Assemblyman Richard Brodsky to lead the charge to change the state's eminent domain law.

Congestion pricing, round 2

BRACE FOR MORE MTA HIKES
By PATRICK GALLAHUE, NY Post

June 11, 2008 -- A commission that is trying to find ways to fund the cash-strapped MTA will look to fare hikes, congestion pricing, and possibly new taxes, officials announced yesterday.

Gov. Paterson unveiled the 12 panel members who will try to steer the Metropolitan Transportation Authority away from financial ruin, and suggested it could revive some controversial proposals, including the congestion-pricing plan that died in the Legislature in April.

The commission will submit its report to Paterson in December.

State lawmakers are planning to grill MTA bosses today in a hearing over fears of more fare and toll hikes just months after the last increases went into effect.

"The reality is that a major fare increase is looming, even as we went through a similar increase last year," said Assemblyman Richard Brodsky.

The MTA is facing massive shortfalls with swiftly rising costs and a worsening economy.

Is this really a people's victory?

Today in Sunnyside, Queens, representatives of Western Queens Power for the People were joined by Assemblymember Richard Brodsky to announce a settlement with Con Edison stemming from the nine-day blackout in western Queens. Under the terms of the settlement, residents who were affected by the blackout will receive a $100 rebate in their August or September bill, along with a written apology from Con Ed. Businesses will receive slightly more.

People 1, Con Ed 0

The settlement is unprecedented. Never before has a public utility given out a rebate without the recipients being required to fill out a form, and never before has the rebate gone directly on to the bill. This rebate also comes with no strings attached -- any resident or business owner who feels he or she should get more can still sue Con Ed.

MTA: Congestion pricing cost too high

In a report detailing how a road tax would affect mass transit, the MTA outlined short-term service upgrades it would implement by next fall to prepare for the influx of riders who would be expected to leave their cars at home if congestion pricing were approved to begin in spring 2009. The report was released Friday to members of a commission studying congestion pricing.

Head-On Collision Over Traffic Congestion

The MTA report identifies $388 million of unfunded capital and operating costs associated with the service upgrades, and will likely add fuel to the debate on whether charging drivers to enter Manhattan south of 86th Street is the most practical way to reduce the traffic jams that are crippling the metropolitan region.

[Assemblyman Richard Brodsky said] between 35% and 55% of trips in the charged zone are taxis, which would not have to pay the fee.

Why is that? Taxis = cars, and I thought we wanted people to get out of cars and take mass transit. Hmmm....

Photo from EMBARQ Blog

Congestion tax unfair to middle class

"I could not recommend the bill presented to us. It doesn't do the things the mayor says he wants to do," said Assemblyman Richard Brodsky, who heads a committee examining Bloomberg's legislation.

Pol puts brakes on congest plan as study slams it

Mayor Bloomberg's congestion pricing plan is unfair to middle-class New Yorkers, says a study out today - as Albany obstacles threaten to derail the proposal.

Brooklyn, Queens and Bronx drivers make about 24% of the trips into the congestion-pricing area, but would pay 47% of the fees - even though their average salary is $46,000, the study says.

Manhattan drivers, though, would make 72% of the trips into the pricing zone and pay just 42% of the fees - even with a $74,000 average salary. Trips within Manhattan would cost just $4, and taxis would be exempt.

Report Recommends Rejecting Plan on City Traffic

Mr. Brodsky, who has been a leading skeptic about the proposal, has already said the city’s own estimates showed that the plan would create enough space in the congestion zone to increase the average speed by only 0.6 miles per hour, suggesting higher tolls would have to be imposed to further decrease the number of cars.

“Within a few years, the fee in London went from five pounds to eight pounds, about 60 percent, and witnesses at our hearings said that would happen in New York,” Mr. Brodsky said. “And the second thing is that the mayor of London has said you must have mass transit improvements in place first, and the city doesn’t have that.”