Tweeding at its finest!

From The Intercept:

THE RISE OF Congressman Joe Crowley, D-N.Y., has coincided with lucrative lobbying contracts for his younger brother, John Crowley, an attorney who goes by the first name Sean, and previously specialized in wills and estate law.

Sean Crowley serves as a partner at Davidoff Hutcher & Citron LLP, a powerhouse law firm with offices in Albany, New York City, and Washington, D.C., that advertises its ability to connect clients with congressional leadership.

Over the last decade, clients with interests before Congress have retained Sean Crowley through his lobbying firm, paying more than $4.5 million to influence and monitor government policies, according to a review of contracts by The Intercept.

Clients in recent years have included Oracle, AbbVie, NBCUniversal, Juniper Systems, New York Community Bancorp, Abbott Labs, and Elections Systems & Software.

In many cases, the interests of Sean Crowley’s clients have overlapped with his elder brother’s legislative and political work.

Wow, you don't say? Now why did the Queens Courier choose to print this 900+ word ass licking piece instead of delving into this shady business?

P.S. The primary is tomorrow.

Happy St. Patrick's Day from Queens Crap!

I think we now understand why the Crowleys went into politics and not music.

Cuomo involved in the patronage he vowed to stop; Ghost of Donald Manes haunts CD19 race

From the NY Times:

New York State’s economic development agency created a new position last June, and then found a candidate to fill it: a young man named Willard Younger, who had just graduated from Colgate University with a degree in classics and religion. He became a special projects associate, at a salary of $45,000 a year, according to state personnel records.

His father, Stephen P. Younger, is a lawyer and power broker in legal circles who was a member of one of Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s transition teams. He has also donated $26,000 to Mr. Cuomo’s campaigns over the years, disclosure records show.

The next month, the agency hired 23-year-old Andrew Moelis, a University of Pennsylvania graduate, for another new position, strategic planning associate, at a salary of $75,000 a year.

Shortly before Mr. Moelis’s first day of work, his father, Ron Moelis, a prominent real estate developer, gave $25,000 to Mr. Cuomo’s re-election campaign, according to the records.

Since taking office in 2011, Mr. Cuomo has repeatedly pledged to bring a new approach to Albany, where politicians of both major parties have long rewarded supporters with jobs that are not open to the general public.

But an investigation by The New York Times into hiring by the agency, the Empire State Development Corporation, shows how Mr. Cuomo’s administration has engaged in some of the same patronage practices that have often prevailed here.

The investigation was based on personnel records obtained through a Freedom of Information request, as well as campaign finance and other state records. Numerous interviews were conducted with state officials, employees and outside experts.



Well, now we know how Austin Shafran got his job there. The Shafrans have been hooked up since the days of Donald Manes. In fact, Austin's campaign contribution list reads like Donald Manes' rolodex.  Here are some of the contributors:

• Lester Shafran (and wife Beth) - Uncle, ex-head of the PVB, found guilty in the scandal.
• Sid Davidoff & Stephen Malito - Davidoff was Manes' best friend and lawyer, pushed for the Grand Prix raceway and represented the USTA for their expansion in 1993. Davidoff and Malito are political fixers, bar none.
• Then we have Sean Crowley working for Davidoff.  Another lobbyist involved in some not-too-civic friendly projects from another family that thrives only on nepotism.
• Michael Nussbaum - Manes' bagman in a bribery scandal - $250,000 to get a cable television franchise - who had his conviction reversed and now is in sole control of the Queens Tribune.

Here's a summary of where some of Shafran's current contributions come from (total = $58,802):
Political / Elected Officials /Candidates /Government $9,890
Donald Manes Associates and Intermediaries $4,200
Lobbyists (they show up on the NYC Lobbyist search) $1,500
Unions $8,450
Real Estate / Developers / Construction $4,275
Lawyers $1,675
Employees of:
Epoch Times $1,850
Union Plaza Nursing Home $1,350
Parker Jewish Institute $800

This constitutes 58% of Shafran's contributions.

Do you folks in eastern Queens want to return to the days of Donald Manes?

Joe Crowley's brother lobbying for secret developer's Astoria megaproject

From the NY Observer:

The Halletts Point redevelopment proposal to bring 2,644 apartments to a forlorn peninsula of the Queens waterfront has been in the works for three years, but now a different developer is throwing its hat into the ring.

The vaguely-named 2030 Astoria Developers LLC submitted an early application to the Department of City Planning today to rezone another smaller chunk of Halletts Point. They’re calling the project Astoria Cove and they want to build another 1,535 housing units—a combination of townhouses and apartments—on a site overlooking Pot Cove in Astoria, with a pristine view of the Queens leg of the Triborough (RFK) Bridge. Twenty percent of the project, or about 340 units, would be set aside for affordable housing.

When asked about the identify of those behind the LLC, Sean Crowley, the lobbyist who’s representing the developers and is the brother of Congressman Joe Crowley, told The Observer, “I’d rather not speak for them at the moment.”

“The buildings located along the waterfront,” reads the environmental assessment statement, “would have base heights between 80 to 100 feet that would be topped with towers ranging in height from 120 to 300 feet,” with the buildings further inland topping out at around 80 feet.

In addition to opening up the waterfront—with about twice the 20 feet of space required by the Department of City Planning, according the developer’s lobbyist—the builder is also planning to leave room for a 456-seat public elementary school, and “is exploring providing shuttle service for residents during the weekday a.m. and p.m. peak hours to and from the 30th Avenue station serving the N and Q lines.” (The proposed development is about three-quarters of a mile from the nearest train station.)

Contacted by The Observer this afternoon, Councilman Peter Vallone, who represents Astoria, said that he hasn’t yet thrown his support behind even the first project. The project, he said, “came in at almost twice the size they are now, so for years we’ve been working to whittle it down to something that’s economically feasible for them.”

Is it your job to ensure developer profits? Or are you supposed to be protecting your community from overdevelopment? Remember the blackout, Pete?

And what's the deal with Crowley hiding the identities of the developers?

Why the hell is every development project in Queens connected to multiple politicians and so damn shady?

Fool me once, shame on you...

This photo was sent in with the title, "What is Congressman Joe Crowley's brother up to? Answer: 5-11 47th Avenue LIC, NY 11101"

(Which, by the way, the City pulled out of and sold to a developer.)

So I responded with a question of my own.

"Who will this group endorse in future elections? Let me guess. Crowley?"

Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.