Board of Standards and Appeals Reform Legislation Passes New York City Council

City Hall – Yesterday, the New York City Council passed a package of legislation aimed at reforming the New York City Board of Standards and Appeals (BSA). In the past developers have been able to circumvent city zoning laws restricting building forms, use, height, density, through the BSA even though local Community Boards and elected officials objected to their decisions. This legislation aims to reform applications, decisions, notifications, staffing and transparency around the BSA to be more accountable to the public. The BSA is a five-member body tasked with reviewing requests for variances and special permits related to affordable housing and city planning in the zoning law. The package includes nine bills and featured bipartisan support from sponsors including Governmental Operations Chair Ben Kallos, Majority Leader Jimmy Van Bramer, Minority Leader Steven Matteo and Council Members Karen Koslowitz (D-29) and Donovan Richards (D-31).

Application Reform:

Introduction 1392-A, by Kallos – Sets minimum application requirements for developers to show why zoning laws should not apply to them including key financial disclosures with analysis by real estate professionals, neighborhood studies showing unique conditions, and affirmations under penalties of perjury with fines for knowing violations of up to $15,000.

Decision Reforms:

Introduction 418-A, by Koslowitz – The BSA will be required to write decisions with responses to recommendations from Community Boards and Borough Boards.
Introduction 282-A, by Van Bramer - The BSA will be required to write decisions that respond to any relevant evidence and arguments submitted by the City Planning Commission, Community Boards, Borough Boards, lessees and tenants as well as owners.

Notification Reforms:

Introduction 1200-A, by Richards –Proof of service will be required for applications and materials mailed to Council Members, Borough Presidents, Community Boards and other city agencies, with verification of receipt to be posted online.
Introduction 514-A, by Matteo - Notifies property owners when variances are expiring and penalties will be incurred in the coming six months.

City Staffing Reforms:

Introduction 1390-A, by Kallos -The Department of City Planning will appoint a BSA coordinator to appear before the BSA to submit testimony in defense of the zoning resolution, and such testimony would be available online.
Introduction 1391-A, by Kallos - A state certified real estate appraiser with no less than 5 years’ experience will be available to work for or consult with the BSA to review and analyze real estate financials provided by developers.

Transparency Reforms:

Introduction 1393-A, by Kallos - The number of pre-application meeting requests, number of applications, number approved or denied, and an average length of time until a decision would be reported biannually.
Introduction 1394-A, by Kallos – The location of all variances and special permit applications acted upon by the Board since 1998 would be available as a list and a layer on an interactive map of the city.

“We are taking away the rubber stamp from a government agency that used it far too often over the objections of residents. Developers will have, to be honest in applications that include the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. The Board of Standards and Appeals will have to consider community objections and write decisions outlining why they disagree. The City Planning Commission will have to watch over our zoning laws,” said Council Member Ben Kallos, Chair of the Committee on Governmental Operations, which has oversight of the Board of Standards and Appeals. “Thank you to the Municipal Art Society and Citizens Union for their reports and guidance, Borough President Brewer, as well as Council Members Koslowitz, Matteo, Richards, and Majority Leader Van Bramer for their long-standing leadership on this issue, and our Community Boards who fight the Board of Standards and Appeals on behalf of all New Yorkers every day.”

Tell us something we don't know

From The Forum:

As many political experts have pointed out, the questions surrounding the long-standing dominance and subsequent effects of party politics have never been easy to answer – perhaps because they are as varied and complex as Queens itself.

Some in the borough contended that dominant parties make it more difficult for political neophytes to enter the fray while others said that the traditional political machines have made strides to better represent Queens’ diverse and ever-growing population.

“Newcomers to politics often find it challenging to mount competitive campaigns for state elections due to the difficulty of raising funds without institutional support,” said Rachael Fauss, director of public policy for Citizens Union (CU). “The backing of the party continues to play a large role in elections, often making or breaking campaigns for office. And absent reforms to the state’s campaign finance system, voters will continue to have few choices at the polls.”

In 2011, a 22-year-old Queens student’s quest to run as an independent for retiring Assemblywoman Nettie Mayersohn’s seat was dashed when the city’s board of elections ruled that a technicality invalidated more than 1,500 signatures the student had collected. The party nomination was ultimately given to Michael Simanowitz, a former aide to Mayersohn.

In fact, statistics from CU underscored that when comparing state elections with city elections, voters have fewer choices, due to the strength of the city’s public matching system.

Some of the troubling stats showed that 21 percent of all state legislative contests in New York City went uncontested in both the primary and general elections in four cycles between 2006 and 2012 while only 8 percent of races were uncontested for the City Council during the three cycles between 2005 and 2013.

And, in primaries with incumbents, fewer than 20 percent of state legislative primaries in the city had three or more candidates from 2006 to 2012, while 59 percent of city council primaries had three or more candidates from 2005 to 2013.

Meet the new City Council. Same as the old City Council.

From last October in the Daily News:

The newcomers who pledged to abolish the stipends are: Corey Johnson, Helen Rosenthal, Mark Levine and the winner of the David Garland/Ben Kallos race in Manhattan; Alan Maisel, Robert Cornegy, Antonio Reynoso, Carlos Menchaca, Inez Barron and Mark Treyger in Brooklyn; Costa Constantinides, Rory Lancman, Daneek Miller and the victor of the Paul Vallone/Dennis Saffran election in Queens; Andrew Cohen and Ritchie Torres in the Bronx; and Steve Matteo in Staten Island.

We’ll see if they are true to their word.

From CBS New York:

Members of the New York City Council have voted to give themselves stipends.

As WCBS 880′s Rich Lamb reported, council members already get paid just over $112,000 annually from taxpayers.

In its first meeting, the new council approved a long list of extra pay to be doled out to members.

The speaker gets $25,000 and the majority leader $20,000, while ten members get $15,000 apiece. Thirty four other members get $8,000 each.

The stipends, known as lulus, are extra payments given to members in lieu of expenses.

“New Yorkers elected a reform-minded city council and this was an opportunity for them to deliver on that promise and they missed it,” said Dick Dadey of the non-partisan watchdog group Citizens Union.

“Over 30 members of the city council pledged not to accept lulus when they were elected and now they all voted in support of the committee recommendations and the lulus. So they’ve broken a promise that they made to New Yorkers.”

Democratic Machine barks an order; good government group complies

From Crain's:

The good-government group Citizens Union canceled its planned endorsement of a Republican challenger in a little-watched City Council race after two Democratic lawmakers complained about his campaign literature, its executive director confirmed.

Citizens Union announced Friday morning that it would not support anyone in the Queens race between incumbent Democratic Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley and a young Republican former television producer, Craig Caruana. The organization had told Mr. Caruana it would endorse him this week. Ms. Crowley, a cousin of powerful Queens Democratic leader Joe Crowley, is heavily favored to win re-election.

In an email to reporters, the good-government group explained that it had backed away from supporting Mr. Caruana upon learning this week of literature mailed to voters by his campaign.

"After the Citizens Union board met yesterday and reviewed the message of the flyer and its consequences, it felt the flyer crossed a line and engaged in inappropriate fear-mongering that unfairly targets immigrants," the group explained.

Not mentioned was that two members of the City Council had called Citizens Union Executive Director Dick Dadey this week to complain about the impending endorsement. Manhattan Councilwoman Melissa Mark-Viverito, the co-chair of the council's Progressive Caucus and a candidate for council speaker, brought the matter to Mr. Dadey's attention, he said. Councilman Danny Dromm, a Queens Democrat, also called to register his concern.

First of all, the mailer doesn't target immigrants, it targets people trespassing on American soil. Big difference.

Interesting that 2 council members from outside the district (one from Manhattan) would call Citizens Union about an endorsement and that Citizens Union would listen to them. Citizens Union is not an immigrant rights group, they are supposed to be a good government group. It's never a good thing when the government tells a good government group what to do, and they do it. They have a long history of doing so, however. It's pretty sad.

An actual quote from their director: “Citizens Union has been pleased to work over the past couple of years with reform-minded individuals like Mayor Bloomberg and Speaker Christine Quinn.”

Oy vey!

And it's quite interesting that a mailer about a piece of legislation that Citizens Union decided not to take a position on was a dealbreaker for Caruana, yet the many mailers from the real estate PAC, Jobs for New York, on behalf of CD19 candidate Paul Vallone, didn't cause them to bat en eyelash when deciding to endorse Vallone in that race. Outside spending in elections is usually a top 5 concern for good government groups, but for CU, it's of no concern.

At the end of the day, I'm not sure Caruana would have wanted to be on the same endorsement list as Paul Vallone and Melinda Katz, anyway.

More pork doled out to favored council members

From the Daily News:

The heartiest eaters at the trough of City Council slush funds were named Tuesday in a good government group report which argues that the way the money's doled out gives the Council speaker too much sway over individual members.

Brooklyn Democrat Domenic Recchia, the powerful head of the council’s Finance Committee, was number one in FY 2012 with $12.1 million, according to Citizens Union.

Councilman Erik Martin Dilan (D-Brooklyn) came in second with $11.3 million and Councilman Lew Fidler (D-Brooklyn) was third with $10.7 million.

The Council allocated $459 (fixed) million in discretionary funds in FY 2012. Members gave the money to non-profits and used it for capital expenditures on city property.

Citizen Union head Dick Dadey said the funds should be handed out “more objectively” and with “greater equity” and that politics should be taken out of the process.

“The City Council speaker and some of the other leaders have too much say in what gets distributed,” he said. “One could argue that that’s a way to keep the Council in line as you try and move a legislative agenda forward.”

City Council Speaker Christine Quinn pointed out in a statement that Council had already made changes to make its expense funds more transparent and was planning to do the same with capital funds.

From the NY Post:

A new analysis of how the City Council allocated more than $2 billion in discretionary funds between 2009 and 2012 has found a wide gulf between the haves and have-nots.

Dominic Recchia (D-Brooklyn), chairman of the powerful Finance Committee, was the biggest winner in the Citizens Union study, collecting $66.7 million to spend on capital projects and nonprofits of his choosing. Erik Dilan (D-Brooklyn), an ally of Brooklyn Democratic leader Vito Lopez, came in second with $37 million.

Dead last in 51st place were Dan Halloran (R-Queens) and his predecessor Tony Avella, now a state senator. Over the four-year period, they pulled in just $9.5 million for their constituents.

Avella, an outspoken critic of Council Speaker Christine Quinn, said the results should come as no surprise to anyone.

“Nothing is done by merit,” he said. “I was independent and took on the speaker.”

From the NY Post:

Council Speaker Christine Quinn is yanking Seabrook’s discretionary funds in the upcoming budget as the beleaguered Bronx politician gears up for a second federal trial on charges of extortion, money-laundering and fraud, The Post has learned.

“Council Member Seabrook and I have come to a mutual agreement that this year’s funding to his district will be determined by the Speaker’s Office and the Bronx delegation chair,” Quinn said in a prepared statement, reversing her position on the issue from several months ago.

“All allocations will undergo the appropriate review and vetting process, including by the Mayor’s Office of Contract Services and city agencies,” she said.
In February 2010, federal prosecutors alleged that from 2002 through 2009, Seabrook funneled more than $1 million in council member items — also known as pork — to nonprofits he controlled, with about half that money lining the pockets of his girlfriend and family members.

Using taxpayer dollars to promote themselves

From the Daily News:

The state's budget crisis hasn't stopped lawmakers from spending big bucks to promote themselves.

Members of the Senate and Assembly have spent nearly $9 million in taxpayer money this year on constituent mailings, the Daily News has learned.

The spending comes as the state faces a $9 billion budget deficit and is preparing to lay off hundreds of government workers on Dec. 31.

"It's an extraordinary amount of money when the state is broke," said Dick Dadey, executive director of the good government group Citizens Union.

"And the timing of the newsletters is geared to inform voters just before an election, which is doubly inappropriate."

Senators spent $5.3 million on postage, while Assembly members spent $3.6 million. The Senate and Assembly spent a combined $12 million last year, records show.

Finally, an honest tweeder

From the Daily News:

Controversial state Sen. Kevin Parker has raised eyebrows yet again with a fund-raising invitation that boasts: "I help you. You help me.”

"It would be simpler if he just said ‘quid pro quo’ on the invitation,” cracked Citizens Union executive director Richard Dadey.

Parker’s campaign sent out the formal invite in advance of his annual dinner-dance gala, which will be held Nov. 19 at Crystal Manor in Brooklyn.

It costs a minimum of $150 per person to attend, and supporters are asked to raise or contribute between $400 and $2,500 — or buy an ad in the program for $50 to $750.

The front of the invitation bears the slogan: “I help you. You help me. Together we build.”

Dadey, other government reformers and lobbyists who received the invite were stunned at its boldness.

“I find it breathtakingly straightforward,” said Susan Lerner of Common Cause/New York. “It gets to the heart of the deal from his point of view.”

Dadey said the language reinforces “the public’s perceptions that in order for you to represent me, I’ve got to pay up.”

Bloomberg: election reformer

From the NY Post:

A group of elected officials and voting advocates said New York is among the least voter-friendly states in the nation and called for reforms like early voting, same-day registration and allowing New Yorkers to fill out ballots at home.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg and several state legislators joined civic groups and activists Monday at City Hall, citing New York’s ranking as 47th among the states in average voter turnout for the last three state and federal election cycles.

To increase voter participation, the group wants New York to join other states that have passed measures to make voting more convenient and easier.

Bloomberg called the ideas “common sense things that other states and municipalities have done.”

“Not doing them is an outrage,” he added.

Some of the proposals on Bloomberg’s wish list have been introduced or debated in recent years and have not gotten far in the state legislature, including the concept of early voting, an option offered in 35 states.

Public interest organizations said pushing election law reforms has historically been difficult in Albany, where some lawmakers worry that increased voter participation could weaken their own power.

Dick Dadey, of the group Citizens Union, said some state legislators “fear people participating, because the more people participate, the less likely they control the outcome.”

Something about the words "Bloomberg" and "election reform" just don't go together. Oh yeah, it's that whole term limits thing from a couple of years ago.

State pols waste lots of trees and $$$

From the Daily News:

The state's budget crisis hasn't stopped lawmakers from spending big bucks to promote themselves.

Members of the Senate and Assembly have spent nearly $9 million in taxpayer money this year on constituent mailings, the Daily News has learned.

The spending comes as the state faces a $9 billion budget deficit and is preparing to lay off hundreds of government workers on Dec. 31.

"It's an extraordinary amount of money when the state is broke," said Dick Dadey, executive director of the good government group Citizens Union.

"And the timing of the newsletters is geared to inform voters just before an election, which is doubly inappropriate."

Senators spent $5.3 million on postage, while Assembly members spent $3.6 million. The Senate and Assembly spent a combined $12 million last year, records show.

$7M for CB office

From the NY Post:

The city is spending $7 million in taxpayer money on a state-of-the-art office building for a Brooklyn community board that has only two employees -- state Sen. Carl Kruger's girlfriend and sister, The Post has learned.

It's a costly "giveback" to Community Board 18 and the embattled Brooklyn Democrat for his backing nearly two decades ago of a $357 million city sewage-overflow storage plant, which is just now being built at Paerdegat Basin, officials said.

"It's a sweetheart deal for a community board run like a family-owned store," said Dick Dadey, executive director of the government-watchdog group Citizens Union.

Dadey said the recently completed 4,000-square-foot office and meeting space is "so out of context" with what other local boards get that it will just open the floodgates to others asking for the same.

It's rare for community boards to have dedicated city-owned office and meeting spaces. Most rent offices, are advised not to exceed 1,500 square feet of space, and host public meetings at larger spaces, city officials said.

But the city is paying the price now for a deal the Dinkins administration cut in the early 1990s, while Kruger chaired CB 18 and the Department of Environmental Protection project was up for approval by the board.

Kruger, however, said the city has only itself to blame for the high cost.

"It's a disgrace that this project is 10 years behind schedule, so, of course, costs escalated," said Kruger, the subject of an FBI probe into alleged influence peddling.

Still profiting after all these years

From the Daily News:

Just because they violated the public's trust doesn't mean they've stopped taking the public's money.

At least 10 ex-lawmakers who've been convicted of criminal charges are still receiving taxpayer-funded pensions worth tens of thousands of dollars a year, a Daily News review of state pension records found.

"The law says I've earned it. I am entitled to it. I take it," said disgraced former state Sen. Guy Velella, who receives a $75,012 annual pension from the state.

Velella, a Republican who represented parts of the Bronx and Westchester, pleaded guilty in 2004 to bribery charges and served six months at Rikers Island.

Other convicted felons who receive fat pensions include former state Controller Alan Hevesi, who pleaded guilty in 2006 using state workers as his wife's chauffeur, and ex-Brooklyn Assemblyman and Democratic leader Clarence Norman, who was convicted in 2007 of selling judgeships.

Hevesi receives $105,221 a year, while Norman gets $43,321.

Ex-Senate boss Joe Bruno, a former GOP kingmaker who is appealing his conviction of honest services fraud, pockets $96,085.

Dick Dadey, executive director of the good government group Citizens Union, said the payouts underscore the need to reform New York's pension system.

Are non-partisan elections in our future?

From the NY Times:

In a reversal, a prominent government watchdog said Wednesday that it now supported eliminating the role of parties in city elections, adding momentum to an effort to bring the issue before voters in November.

The group, Citizens Union, had opposed the idea of nonpartisan elections seven years ago, when Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg campaigned for it. His effort was handed a decisive defeat by voters.

But in a report released on Wednesday, the group said that turnout had grown so low and elections so preordained that parties should lose their domineering power.

“We want to reduce the gamesmanship,” said John P. Avlon, who led a task force that studied the City Charter for six months. “It’s a remedy to our current problems. Its time has come.”

Under the proposal, primaries would be open to all voters no matter their party registration. The top two candidates, regardless of party affiliation, would face off in the general election. Similar systems are currently used in other cities, including Boston, Dallas, Detroit and Los Angeles.

To move forward, the proposal must gain the backing of the city’s Charter Revision Commission, which is charged with examining the governing structure of New York. The commission, appointed by Mr. Bloomberg, is expected to make preliminary recommendations in July, followed by a round of public hearings.

It will most likely issue a final report by early September, and can place recommended changes on the ballot in November.

The Daily News thinks this is a bad idea.

Good government group crosses the line

From the Daily News:

One of the city's oldest watchdogs is trying to find the right balance between its bark and its bite.

Citizens Union, the good-government group that has pushed for reform and transparency since 1897, is grappling with how close it should be to the politicians and government officials it monitors.

One of its board members, Joel Berger, resigned this month with a scathing e-mail, accusing Citizens Union of straying from its roots by cozying up to Mayor Bloomberg, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn and Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly.

"It saddens me that the organization has become so timid, conflicted and corrupt that I can no longer serve it in good conscience," Berger wrote.

Citizens Union executive director, Dick Dadey, and its board chairman, Peter Sherwin, both reject those charges.

They said they have consciously tried to work with New York's movers and shakers to create real reform, instead of just hollering from the sidelines.

At a hearing this month on the commission, Assemblyman Rory Lancman (D-Queens) lashed out at a union staffer who testified against a state plan to curb the mayor's Charter power.

"I'm just trying to figure out what are the outer limits of Citizens Union's willingness to be a shill for the mayor," Lancman said. "At what point is Citizens Union going to actually advocate for the citizens and not merely for Mayor Michael Bloomberg?"

Citizens Union called for a referendum on extending term limits in 2008 and strongly opposed how Bloomberg rammed it through the Council. Then it endorsed him for re-election, saying he was good on most other issues.

Not only that, but according to Atlantic Yards Report:

The Citizens Union (CU), responding in December 2006 to a drastic decline in estimated tax revenues--first revealed by AYR, then picked up by the New York Times--called for a “limited delay” in the process and noted that it “does not align itself with those who oppose the project and wish to use the process of delay to kill the project, because we believe that economic development is needed so that the city can continue to be a dynamic place of business and meet the needs of a growing population.”

No call for an investigation as to how Ratner got away with bidding less for the railyards than competitors and winning the bid? No outrage over eminent domain abuse? That's some 'good government' group.

Told y'all about this shady group months ago. Glad that the mainstream press is finally catching on. Sadly, only after the election...

"Good government" group endorses Bloomberg

From the Daily News:

The Citizens Union played an active role in the failed effort to block the term limits extension, but has sufficiently recovered from that disappointment to endorse Mayor Bloomberg for re-election.

CU Executive Director Dick Dadey and Chairman Peter Sherwin announced the good government group's decision via press release this afternoon and said the decision wasn't easily reached, given Bloomberg's "decision to reverse his position on the issue of term limits and seek a change to the city charter that overturned the twice voter-enacted law."

The CU also endorsed Democratic Staten Island BP candidate John Luisi, continues to support Councilwoman Diana Reyna (who faces a continued challenge from her unsuccessful primary opponent, Maritza Davila, on the WFP line), Assemblyman Mark Weprin (for the Council seat of his brother, David), GOP Councilman Eric Ulrich and nine other Council incumbents:

Daniel Garodnick and Jessica Lappin in Manhattan, Kevin Kim, Peter Vallone Jr., and Elizabeth Crowley in Queens, Vincent Gentile in Brooklyn, and Debi Rose, James Oddo and Vincent Ignizio in Staten Island.

So what the hell is the purpose of this group if they are going to denounce the extension of term limits but then endorse the very people that decided to run for a third term? That's good government?