Trib honors Caliendo

From the Queens Tribune:

Gerald Caliendo’s architecture business started with four employees, but has since grown into one of the premier establishments in the industry.

Caliendo was one of the honorees of the Queens Tribune’s third annual Business Achievement awards, held on Monday at Queens College.

The company, Gerald Caliendo Architects, started in 1994 in Briarwood, looking to get established in the architect business.

Since then, it has grown to about 45 employees and work on projects citywide.

In an interview with the Queens Tribune, Caliendo partially credits that growth to working with Phil Agusta, former commissioner of the Boards of Standards and Appeals.

He said that working alongside Agusta enabled him to learn the ins and outs of zoning and variance laws, something other businesses know little to nothing about.

You can click the tag below containing his name to see his proud Queens Crap history.

This is my favorite Gerry story of all time.

Queens Tribune forgets what "free speech" means

From a Queens Tribune editorial:

"These families deserve better than to have a mob of people yelling at them to leave or to find a job. They likely already feel like second-class citizens. There was no reason for protesters to take their frustrations with the Dept. of Homeless Services out on the individuals seeking shelter at the empty hotel. The actions of those protesters were abhorrent, and those families who are now housed at the Pan American deserve no less than an apology, not just from that mob, but from the local officials who allowed it to happen."

The "poor families" who screamed out that protesters should "go make chicken wings" and "go back to China" deserve an apology? (You'll notice no mention of the counter-protesters' behavior in either the editorial or the Trib's story.)

And since when do local officials "allow" people to express their right to free speech? Holy crap, I can't believe a media outlet - its very existence dependent on the first amendment - actually wrote this sh*t!

No surprise here: Trib endorsed only Multimedia candidates

From the New York World:

Months after the New York World first highlighted the practice, a pair of Queens community newspapers persisted in handing out endorsements to political candidates who are paying clients of the papers’ affiliated political consulting firm, a review of campaign filings reveals.

In 2013, in competitive primary and general electoral races, all candidates who hired the firm, Multi-Media Advertising, and spent more money than rivals on consulting services and ads in the Queens Tribune and PRESS of Southeast Queens received an endorsement in at least one of the two newspapers.

The endorsements did not disclose the business transactions to readers.

In all, the endorsed candidates and their outside supporters spent a total of more than $268,000 on Multi-Media during the 2013 election cycle. The largest sum came from Republican mayoral candidate John Catsimatidis, who paid Multi-Media $135,000 for consulting services, printing and postage for his campaign.

Five days before the primary, the Tribune’s editorial page endorsed Catsimatidis for the Republican mayoral primary: “Catsimatidis is an approachable billionaire,” it raved. “He loves people and he loves this City…he will bring into his administration bright people.” The other candidates on the Republican ballot, Joe Lhota and George McDonald, were not Multi-Media clients.

Catsimatidis was not available for comment.

The Tribune and PRESS of Southeast Queens endorsed candidates in 19 competitive races on the ballot in Queens. In all nine contests in which a Multi-Media client was in the running, the papers’ editorial pages endorsed the candidate who did the most business with Multi-Media and the publications. (If that candidate was defeated in the primary, the Tribune and the PRESS in some cases endorsed for the general election a candidate with smaller or no business ties with the firm.)

Among the Tribune’s endorsements was one for Reshma Saujani in the public advocate primary. Saujani spent $5,400 on ads in the Tribune and PRESS of Southeast Queens. Rival Daniel Squadron had spent $340 to have Multi-Media print his primary ballot petitions, but nothing on advertising with the paper.

When the World reported the connection between the papers and consultancy last year, the newspapers and the political consulting firm were both owned by Tribco LLC. They continue to share the same address in Whitestone, the Tribune’s website, the PRESS’ website, and a recent ad for Multi-Media show.

The Tribune and PRESS’ editor-in-chief, Steven Ferrari, declined to comment when reached over the phone and by email. Their publisher, Michael Nussbaum, who is also Multi-Media’s president, did not respond to an email and a phone call; The New York World visited the office but was told that Nussbaum was not available to meet.

Thanks for what, exactly?

The Queens Tribune goes above and beyond the typical pol ass-kissing by a Queens weekly, seeing fit to "honor" 4 term limited Queens pols in their latest issue, and also at an awards ceremony.

Apparently the fact that all 4 ran for a 3rd term against the wishes of the voters does not mean much to Mr. Nussbaum, et al.

"Thank you" for what? Giving us the middle finger?

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?

Nussbaum in, Schenkler out at Tribune?

Crapman:

Where is Schenkler? Completely eradicated from the current Tribune masthead. No trace. No "Not 4 Publication". No nothing. Gone. Into the void? Nussie is in charge? Whore ads still being published. What does this portend? What is going on?

Regards,
GtheA

It's all connected

From the New York World:

Most political candidates in Queens whose campaigns have done business with the political consultancy Multi-Media Advertising from 2009 through 2012 also received the endorsement of the company’s affiliated newspaper the Queens Tribune.

A New York World review of campaign finance records and endorsements found that of the 15 candidates who purchased services from Multi-Media in competitive races for amounts exceeding $1,000, 11 also received a public endorsement from the Tribune in that race.

Of the remaining four, two were sitting state senators who ran for re-election in 2010. That year, the paper — as a political statement against “enemies of reform” of the state’s redistricting process — made no endorsements of incumbents in state legislative races, even as its sister company printed literature at the behest of the two campaigns and carried out consulting for them.

The other two who did not receive endorsements found themselves facing off against other Multi-Media clients in the same races. In both cases, the paper’s nod went to the client who ended up spending more money — in one case, seven times as much as his opponent.

In all, since 2009 Multi-Media has collected $460,000 from the 11 candidates who received the Queens Tribune’s endorsement in the same races, and an additional $281,000 from the remaining four clients.

Both the Tribune and Multi-Media are properties of a company called Tribco LLC. In January, the company announced that the paper had been sold to PFH Media Group, an investment firm based in Washington, D.C, only to pull out a month later as the Department of Labor investigated payroll practices at another newspaper acquired by the investor.

Tribune editor Michael Schenkler and former publisher Michael Nussbaum declined to comment for this story, following repeated emails and phone calls.

She followed in Donald's footsteps

Wondering what the tie was between all the tweeders and the recently deceased Cecilia Chang, who was on trial for embezzling at St. John's University?

This Queens Tribune article from 2003 is a great reminder:

I write this on Saturday, and three non-related events of the past two days brought into focus the part of Mike [Nussbaum]’s life that is somewhat separate from our business and his family. Although Mike integrates all that he does – his family members have become my friends and mine his – and his outside ventures often become my causes, there is another Mike.

Event 1, Thursday night: Lil and I attended the Queens Jewish Community Council’s 35th Anniversary Terrace-on-the Park Gala in honor of Claire Shulman and Mike Nussbaum.

Event 2, Friday afternoon: We cleared our Tribune office floors to make room for new carpet and in looking into Mike’s office, I noticed various mementos of a peace trip to North and South Korea that Mike had arranged when Congressman Gary Ackerman became the first person since Douglas McArthur to cross the 39th parallel which divides the two nations.

Event 3, Saturday morning: Mike took Senator Chuck Shumer to welcome Taiwan President Chen Shui-Bian to New York and announce Shumer was joining the newly formed Senate Taiwan Caucus to further ties between our two nations.

Yes, Mike brings us Asian clients and friends — but that’s the smallest part. His network includes the very top government officials and business giants in the Far East as well as their counterparts here in our country.

At the Thursday night affair, I met Mike’s old friend Dr. Cecelia Chang, vice president of St. John’s and Dean of the Asian Studies program. In 1980, as president of his own company, Mike helped Cecelia put together the first government and business delegation to visit Taiwan. Queens Chamber Prez, Citibank’s Peg Sweezy, Queens Beep Donald Manes, Congressman Jim Scheuer, Councilmembers Archie Spigner and Ed Sadowsky were a few who went with them. It was that trip which established Queens County and Taipai, the capital of Taiwan, as sister cities.

It also established Mike as a player in the Far East.

From the Daily Mail:

The New York Daily News also reports that detectives investigated Ms Chang in the murder of her husband. From his death bed, Mr Tsai reportedly wrote 'My wife did this!' when questioned by detectives.

He was shot four times in the back while leaving his business in Brooklyn, New York, in 1990. He died later and no one has every been charged in his death.

Tsai's note also suggested that Dr Chang had an affair with Queens Borough President Donald Manes, a neighbor who killed himself in 1986 after being caught in a scandal.

RKO Keith's owner owes a lot of taxes

From the Times Ledger:

The owner of the crumbling RKO Keith’s Theatre in downtown Flushing still owes more than $380,000 in unpaid back taxes and entered into a payment plan earlier this year to prevent the city from putting a lien on the property. 

Developer Patrick Thompson is seeking to build a 16-story, mixed-use building around the landmarked lobby of the historic theater, at 135-35 Northern Blvd., and is trying to secure finances to get a shovel in the ground at the site of the $160 million project. 

In March, TimesLedger Newspapers reported Thompson owed the city Department of Finance nearly $400,000 for 2011 unpaid property taxes. In April, Thompson entered into a payment plan in order to balance the books. At that time, he owed about $373,600, according to Finance. 

But the most current records show Thompson still owes about $385,000 — which is actually $11,500 more than the initial balance when he entered into the agreement, according to department records. 

“He’s on the way to paying it,” said Michael Nussbaum, spokesman for Thompson. 

 According to the department, if the developer had not entered into a payment plan before May 17, the city would have placed the property on its tax lien sale list, meaning that a third party could have potentially taken possession of the land.

Open letter to Ann Jawin

Courtesy of GeorgetheAtheist's blog:

Dear Ms Jawin:

Next Saturday, April 28, 2012, your esteemed organization, the Center for the Women of New York will be honoring Assemblywoman Grace Meng at the Douglaston Manor with one of your "Women in Leadership" Awards. As you are well aware, Assemblywoman Meng has employed as a campaign consultant in her race for the United State House of Representatives, the Multi Media consulting firm headed by the long time Associate Publisher of the Queens Tribune, Michael Nussbaum. Multi Media shares the same premises with the Queens Tribune. As you are further aware, the Queens Tribune is notorious for having published and continuing to publish demeaning-to-women sex-trafficking classified ads in its back pages. How can your organization, a champion of women's rights, in good faith laud Ms Meng by presenting her an award when she is indirectly promoting this degradation of women through her affiliation with Multi Media? Your organization states that you are "Honoring women . . . who are committed to women's rights . . ." It makes absolutely no sense. Assemblywoman Meng's relationship to Multi Media is a commitment to women's rights? Is this a joke? Your public reply would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you for your attention.

Sincerely, GeorgetheAtheist

They're "hack-ing" away in NY-6

From City and State:

A spokesman for Assemblywoman Grace Meng’s congressional campaign confirmed this morning that its main campaign consultant, Michael Nussbaum, urged a Jewish state committeeman in Queens to run for the same congressional seat as Meng.

The Meng spokesman, Michael Tobman, confirmed that Nussbaum had suggested to Matthew Silverstein that he join the then three-way Democratic primary in northeast Queens, but insisted that the suggestion was not serious. Silverstein ultimately passed on running for the seat.

The revelation comes as a new candidate, 70-year old Board of Elections employee Jeff Gottlieb, has jumped into the NY-6 race. Lancman’s campaign issued a statement yesterday condemning Gottlieb’s candidacy as a ploy by the Queens Democratic Party to split the Jewish vote in the district. Lancman, who is Jewish, asserts that Gottlieb, who is also Jewish, was only tapped to run for Congress after Silverstein decided to take a pass.

The Meng campaign’s admission came after three sources had told City & State of the conversation between Nussbaum and Silverstein. The sources characterized the meeting as an effort by Nussbaum, who runs the Queens political consulting firm Multi-Media, to place a Jewish candidate in the congressional race in order to split the Jewish vote in the four-way primary.

Silverstein told Lancman himself about the conversation with Nussbaum in some detail at a Community Board 7 meeting last evening, two sources said.

But Tobman insists that Nussbaum’s intention was not to siphon off votes from Lancman.

From the NY Observer:

“Today, the Meng campaign has been caught red-handed in one of the most malicious schemes any of us have ever seen: an outrageous ploy to deceive Jewish voters with a fraudulent candidate designed to manipulate the electoral process in her favor,” Mr. Lancman’s campaign manager Mark Benoit said in a statement. “Based on today’s revelations, Grace Meng owes the voters an apology for concocting this sham, and Grace Meng should fire her main campaign operative Michael Nussbaum for his role in perpetrating this fraud.”

From Room Eight:

This story, from 2002, and several others I've found in my research, has made me revise my take on Queens hack Jeff Gottlieb's laughable, boss-blessed run for Congress.

For over a decade now, Gottlieb has thrown his hat into the ring for every race for an open seat in Queens, even when the seat was going to disappear, or wasn't really open.

Each time, he made some noise, but ultimately, he always faded when the Party bosses asked him to, knowing he's get his reward if he just waited his turn.

Unfortunately, that reward turned out to be a job at the Board of Elections.

A Queens Activist writes:

“Gottlieb was on the board of Bowne House when the Jacob Titus Bowne collection of historical papers disappeared and the Jamaica Town Records were put on the open market without the knowledge or consent of the membership. Everytime Jeff runs for something, the rumblings about this start and then he drops out and keeps a low profile for awhile. Then the cycle restarts.”

Hmmm...What's this about?

From Queens Politics:

Less than three weeks ago, political insiders were abuzz with different theories on why state Sen. Toby Stavisky’s Chief of Staff, Avi Fink would manage Liz Crowley’s campaign for Congress even after Grace Meng received the County nod.

QueensCrap was the first to point out Fink in the photos after Liz Crowley announced her bid for Assembly underneath the Unisphere.

Examining the pictures, insiders and pundits suggested that since Stavisky had longstanding ties to the County organization, there must have been some behind the scenes agreement to bolster Crowley with Toby’s seasoned staffer.

But those people were mistaken as the deal wasn’t made with Toby, it was made with Fink. Toby was set up to get the short end of the stick.

Over time, word had spread. Fink was unhappy; he wanted to leave Toby’s office and his colleagues were waiting for the right opportunity to give him the chance.

Enter Liz Crowley.

When push comes to shove, Crowley’s longstanding ties to County supersede those of the Stavisky faction, including her son’s Lobbying firm the Parkside Group.

Queens County Democrats were discontented. Toby and Evan have been making the Party look bad for far too long. “The Parkside thugs are not Queens County no matter what they appear to be,” said a party official.

According to an inside source, Fink did not show up to work for twenty-four hours after Crowley’s announcement. He went AWOL and when he returned unannounced, Toby went nuts after Fink admitted he took a job with the Crowley campaign.

In summation, County made Fink an offer he couldn’t refuse: leave Toby now and we’ll get you back on the Hill.

Oh, so county DID set up the Liz Crowley campaign, then? Otherwise, it would have made more sense for Fink to work for Meng. Thanks for clarifying!

Jeff Gottlieb thrown in race to split Jewish vote

From True News for Change NYC:

Former Brian McLaughlin, Alan Hevesi, David Weprin and Morton Povman staffer, Jeff Gottlieb, expected to enter the race for congress in the Meng district according to political consultant Jay Golub. Gottlieb will clearly split the Jewish vote with Lancman making county choice Grace Meng a walk in to win.

Jay Golub, who is a consultant for Jeff Gottlieb's congressional run to split the vote in the 6th, is president of GSP consultants. Golub GSP Consulting was paid $4,500 by the Ragusa faction of the Queens GOP against the Haggerty faction. Steven Graves was running in the 25AD for State Committee as part of the Ragusa faction in 2009. Also working for GSP is Dennis Gallager, who the NYP calls the "Perv pol." Gallagher, who stepped down in 2008 after pleading guilty to sexual-abuse charges stemming from accusations that he raped a woman in his Middle Village office, is listed on a city government database as an “additional lobbyist” with GSP Consulting. Gallagher, a Republican, confirmed that he does consulting work with Golub and that he’s done consulting for Councilman Peter Koo (R-Queens) but said he hasn’t done any work for Republicans in Queens “on a paid basis.” Michael Nussbaum, Meng's campaign consultant, also worked on the 2009 Peter Koo campaign. Golub also worked on the campaign for Issac Sasson. In both the Koo campaign and the Sasson campaign, Nussbaum's Multi Media company did the printing.

And speaking of Gallagher, guess who he was hanging out with on Easter eve?

None other than Council Member and GOP congressional candidate Dan Halloran! Dan was hosting karaoke at a Whitestone pub, and posted photos of the merriment on Facebook.




For some reason, the last photo was mysteriously deleted from the Councilman's page early on Easter Sunday. Too bad for them that I had already seen it and downloaded it.

Queens Dems & Queens GOP: it's just one big embarrassing hack orgy, isn't it?

Which brings us back to Gottlieb:

From City Hall:

He is currently an employee at the Board of Elections, a patronage position. And the Flushing resident has literally has come out of nowhere to run for Congress: He has no federal campaign account, no campaign website and waited several weeks into petitioning into order to begin.

In addition, Queens Democratic sources said that before Gottlieb entered the race, Meng backers attempted to recruit Matt Silverstein, a Democratic state committeeman who is also Jewish, to run for the congressional seat in order to split the Jewish vote.

Keith's owner a tax deadbeat

From the Times Ledger:

Plans to develop the RKO Keith’s Theatre are still in a holding pattern as the Federal Aviation Administration has not issued a final ruling to allow construction, but developer Patrick Thompson also faces nearly $400,000 in unpaid taxes and the potential sale of the property as a tax lien, according to city records.

But Thompson faces more hurdles from the city Department of Finance.

According to the department, Thompson did not pay any of his property taxes since January 2011. The fees come to $379,585 in property taxes, $1,900 in water bills, and $180 in additional charges.

The outstanding total balance of $381,698 means that the property is in danger of being put on the list of tax liens for sale, according to the finance department.

If the lien were to be put up for sale, anyone would be able to purchase the property for the exact amount that is outstanding at the time, the department said.

One project on the market, another gets a partner

From Brownstoner:

The Commercial Observer reports that developers Community Preservation Corporation and the Katan Group have been looking to sell all or parts of the Domino factory development to new buyers. The massive project, which was green-lighted in 2010, was supposed to involve the restoration of the factory in addition to the construction of several high rises. The development was supposed to result in 2,200 residential units, 660 of which would be affordable. The real estate folks the Observer quotes in the article point to several challenges the project faced, including the onus of constructing so much affordable housing and the high cost of renovating the factory itself.

From the Daily News:

The owner of a long vacant Queens movie house has found a financial backer to help overhaul the property, the Daily News has learned.

Rumors have been swirling in Flushing that the historic RKO Keith’s theater, which has sat vacant for more than 20 years, could change hands for the third time in a decade. There was also talk of a potential buyer already in contract to buy the theater less than two years after developer Patrick Thompson purchased the Northern Boulevard property.

But Mike Nussbaum, a representative for Thompson, said on Monday that the developer is not only sticking by the plan, but has found a partner to help get his $160 million vision off the ground.

“He is still involved, still bullish on doing this project,” Nussbaum said of Thompson, who snagged the foreclosed property for $20 million in 2010.

Nussbaum would not name the backer and only said the partner is based in the U.S.

Chinese group wants to build RKO Keith's

From the Times Ledger:

A Manhattan real estate agent is lobbying the developer behind the proposed overhaul of the long-neglected RKO Keith’s Theatre to take on the services of a Chinese construction company for the project.

David Drezner, of Canterbury Financial Group, said Monday that he is hoping to convince Patrick Thompson, the project’s developer, to hire the firm — which he declined to name — to handle the financing and construction of the redevelopment.

The firm has up to $1 billion available to finance projects, Drezner said, and it is willing to lend Thompson the full $160 million for the project if he can guarantee that the company will have the exclusive contract for its construction.

“I have an Asian construction company who will put up $160 million just to do the construction, but they’d have to arrange a takeout so they make sure they get their money,” Drezner said, later confirming that the company is based in China.

Michael Nussbaum, a spokesman for Thompson, said he was not aware of Drezner’s proposal. Thomspon has received offers to work with other firms and groups, he said, but the developer will not make any decisions until the project receives final approval from Borough President Helen Marshall and the city Board of Standards & Appeals.

Drezner, who said he has worked in real estate since the 1960s, also said the company would likely use union and local labor, though he said it would want to employ its own engineers.

Photo of the day

Roberto Macinelli (r.), an architect for developer Patrick Thompson, speaks at Borough President Helen Marshall's land use hearing about Thompson's plans to upgrade the RKO Keith's Theatre while Michael Nussbaum (l.), a consultant for Thompson, looks on. Photo by Connor Adams Sheets (Times Ledger)

Michael Nussbaum? Of Queens Tribune infamy (as well as indictment infamy)? What's up with that?

He's not the only one connected to the Trib that has extracurricular development activities these days. Schenk has been shilling for this project along with some other familiar Queensfolk...

From the Village Tattler:

HHA is working in conjunction with D&F Development Group, a development company that specializes in the construction of government subsidized low-income housing. D&F’s principals, Leonard D’Amico and Peter Florey, were recently named “Kings of Queens” for the work their company has done in that borough. Is the primary motive behind the development to make use of grant money before it expires and increase HHA revenue flow or is it to “maximize community resources for our residents”? Current Huntington Station property owners will almost certainly see their home values fall as more high-density, low-income apartment buildings are added to the Station. The additional development will not contribute any new revenue to the strapped school district, even while HHA will see its revenues increase and D&F Development will profit from the project.

Long Island is gonna look like Queens soon because the usual suspects are bringing their particular brand of special out east. Welcome to our world!

Halloran accuses Kim of hiding his money

From the Times Ledger:

Dan Halloran (R-Whitestone) is eligible to receive additional funding from the city, but the newly elected councilman for northeast Queens said the money could have been more useful during last fall’s campaign season and that it must all go toward paying off debts accrued for mailing and printing costs.

Amanda Konstam, a spokeswoman for the city Campaign Finance Board, said Halloran will receive a Tier 2 bonus due to the post-election filings of his Democratic opponent Kevin Kim, who did not participate in the city’s matching funds program.

Candidates can receive Tier 2 bonuses after their opponents earn three times the spending allocation of $161,000, or $483,000. Once qualifying for the bonus, a candidate can receive up to $1,500 in matching funds per contributor and their spending limits are eliminated.

But Halloran said he never received the bonus despite Kim’s total funds exceeding $600,000.

Halloran accused Kim’s campaign of purposely under-reporting its funds to prevent him from receiving the Tier 2 bonus.

“Questions like these are handled through the audit process,” Campaign Finance Board spokesman Eric Friedman said of Halloran’s accusation.

Michael Nussbaum, a spokesman for Kim’s campaign, brushed off Halloran’s accusations that his opponent did not adequately report his campaign contributions.

“I wish Dan Halloran mazel tov that he will get a bonus from the Campaign Finance Board,” he said. “I don’t know what the problem is. The Kim campaign complied with all regulations and all filings were done on a timely basis. The board had no problem with our filings.”

A lesson for Nussie

From the Daily News:

Asian women are everywhere. We rank No. 11 on the blog "Stuff White People Like" and star in a host of iPhone apps: "Cute Asian Girls" promised; "If you have yellow fever, this app is the cure!" "Asian Boobs," which heralds our modest-sized racks, was a top seller for the App Store in October.

Now, we're playing peek-a-boo in "Puff!" In this app, the user selects a photo from a scrolling selection of Japanese women, then blows into the iPhone microphone to lift the woman's skirt and reveal her undergarments.

I'm infuriated at the thought of sitting next to some pervert on the subway furiously blowing and touching a woman who giggles adorably in response. But what I hate most about this app is that it feeds into an old and tired stereotype. The image of the voiceless, passive Asian woman is a common form of racism in visual media. She's the "Puff!" woman - cutesy and obedient, she'd never kick a creep to the curb. She's not too different from that saccharine Hello Kitty, the infantilized mail-order bride who promises to "love you long time" or the hypersexualized character in anime porn.

Passing off sexual stereotypes that reduce women as objects of so-called harmless fetishes is socially irresponsible. And it's not harmless. By fostering a culture of behavior that denigrates one group of women, all women are denigrated. And that is unacceptable.