NYCivic

NOTE: Our forum Monday on municipal corruption was covered by Gary Shapiro in today's Sun, p12. You will enjoy his lively account, whether or not you were there.

Four to Go

By Henry J. Stern
September 17, 2004

Since Thursday was the first day of Rosh Hashanah, some of you may have missed, or not had the time to read, four interesting (at least to us) articles in the Times about matters we are following.

MTA Hired Mafioso to Manage Project
Despite Warning from Prior Employer.
Up to $100 Million is Wasted or Missing
But Top Brass is Not Held Accountable.

MTA PROJECT ROCKED ANEW BY MAFIA LINK - Prosecutors Say Builder Had Ties to 2 Families, pp B1, B4 (1217 words)

Charles V. Bagli began: "The Metropolitan Transportation Authority's effort to turn a vacant 32-story office building at the foot of Manhattan into its headquarters has long been regarded by many as a fiasco - more than $300 million over budget and plagued by leaky pipes, courtroom battles and allegations of cronyism.

And it got worse yesterday, when federal prosecutors unsealed court papers revealing that the man who ran the project for the agency and who received more than $10 million in salary and bonuses had longstanding ties to not one, but two Mafia families... The MTA had put Mr. Contini, 45, in charge of the project even after an earlier employer fired him and warned the agency to steer clear of him."

The greatest outrage is that after spending over $440 million on the renovation, which is not yet complete, the MTA does not own the building, 2 Broadway, but is leasing it from one Tamir Sapir. Who does he know?

Congratulations to the Times for publishing and Mr. Bagli for researching and writing the story. We think it belonged on A1, below the fold, to be fair.

Speaker Silver Comforts the Faithful;
Pooh-Poohs Nassau, Queens Losses

INCUMBENTS LOSE, ALBANY SHUDDERS - Whispers of Change Heard in Defeat-Proof Legislature, pp B1, B9 (961 words)

Michael Cooper wrote: "As a rule, lawmakers in Albany tend to have job security on a par with unionized civil servants or tenured university professors..." The article describes the salutary effect of Tuesday's party primaries, which we have been writing about for some time. It is very much worth reading. Even the fact of its publication will be helpful in the ongoing effort to reform what has been called the nation's worst legislature.

Mayor, Speaker Skirmish Over Campaign Finance Law Proposals

MAYOR PUSHES DONATION CAP AS COUNCIL SEEKS INCREASE, pB5 (630 words)

Jennifer Steinhauer covers efforts by the mayor and the Council to change the campaign finance system for the 2005 election. Their plans are very different.

The five-member campaign finance board is appointed by the mayor and the speaker of the council, but the ground rules are set by legislation enacted by the City Council. Speaker Gifford Miller wanted to double the city match from 4-1 to 8-1 for his mayoral campaign. He may believe that since the mayor is very rich, and he is barely rich, he needs more tax dollars to compete. The mayor, on the other hand, wants to change the rules by imposing severe limits on the amounts that can be contributed by people doing business with the city. That is Mr. Miller's financial base, companies who believe it will be in their economic interest to be on a new mayor's good side, and organizations expressing gratitude for funds appropriated to them by the City Council. Much more will be written about this as both sides skirmish.

As a matter of fairness, we believe that the rules should not be changed while a campaign is under way, as it clearly is at this time. There ought to be a law limiting such tinkering to the first two years of city elected officials term of office. But don't look for the Council to show any such restraint. Many of its members are as submissive and self-serving as state legislators, although far more limited in power. In 2003, everyone who ran was re-elected. For the taxpayers to pay 80% of the cost of these walkaways, as they now do, is an outrage.

By raising the 4-1 match to 6-1, as has been proposed, the Council would increase the taxpayers' share of campaign expenses, including lawyers' fees, to 85%, with the 15% remainder coming from gifts which could be from contractors or other beneficiaries of city largesse.

Three Wise Men Hold First Hearing on School Finance Reform

TO GET EARFUL, ALBANY MUST OPEN ITS EARS, "Metro Matters," pB1 (759 words)

Joyce Purnick describes yesterday's hearing held by the three referees appointed by Judge Leland DeGrasse to propose a solution to the controversial issue of school financing. by November 30. She does a fine job explaining a difficult subject. There is, however, an underlying problem here which is not being addressed: Should the judiciary, on its own, require the Legislature to spend additional billions of dollars, more per capita than in any state in the USA, to provide what four judges on the Court of Appeals call an appropriate appropriation for public education.

The situation is illogical on its face, and inconsistent with the basic principle of separation of powers between the three branches of government. If the judiciary fixes expenditures, why should it not raise taxes or borrow money. If the legislature were not so pathetic itself, it could make a plausible argument on judicial over-reaching. There is genuine unfairness in the allocation of money by the state to assist local school districts. The reason is politics, and probably the only remedy is judicial. However, it is one thing to see that state money is fairly divided between districts; it is quite another for judges to decide how many billions more should be spent, especially since they have neither interest nor authority (see Judge Thompson's comment in Ms. Purnick's column) in seeing that the money is spent wisely.

CORRECTIONS: Defeated incumbent Barry Grodenchik received 2240 votes (240 was a typo) compared with 2758 for Jimmy Meng, who won the Democratic nomination for the State Assembly in District 22 in Queens.

ANOTHER VIEW: I am told by a reliable source that Assemblyman Jeff Klein ran for the State Senate because of party loyalty and ambition, and was not kicked upstairs by County Leader Jose Rivera to create a vacant seat for his daughter, Naomi. She will keep the seat warm until her brother Joel is term-limited out of the City Council.

ADDITION: Councilmember Jose M. (son of Congressman Jose E.) Serrano won the Democratic nomination for the State Senate in District 28 (Bx-Man). He will oppose incumbent Olga Mendez, who switched to the Republican Party. If Serrano wins, as expected, he will no longer be subject to the city's term limits, and can seek re-election to the State Senate until his father, who is 60 years old, retires from Congress. At that time, who knows?

Enjoy the weekend.