BY BOB KAPPSTATTER, Friday, July 6th 2007, 8:48 PM
With some sunshine now cast on the new city budget's $35 million in member-item funding - sometimes called "pork" - we now have at least an oinkling of how much each City Council member gave to various groups, activities and causes.
It's not a full picture yet, since many of the larger items were sponsored by more than one member or by delegations, and the list still needs a CIA-level codebreaker to pull out some of the goodies.
But courtesy of the online Gotham Gazette, published by the good-government group Citizens Union, here's how much each member of the Bronx delegation sponsored individually:
Joel Rivera, $321,337;
Annabel Palma, $285,000;
Maria del Carmen Arroyo, $239,187;
Larry Seabrook, $238,431;
G. Oliver Koppell, $172,187;
James Vacca, $165.187;
Maria Baez, $127,187, and
Helen Foster, $102,187.
Friday, July 6, 2007
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Voters have right to know
Tuesday, June 26th 2007, Daily News Editorial
A budget that allocates $59 billion, as the city's does, will inevitably contain lots of fiscal nooks and cash crannies where planned expenditures can be hidden in plain sight.
Sometimes the obscurity is just a function of the size of the budget, but sometimes it is not entirely accidental. There was a long, sordid tradition, for instance, of providing minimal information about City Council member-item spending.
Each Council member has a minimum of $340,000 for discretionary spending, usually in the member's district. These expenditures add up to $36.4 million in the new budget. Most of them are probably worthy, but they can easily be used as political payoffs.
The Council moved earlier this month to let a little sunlight shine on member items, and that was a good idea, though it hasn't gone far enough yet. The list of member-item recipients the Council released doesn't specify exactly how much each Council member gave to a specific group that received a funding allocation.
If a group got $300,000 from a dozen sponsors, did each give an equal share, or did Council Speaker Christine Quinn give the overwhelming majority and just add names of other sponsors to camouflage just how much pork funds she controls?
But the Council is moving in the right direction. Voters and taxpayers have a right to know just who's giving how much to whom, and how much the taxpayers are paying for it. It's only right.
A budget that allocates $59 billion, as the city's does, will inevitably contain lots of fiscal nooks and cash crannies where planned expenditures can be hidden in plain sight.
Sometimes the obscurity is just a function of the size of the budget, but sometimes it is not entirely accidental. There was a long, sordid tradition, for instance, of providing minimal information about City Council member-item spending.
Each Council member has a minimum of $340,000 for discretionary spending, usually in the member's district. These expenditures add up to $36.4 million in the new budget. Most of them are probably worthy, but they can easily be used as political payoffs.
The Council moved earlier this month to let a little sunlight shine on member items, and that was a good idea, though it hasn't gone far enough yet. The list of member-item recipients the Council released doesn't specify exactly how much each Council member gave to a specific group that received a funding allocation.
If a group got $300,000 from a dozen sponsors, did each give an equal share, or did Council Speaker Christine Quinn give the overwhelming majority and just add names of other sponsors to camouflage just how much pork funds she controls?
But the Council is moving in the right direction. Voters and taxpayers have a right to know just who's giving how much to whom, and how much the taxpayers are paying for it. It's only right.
Friday, June 15, 2007
Fresh Pork, Compliments Of... (Updated)
Daily News Blog June 22, 2007
The City Council this afternoon unanimously passed the $59 billion FY 2008 budget, which includes $36.4 million worth of so-called “discretionary allocations” (AKA pork).
There was relatively little debate, according to one Council member, who noted that lawmakers generally have little to gripe about when there’s a surplus. Given that the city has an historic $4 billion in additional revenue, which is being used for $1.3 billion in tax cuts and 6-day library service, among other things, members really didn’t have much cause for complaint.
For the first time, the document pictured here links the Council members with the funding they requested.
The grants range from as small as $1,000 (there’s a number of these) to $555,520 for the Ridgewood Bushwick Senior Citizens Council. There’s also $300,000 allocated to the Teacher’s Lounge Project and $4,000 for the Brooklyn-based Cowboy Mania Inc. for “rodeo costs.”
Unfortunately, I’m told there are some “errors” and certain members are listed as asking for items they did not request, which is why the information isn’t yet available on line - and also why I’m a bit reluctant to print the names attached to the items referenced above.
I will provide the link when it arrives in my in-box.
UPDATE: The link has arrived.
Also, Citizens Union Executive Director Dick Dadey issued a statement praising the mayor and the Council for the transparency of the Administration for Children Services and Department of Small Business Services Budgets as well as the member initiatives.
“This new approach brings greater transparency and accountability to the awarding of these discretionary funds which in the past were often made with the public not knowing much about them,” Dadey said. “No longer hidden from the public and buried in the corners of the budget, we now know who gets what, for what, and from whom.”
By Elizabeth Benjamin on June 15, 2007 4:48 PM | Comments (1) Email Buzz up!
1 Comments
anonymous
June 22, 2007
9:41 AM
There is only one thing to say about this report. "Pay to Play" is alive & well in NYC. It appals me that Councilman Domenic Recchia gave over $125,000 to the Sephardic Community, One of the wealthiest economic groups in the city. They really needed the money. It's only to buy influence. In fact , Mr. Joe Sitt of Thor Equities,( Coney Island developer) Domenic's personal friend & ally & big time money contributor , is a Sephardic who owns the most expensive mansion in the borough of Brooklyn , valued at over $37 million dollars( It was in the NY Times some months past). It's the same old, same old in the City Council. A bunch of panderers. This isn't democracy it's hypocrisy.
The City Council this afternoon unanimously passed the $59 billion FY 2008 budget, which includes $36.4 million worth of so-called “discretionary allocations” (AKA pork).
There was relatively little debate, according to one Council member, who noted that lawmakers generally have little to gripe about when there’s a surplus. Given that the city has an historic $4 billion in additional revenue, which is being used for $1.3 billion in tax cuts and 6-day library service, among other things, members really didn’t have much cause for complaint.
For the first time, the document pictured here links the Council members with the funding they requested.
The grants range from as small as $1,000 (there’s a number of these) to $555,520 for the Ridgewood Bushwick Senior Citizens Council. There’s also $300,000 allocated to the Teacher’s Lounge Project and $4,000 for the Brooklyn-based Cowboy Mania Inc. for “rodeo costs.”
Unfortunately, I’m told there are some “errors” and certain members are listed as asking for items they did not request, which is why the information isn’t yet available on line - and also why I’m a bit reluctant to print the names attached to the items referenced above.
I will provide the link when it arrives in my in-box.
UPDATE: The link has arrived.
Also, Citizens Union Executive Director Dick Dadey issued a statement praising the mayor and the Council for the transparency of the Administration for Children Services and Department of Small Business Services Budgets as well as the member initiatives.
“This new approach brings greater transparency and accountability to the awarding of these discretionary funds which in the past were often made with the public not knowing much about them,” Dadey said. “No longer hidden from the public and buried in the corners of the budget, we now know who gets what, for what, and from whom.”
By Elizabeth Benjamin on June 15, 2007 4:48 PM | Comments (1) Email Buzz up!
1 Comments
anonymous
June 22, 2007
9:41 AM
There is only one thing to say about this report. "Pay to Play" is alive & well in NYC. It appals me that Councilman Domenic Recchia gave over $125,000 to the Sephardic Community, One of the wealthiest economic groups in the city. They really needed the money. It's only to buy influence. In fact , Mr. Joe Sitt of Thor Equities,( Coney Island developer) Domenic's personal friend & ally & big time money contributor , is a Sephardic who owns the most expensive mansion in the borough of Brooklyn , valued at over $37 million dollars( It was in the NY Times some months past). It's the same old, same old in the City Council. A bunch of panderers. This isn't democracy it's hypocrisy.
Thursday, November 9, 2006
Quinn's hide-and-seek
Daily News Editorial, November 9, 2006
These little piggies went to City Hall - where they took one look at the big fat municipal budget and grabbed whatever they could get when no one was looking.
Yes, your City Council at work, happily earmarking $50 million a year for friendly organizations under cover of darkness. Officially, they have been unwilling to put their names to the so-called member items by which lawmakers buy political support while, maybe, contributing to worthy causes.
The Council's insistence on secrecy about disbursements of these public monies is patently illegal. In a case involving the bigger piggies of the state Legislature, a state Supreme Court justice recently ruled that taxpayers have every right to know who's spending their dollars. So, after kicking and screaming, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno agreed to open the books for inspection.
Here, though, Council Speaker Christine Quinn has been, well, more pig-headed. With some prodding from these quarters, Quinn and her colleagues yesterday proudly declared that they would list the sponsor of each member item. But not now. Not just yet. Starting in July, when the time comes to vote on another budget. Those who might be curious as to who dipped into the till for what and for whom in the past would just have to be satisfied with a great big, "Get lost, sucker."
Somehow, this didn't seem right - particularly not at a time when the Council is getting set to vote itself a retroactive 25% pay raise. So we placed a call to the speaker's office to convey our concerns, politely, if we do say so ourselves. A very nice aide told us it would be really, really hard for the Council staff to identify which piggies got roast beef and which piggies got none. But that sounded lame, so she promised that Quinn would try really
These little piggies went to City Hall - where they took one look at the big fat municipal budget and grabbed whatever they could get when no one was looking.
Yes, your City Council at work, happily earmarking $50 million a year for friendly organizations under cover of darkness. Officially, they have been unwilling to put their names to the so-called member items by which lawmakers buy political support while, maybe, contributing to worthy causes.
The Council's insistence on secrecy about disbursements of these public monies is patently illegal. In a case involving the bigger piggies of the state Legislature, a state Supreme Court justice recently ruled that taxpayers have every right to know who's spending their dollars. So, after kicking and screaming, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno agreed to open the books for inspection.
Here, though, Council Speaker Christine Quinn has been, well, more pig-headed. With some prodding from these quarters, Quinn and her colleagues yesterday proudly declared that they would list the sponsor of each member item. But not now. Not just yet. Starting in July, when the time comes to vote on another budget. Those who might be curious as to who dipped into the till for what and for whom in the past would just have to be satisfied with a great big, "Get lost, sucker."
Somehow, this didn't seem right - particularly not at a time when the Council is getting set to vote itself a retroactive 25% pay raise. So we placed a call to the speaker's office to convey our concerns, politely, if we do say so ourselves. A very nice aide told us it would be really, really hard for the Council staff to identify which piggies got roast beef and which piggies got none. But that sounded lame, so she promised that Quinn would try really
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