Monthly Archives: May 2012

two trees

Posted on May 17, 2012 by donny

“Ms. Quinn, who said she has not made up her mind about it (a real estate development), noted that she had championed reforms that eliminated the kinds of contributions she got from Two Trees (Development Company). Why, then, did she take nine donations last year from owners, employees and family members of the company for $4,950 each, the maximum then permitted?”

Posted in Backroom Deals, Real Estate |

Most impactful living wage bill

Posted on May 17, 2012 by donny

“Quinn described the living wage bill as “the most impactful living-wage law in the United States.” But . . . by her office’s estimate, just 400 to 500 low-wage workers a year will benefit.”

Posted in Obstructs Human Rights, Workers |

Funds distributed based on politics

Posted on May 17, 2012 by donny

“City Council members received up to $578 million in Fiscal Year 2012 to fund construction projects and a variety of non-profits in their districts, according to new report from the good government group, Citizens Union. Who got what was mostly decided by Council Speaker Christine Quinn — and the distribution, the group contends, was based more on politics than need.”

Posted in Piggy Bank, Slush Funds |

$2 billion in discretionary funds; nothing by merit

Posted on May 17, 2012 by donny

“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. . . . (Former Council Member Tony) 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.”

Posted in Piggy Bank, Slush Funds |

Citizen’s Union Report

Posted on May 17, 2012 by donny

“There is also no correlation between the level of need in a given district and the amount of funding it receives. . . This means that some low-income Council districts have received a large share of funding while other low-income districts have been left out. . . . .These funding discrepancies exist because the Council Speaker has too much power in the distribution of the Council’s discretionary funds, which totaled more than $578 million in last year’s budget.”

Posted in Piggy Bank |

Citizen’s Union

Posted on May 17, 2012 by donny

“The (Citizen’s Union) report analyzed budget data from fiscal years 2009-2012 and found a wide disparity in how much discretionary funding different Councilmembers receive, with committee chairs and more powerful Councilmembers receiving a significantly larger share of funds than newly elected members.”

Posted in Piggy Bank |

Quinn had been an advocate for transparency

Posted on May 17, 2012 by donny

“Back in 2008, a federal investigation revealed that the City Council had been giving money from the Council’s budgeted discretionary funds to fictitious organizations since 2001. The revelation was particularly embarrassing for Council Speaker Christine Quinn, who had been an advocate for increased transparency in the city budget process.”

Posted in Fake Charities, Slush Funds |

Alec Baldwin on term limits

Posted on May 17, 2012 by donny

“This is a woman who stormed out of an event yesterday after lecturing a group of students who were jeering Bloomberg on the merits of democracy. Yet she single handedly worked with Bloomberg to overturn the term limits for her own personal gain.” – Alec Baldwin

Posted in Term Limits |

Introduced only 2 bills

Posted on May 17, 2012 by donny

“Quinn was primary sponsor for just two of the 827 bills that have been submitted to the City Council since 2010, a Daily News analysis found. . .Quinn frequently asks colleagues to introduce measures on her behalf, which allows her to curry favor and to avoid angering important voting blocs, insiders say. ‘She’s trying to be all things to all people,’ said Doug Forand, a political consultant who is not working for any of the 2013 mayoral contenders.”

 

Posted in Dirty Politics |