Corrupt Campaign Finance and Lobbyist Influence in de Blasio and Cuomo administrations

Bags of Cash : Political Corruption and Lobbyists in NYC, NYS

Real estate developers, gambling interests, and lobbyists corrupt New York City and New York State politics. In this YouTube video, questions are raised about why the super-majority of liberal and progressive politicians in New York are unable to propose and enact real campaign finance and lobbyist reforms. Are Public Advocate Bill de Blasio, Gov. Andrew Cuomo, and Prosecutor Kathleen Rice more interested in milking big business interests and lobbyists of campaign donations to dare to reform the broken political system ?

Stay tuned ....

C.W.A., a pro-@deBlasioNYC union contributed $507,000 to the Anybody but Quinn campaign. (via @SallyGold) http://t.co/FxmwqgaAW2

— Gideon Resnick (@GideonResnick) October 30, 2013

.@deBlasioNYC the big winner from IE spending in the general election: his backers spent $1.29M; supporters of @JoeLhota4Mayor spent $387K.

— Thomas Kaplan (@thomaskaplan) November 4, 2013

De Blasio Accused of Coordinating with Anti-Quinn Super PAC http://t.co/E9l3Qau77L #CSFirstRead (via @ccampy)

— City & State (@CityAndStateNY) November 4, 2013

James Capalino, Other Lobbyists Lined Up To Help Host Million-Dollar Bill de Blasio/Hillary Clinton Fundraiser

James Capalino, Other Lobbyists Lined Up To Help Host Million-Dollar Bill de Blasio/Hillary Clinton Fundraiser

From Daily News Daily Politics :

The host committee of Bill de Blasio's million-dollar Monday-night fundraiser with Hillary Clinton read like a who's who of big-league city lobbyists -- and it's drawing fire from his GOP foe in the mayor's race.

"The level of Bill de Blasio's hypocrisy is alarming. He takes cash from developers and special interests while telling New Yorkers he supports something different," Jessica Proud, a spokeswoman for Republican nominee Joe Lhota, told the Daily News. "I don't think anyone can trust who the real Bill de Blasio is when he always tries to play both sides."

De Blasio spokesman Dan Levitan declined comment on both Proud's comments or the number of lobbyists involved in the cash bash.

Among those on the host committee for the Roosevelt Hotel soiree : James Capalino, who in the past lobbied for Rudin Management, which is developing high-end condos near the site of the shuttered St. Vincent's Hospital, and A-list lobbyist Suri Kasirer, who has met with de Blasio on Atlantic Yards project.

Kasirer characterized her role in the fundraiser as more about old friendships than pending business.

"It was kind of like Old Home Week," said Kasirer, who said her 25-year friendship with the mayoral frontrunner goes back to the administration of former Mayor David Dinkins and continued through and past Clinton's 2000 run for the Senate.

While Kasirer says she's closely watching issues that may extend into the next administration, such as Midtown East rezoning, she painted the evening as "a way for a lot of New Yorkers to give a boost to Hillary and let her know that we were eagerly waiting for her decision and want her to run [for president]...

"I think for me it was less about lobbying than it was about sort of longtime relationships."

Capalino didn't immediately return a call about the fundraiser.

Fordham University's Costas Panagopoulos said the list wasn't surprising given that given that "money follows power and special interests can read the polls just as well as anyone else can," and that de Blasio and many of his backers are "established politicians with access to lobbyists and other donors" happy to help raise cash for a man who may make decisions critical to their clients.

The political science prof also said there is of course the issue of "whether someone who's been elected partly as a result of having attracted considerable financial support is subsequently beholden to those interests" if he or she wins.

"We'd like to think that kind of quid pro quo -- or some would go so far as to call it corruption -- doesn't exist, but it's a legitimate question," he said. "Answering this question will require vigilance and surveillance if [de Blasio is] elected."

Others on the lengthy host committee list included Stan Natapoff and Alexandra Stanton of Empire Global Ventures; Rachel Amar of Waste Management Of New York; and Michael Woloz of Connelly McLaughlin & Woloz.

Does NSA Have Proof of St. Vincent's Pay-To-Play ?

So, you mean to tell me that the NSA knows everything that transpired btwn Quinn + Rudin re: St. Vincent's ? #Preet twitter.com/stopchrisquinn…

— Stop Christine Quinn (@stopchrisquinn) June 9, 2013

"Mayoral front-runner Christine Quinn refused to criticize President Obama over reports that the federal government has engaged in widespread monitoring of Americans’ Internet activity and telephone calls–arguing that surveillance is crucial to the city’s safety," Jill Colvin is reporting, quoting Quinn as saying, "I do want the City of New York to be doing the type of monitoring and surveillance that is within the power of a municipal government, at times working with the federal government." (Christine Quinn Defends Surveillance in Wake of Monitoring Reports * Politicker)

Christine Quinn, LGBTQ Hate Crimes, and Political Expediency

From The Village Voice :

"... the prospect of Quinn's active participation in the march provoked a sort of counter-protest by a small contingent of activists who are unimpressed with Quinn's record. As the main rally moved south on Greenwich Avenue, marchers passed a tiny contingent of activists holding up a sign on the island intersection at Seventh Avenue. 'We need a hospital, we don't need condos,' it read. The side-vigil raised the question of why Carson was taken to Beth Israel, on First Avenue, and whether he could have been saved if he was treated nearby. The handful of activists standing in the shadow of the building that used to be St. Vincent's Hospital, now being converted into 350 luxury condo units, criticized Quinn for signing off on the zoning change that made this development possible, even though the City Council speaker's brand had been stamped all over the larger march itself."

Did New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn cancel her planned political exploitation of Monday night's Mark Carson vigil, after The Village Voice and Michael Petrelis exposed these concerns ?

Speaker Quinn has a history of exploiting tragedy for political gain.

Earlier this year, after former mayor Ed Koch passed away, Speaker Quinn's campaign staff were trying to figure out how to exploit Mayor Koch's endorsement of Speaker Quinn's mayoral campaign, even after he had died -- and he was no longer around to approve of the campaign's messaging.

And in 1998, while she was in her first political campaign to be elected to the City Council, Ms. Quinn was using a spike in bias crimes against the LGBTQ community as an excuse to call for canceling that year's annual Greenwich Village Halloween Parade.

SIDEBAR : Please watch this video, which I just discovered this morning, which explains why it might be more accurate to describe the discrimination against the LGBTQ community as "heterosexual-supremacy" instead of using the term "homophobia."

People Aren't Laughing At Christine Quinn, So Much As Christine Quinn Is Laughing All The Way To The Bank

From ''Christine Quinn Doesn't Care If You Are Laughing At Her ; She'll Just Get Even'' :

Christopher London wrote on February 3, 2013, 3:21 PM [LINK]

As stated in Rolling Stone: “In an excellent new book, Twilight of the Elites, journalist Chris Hayes argues that what happened is this: Our ruling class failed us. Behind the seemingly haphazard pile-up of recent calamities he sees a pattern: In each case, a cadre of Very Important People succumbed to some combination of blinkered groupthink, deception, self-dealing, fraud, smugness, and self-delusion. And in virtually every case, they escaped accountability. Or, as Hayes puts it: "All the smart people f_cked up, and no one seems willing to take responsibility."

There is a mainstream citizen revolt against the attempt by societal elites and Mayor Bloomberg to install Quinn as the next Mayor of New York City. All levers of the media will be used in an effort to insure that reality against the prevailing and existing will of the people. In my estimation, Christine Quinn represents a doubling down by the elites in an effort to control the aftermath of what they have created for or imposed on the rest of us, through unchecked and uninvestigated government waste. 'Pontificating Poseur & Societal Elite Windbag' - Senator Tom Duane – an opportunistic and self professed LGBT hero and his protégé in identity politics, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn enabled her crony capitalist sponsor, Bill Rudin of Rudin Management and the Rudin Family to seize St. Vincent’s Hospital, the epicenter of the AIDS Crisis, for pennies on the dollar so the Rudin Family Luxury Blood Condos could be built in its place. Is this what Quinn’s sponsor believes will lead to “A Better New York” – that he trumpets through ABNY – the Association for a Better New York? The best AIDS Memorial is preservation of the hospital and treatment facility at the epicenter of the AIDS epidemic, for its humanity in treating patients not luxury condos in its place.

Quinn is now taking heat from the LGBT Community including her own Chelsea: District 3, because, her remarks (via mass email) praising Ed Koch upon his death, she didn't acknowledge his failure to address the AIDS Crisis as thousands of gay men were dying. The gay press has not yet mentioned the fact that Christine Quinn actually rewarded Koch for his endorsement, despite his preference for someone other than Quinn, by renaming the Queensboro Bridge after him in exchange for his unwavering support of her Mayoral candidacy. The Council and the public opposed the renaming of that bridge.

@ChrisCQuinn and @MikeBloomberg #MyGuy #Neoliberalism Political Parody Musical Slideshow

Christine Quinn has transformed into the worst about neoliberalism.

Speaker Quinn has embraced a culture that can only be described as "pay to play." She accepted $30,000 in campaign donations from the owners of Rudin Management Company before the City Council approved the zone-busting Rudin luxury condo conversion plan for St. Vincent's Hospital. Speaker Quinn supports hospital closings, so that billionaire real estate developers can capitalise and profit off of the assets of public charities. To that end, Speaker Quinn has curried favour with Brad Hoylman, Kathy Wilde, and the Partnership for New York, of which Rudin Management Company is a member. Speaker Quinn has supported all of Mayor Bloomberg's most controversial initiatives, from mayoral control of the school system, to the outsourcing of top education posts to business CEO's with no education credentials. Speaker Quinn also supports the racist NYPD commish Ray Kelly, which puts Speaker Quinn at odds with various minority communities in New York City.

This is a political parody slideshow that was composed with editorial criticism and satire.

Who Is Josh Isay ?

The Man Pulling The Levers, Turning The Knobs, And Flipping The Switches Behind The Curtain

Josh Isay is New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn's campaign spokesman. Mr. Isay is a major political consultant in New York and Albany, with an outlet in Washington. He is one of Sen. Charles Schumer's main political consultants and advisors. So, when we wonder : why is it that no matter who gets elected, nothing seems to change, it is because the paid political consultants are the ones who keep pushing politicians into certain agendas that make them "electable." Who is advising Speaker Quinn to make these backroom deals, to keep NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly, in spite of the fact that we need a federal commission to investigate the NYPD ?

When all of us keep working to demand reforms from government, who are the people behind the scenes, who are saying, "No." We only see Christine Quinn, but do we ever know to take a look at who is Josh Isay. Josh Isay worked for Bill Rudin. When the community kept demanding a full-service hospital to replace St. Vincent's, Josh Isay was advising Christine Quinn that it was O.K. to make the community of the Lower West Side of Manhattan into paws in their game to help Josh Isay's other clients, the Rudin Family. And when we wonder what happened to Speaker Quinn's former progressive roots, all you have to do is to look at her political advisors. If you vote for Speaker Quinn, because you are under the impression that you are going to get the "old" Christine Quinn of 13 or 14 years ago, then I invite you to please take a look at who decides what Speaker Quinn is allowed to do.

Read more : Who is Josh Isay ?

Christine Quinn MTA Fare Hikes Term Limits St. Vincent's

New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn's paid political consultants are already attacking MTA Chairman Joe Lhota over impending mass transit fare hikes.

.@quinn4ny consultant hits @joelhota for toll hikes. wny.cc/UQayxv via @andreawnyc #2013 cc: @mikiebarb @sallygold @chrisbragg1

— Azi Paybarah (@azipaybarah) December 19, 2012

But voters will also remember the way that Speaker Quinn extended term limits in spite of two voter referenda, and the way that Speaker Quinn approved the luxury condo conversion plan for St. Vincent's before Hurricane Sandy destroyed three East Side hospitals.

@azipaybarah @quinn4ny @joelhota @andreawnyc @mikiebarb @sallygold @chrisbragg1 People will also remember #termlimitsextension + #StVincents

— Stop Christine Quinn (@stopchrisquinn) December 19, 2012

Quinn Supports Weaker Campaign Finance Regulations

Will Quinn's Weaker Campaign Finance Bill Lead To Her Very Own Private Watergate ?

Finding loopholes to funnel unlimited amounts of unregulated campaign cash to influence elections was the scandal, along with the break-in and cover-up, that lead to Watergate and President Richard Nixon's resignation.

When given the chance, why does New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn fight progressive campaign finance reforms ? Why is less campaign finance regulation better ?In the aftermath of the dangerous Citizens United court ruling, which unleashed unlimited corporate spending in political campaigns, why would Speaker Quinn want to go down that route ? What role does campaign money play in her political decisions ?

From The New York Times :

Christine C. Quinn, the City Council speaker and an expected candidate for mayor next year, is supporting a change to New York City’s campaign finance rules that would significantly expand the ability of unions, corporations and advocacy groups to spend money on behalf of local candidates. ...

Critics said the measure, introduced nine months ahead of what is expected to be a closely contested mayoral race, would effectively outsmart the city’s stringent campaign finance system, which tries to rein in spending by interest groups and candidates alike. ...

[C]ritics of the legislation said it would create a new and weaker definition of “coordination,” a change that the Campaign Finance Board says would make it virtually impossible to prove that a mailing was illegally coordinated with a candidate. ... (The New York Times : Quinn Supports Loosening Rules On Campaign Financing By Corporations)

From The Wall Street Journal :

City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, a likely contender for mayor next year, has riled the agency that administers the city's public campaign-financing system by pushing new legislation that opponents contend would significantly expand the power of unions, corporations and other groups in local elections. (The Wall Street Journal : Quinn Lashed On Campaign Legislation)

Remember, Speaker Quinn is the one, who despite criticism, continues to use slush funds and lulus to thwart the democratic process in City Council.

Are self-serving choices, like supporting weaker campaign finance regulations, one of the reasons why Alec Baldwin said that Speaker Quinn is ''untrustworthy'' ?

Tom Allon NYC Marathon Postponement Statement

Mayoral Candidate Tom Allon Statement on the NYC Marathon

New York City 2013 mayoral candidate has just issued this statement on the controversy of using valuable city resources for the NYC Marathon in the wake of the destruction caused by Hurricane Sandy :

"We're living in a highly-charged and evolving crisis and the Mayor's leadership has been sound thus far. Second guessing the Mayor's decision on the scheduling of the Marathon is an easy way for the Democratic Mayoral candidates for 2013 to get attention and score points with outraged New Yorkers. The anger that is being expressed by the elected leaders of Staten Island, Brooklyn and Queens reflects the concerns and frustrations being felt for the ongoing hardships of their constituents. For them, the Marathon symbolizes misplaced priorities.

"Personally, I would have delayed the Marathon for at least a week, like the Knicks-Nets game was postponed for four days, so that we can concentrate on helping all those in need and getting our electricity and mass transit back."

Bill de Blasio Marathon Hurricane Sandy Update

Bill de Blasio · 5,281 like this

about an hour ago · 

• We need to postpone the Marathon and keep our focus where it belongs: on public safety and vital relief operations.
  
  The pain and suffering still unfolding in our neighborhoods is too deep for words. I walked more streets with Councilman Oddo in Staten Island today, and listened to people who still remain without power, food and water – so near the race’s starting point. It's convinced me the needs are simply too great to divert any resources from the recovery. Lodgings reserved for marathoners must be re-allocated to utility workers.

Tom Allon Criticises Quinn

Tom Allon Criticises Christine Quinn and Rudin Project Hearing for St. Vincent's Hospital

New York City mayoral candidate in the 2013 election, Tom Allon, offers his commentary about the logistics and the restrictions of the final hearing, where voters and residents could provide public testimony, about the Rudin family's controversial plans to convert St. Vincent's Hospital into luxury condominiums.

Did Rudin Pay Off Stringer ?

According to a new Crain's article, Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer has wilted under pressure. Only a few months ago, true to his so-called "progressive beliefs," he issued a scathing report questioning City Council Speaker Christine Quinn's use of corrupt slush funds. Now, all of a sudden, he has turned his back on the community, to whom he promised that he would help lead the charge to fight for a full-service hospital to replace St. Vincent's Hospital. Instead, Borough President Stringer has sold out. Many community members are asking : "How large were the campaign contributions made by the Rudin family to Stringer ?"

The Casualty of Hospital Closings NYC

SEEKING A CURE FOR HOSPITAL CLOSINGS : With more and more hospitals being closed across New York City, where are emergency patients are supposed to go ?

A Beth Israel ambulance was stuck in traffic in front of a closed hospital in the West Village of Manhattan.

Five hospitals in Brooklyn are in danger of closing, according to The New York Times : Interfaith Medical Center, Wyckoff Heights Medical Center, Brookdale University Hospital and Medical Center, Kingsbrook Jewish Medical Center, and Brooklyn Hospital Center.

In the case of St. Vincent's Hospital, which closed in 2010, leaving a hole in public health in the Lower West Side of Manhattan, activists are seizing on the irresponsible hospital closings as a way to organise for a single-payer healthcare system : "How can we bring a hospital back to our community ? How can we get true universal healthcare ? Come Join the Discussion ! RSVP at the Facebook page for the St. Vincent's Community Assembly."

Safety-Net Shredding Rudin Family

The Zone-Busting and Safety Net-Shredding Rudin Family, aided by Political Enablers

The Rudin Luxury Condo Conversion Plan for St. Vincent's Hospital was approved on Monday, Jan. 23, 2012, by Amanda Burden, the Park Avenue socialite, who volunteers to be City Planner for New York City. Other political enablers have joined Ms. Burden in aiding the Rudin Family's scheme to convert what used to be the only full-service hospital and Level 1 Trauma Center into luxury condominiums and deluxe townhouses.

With St. Vincent's closed, the West Side still has no hospital beds below 57th Street. How can we bring a hospital back to our community ? How can we get true universal healthcare ? Come Join the Discussion ! RSVP at the Facebook page for the Luxury Condos Can't Do CPR ! St. Vincent's Community Assembly.

St. Vincent's Town Hall

Join us on Tuesday, Jan. 31, at 6 p.m. at the LGBT Community Center at 208 West 13th Street in the West Village.

With St. Vincent’s closed, the West Side still has no hospital beds below 57th Street. How can we bring a hospital back to our community ? How can we get true universal healthcare ? Come Join the Discussion ! RSVP at the Facebook page for the St. Vincent's Community Assembly.

This "town hall" is a consensus-based conversation facilitated by HEALTHCARE FOR THE 99%, an OCCUPY WALL STREET working group.

2012-01-31 St Vincents Community Assembly - Luxury Condos Cant Do CPR

Unidentified Man Found Unconscious At St. Vincent's Hospital-Martin Luther King Candlelight Vigil

St. Vincent's Hospital MLK Day Candlelight Vigil Becomes Hospital Emergency

An unidentified man passed out on the sidewalk about 25 feet from a candlelight vigil outside of St. Vincent's Hospital tonight during a celebration of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

The man, who appeared to be in his 30's, was found laying on the frigid concrete of the sidewalk, along West 12th Street in Manhattan, not far from the Rudin Luxury Condos Sales Office. A passer-by called 911, and vigil participants waited with the stranger, until FDNY EMS rescue crew could arrive.

As the community awaits the decision by Amanda Burden, the Park Avenue socialite who serves as the New York City Planner, on the Rudin luxury condo conversion of St. Vincent's, people are having medical emergencies in communities, where hospitals have been closed down. Either that, or hospitals are sealing off "private wings" so that Beyoncé and Jay-Z could give birth to their celebrity baby, Blue Ivy Carter.

If the Rev. Dr. King were still with us today, this is not the kind of society he would have wanted.

Why Are They Closing St. Vincent's Hospital? (Pt. 29) - March Against the Health Insurance Industry (Excerpt)

Why Are They Closing St. Vincent's Hospital? (Pt. 29) - March Against the Health Insurance Industry (Excerpt) from g. sosa on Vimeo.

10/26/11 - The Hedz-Up Report covers Occupy Wall Street's, Healthcare for the 99%, as they lead a "March Against the Healthcare Industry." Coverage picks up at final destination, St. Vincent's Hospital, as local activists from the Coalition for a New Village Hospital and Hands Off St. Vincents!, prepare to greet the marchers and conduct a teach-in.

Real estate developer Bill Rudin, has purchased the hospital property for approximately $260 million and has announced plans to build luxury condominiums. Also planned is an "urgent care center," which activists argue will leave the area without an adequately equipped full-fledged hospital.

More to come, stay tuned.

In the meantime, please visit our video blog, "Why Are They Closing St. Vincent's Hospital?," for our collected reports and future updates:

watclosingstvincentshospital.blogspot.com/

Thanks for watching, help spread the word.

Related articles/links:

Healthcare for the 99% – Occupy Wall St Working Group
owshealthcare.wordpress.com/

Daily Kos - Video of Healthcare for 99%/OWS March in NYC
dailykos.com/story/2011/10/27/1030581/-Video-of-Healthcare-for-99-OWS-March-in-NYC

DNAInfo: Village Hospital Coalition Joins Occupy Wall Street Protesters
dnainfo.com/20111003/greenwich-village-soho/village-hospital-coalition-joins-occupy-wall-street-protesters

DNAinfo.com - Luxury Condos in Former St. Vincent's Building to Hit the Market
dnainfo.com/20110926/greenwich-village-soho/luxury-condos-former-st-vincents-building-hit-market

PNHP - Doctors Support Occupy Wall Street Because Wall Street Is Occupying Health Care
pnhp.org/ows/index.php

Gotham Gazette - St. Vincent's Highlights Crunch for Hospitals Serving the Poor
gothamgazette.com/article/health/20110720/9/3569/

NY Magazine - St. Vincent's is the Lehman Brothers of Hospitals
nymag.com/news/features/68991/

Paul Krugman - NY Times - Patients Are Not Consumers
krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/04/20/patients-are-not-consumers/

David Brooks - NY Times - Where Are the Liberals?
nytimes.com/2012/01/10/opinion/brooks-where-are-the-liberals.html

Related sites:

Occupy Together
occupytogether.org/

Coalition for a New Village Hospital
demandahospital.blogspot.com/

Hands Off St. Vincent's!
handsoffstvincents.com

Christine Quinn Described As "Standard Political Flimflam"

In Exchange of Tweets Last Night, Talking Points Memo editor casts New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn in dark light.

Josh Marshall, the editor and publisher of Talking Points Memo, called Christine Quinn "standard political flimflam," describing his experience with her as "very negative."

The exchange of Tweets was in regards to 2013 mayoral candidate Tom Allon's full-page newspaper advertisement criticising Speaker Quinn over the closing of St. Vincent's Hospital.

Tom Allon Releases Fierce St. Vincent's Campaign Ad

Tom Allon Shows Courage In Confronting Christine Quinn On St. Vincent's Hospital Closing.

In a fierce new campaign ad, New York City mayoral candidate Tom Allon asks, "Did Christine Quinn Bet Your Life To Become Mayor ?" The headline appears above a screenshot of City Council Speaker Quinn kissing billionaire real estate developer Bill Rudin at an October 18, 2011, speech sponsored by Mr. Rudin's lobbying group, the Association for a Bitter New York.

In the ad, Mr. Allon said :

The cynical backroom deal that led to the closing of St. Vincent’s Hospital demonstrates clearly how much New Yorkers have riding on who we elect as our next Mayor.

As long as we have a government that allows the rich and powerful to use their influence to close down desperately needed hospitals and build luxury condominiums, we are all at risk.

I am running for Mayor to bring an end to the era of pay-to-play politics. It’s about time we had a Mayor who put the people’s interests first.