Mayor de Blasio – “Financial Bundlers” and Political Appointments

Mayor Bill de Blasio, May 4, 2016. Coveted city appointments were doled out by de Blasio to big money donors on a spreadsheet obtained by the Daily News. (JEFFERSON SIEGEL/NEW YORK DAILY NEWS)

Mayor de Blasio knows how to work the system. He knows how to attract money and he knows how to return the favors. It is “well choreographed,” according to the New York Daily News as described in the article that follows.

EXCLUSIVE: De Blasio doled out city appointments from shady spreadsheet of big campaign donors

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/de-blasio-doled-appointments-spreadsheet-big-donors-article-1.2655041

All told the elite list includes 97 names. It’s not clear how many were offered positions, but at least 43 accepted at least one appointment. Several got more than one.

The list includes the well-known such as actors Steve Buscemi, Cynthia Nixon and Anna Deavere Smith. Most are lesser knowns who regularly do business with the city.

All told 28 candidates wound up on the board of the Mayor’s Fund to Advance New York City, the nonprofit run by his wife, Chirlane McCray. Some also got slots on the mayor’s committee that unsuccessfully sought to bring the Democratic National Convention to Brooklyn.

Others won appointments to the city’s Economic Development Corp. board, the Civilian Complaint Review Board, a mayoral Workforce Development Board and the boards of Lincoln Center, the Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corp., the Fund for Public Schools and the Queens Library.

To continue reading: http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/de-blasio-doled-appointments-spreadsheet-big-donors-article-1.2655041

Leopold Friedman, Joe Chetrit, Seabrook, Platinum…

Ben Landa…Bent Philipson…Howard Fensterman – LEOPOLD FRIEDMAN, JOE CHETRIT, Mayor de Blasio and Kenneth Thomson

Contributor to LM, May 27, 2016

We recommend that you read the connected story to this one before embarking on this piece. We further recommend that you read about Leopold Friendman and 266 Broadway, another intertwined story.

This article is simply a continuation of the tale of people connected by politics, money, LLC’s, nursing homes, rehabilitation centers, moral bankruptcy and political contributions to Mayor de Blasio and…. wait for it…. Ken Thompson and others.

As it happens, we would be remiss if we did not go back to 2009 and add that the entanglements include toxic waste and lead, school children and zoning violations. 

 

LEOPOLD FRIEDMAN:

HUDSON POINTE 50%- ‘NEW’OPERATOR-WAS RIVERDALE CENTER

(LEASING FROM RCNR REALTY ACQUISITION LLC)

THE PLAZA REHAB /AKA TCPRNC LLC 25% (was New Jewish Home Lifecare )

TCPRNC LLC

ATLANTIS-DEVORAH 40%

DEWITT REHAB

SBNH ACQUISTIONS LLC-Managing Member

ST BARNABAS /SBNH ACQUISITIONS  (Bronx)

PENINSULA Center for Extended Care & Rehabilitation (rec/op)

KINGSBRIDGE HEIGHTS REHAB-50%

Hendon Garden Nursing and Rehabilitation Center

Dewitt Rehab and Nursing

Advanced Care Staffing

Ultimate Care, Inc. (LHCSA)
The Citadel Rehabilitation and Nursing

151108 Long Beach Nursing and Rehabilitation Center

151308 Brooklyn Gardens Dialysis Center (D&TC)

141210 Cassena Care Dialysis at Peninsula (D&TC)

Port Chester Operating, LLC d/b/a Port Chester Nursing & Rehab Centre-DEVORAH FRIEDMAN

Through his companies, Leo Friedman gave more than $30,000 to Kenneth Thompson’s successful campaign for Brooklyn district attorney

Looking for POT license: Two of the principals behind NY Growing Partners, LLC are nursing home magnate and Ger chasid Michael Melnicke and Leo Friedman, the son of Satmar powerbroker Moses Friedman, otherwise known as Moshe Gabbai.

The company is one of 43 that submitted an application earlier this month to the New York State Department of Health to become one of five registered organizations to manufacture and dispense approved medical marijuana products in the state. The other two principals in NY Growing Partners are Alexander Solovey and Pat (Pasquale) DeBenedictis.

Read more at http://www.thejewishweek.com/news/new-york/kosher-cannabis#52wxKDRHSvYxf4Du.99

Read: http://nypost.com/2016/05/11/nursing-home-with-ties-to-senator-awarded-30m-grant/

Nursing home with ties to senator awarded $30M grant

“A little-noticed provision of this year’s budget directs $30 million to a single nursing home in The Bronx — which is unusual even by the standards of New York state government,” noted the Empire Center for Public Policy.

http://www.empirecenter.org/publications/a-head-scratcher-in-the-health-budget/

A head-scratcher in the health budget (updated)

According to the Health Department records, the owners since last year are Leopold Friedman, who holds a 50 percent stake and is also chief executive, Esther Farkowitz (25 percent), Gabrielle Philipson (20 percent), and Bent Philipson (5 percent).

The new owners’ application to take over and renovate the nursing home, which included a detailed financing plan for the project, made no mention of extra state funding from Medicaid. It estimated the facility would turn a profit of $1.6 million in its third year after renovations were complete.

Contacted by NYTorch, Sen. Klein contended that the extra funding for Citadel will ultimately save the state $78 million. This is because the owners could have qualified for dramatically higher reimbursement from Medicaid if they had built a completely new nursing home, instead of renovating one that already existed. A fuller statement of this argument is spelled out in the sponsor’s memo of a stand-alone bill jointly introduced last year by Klein and Bronx Assemblyman Jeff Dinowitz.

 

JOSEPH CHETRIT –NYC REAL ESTATE DEVELOPER

CHURNER –MAYOR DE BLASIO  ENABLED HIM… PATIENTS/RESIDENTS/CHILDREN GET SCREWED/TOXIC SITE

A little something on Chetrit …Then scroll down…ready to build on toxic land and the Mayor lets him:

http://therealdeal.com/2015/11/09/chetrit-jdss-340-flatbush-gets-new-rendering/

The story unfolds:

http://www.nypress.com/jewish-home-land-swap/

Jewish Home Land Swap

PUBLISHED AUG 13, 2009 AT 6:01 AM (UPDATED MAR 2, 2015)

Representatives from jewish home lifecare, an organization that provides health care for seniors, met with community groups on aug. 12 to unveil a proposal to redevelop its west 106th street nursing home in park west village, on west 100th street.

To bankroll the new nursing home, a project that has long been in the works and was originally planned for the south side of west 106th street between columbus and amsterdam avenues, jewish home was going to sell part of its property to a developer. but with the economy faltering and developers reluctant to buy, the only offer came from joe chetrit, who has taken community heat for his columbus square project, consisting of five luxury rentals and retail space at park west village.

In the deal, chetrit will own jewish home’s current property, at 120 w. 106th st. jewish home will then build its proposed 22-story nursing home on top of land that was to be used for 180 parking spaces, on west 100th street between amsterdam and columbus avenues. those spots will be moved to an indoor parking area without an increase in rates for owners. newly built park space, gardens, outdoor seating and an indoor auditorium for the nursing home residents will also be open to park west village residents.

“Relocating to west 100th street will have a net positive impact on jewish home’s upper west side clients, family members, employees and neighbors,” said bruce nathanson, senior vice president of marketing and communications for jewish home lifecare.

By building a new facility elsewhere, jewish home can continue to operate at full capacity without staff layoffs and construction disruptions for its residents.

However, community groups fear that chetrit will build a massive luxury tower on jewish home’s west 106th street property because of the 2007 upper west side rezoning plan.

That year, jewish home collaborated with community groups in a deal with the city council that carved the nonprofit’s parcel out of the 51-block upper west side rezoning plan, which drastically reduced neighborhood building heights. the concession was meant to allow the nursing home to rebuild a larger, state-of-the-art facility that could update the service provided to clients.

“We had a whole deal and process. we spent a long time putting it together,” said blanca vazquez, co-coordinator of the manhattan valley preservation coalition, which worked on the 2007 zoning compromise. “and now, everything is out the window and up in the air.

Vazquez said the group was upset by the deal because the exemption was based on Jewish Home’s goodwill with the community and the promise of a community facility.

“This is not a simple swap or trade,” Vazquez said. “they made a commitment to community use.

Although Jewish Home’s nursing home will now be located elsewhere, Chetrit will still be allowed to build tall, market-rate residential towers without zoning restrictions, per the 2007 agreement.

Assembly member Daniel O’Donnell, who opposed Jewish Home’s exclusion from the rezoning plan, said he was troubled by the new proposal.

“The city council carved out an exception for that site on west 106th street because it was to be used for health care facility,” o’donnell said. “now, that exception seems to be used for a for-profit housing developer. it’s changing the rules in the middle of the game.”

O’Donnell is calling on the council to have Jewish Home’s West 106th Street property conform to surrounding zoning.

“If someone wants to build a for-profit development, they should build within the context [of the neighborhood],” O’Donnell said.”

http://therealdeal.com/2011/12/20/laurence-gluck-of-stellar-management-and-joseph-chetrit-complete-upper-west-side-landsway-with-jewish-home-lifecare/

An excerpt from above:

“Jewish Home had previously struck an agreement with Gluck and Chetrit for a lot on West 100th Street, but zoning regulations made it difficult to build the site.

Meanwhile, Chetrit and Gluck get a large swath of land for future development, although the pair said they wouldn’t begin any construction on the site until the new Jewish Home facility is completed in 2017.” [WSJ]

The City sides with this nursing home connivance –the trade that Chetrit maneuvered seemingly with our Mayor’s help. The community’s furious objection because of the unequivocal findings of  toxic contamination evidenced on the lot for the ‘new’ Jewish Home Lifecare  building has been rejected…with a even more help for the AG! They’re going ahead…!!!

http://www.nojhlatpwv.com

“No JHL At PWV! is a coalition of Park West Village community stakeholders, nursing home advocates, parents, tenants’ associations, neighbors, renters, and condo owners who oppose Jewish Home Lifecare’s inappropriate proposed development on West 97th Street.”

Read more: 3/2/16 article:

http://forward.com/news/334807/takeover-of-non-profit-nursing-home-puts-200-jobs-at-risk/

An excerpt which also notes the state DOH blessings of licensure for menacing “operators” aka Sentosa-for one- who go about their real business: property development…with no oversight and the freedom to continue to harm the vulnerable.

“In July, SentosaCare, LLC agreed to purchase Jewish Home’s Bronx nursing home at 100 West Kingsbridge Road for $110 million.

SentosaCare, which owns the largest nursing home network in New York State, was the subject of an October 2015 investigative report by the public interest newsroom ProPublica, which found that nursing homes connected to SentosaCare “have a record of repeat fines, violations and complaints for deficient care.” The story questioned why SentosaCare had been allowed by the New York State Department of Health to continue purchasing nursing homes. SentosaCare defended is record to ProPublica, saying, among other things, that the firm had corrected problems at its facilities.

In September, SensotaCare transferred its interest in Jewish Home’s Bronx facility to a newly formed company called TCPRNC, LLC. That firm’s owners include nursing home industry executives Leopold Friedman and Esther Farkovits. Its not clear what relationship remains between SentosaCare and TCPRNC, LLC, or whether SentosaCare will have any role at the Bronx home. SentosaCare COO Bent Philipson did not respond to a request for comment.”

Link to a just published article and some excerpts:

City Sides With UWS Nursing Home Development Despite Lead Concerns

City Sides With UWS Nursing Home Development Despite Lead Concerns

April 7, 2016.

BY JACKSON CHEN

Mayor Bill de Blasio has now injected the city into a lengthy legal battle by coming down on the side of a nursing home development proposed for West 97th Street that has significant neighborhood opposition. Meanwhile, the state attorney general’s attempt to file a brief in the case, which came well past the deadline for responding to a trial court ruling, was promptly rejected by the court.

Jewish Home Lifecare has been trying to push forward with a 20-story nursing home adjacent to an elementary school and several housing complexes in the face of strong local criticism. After State Supreme Court Justice Joan Lobis ruled that the New York State Department of Health didn’t take a hard enough look at the hazardous materials and noise produced by the project, JHL and DOH were told to redo their environmental review.

Disagreeing with the court’s decision, JHL filed an appeal on February 22, while Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, whose office would typically defend state agency actions in court — in this case, arguing that DOH had in fact complied with New York’s State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) — failed to file a notice of appeal by a February 1 deadline. A later AG effort to file a brief in the case was rejected on the grounds of not being timely.

But JHL just won a hefty ally in the form of the City of New York, which filed an amicus brief on March 22 defending the integrity of the City Environmental Quality Review (CEQR), whose standards the DOH applied in assessing the proposed development’s compliance with SEQRA.

According to the city’s brief, Lobis’ decision harms the consistency and standards of the CEQR process and would set a precedent that opens the door to untold numbers of challenges over environmental review on projects citywide.

Even as de Blasio signed on in support of JHL, other elected officials reiterated their opposition to the development near the school.

“I am truly disappointed by Mayor de Blasio’s decision to file an amicus brief in support of the construction of JHL tower,” said City Councilmember Mark Levine. “The construction of a 20-story tower directly adjacent to P.S. 163 would pose an undeniable threat to the learning and well-being of more than 500 elementary school students.”

Levine has been pushing Intro 420, a bill that would restrict construction projects within 75 feet of classrooms to a noise level of 45 decibels — an amount that’s comparable to that created by light traffic or in a suburban neighborhood. His bill has already won support from West Side.

Congressmember Jerrold Nadler and Borough President Gale Brewer, who also expressed dismay about the mayor’s brief on behalf of JHL.

“Mayor de Blasio’s decision to file an amicus brief in support of this dangerous construction next to a school baffles me,” Brewer said. “The mayor is weighing in on behalf of an expensive private facility and against public school children.”

And while the city’s brief argues for protecting the standards of the CEQR Technical Manual, Marty Rosenblatt, a neighbor of the JHL site, said de Blasio knew of lead concerns at the site well before getting involved.

In 2012, after hearing news of JHL’s interest in the parking lot site across his home on West 97th Street, Rosenblatt hired a lead-testing expert and grabbed 100 samples from parking lots throughout the city. According to the testing results, the JHL site showed high amounts of lead, one reaching 3,850 parts per million. The federal Environmental Protection Agency has established 400 ppm as the limit for children’s play areas.

Just as unexplained as the city’s decision to defend its environmental review procedures for a site shown to have potentially dangerous levels of lead was the state attorney general’s failure to meet its February 1 deadline in the case.

According to a brief filed by the Attorney General’s Office on behalf of the DOH on March 22, the SEQRA review completed for the JHL development was sufficient in addressing both hazardous materials and noise.

The court, however, threw out the brief, finding that the attorney general, as representative for DOH, had an obligation as a respondent in the case to file an appeal by February 1. The AG’s Office has now filed a motion to be considered an amicus curiae, or friend of the court, to have its brief entered into the record.

Rene Kathawala, the attorney for the P.S. 163 parents who are scrambling to block the JHL project, said the AG’s motion is simply an attempt on the attorney general’s part to circumvent its exclusion from the case because of its failure to meet its deadline.

“They had the right to appeal and they chose not to for whatever reasons they have,” Kathawala said. “The brief got rejected and instead of putting their tail between their legs, they did something even more outrageous.”

Kathawala, who is himself a P.S. 163 parent, was equally disappointed in the mayor’s efforts that bolster JHL’s development plans.

“The mayor is supporting a project that a state judge has found will hurt children,” Kathawala said. “It’s wildly offensive and outrageous.”

He said that with legal motions now on record from JHL, the city, and the DOH, the case could go to court by June, though he predicted action could be delayed until as late as September.”

Finally… ‘Jobs for New York’ – slush fund for candidates who REBNY wanted in office…?

http://www.commoncause.org/states/new-york/issues/money-in-politics/moreland-commission/REBNY-Moreland-Monday-Release-PDF-Version.pdf

 

STELLAR MANAGEMENT & CHETRIT GROUP

$25,000.00

“repositioning, reusing and redeveloping former health care facilities for residential use”

COBBLE HILL HEALTH& WELLNESS PARTNERS LLC:             C/O/ CHETRIT GROUP    512 7TH AVE, NYC 10018             http://www.suny.edu/media/suny/content-assets/documents/hospitals/ChetritGroup-RFP-Proposal-March2014.pdf EXCERPT FROM CHETRIT LETTER:             “Our confidence in making this offer is due to our substantial experience throughout New York City, specifically with respect to transactions with health care facilities. A particularly relevant example is Jewish Home Lifecare on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. We have undertaken a project that has successfully unlocked the real estate value of this vital senior citizen facility, giving Jewish Home a firm financial footing and a new, state of the art, sustainable complex. We also were responsible for the residential conversion of the former Cabrini Hospital campus at 227 East 19th Street, which was very positively received by the local Communtiy Board and its elected officals. Our experience in repositioning, reusing and redeveloping former health care facilities for residential use is unmatched.                                                                        Currently, we are transforming the iconic City owned building at 49-51 Chambers Street from an outdated office building to an apartment building while preserving the landmark interior space at the lobby level. The Chetrit Group was selected for this project as a result of a City procurement process. We, better than any other development team understand the instructions of the RFP. We can and will achieve a similar excellent result in Cobble Hill: preserving and enhancing important community facilities while enriching the residential elements of a neighborhood.”

 And not to be outdone – POLITICAL CONTRIBUTIONS:

http://www.commoncause.org/states/new-york/research-and-reports/Common-Cause-NY-Profiles-of-the-Independent-Spenders.pdf

New Yorkers United Committee 

The largest donor was the Chetrit Group, a major real estate developer. Other donors were real estate investor Joseph Cayre, who gave $100,000, and Michael H. Steinhardt, a billionaire hedge fund manager and supporter of Jewish causes, who gave $46,050. Joseph Cayre was also a contributor to the Small Business Coalition. 15786.98 95822.11

Contributions to “New Yorkers United Committee” 

The largest donor was the Chetrit Group, a major real estate developer. Other donors were real estate investor Joseph Cayre, who gave $100,000, and Michael H. Steinhardt, a billionaire hedge fund manager and supporter of Jewish causes, who gave $46,050. Joseph Cayre was also a contributor to the Small Business Coalition. 15786.98 95822.11

Contributions to “New Yorkers United Committee”

	Contributor		Total Contribution
						Contribution Details
1	The Chetrit Group LLC	$119,800			Single individual contribution

The Rivington Deal -More Alluring Lies

 

*** BREAKING *** ALLURE GROUP*** MORE LIES

[Initial Title Changed by Admin]

Contributors: May 25, 2016

CapitalNewYork Reports:

http://www.capitalnewyork.com/article/city-hall/2016/05/8600061/emails-show-more-communication-city-hall-over-rivington-deal

Emails show more communication with City Hall over Rivington deal

The email is important because at the center of the botched deal, which is under investigation by four separate entities, is the question of why a city agency ultimately lifted both restrictions — one requiring the property to be a nonprofit and another ensuring a health care facility. Lifting both allowed Allure to sell the building to Slate Property Group for high-end condos.

City Hall has said Allure indicated it only wanted the nonprofit restriction removed and planned to run a nursing home. But it was one of de Blasio’s own agencies, the Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS), that ended up removing both restrictions in exchange for a $16 million fee.

“We like to keep the nursing home operating and continue employing over 250 employees who currently work there. However, this deal cannot go through because the restriction has created a significant deterrent both to accepting the title and the ability to get financing,” Landau wrote. “The nursing home, its union, have been trying for a while to get someone at DCAS to sign off on the deal, so that we can come in and provide the necessary resources the nursing home needs in order to stay afloat.”

Landau never specifically mentioned the $16 million fee, but did raise concerns that language in the deed allowed the title to the property to revert back to the city in case the buyer breached any conditions of sale.

He then asked Newmark for assistance.

“As you can imagine this is a time sensitive matter and any help or input you can provide is truly appreciated,” he concluded.

Newmark wrote back eight days later, “Thank you Joel. I have passed along your concerns to Sarah Samis, who is following up with Dom. I do not have any more information to share at the moment.”

Senator John Flanagan, Why is the CVA Not Inalienable?

 

WHAT IF YOUR CHILDREN HAD BEEN SEXUALLY ASSAULTED, WOULD YOU NOT WANT THEM TO BE ABLE TO PROSECUTE THOSE REPONSIBLE?

May 20, 2016

We have previously reported on what we view as the compromised moral compass of Senate Majority Leader John Flanagan. From where we sit, he undeniably puts his political career a mile ahead of the lives of children in New York. In East Ramapo he voted against a monitor with veto power, effectively destroying the lives of public school children, both religious and secular.  With his consistently floundering position on the Child Victims Act Senator Flanagan seems to be putting his political career ahead of victims of sexual assault.

We are left dumbfounded that he does not see the absolute necessity of removing the Statute of Limitation on childhood sexual abuse. The ultra-Orthodox communities of the Jews and Catholics alike, have a history of enshrouding sexual abuse in secrecy. They comprise the Senator’s largest electorate and they argue, amongst other things, that civil suits would shutter schools both Yeshivas and Churches; and removing the Statute of Limitations on prosecution would open the doors (kiss the Mezzuzah on your way out) to endless civil suits.

Senator Flanagan, are we to protect the organizations that allowed the abuse to continue, ignored it, covered it up or even fostered it over the permanently scarred lives of the childhood victims? We know. The bloc support you will lose if you agree to bring the CVA to a vote might cost you a career as a politician. Do you not realize that abused children will likely have nightmares every night for the rest of their lives? Do you not realize that their souls will be forever tortured?

We believe that if you refuse to bring the CVA to a vote and further fail to wholeheartedly support it you are a disgrace to your community, your constituents (which include the children who are abused) and your family.

Setting your political career aside, as a parent should you not want this vote to pass, if nothing more than to protect your own children and their children?  

 

From Facebook’s Clarkstown- What They dont Want You to Know:

An Alluring Thought… Mayor de Blasio to Reverse Deed Restrictions?

Will Mayor de Blasio do the Right Thing and Reverse or Will His Haredi Donors Prove Too Value and de Blasio too Arrogant?

May 19, 2016

The Allure deal was is and will always be another of many likely criminal endeavors involving dozens of people over several years, all culminating in millions of dollars in profit and a displaced AIDS/Rehabilitation-Nursing Facility. The Mayor’s office claimed not to have known about the deal, but emails, meetings and perhaps campaign contributions tell a different story as early as 20014.

Now Mayor de Blasio is “reviewing changes” which only means he is paying lip-service to his non ultra-Orthodox constituents. Or, alternatively, he is trying to appease U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara who has said that he is is looking into the matter.

Amid probe, mayor says he’ll review changes to deed restrictions

Mayor Bill de Blasio said on Wednesday that he will now make the final decision regarding all changes to deed restrictions on buildings currently or formerly owned by the city.

The change comes in response to the scandal surrounding the removal of deed restrictions at Rivington House on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, which allowed a nursing home to be sold to a luxury condo developer in February.

The circumstances surrounding that case are the subject of probes by the state attorney general, the city Department of Investigation and the city comptroller. In addition, the office of U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara is looking into the matter.

“I think it is essential since these are rare actions, it’s essential that they be personally agreed upon by the mayor,” de Blasio said during a City Hall press conference. “This has not been the habit in the past. The decisions stopped short of requiring a signature from the mayor himself. Given the importance of these matters, I’m going to make very clear in our new policy that there will be no action on any deed restriction without my personal sign off.”

http://www.capitalnewyork.com/article/city-hall/2016/05/8599553/amid-probe-mayor-says-hell-review-changes-deed-restrictions

For some background:

In a May 5, 2014 email to First Deputy Mayor Tony Shorris’ chief of staff, Dom Williams, the nonprofit VillageCare raised the possibility of removing the two deed restrictions tied to the AIDS residence it ran on Rivington Street, known as Rivington House. One restriction called for the site, formerly a city-owned building, to be used as a nonprofit; the other required it to be for residential health care.

Emma DeVito, president of VillageCare, wrote that her organization wanted to sell the property and had received estimates from a city agency about removing the deed restrictions. She expressed concern to City Hall about the fees she would have to pay.

VillageCare eventually sold the building for $28 million to a for-profit nursing home provider, which paid the fee, got the deed restrictions removed and sold it three months later to a luxury condo developer for $116 million.

http://www.capitalnewyork.com/article/city-hall/2016/04/8597831/rivington-house-deed-restriction-removal-floated-city-hall-2014

DCAS — which lifted the deed restrictions in November of 2015 — had provided two options to DeVito, she wrote at the time. VillageCare could get one restriction removed for a $4.25 million fee to the city. To remove both restrictions, the company would have to pay an $8.25 million fee.

“Both scenarios do not account for the millions of dollars we have invested in the property and will direct up to $8.25 million away from much-needed healthcare programming for the community,” she wrote. “The timing of these discussion are important to the completion of the sale and reinvestments.”

She then requested a meeting with Williams “as soon as possible to discuss the scenarios outlined by DCAS and to see if Mayor de Blasio can find an alternative that would allow Rivington House to expand its mission-critical health care services that support our community.”

While she said she wanted to maintain health care services in the neighborhood, DeVito made no mention of the future use of the site.

http://www.capitalnewyork.com/article/city-hall/2016/04/8597831/rivington-house-deed-restriction-removal-floated-city-hall-2014

In another letter dated Jan. 9, 2015, Randal Fong, an assistant commissioner at DCAS, wrote to DeVito the seven steps VillageCare would have to take to get the deed restrictions removed.

This letter came one month before the property was sold to Allure.

In it, Fong cited the $16.1 million fee, which was based on an appraisal DCAS conducted a month prior. The Wall Street Journal reported that the appraisal was for $65 million, though the property was sold for nearly twice that amount in February of 2016 to Slate Property Group.

The first step to be taken, Fong wrote, was “a land use analysis to support removal of the use and development restrictions.” He added, “This analysis is complete.”

http://www.capitalnewyork.com/article/city-hall/2016/04/8597831/rivington-house-deed-restriction-removal-floated-city-hall-2014

Other steps included a public hearing conducted by the Mayor’s Office of Contract Services, which took place on June 24, 2015. As POLITICO previously reported, no one spoke at that hearing.

The matter was scrutinized by City Councilwoman Margaret Chin and the local community board in late 2015, when Allure began emptying out its beds and rumors started to swirl that a developer was eying the land. The Lo-Down, a newspaper covering the Lower East Side, first reported the possibility of the sale in December of 2015 and Chin said she informed City Hall of her concerns at that point.

The sale took place the following February, and the city then put a hold on all deed restriction removals. At that point, Shorris, the first deputy mayor, became aware of the matter, City Hall has said.

Shaya Lichtenstein – How Many Guns Are There?

 

SHAYA LICHTENSTEIN – CROOKED LICENSE BROKER WITH GREAT RELATIONSHIPS…

 

The Daily News is Reporting:

EXCLUSIVE: NYC gun broker accused of bribing cops used cozy relationships with NYPD to have clients avoid mandatory interviews

 

Crooked gun license broker Shaya Lichtenstein’s access to police was so good that his applicants didn’t even have to come to headquarters for a mandated interview before they got their permits, the Daily News has learned.

That revelation comes from John Chambers, a Manhattan lawyer who specializes in New York City gun licenses.

Chambers is now representing a number of Lichtenstein’s clients who have either had their licenses suspended as a result of Lichtenstein’s indictment.

The NYPD has suspended 37 permits as part of their review of the permits.

NYPD seizing guns from people who got them through shady broker

NYPD policy requires deep and extensive background checks, and a lengthy interview after the applicants are fingerprinted.

Chambers said Lichtenstein’s clients, especially the more recent ones, only had to submit a minimal amount of documentation before they got their licenses.

“There is a mountain of documentation that’s required, but all some of them needed to send in was a few pieces of paper for the permit to go forward,” Chambers said.

Lichtenstein is charged with bribing cops to expedite gun permit requests.

(Jefferson Siegel/New York Daily News)

Lichtenstein was charged April 18 in Manhattan Federal Court with bribing cops with $6,000 in cash and other goodies to expedite gun permit requests.

A former leader of the Brooklyn Shomrim security patrol, he billed his clients between $5,000 and $25,000 for the service, records show.

Two officers were transferred out of the licensing unit as part of the far-reaching NYPD corruption probe.

Lichtenstein, 44, was so cozy with cops in the license division that he’d spent nearly every day inside the office in Police Headquarters since 2014, federal court papers say.

NYPD dissects gun license applications following bribery scandal

 

To read the full article click here.

R&R NYPD Body Count – 9 Officers Stripped and 1 Dead

 

What Would Cause A NYPD Inspector to Take His Life After Being Questioned in the Massive NYPD Corruption Probe?

May 13, 2016

Since early March high ranking officials within the New York Police Department have been questioned in connection to what appears to be a pay-to-play game of scandal, corruption, political favors and mile-high sexual interludes paid for and directed by Jeremy Reichberg and Jona Rechnitz.

One man, Hamlet Peralta, has been indicted in connection to a Ponzi Scheme, also involving the same two men who allege to have been victimized by Peralta’s scheme. Another investor was NYPD’s Norman Seabrook who invested millions from the Corrections Officers Benevolent Association’s pension funds, apparently on the advise of Rechnitz.

Another man, Shaya Lichtenstein, has been indicted on charges of arms dealing and bribery apparently in coordination with the New York Police Department officials in Boro Park.

Detective Michael Milici was placed on modified duty last month after invoking his Fifth Amendment rights before a grand jury. Milici was part of Boro Park’s 66th Precinct and is allegedly going to be charged but no further details are available.

In sum, as of earlier this month, the count was 9 high ranking police officers who had been stripped of their badges or demoted to other positions within the New York Police Department.

Today, however, an NYPD inspector tragically took his own life after being questioned. One can only speculate why.

 

High-ranking NYPD cop kills himself at Long Island golf course after being questioned in massive corruption probe 

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/high-ranking-nypd-kills-long-island-golf-article-1.2636360