Saturday, October 18, 2014

Poor Door and Lobbyists George Arzt

With the "poor door" controversy, the de Blasio administration faces one of its biggest housing and equity challenges, Gotham Gazette reports: http://goo.gl/2STw6h
POOR DOOR -- Chris Surico in Gotham Gazette: “In July of this year, the administration of Mayor Bill de Blasio begrudgingly signed off on Extell's application for the Inclusionary Housing Program, the initiative through which the ‘poor door’ came about. In effect, a mayor who was elected railing against the "tale of two cities" New York's socioeconomic disparities had wrought, allowed a striking physical symbol of the divide to be erected. With terms like "segregation" and "apartheid" being lobbed, the move had de Blasio supporters up in arms: liberal betrayal by the mayor on wealth and housing.” http://goo.gl/jP9z4s

With Other ‘Poor Doors’ On The Way, City Looks to Mitigate Effects

Inside the Poor Door
GILDED CITY -- “Haves, have-nots divided by apartment poor doors,” by AP’s Jennifer Peltz: “One new Manhattan skyscraper will greet residents of pricey condos with a lobby in front, while renters of affordable apartments that got the developer government incentives must use a separate side entrance — a so-called poor door. In another apartment house, rent-regulated residents can't even pay to use a new gym that's free to their market-rate neighbors. Other buildings have added playrooms and roof decks off-limits to rent-stabilized tenants. … [A] recent spate of buildings with separate amenities for the haves and have-nots is … provoking an uncomfortable debate over equality, economics and the tightness of the social fabric.” http://yhoo.it/1rLteie

Assemblyman Wright ‏@Wright4Harlem  9m
Very disturbed by "NY style poor doors" report in Toronto news. Accepted claims to fame: Pizza, yes. Bagels, yes. Housing Segregation, No.

A Rich Tale 

Tale of Two One Building: How Developer's Campaign Contribution Led to the Poor Door
City OKs UWS development with ‘poor door’ for residents(NYP) The city approved a developer’s controversial plans for a “poor door” on the Upper West Side, The Post has learned.Extell came under fire last year when it introduced plans for a 33-story luxury condo with a separate entrance for affordable-housing tenants.A spokesman for the Department of Housing Preservation and Development confirmed that the agency had approved Extell’s application for the Inclusionary Housing Program. Under the program, developers may build larger properties in exchange for providing on- or off-site low-income housing. The development will have 219 units overlooking the waterfront and 55 affordable units in a “building segment” facing the street.

Extell Wants to Segregate the Poor
 This is rich! The poor will use a separate door under plans for a new Upper West Side luxury tower — where affordable housing will be segregated from ritzy waterfront condos despite being in the.

As the Millions in Tax Breaks to Excell Has Shown Real Estate Developers Already Own Albany and the Governor
In an interview, Susan Lerner, the executive director of Common Cause New York, a government watchdog group, indicated that the multimillion-dollar effort was a significant shift in city politics and might alter the nature of campaigning on the local level.  “The entire point of a City Council race is to reflect the needs of the neighborhoods in a district,” Ms. Lerner said. “This undercuts the neighborhood-based nature of a district and replaces neighborhood concerns with industry concerns.




How Real Estate $$$ Run Politics in NYC
Cuomo $300,000 from Extell
On Real Estate Contributors Subpoenas
Cuomo said he has no problem with the anti-corruption Moreland Commission he convened sending subpoenas to real estate companies that have contributed to his campaign, including Extell Development, the Times Union writes:  
Gov. Cuomo's long-time city developer donor got more generous when it stood to get $35 million in tax breaks(NYDN) Corporations and people affiliated with Extell Development made more than $300,000 in donations to Cuomo since May 2012, around the same time the governor and lawmakers were weighing a housing bill that would save Extell millions over a decade.Two corporations tied to Extell Development each contributed $50,000 to Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s campaign the same day the Assembly passed a housing bill with tax breaks for five developers, including Extell, the Daily News reports: *Sheldon Silver aided Gov. Cuomo in sneaking through tax breaks for luxury developer(NYDN) * Gov. Cuomo's long-time city developer donor got more generous when it stood to get $35 million in tax breaks(NYDN) Corporations and people affiliated with Extell Development made more than $300,000 in donations to Cuomo since May 2012, around the same time the governor and lawmakers were weighing a housing bill that would save Extell millions over a decade.* Towering corruption (NYDN) Commission must find the truth about Albany's tax breaks for luxury highrises* New York City real estate companies are exploiting a loophole in state election law that considers limited liability corporations as individuals, allowing them to contribute up to $150,000 through LLCs that they own for different sites, Crain’s Insider reports


True News Exclusive: Will Moreland Look At City Officials/ Candidates Who Got Matching Funds From Extell's One57?

Gaming the System
It was not only Vito Lopez, Marty Golden, Keith Wright, Cuomo the Albany Assembly and Senate PACs of both parties that got money from Extell Development, sponsor of One57 for tax breaks.  At least 6 citywide candidates got the loot from the buildings developers.  Extell contributions to city officials were designed to take advantage of the public matching fund program.  Most were $175 with many of the same contributors giving to more than one candidate.  The Moreland Commission is looking into the state contributions and tax reductions connections, there is no indication if the commission will look into with the city pols for their cash.  They should.  George Arzt a flack for Extell works for at least two of the candidates who got money from the developer. If you wonder why the middle class keep getting pushed out of NYC, It has to do with the same candidates who promise to save the middle class feeding off the tit of the luxury developers.



Lobbyists Pushing Contracts Caused $2 Million Costs Overrun and A Broken 911 System
Reviews of the project to bring the city's 911 system up to date revealed mismanagement and massive cost overruns. Controller Scott Stringer estimated costs may exceed $2.3 billion, nearly double the original $1.3 billion price tag.
The de Blasio administration has a new plan to rescue the city’s problem-plagued overhaul of the emergency 911 system. Top City Hall aides revealed the plan exclusively to the Daily News on Tuesday, following a two-month suspension of work on the mammoth technology project and a top-to-bottom review ordered by the mayor. “At every level we found issues that needed to be addressed,” First Deputy Mayor Anthony Shorris told The News. “We were probably relying too much on outside consultants, (and) had too many middlemen taking pieces of the project off the top, making it run slower and in a more costly fashion.”


In 2007 Lobbyists George Arzt Was Hired by HP to Lobby HP to Lobby Deputy Mayor Skyler to Keep the Company on the 911 Project




Media Never Names the Lobbyist Who Made Money on the Broken 911 System . . .  Will the Investigators?
What role did 911 lobbyists play in giving Verzon gifts to NYPD Assistant Chief Charles (Chuck) Dowd?  The Death of Ariel Russo Did Not Even Stop the Corruption and Incompetence of the 911 System
Daily News the What Happen But Not the How and Why
Daily News Today Says 911 System Failed Ariel Russo But Do Not Name the Lobbyist for the Contractors or the reasons for NYPD's communication director Dowd being forced out and his aides jumping ship. Former Comptroller Liu said HP overbilled the city for $163 million and didn't properly deliver for years.   In 2012 Liu callled for a review of the HP contract by Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. “because of the possibility of fraud in the solicitation and billing process.” Liu’s audit said that Hewlett Packard shouldn’t have been hired for the 911 work because it failed to meet the city’s technical requirements. Among the lobbyists to get paid by the city’s broken 911 system contractors wLiu also claimed that the city and HP hired unqualified project consultants and overbilled the city by another $50 million.as George Arzt, Mercury Public Affairs, LLC, Jennifer Carlson, Peter Barden, Jonathan Greenspun, Michael McKeon, Kasirer Consulting LLC. More on Corrupt Lobbyists More on Dark Pool Corrupt Lobbyists
911 Phone System Failure Scandal


A towering insult - NY Daily News

As the Daily News revealed last Tuesday, One57 is among five residential projects that were shoehorned into a real estate tax abatement program under language mysteriously written into legislation passed in Albany.  The companies that will benefit, their lobbyists and PACs have donated $1.5 million to Albany campaign accounts over the past five years. The bill’s sponsors — Sen. Marty Golden and Assemblyman Keith Wright — professed ignorance.* How the Rich Get a Big Real Estate Tax Break - NYTimes.com * Assemblyman Keith Wright Sent Letter Acknowledging Developer Tax Breaks In Bill(NYDN)

Wright Tries to Blame Vito Lopez
Wright is furious at Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver for dragging him into a controversy over tax breaks awarded to five city developers, the Daily News’s Ken Lovett writes: http://nydn.us/15ZsRDH  Wright inherited the bill after Silver replaced former Assembly Housing Committee Vito Lopez, who was removed because of his sexual harassment scandal. The bill is the subject of an investigation, in which high-level politicians allegedly received money from real estate developers
 Albany's Tax Breaks Turn Into Foreign Aide for the Rich
Silver Builds Affordable Housing for the Residents of Qatar Not Middle Class and Poor New Yorkers   Qatar Prime Minister – New Owner of the $100 Million New York’s Most Expensive Penthouse

International Office Investment Up Also
New York’s improving economy coupled with high demand from global investors have driven Manhattan office-building values back to where they were before the crash, The Wall Street Journal writes:



How Does the Media Let George Arzt Get Away With Flacking for Luxury Highrise Tax Breaks, While Running Major Campaigns?

Extell Corrupt Lobbyist Arzt Flacks for Brooklyn Boss Seddio
“Frank left the job because the bench was less-than-scintillating,” said Seddio spokesman George Artz. “Frank is a people person, and he found the post wasn’t for him.” You think after losing with Hynes Artz would have gotten out of Brooklyn?* * 2013-10-29 George Arzt - NYS Board of Elections Contributions - Disclosure.pdf George Arzt represents Excell One57 and dozens of other developers * George Arzt - NYC LobbyistSearch Result * More  George Arzt is A Bad Guy LobbyistsWho has done a lot of harm(True News)  *  One of George Arzt's clients is Extell,and Extell is the sponsor of the exclusive, luxury condo called One57 that is the target of an investigation for possible corruption. * George ArztCommunications, Inc. - NYC Lobbyist Search Result
More on Arzt and Other Corrupt Lobbyists  
EXTELL DEVELOPMENT COMPANY. Media Contact: George Arzt  at 212-608-0333 Can we expect the candidates like Katz that Arzt is trying to elect this year will help him get more tax breaks for luxury highrises. Subpoenas have gone to Gary Barnett’s Extell Development, sponsor of One57 *Extell Lobbyist Money is Also Flying At the Hudson Yards
Real Estate Developers, Tax Breaks and Politics

Inside the Poor Door
GILDED CITY -- “Haves, have-nots divided by apartment poor doors,” by AP’s Jennifer Peltz: “One new Manhattan skyscraper will greet residents of pricey condos with a lobby in front, while renters of affordable apartments that got the developer government incentives must use a separate side entrance — a so-called poor door. In another apartment house, rent-regulated residents can't even pay to use a new gym that's free to their market-rate neighbors. Other buildings have added playrooms and roof decks off-limits to rent-stabilized tenants. … [A] recent spate of buildings with separate amenities for the haves and have-nots is … provoking an uncomfortable debate over equality, economics and the tightness of the social fabric.” http://yhoo.it/1rLteie

 Teachout Attacks Cuomo on Poor Door

Saturday  



Teachout charged that a tax break for developer Extell went to benefit 'a company that is best known for inventing the concept of the poor door,' referring to exclusive condos with separate entrances for low-income tenants. Longshot gubernatorial candidate Zephyr Teachout kicked off a statewide “whistleblower tour” Wednesday in front of a residential tower in Midtown built by the developer Extell. Extell executives donated $100,000 to her opponent Gov. Cuomo last year, just days before he signed a bill that gave the firm tax breaks worth $35 million over 10 years. Teachout charged that the tax break went to benefit “a company that is best known for inventing the concept of the poor door,” referring to exclusive condos with separate entrances for low-income tenants * A secret W.F.P. poll of a Teachout alias (Capital) : Back when Working Families Operatives were still grooming Zephyr Teachout for a run against Andrew Cuomo, before the party endorsed Cuomo in exchange for concessions, the operatives commissioned a poll of a theoretical match-up between the governor and a liberal law professor named “Teresa Woodstock. * Spirited, hot, late: Day 1 of the Teachout-Wu bus tour (Capital) *Five ways Teachout differs from Cuomo on key issues.The second day of Zephyr Teachout’s “whistleblower” bus tour was more tightly run than the first, when the campaign was forced to cancel one event, and arrived an hour late to at least two others.

How Does the Media Let George Arzt Get Away With Flacking for Luxury Highrise Tax Breaks Poor Doors, While Running Major Campaigns?
EXTELL DEVELOPMENT COMPANY. Media Contact: George Arzt  at 212-608-0333

First, the PR man said Seddio would release the file only after the vote for a new boss. Then, the PR man said Seddio had entirely ruled out going public because the documents refer to other people whose privacy could  be infringed. Then, the PR man said Seddio would allow the Daily News to look at portions of the files with names blanked out, but no copying would be permitted. And he’d make the arrangements sometime after the vote. We’re not holding our breath. As the song goes, meet the new boss, same as the old boss.Frank Seddio picks up George Arzt for his push ... -  * Capital New York One of George Arzt's clients is Extell, and Extell is the sponsor of the exclusive, luxury condo called One57 that is the target of an investigation for possible corruption. Extell has funneled approximately $75,000 in campaign contributions to Christine Quinn. According to this report, generated moments ago from the New York City Campaign Finance Board Web site, Mr. Arzt has contributed $90,500 in political donations to municipal candidates Judy Menin Manhattan BP race run by Belin Rosen and George Arzt can you find out who told her to hire Melvin Lowe Melvin Lowe Under Investigation Hired by Menin truenewsfromchangenyc.blogspot.com *Menin’s spokesman George Arzt confirmed that Lowe was hired by the campaign to assist with petitioning, and said campaign ended its relationship with Lowe “after a very brief period” just as the news of Huntley’s wiretap list broke.  Arzt Gave almost $100,000 in campaign contributions to NY state candidates spread out over many years.* 2013-10-29 George Arzt - NYS Board of Elections Contributions - Disclosure.pdf George Arzt represents Excell One57 and dozens of other developers * George Arzt - NYC Lobbyist Search Result * More  George Arzt is A Bad Guy   * Extell George Arzt Moreland Commission  * George Arzt Communications, Inc. - NYC Lobbyist Search Result
  • A 'Poor Door' Gets a Makeover Larry Silverstein's planned 42-story apartment tower on the Upper West Side will have a separate entrance for people who live in units designated as affordable. But the developer and city officials said they found a way to soften the much-criticized arrangement. 

Manhattan Boss Wright Gets Caught Helping Build the Poor Door
Assemblyman Keith Wright Sent Letter Acknowledging Developer Tax Breaks In Bill(NYDN)
A letter Assemblyman Keith Wright signed suggests he knew more than he has acknowledged about a housing bill he sponsored at the behest of Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver that gave five developers juicy tax breaks. Sources said last week that Wright was unaware of the details of the bill and furious with Silver for asking him to sponsor it.Wright is furious at Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver for dragging him into a controversy over tax breaks awarded to five city developers, the Daily News’s Ken Lovett writes:  Wright inherited the bill after Silver replaced former Assembly Housing Committee Vito Lopez, who was removed because of his sexual harassment scandal. The bill is the subject of an investigation, in which high-level politicians allegedly received money from real estate developers.

Someone Must Inform Albany That Tax Breaks for the Rich Do Not Save the City's Middle Class

Our Elected Officials are Pushing the MC Out of Manhattan and Rising Rents in Brooklyn


Sheldon Silver aided Gov. Cuomo in sneaking through tax breaks for luxury developer(NYDN)Two developers who stood to benefit from the tax breaks gave Cuomo big donations days before his bill-signing. Several sources involved in the process identified Silver as the creator of the lucrative tax relief. One 57th St. building in Manhattan was projected to save $35 million over 10 years. Between 2007 and 2011, as the median family income in the city dropped by 6.8%, the median monthly rent went up by 8.6%. Thirty-one percent of New Yorkers spent more than half their income on rent, as those not lifted up by New York’s booming, knowledge-intensive fields felt the squeeze.* A towering insult - NY Daily News * Qatar Prime Minister – New Owner of the $100 Million New York’s Most Expensive Penthouse * Gov. Cuomo's long-time city developer donor got more generous when it stood to get $35 million in tax breaks(NYDN) * How the Rich Get a Big Real Estate Tax Break - NYTimes.com * Atlantic Yards Report: Shades of 2007? Another 421-a carve-out to ...
How Ending Moreland Caused the Poor Door 
- A Sherlock Holmes Caper All About the Benjamins
“This giveaway to One57 has all the makings of a perfect case for Cuomo’s Moreland Act commission: large campaign contributions changing hands, lawmakers operating behind closed doors, special interests gaining undeserved benefits and taxpayers getting the shaft.” A later editorial carried the headline, “Follow Cuomo’s money, too,” after Albany Bureau Chief Ken Lovett disclosed that the developer had given $300,000 to the governor’s campaign over the past two years, including $100,000 shortly before Cuomo signed the tax breaks into law.  Along the way, the governor’s office pressured the commission into dropping plans to subpoena the Real Estate Board of New York in favor of simply requesting information from the group.

Following controversies that Extell Development Company had been subpoenaed by the Moreland Commission and that Extell won approval from City Hall to legally segregate low-income residents to use a separate "poor door" as a building entrance, why are Mayor Bill de Blasio and Gov. Andrew Cuomo keeping campaign contributions from Extell ?Extell is also the developer of the $2 billion luxury highrise known as One57 in Midtown Manhattan. This 75-story skyscraper is expected to cast shadows that, with other, nearby highrises, threaten to turn Central Park into Central Dark, according to The New York Daily News. One57 is the controversial building for which Extell made large campaign contributions to the campaign committee of Gov. Cuomo in apparent exchange for receiving $35 million worth of tax breaks.  Wealthy developers, like Extell, are misusing New York's 421-aproperty tax exemption program for billion dollar luxury condominium projects in order to spur sales from incentives typically reserved for buildings in that area which offer affordable housing, which One57 does not.  By some estimates, Mayor de Blasio accepted over $18,000 in campaign contributions from Extell, related entities, or related individuals.  For his part, Gov. Cuomo accepted over $300,000 in campaign contributions from Extell-related donors, according to some press reports.* Gov. Cuomo received $76,000 from real estate investors weeks before giving their property a tax break on bill (nydn) * Cuomo aide urged spin (TU) Moreland panel members were contacted, asked to tout commission's independence. Joseph Percoco, a longtime political aide to Gov. Andrew Cuomo, contacted several members of the state's now-shuttered anti-corruption commission in the past week and encouraged them to make public statements supporting the governor and affirming the panel's independence.



Cuomo Moreland Real Estate Cover Up  

How Albany's Manhattan Real Estate Tax Breaks Are Pushing Blacks and the Poor Out of Brooklyn

Cuomo administration failed to give up records related to REBNY(NYP) The Cuomo administration claimed last year there were no records of its contacts with an anti-corruption panel involving the Real Estate Board of New York — just three months after a top gubernatorial aide ordered the panel not to issue subpoenas to the influential real-estate group. The administration’s misleading account was made in writing to America Rising, a conservative PAC that had filed a Freedom of Information Law request in October for “any and all” communications between Cuomo staffers and the Moreland Commission panel about REBNY. Members of REBNY, who have donated $4 million to Gov. Cuomo since 2010, eventually turned over documents sought by the panel voluntarily. Remarkable as it might appear, the administration’s actions may not violate the law. Robert Freeman, executive director of the New York State Committee on Open Government, said the FOIL law was written so loosely that it doesn’t even specify how long phone logs have to be kept. The executive chamber has a “great deal of latitude of how long they keep records,” he said. “They don’t keep this stuff — they get rid of it.”* Pay-to-play: Related leads Cuomo donors getting tax credits (CrainsNY) The governor has received more than a half a million in campaign contributions from developers who received tax credits to revive industrial sites


$300,000 From Excell to Cuomo
Poor Door Developer
Gov. Cuomo's long-time city developer donor got more generous when it stood to get $35 million in tax breaks(NYDN) Corporations and people affiliated with Extell Development made more than $300,000 in donations to Cuomo since May 2012, around the same time the governor and lawmakers were weighing a housing bill that would save Extell millions over a decade.* In Our Opinion: Cuomo joins long list of N.Y. scandals-- The Daily Star



Pols  Give Tax Breaks to Lux Housing, Developers Give Money to the Pols

How New York Taxpayers and Help Luxury Developers and International Money Laundering Schemes 

The real reason why the rent is too high (NYDN)
Big developers flood politicians with cash  Both major candidates for mayor, Bill de Blasio and Joe Lhota, agree that an inadequate supply of affordable housing is a serious problem, and both have plans to create more. But what has not been discussed nearly enough is one of the major causes of the shortage: the way the real estate industry uses its massive campaign contributions to limit our affordable housing stock. This year, after receiving tons of money from well-placed donors, the governor and members of the state Legislature quietly gave away millions of your tax dollars to developers of luxury towers. The deal was so bad that it is being looked at by the Moreland Commission to Investigate Public Corruption. The report found that four of the five developers used high contribution limits and loopholes to give more than $1.5 million to state elected officials, political parties and real estate PACs between 2008 and 2012, including at least $440,962 in 2012 alone. And Cuomo, who had to sign the legislation, was the biggest single recipient, pulling in $150,000 from the four developers in 2012.Probe these giveaways (NYDN)* * The deal to fast track the Atlantic Yards affordable housing site will end more than 11 years of hostilities over how downtown Brooklyn will change, am New York writes:  * "Owners of lower-priced homes have subsidized those at the top end – for years."  Why fair revaluation is needed.

In Exchange of Campaign Contributions NY Pols Set Up A Vehicle to Hide Money, Possibly Illegally Gotten

Extell Sponsor of One57 Also Paid City Officials and Candidates
Moreland Tried to Look At City  Candidates Who Got Matching Funds From Extell's One57?

Gaming the System
It was not only Vito Lopez, Marty Golden, Keith Wright, Cuomo the Albany Assembly and Senate PACs of both parties that got money from Extell Development, sponsor of One57 for tax breaks.  At least 6 citywide candidates got the loot from the buildings developers.  Extell contributions to city officials were designed to take advantage of the public matching fund program.  Most were $175 with many of the same contributors giving to more than one candidate.  The Moreland Commission is looking into the state contributions and tax reductions connections, there is no indication if the commission will look into with the city pols for their cash.  They should.  George Arzt a flack for Extell works for at least two of the candidates who got money from the developer. If you wonder why the middle class keep getting pushed out of NYC, It has to do with the same candidates who promise to save the middle class feeding off the tit of the luxury developers.* Gov. Cuomo's long-time city developer donor got more generous when it stood to get $35 million in tax breaks(NYDN) * A towering insult - NY Daily News As the Daily News revealed last Tuesday, One57 is among five residential projects that were shoehorned into a real estate tax abatement program under language mysteriously written into legislation passed in Albany.  The companies that will benefit, their lobbyists and PACs have donated $1.5 million to Albany campaign accounts over the past five years. The bill’s sponsors — Sen. Marty Golden and Assemblyman Keith Wright — professed ignorance.
How Does the Media Let George Arzt Get Away With Flacking for Luxury Highrise Tax Breaks, While Running Major Campaigns?
 
EXTELL DEVELOPMENT COMPANY. Media Contact: George Arzt  at 212-608-0333
Can we expect the candidates like Katz that Arzt is trying to elect this year will help him get more tax breaks for luxury highrises. Subpoenas have gone to Gary Barnett’s Extell Development, sponsor of One57

Corrupt lobbyist


Last Week True News Went After the Progressives For Allowing A Poor Door, Today A Pol Woke Up  and the NYP Says Free Market Forces Will End the Poor Door 

Government ‘poor door’(NYP) The idea that the residents of these latter units will have a separate entrance has set off comparisons to Downton Abbey, where Lord Grantham and his brood live upstairs in sumptuous conditions, while the servants live down below.  It’s precisely their insistence on defining where poor people live that is responsible for poor doors, not to mention the tax breaks for developers and relief from some zoning restrictions.So why the poor door?

As The Post’s Steve Cuozzo reportedmore than a year ago, separate doors are required for this kind of the building. In part to make it easier down the road for the units to be managed separately by a non-profit. How much better and simpler it would be if the city did two things. First, just make it easier to build housing of any type. Second, give those who need subsidies vouchers they can use anywhere rather than assign them to a particular unit. Even if builders build just luxury units, when supply is expanded, people move up.  That means an apartment that was once luxury becomes middle class, and a middle-class apartment becomes working class, and down the line.  If it weren’t put into government-designated buildings and units, we’d have much more mixing.

True News Keeps the Poor Door Story Alive
DOOR FOR THE POOR BLASTED: Elected officials want to ban affordable section entrances approved by Bloomberg administration(NYPD) “The two-door system is an affront to New Yorkers’ belief in fairness and diversity in our city,” said Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer.*  De Blasio seeks to an end to New York City's 'poor doors,' blames Bloomberg  (Newsday)

True News 
Last Week When Giuliani Was Mayor There Was No Building With A Poor Door
Despite having attended 15 of the sessions and received days-worth of orientation sessions, the newbies are scheduled for a first-of-its-kind group lesson on the workings of government during a “mock” Council session on Wednesday afternoon. “At the request of several freshmen Council Members, [we] will be holding a mock stated meeting along with a brief history of the council to more clearly explain the order and procedures which are followed at the stated meetings pursuant to law and council rule,” reads an email sent by the body’s senior director of community engagement, Karina Claudio Betancourt.Fellow freshman Laurie Cumbo (D-Brooklyn) said as a former director of a non-profit, she’d attended her fair share of stated meetings even before being elected.But Cumbo said the training is likely to benefit even the most experienced  of the new members. “The same course can be taught by 10 different people and each time you would learn something new,” she said. Novice City Council members still don’t know what they’re doing (NYP)* New York City Approves 'Poor Door' for Luxury Apartment(Newsday)* BdB's rep on City Planning Commission to approve Extell's"poor door" development(NYP)* Manhattan Borough Presidents Gale Brewer at a press conference called for an end to “poor doors” in mixed-income housing developments—separate entrances for the affordable units and for the market-rate units, the Observer reports: 



de Blasio Blamed Bloomberg But As Councilman Voted for the Poor Door

When the lengthy text of a zoning resolution was amended by the City Council in July 2009,    then-Councilman Bill de Blasio — who arrived late to the meeting — was among the majority who voted “aye.”
One provision said developers of market-rate condos could include affordable units on site, instead of off-site, while allowing for the separation of a number of services that included the entrances. But de Blasio’s vote didn’t stop City Hall officials last week from putting the blame for the controversial Extell Development project at 40 Riverside Blvd. — which will have separate entrance for subsidized tenants — solely on former Mayor Mike Bloomberg’s team.  De Blasio voted for luxury building ‘poor door’ as councilman(NYP) 
Mayor de Blasio and other officials denouncing “poor door” entrances for subsidized tenants in luxury buildings actually voted in favor of a measure that made such separation possible, a Post review found.Among the other elected officials who voted in favor of the 2009 zoning changes are current Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer and Public Advocate Letitia James. The two were among those who took part in a press conference on the steps of City Hall this past Friday condemning the prior administration for signing off on the project.* Beyond the poor door (NYDN Ed) It's a distraction from the core challenge of creating far more affordable housing for low- and middle-class New Yorkers

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