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NEW YORK
The Jewish Voice
DESEMBER 2, 2016
DeBlasio's PR Consultant Used City Hall Contacts to Enrich Clients By: Stan Luckshin
en would vocally boast about his clients to official working for the n yet another case of possible city in order to incentivize them corruption, it was recently to offer his clients big money revealed that wheeler dealer contracts for services performed. To offer an operative exampolitical consultant Jonathan Rosen used his contacts with ple, the Post reports that in JanCity Hall to further enrich his uary of 2014, Rosen made it his business to distribute a transcript well healed clients. According to a report in the of Forest City’s Bruce Ratner New York Post, Rosen along speaking in glowing terms of Dewith his cadre of employees at Blasio’s plan to “tax the rich” in his semi-eponymously named an Bloomberg Television interfi m – BerlinRosen raked in view to the mayor’s senior aides more than $300K by deBlasio’s through a multiple e-mail list. It mayoral campaign and another also just happens to be the case $530K by the Campaign for One that the city is one of Ratner’s top New York which is no longer in tenants. The Post also reported that existence. in October of 2014, Jay Walder, the former MTA Chairman left his position as the chief of Hong Speculation has been fueled among critics that Kong’s mass transit system because of growing criticism over the e-mails in question cost overruns. It was then that are proof that Berlin Rosen was involved in a he assumed the job of heading clear cut case of confli t of up the Citi Bike program. Jeremy Soffin a BerlinRosen staffer interest. immediately began inquiring with the mayor’s offic if reportThe staggering cache of 1550 ers had “questions about Hong pages of e-mails reveal that Ros- Kong, etc”
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admitted that it was “Jay.” Rosen also inserted himself in cross purposes when in 2014, it was not confi med as to whether deBlasio would be attending a New York City Food Bank event. Rosen admitted that his fi m represented Food Bank NYC and said that they do “some stuff with United Way and they were in a tizzy over if MBDB 9 de Blasio) was joining them tomorrow.” Predicated on the aforementioned examples, speculation has been fueled among critics that the e-mails in question are proof that Berlin Rosen was involved According to a report in the in a clear cut case of confli t of New York Post, Rosen along interest. with his cadre of employees The Post also reported at his semi-eponymously that Councilman Eric Ulrich named firm – BerlinRosen (R-Queens) - who may be a seriraked in more than $300K by ous contender to deBlasio in his deBlasio’s mayoral campaign re-election bid next year - said, and another $530K by the “The mayor is obviously catering Campaign for One New York which is no longer in existence. to special-interest groups rather than serving the people’s interest Suspicions about Berlin Ros- fi st.” He added that, “It’s no surprise en’s agenda arose when Wiley Norvell, a spokesman for deBla- these e-mails were dumped the sio replied, “Who are you hack- day before Th nksgiving (when ing for? ” Soffi came clean and they would get less news cover-
age), because they show the mayor’s friends, donors and lobbyists are the ones actually running the city.” Based on the content of the e-mails, it appears that it was not only BerlinRosen on the profit end of things. According to the Post report, some of Rosen’s clients were also beneficial to the furtherance of the deBlasio agenda. When DeBlasio was looking for the cell phone number of Jed Walentas, a DUMBO developer, he was able to get it from Rosen. It appears that Two Trees Management, a company belonging to Walentas also does business with the city. It was reported that they “eventually” had made a $100,000 to the Campaign for One New York. Rosen defended his fi m’s actions as it relates to the city interfacing with his clients when he told the Post, “Like all PR firms we regularly deal with the press offices of elected officials to coordinate scheduling, event logistics and to respond to information requests.”
High End Manhattan Apartment Prices Taking a Dramatic Plunge By: Benyamin Davidsons
W
hile recovering from cyber holiday deals, let’s not overlook deals in real estate. There are pricey Manhattan homes on the market for over four years, leading to massive price cuts and thereby bargains. Currently, there are high-end homes asking half of their original listing prices. “Historically, we are now in the midst of the fastest market adjustment ever,” said Leonard Steinberg, President of Compass Real Estate. When a property stays on the market for too long, the owner naturally will do what he can to cash out. Property taxes, mortgage payments, and
A duplex penthouse in the West Village at 165 Perry Street, where actor Robert De Niro once lived, is now on the market for $19.8 million; down from $39.8 million a year and a half ago
An apartment in Greenwich Village, at 150 Charles Street, in the same building as singer Bon Jovi and actor Ben Stiller has been lowered to $7.95 million from its original $8.99 million
lend a helping hand to brokers eager to drop the prices. Experts assert that the discounts do not indicate any problems maintenance on properties all with the properties. A lower
price, however, is not always a bargain. In many cases, sellers initially overprice their real estate either out of inexperience or over exuberance, only to re-
alize the true value over time. According to a recent article in the NY Post, a duplex penthouse in the West Village at 165 Perry Street, where actor Robert De Niro once lived, is a most notable example, with its asking price down to $19.8 million from $39.8 million a year and a half ago. An apartment in the Village, at 150 Charles St., in the same building as singer Bon Jovi and actor Ben Stiller, has been on the market a whopping 1,355 days. Its price tag has been lowered to $7.95 million from its original $8.99 million asking price. A more practical, 700 square foot one bedroom coop in The Beekman at 575 Park Avenue, first listed in 2013 for $500,000 and is now listed at a 40% discount for $300,000.
After Delays, City to Finally Fix Decaying Bklyn-Queens Exwy By: Emma Whitford
T
he crumbling 1.5 mile stretch of the Brooklyn Queens Expressway that wraps around Downtown Brooklyn may not be in need of emergency repairs, but representatives of the Department of Transportation said recently that a combination of eroding concrete, leaky joints, and corroding rebar are proof the city needs to be proactive or face emergency repair work and gridlock across the neighborhood a decade from now. "The structures have been out there some 60-odd years and are starting to show their long life now, and we're going to need to start planning," said project manager Tanvi Pandya. "In 10-to-12 years, if we haven't done anything real, we will be doing an emergency closure and we will be turning the neighborhood into a parking lot," she
The Brooklyn Queens Expressway is going to get a much needed overhaul and renovation job in the next few years
added. "This is exactly why we are starting the process now so before we get to that point, we'll have a solution." Central to this waterfront stretch of the BQE is the triple cantilever. Topped with the Brooklyn Heights Promenade, the steel and concrete struc-
ture supports three lanes of Queens-bound traffic which jut over three lanes of Staten Island bound traffic The e, in turn, jut over Furman Street. Designed by Robert Moses and constructed in 1948, the network of roadways has already surpassed its intended
50 year lifespan by more than a decade. "I have done a lot of traveling. I have never seen a triple cantilever anywhere else," said DOT Deputy Bridges Commissioner Robert Collyer. "So this is going to be a very challenging process." DOT Commissioner Polly Trottenberg was more blunt this summer. “It’s a horrible, crappy roadway," she said. "I wish it had never been built." The DOT revealed this spring that rehabilitation work likely won't begin until at least 2021 and won't be complete until at least 2025, possibly as late as 2029. Tests performed this summer did nothing to move that timeline up, community members learned Tuesday, despite clear evidence of degeneration that will only be exacerbated by winters of freeze and melt. "The e are no immediate safety concerns," Pandya said. "The bigger concern is the durability. It's like
an old car. At some point you're putting in more than it's worth."
“It’s a horrible, crappy roadway," she said. "I wish it had never been built." After measuring cracks and testing chloride levels (the corrosive residue left by road salt) the DOT found that the majority of the test area is more structurally sound than expected. Some issues have been deemed simply aesthetically unpleasing, while others are considered hazardous to pedestrians crossing below. For example, under the concrete archways in DUMBO, "When you look up from underneath you can see the mesh to protect the pedestrians underneath is corroding," Pandya said. "A little concrete might fall, but that's not a structural issue." (GOTHAMIST.COM)
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