Confirmed: Bill Thompson using BPCA as a platform to run for Mayor

February 24, 2012  By Steven Greer, MD

Op-Ed

Battery Park City Authority Chairman Bill Thompson confirmed, to no one’s surprise, that he is running for NYC Mayor. Meanwhile, he is transforming the BPCA staff to suit his needs and serve better as campaign managers masquerading as BPCA staff serving citizens of BPC. Recall, BatteryPark.TV was the first to break the story of Bill Thompson, via his CEO Gayle Horwitz, firing 19 long-time BPCA employees in order to make room to bring in his own staff.

Bill Thompson, Chairman of BPCA

State Senator Squadron recently wrote a letter pondering the fate of the entire BPCA, and whether the current leadership should be changed. He pointed out that the Chairman, currently Bill Thompson, is appointed by the governor and not elected. Therefore, despite paying the highest taxes in the city, BPC residents have “taxation without representation”. In fact, the hard earned tax dollars of the residents are often stolen by the city and redistributed to help pay off the city deficit.

Other stories relating to Bill Thompson

BPCA Chairman a no-show for the “town hall” farce

The money pit of Pier A

Cost overruns at Pier A

BPCA holds surprise meeting to avoid the public

Bill Thompson replaces the 19 fired with his own cronies

Ed Koch discusses the 2013 mayoral race

State Senator Squadron wants to give Gayle Horwitz, Bill Thompson, the boot

February 19, 2012

State Senator Squadron wrote a letter to the NY Daily News recommending that Governor Cuomo transform the leadership of BPCA from its current state-appointed, nonrepresentative, leaders, such as Gayle Horwitz and Bill Thompson, neither of whom even live in BPCA, to a more locally represented leadership. He stops short of calling for BPCA to be folded into the city and eliminated altogether.

Bill Thompson, Chairman of BPCA

Squadron wrote, “New York City holds an option to disband the Battery Park City Authority — but an attempt to simply fold it into the city’s general operations would not fly with a community that pays significantly more for services than the average New Yorker.

Still, the city’s option does present an opportunity to increase local representation and ensure greater reinvestment locally.

With the appointment of a single area resident to the board, Gov. Cuomo has taken a step in the right direction; but the community’s voice should not depend on good news floating down the river from Albany. Agreements that I worked on to create new governance for Brooklyn Bridge Park and Governors Island provide a model: City control along with permanent appointments by the local community board and City Council, state Assembly and state Senate representatives.

BPCA CEO Gayle Horwitz

A new structure with local representation could also help protect Battery Park City’s dollars, which come straight from its community through ground rent, community service fees, and PILOTs (payment in lieu of taxes). Of course, under any circumstance, the first obligation will continue to be area maintenance and services, existing funding agreements (mostly with the ity in the form of tax-equivalent payments) and bondholders.

But surplus revenues above these obligations, which today are collected in a fund that is jointly controlled by the city and state, should have stronger protections. Just a couple of years ago, $200 million of these surplus dollars were swept away in one shot to close the state budget gap. Battery Park Citys surplus fund has also been used to fund affordable housing across the city.”

The full article can be found here.

Port Authority Called ‘Dysfunctional’ as Trade Center Costs Rise

By CHARLES V. BAGLI The New York Times

Published: February 7, 2012

The estimated cost of rebuilding the World Trade Center has grown to at least $14.8 billion, up from $11 billion in 2008, according to an audit commissioned by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. The audit, which also examined the authority’s debt, called the agency “dysfunctional” and recommended changes in its management structure.

Full article found here.

Ed Koch: Who will be the leading contenders for the NYC Mayoral race?

July 10, 2011

We interviewed former Mayor Ed Koch about the likely candidates for the 2013 New York City Mayoral race now that Anthony Weiner is no longer a viable candidate. NYC Council Speaker Christine Quinn is his favorite candidate.

Ed Koch: Will Governor Cuomo become Obama’s VP?

July 7, 2011

We spoke with former Mayor Ed Koch again today. In Part 1, we asked him to prognosticate as to whether President Obama would shift VP Biden to Secretary of State and make Governor Cuomo the new VP for 2012. We also discussed the Governor’s recent accomplishments.

Exclusive: Picasso Pizza shut down by the health department

Update: February 6, 2012

Picasso is reopened now after what they described as “renovations”. However, the place looks the same. The sign out front even is broken, missing some lights.

The "redecorated" "new" Picasso

_____________________________________________________________________

November 21, 2011

The Battery Park City “Broadsheet” reported this morning that Picasso Pizza, on South End Avenue, was closed for renovations. That is incorrect. In fact, the New York City Department of Health shut them down. From the Health Department website:

Closed by Health Department

Outrage over high salaries of 9/11 Memorial staff amidst budget overruns

January 30, 2012

Construction of the September 11th Memorial has screeched to a halt as the numerous different state, federal, and city bureaucracies fight over the tab of the cost overruns. After rushing out a partially constructed memorial to avoid embarrassment on the tenth anniversary, not much progress has been made since.

Amidst this, we get a better sense today of the bloated number of bureaucrats on the September 11th Memorial staff leading the construction while they also reap huge financial rewards personally. The WSJ is reporting that top executives of the September 11 memorial have been receiving nearly $500,000 salaries. Relatives of those killed on 9/11 are outraged.

According to the WSJ, “Joan Gerner received $296,565 upon leaving her position as executive vice president of design and construction in May 2010, bringing her total compensation that year to $439,463, recently released tax records show. She was the group’s highest-compensated employee that year….. In 2010, seven other executives with the organization received compensation in excess of $200,000, records show, and four received compensation packages of more than $300,000, including the president, Joseph Daniels, who earned $378,288 in salary and other benefits…. Retired FDNY Deputy Chief Jim Riches, whose son, Jimmy, also a firefighter, died in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, called the foundation executives’ salaries, and specifically Ms. Gerner’s severance payment, “totally obscene” and an “insult” to victims and their families. “They shouldn’t be having contracts like they’re professional athletes—it’s totally disgusting,” Mr. Riches said. “It’s a shame, and they have no shame.”"

According to the WSJ, Mayor Bloomberg has been supportive of the high pay and large staff. “But Mr. Bloomberg has long defended the executive compensation at the memorial and other such organizations. Julie Wood, a spokeswoman for Mr. Bloomberg, said the mayor believes the “professionals at the 9/11 memorial are paid only a fraction of what they’re worth, but at a level similar to people at comparable nonprofits.”"

From Wall Street Journal

The FDNY Fire Fighter II

(click image to expand)

The FDNY Fire Fighter II, taken by Steven Greer

George’s diner closed after owner films health inspector during inspection

(In full screen 1080i HD)

Update: January 9, 2012

George’s diner was re-inspected today by the city health inspector. Two inspectors were sent,  and the restaurant was allowed to re-open. George’s will be open for normal business tomorrow. A letter grade will be assigned after a follow up inspection is made.

Owner Bill Koulmentas said, “It is not common for a restaurant to be re-opened this fast…(we received), a lot of positive verbal feedback (on the BatteryPark.TV story) from throughout Battery Park City. Thank you very much for all that you have done.”

January 7, 2012  By Steven Greer, MD

George’s diner on Greenwich Street and Rector Street, south of the World Trader Center, was shut down by the New York City Health Department on Friday, January 6th. The original restaurant had to be demolished after the WTC disaster of September 11th, 2001, and was reopened in a newly constructed building in 2005.

We interviewed the owner, Bill Koulmentas, to learn why the restaurant was shut down. We could not contact the health department.

According to Mr. Koulmentas, and iPhone video supporting his story, a female health inspector stopped by approximately two weeks ago and found some violations. He felt that the inspector was aggressive and had an agenda to find violations no matter what. On Friday, January 6th, a male inspector arrived unannounced at 9:30 AM and inspected until 2:30 PM.

During the inspection on the 6th, Mr. Koulmentas felt that the inspector was “rigging” the inspection, claiming cockroaches were found that did not exist, that the refrigerator did not work when it did, etc. He pulled out his iPhone and began to videotape the inspector. At this point, the inspector began to become irritated. Mr. Koulmentas believes that the closure of his restaurant was due to his filming the health inspector and disputing his findings.

The health inspector closed the restaurant on the spot, at 2:30 PM, January 6th. It is unknown what will happen next and when the restaurant might be allowed to reopen.

The new letter grading system instituted by Mayor Bloomberg has been very controversial. Newspaper reports have insinuated that the process is rife with corruption, and was adopted simply as a way to increase revenues for the city in the form of fines. Many restaurant owners feel that the grades assigned are completely arbitrary, and Mr. Koulmentas’ filmed experience certainly adds credence to those theories.

If you are a restaurant owner and have experienced similar problems with the health department, BatteryPark.TV wants to know about it. Shoot us an email at info@batterypark.tv

Ed Koch: Indian Point nuclear plant should be closed

July 9, 2011

We interviewed former Mayor Ed Koch. In Part 2, we discuss Governor Cuomo’s plans to shut down the Indian Point nuclear power plant.

9/11 Memorial Tour hosted by Sheldon Silver

October 2, 2011

(In full screen 1080iHD)

Exclusive: BPCA Pier A renovation delayed a year with cost overruns

January 4, 2012 by Steven Greer, MD

Battery Park City Authority (BPCA) CEO Gayle Horwitz made a surprise appearance at the Community Board 1 (CB1) last night to deliver an update on the various BPCA construction projects underway. Recall, CB1 member George Calderaro had informed the community that Pier A renovations seemed to be going slowly and that no updates had been delivered from the BPCA.

In what was described as “overkill” by one CB1 member, the BPCA brought in a team of at least 12 people, comprised of architects and other officials involved in the Pier A project. What we learned was:

• The previous completion date estimates for Pier A were for “The season of 2012″. That has now been revised to “Late 2013″.
• The original $30 Million amount allotted to the project will be inadequate. The project is running over budget.
• The design team claimed that “natural drying” of the historic pier wooden architecture was the reason that the project was left windowless and to the elements.
• Despite the team of architects, no drawings of the proposed final project were presented. Recall, the project is supposed to have ample free access to the public and not be a space that requires fees or purchase of food to enjoy. In fact, John Fratta of the Seaport CB division wanted the location to entirely be an Italian heritage museum.
• CEO Horwitz claimed that not all of the architect and construction-experienced staff of the BPCA were fired when the 19 staff were abruptly fired late last year.
• The Poulakakos restaurant family and business partners claim that they now have an architect in place to design the proposed restaurant space of Pier A. However, as mentioned, no drawings were presented. There was a change in the design team.
• The stalled project of Harry’s Italian in the Conrad hotel/Goldman Sachs alley, another restaurant proposed by the Poulakakos group, was not discussed.

The Chairman of BPCA, Bill Thompson, was not present. Mr. Thompson is a 2013 New York City candidate for Mayor.

(Click images to expand)

Pier A

Mayor Bloomberg admits the stimulus package was wasted

August 1, 2010

Mayor Bloomberg was on NBC’s Meet the Press today. He made some insightful comments about the ineffective ARRA stimulus package that not many in the press have made. As unemployment remains high, the debate has been whether the nearly $1 Trillion stimulus package worked. That is really a false debate. The money never actually made it to jobs creation programs. Instead, the states and municipalities gobbled up the money to pay off their budget deficits and maintain their bloated entitlement programs.

In the Mayor’s words

A tour of the NYC Rescue Mission for the homeless

October 14, 2009

With the closure of the John Hughes shelter, the nearest homeless shelter to Battery Park City is now in Tribeca. Joe Little of the New York City Rescue Mission gives a tour of the city’s oldest homeless shelter. With the bad economy and closure of other shelters nearby, demand for meals at the Mission have increased 20%.

To volunteer or donate money, contact (212) 226-6214 or go to http://www.nycrescue.org/

Gayle Horwitz hides under her desk as CB1 discusses her bizarre culling of the ranks

December 7, 2011

By Steven Greer, MD

The Community Board 1, BPC division, met last night and the main topic was the bizarre firings of 19 long-time BPCA employees, first reported by BatteryPark.TV. One of the fired employees, former media relations person Leticia Remauro, was invited to attend. The CEO of BPCA, Gayle Horwitz, did not attend the meeting, despite being the person responsible for the handling of the firings. She assigned her newly hired media relations person, Anne Fenton, to speak for the BPCA. Both Horwitz and Fenton served for BPCA Chairman Bill Thompson prior to him becoming the BPCA Chairman.

Gayle Horwitz

One member of the CB1 described the meeting as “Very awkward”. Three different members of the CB1 asked BPCA’s Fenton questions and she replied each time, “We do not discuss personnel maters.” Recall, this was the same reply that CEO Horwitz gave at the BPCA “Town Hall” last month.

BPCA’s Fenton explained that, “The reporting in the local papers was wrong.” When pressed to elaborate, she repeated, “We do not discuss personnel matters.”, further frustrating the board.

The one bit of clarity provided by Ms. Fenton was when she explained that severances were indeed provided to the fired employees, contrary to the “reporting in the papers”. At which time, fired Leticia Remauro replied, “I have a severance?”

The CB1 agreed to write letters of recommendations for the 19 fired employees. The BPCA has refused to do this for those employees.

Related to this scandal that is plaguing CEO Gayle Horwitz, BatteryPark.TV has learned that there are rumors of Ms. Horwitz being replaced. The incident has turned into a political liability for

BPCA Chairman Bill Thompson

Chairman William Thompson who is running for New York City Mayor. BatteryPark.TV is also aware of increases in Google searches for terms such as “Gayle Horwitz fired”. A member of the CB1 told us, “This story is not going away for her (Horwitz)”.

Related stories found here

Ed Koch discusses homeless and politics

October 29, 2009

In the second part of our interview with Ed Koch, he discussed the growing homeless problem in Battery Park and how it is similar to New York City in the late 70’s when he was Mayor and the City was near bankruptcy. He also discusses the upcoming NY Governor’s election.

The NYMEX has removed onerous security screening stations after businesses close

November 27, 2011

By Steven Greer, MD

The New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX), part of the CME Group, has dropped the onerous security measures at the entrance to its retail mall. The metal detectors and X-ray bag screening station have been removed. People can now walk freely throughout the glassed-in corridor that faces the Hudson River and used to house many retail shops.

All of those shops are now closed down. Staff at the NYMEX explained that the tight security hampered business too much. The one remaining business is Jack’s Unisex Hair Salon. Late next year, new shops are supposed to move in, according to the staff.

NYMEX Staff explained to BatteryPark.TV that the security alert status since 9/11 is now lowered making the screenings unnecessary. Related, many businesses across the street in the Financial District are begging the Mayor to remove unsightly exterior barricades in front of store front businesses.

Entrance to NYMEX where screening stations used to be

Closed shops in the NYMEX mall

Jack's Unisex Hair Salon remains open

Tour bus finally ticketed

July 27, 2011

The NYPD (not the PEP, managed by Gayle Horwitz and Tess Huxley, who are refusing to enforce illegal parking) finally began ticketing illegally parked behemoth tour buses dropping off people to visit the 9/11 Memorial. This photo was taken on West Thames Street in a city bus stop “no parking” zone.

As most BPC residents know, these privately operated tour realized long ago that thy can park anywhere in South BPC, even in bus stops, and not be ticketed. BatteryPark.TV has a requested an interview with the Joe Daniels, CEO of the 9/11 Memorial, but has so far been stonewalled.

The NYPD Museum

October 14, 2010

Julie Bose, Director of the NYPD Museum, takes us on a video tour of the museum with two new exhibits. The first one is “Artist as Witness” by artist Aggie Kenny who was given extraordinary access to the first-responders to 9/11. The second exhibit is the new children’s wing of the museum called “Junior Officers Discovery Zone”.

For more details, call (212) 480-3100 or visit http://www.nycpm.org

Port authority and City Spar Over Escalating World Trade Center Expenses

The planned 2012 opening of the Sept. 11 museum at the World Trade Center is in jeopardy amid a dispute over hundreds of millions of dollars in unexpected costs related to redeveloping the site, people familiar with the matter said.

Construction on the sprawling museum has slowed considerably since September, when the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey stopped approving new contracts and extensions of existing contracts, people familiar with the matter said. Its planned September 2012 opening will likely be pushed back, the people said.

Rob Bennett for The Wall Street Journal

The $800-million-plus project is the latest pressure point in a series of funding disputes at the World Trade Center site, where the redevelopment tab has reached more than $11 billion.

The fight puts the Port Authority—controlled jointly by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie—at odds with the administration of Mayor Michael Bloomberg, the chairman of the National September 11 Memorial & Museum foundation.

Fueling the battle is $156 million that the Port Authority—which is building the museum—says the foundation owes for construction costs. Port Authority officials have said privately they are concerned about the museum having enough money to finish the job, people familiar with the dispute said.

The foundation denies it is responsible for the cost overruns, and for its part believes it is owed more than $100 million on account of delays, a person familiar with the matter said.

The two sides are negotiating a set of conditions for arbitrating the dispute outside of court.

Representatives for all sides on Sunday said the issues would ultimately be resolved.

“The Port Authority, the city and the museum are working collaboratively to resolve these matters,” said Patrick Foye, the Port Authority’s executive director.

Julie Wood, a spokeswoman for Mr. Bloomberg, said in a statement that funding disputes have been overcome before. “We’re confident we will work them out again,” she said.

The World Trade Center redevelopment has been plagued by near-constant disputes among public agencies as well as with private developer Larry Silverstein, who has the rights to develop three towers.

Most of the billions in added costs over the years have been absorbed by the Port Authority, which owns the site and is in charge of the rebuilding.

The overruns at the museum have been in dispute for months, but those and other problems were left unresolved until now, in part because officials wanted to avoid a public fight before the 10th anniversary of the 2001 terrorist attacks, people familiar with the discussions said.

The city and the Port Authority also have recently been fighting over who will pay for up to $300 million in security costs related to the site, people familiar with the discussions said.

Mr. Cuomo has begun to take a more active approach with the Port Authority, a typically cash-rich agency that has been weighed down by the costs of rebuilding. He recently installed Mr. Foye, a former economic development aide, as its new executive director, and put four new appointees on the agency’s board.

The agency appears to have taken a more aggressive approach with funding issues lately, and it has added pressure on the memorial foundation by not approving the contracts for the museum.

The dispute is partially over whether the $156 million in overruns are the responsibility of the museum, or whether they are broader infrastructure that the Port Authority should pay for. Generally, the foundation is responsible for the museum’s cost. The Port Authority is paying for site-wide infrastructure.

The Port Authority claims the foundation is responsible for such unexpected costs. But the foundation denies it is responsible and is preparing a claim of more than $100 million against the Port Authority, for additional costs caused by construction delays and the operational complications of opening the memorial when the surrounding streets and sidewalks weren’t yet open, one person familiar with the situation said. Talks have been active. Mr. Foye met Friday with city officials including Deputy Mayor Robert Steel.

The Port Authority has raised broader concerns about the foundation’s ability to pay for the full cost of the museum. Mr. Foye told members of the agency’s board earlier this month that Joseph Daniels, the foundation president, said he expected a “cash squeeze” early next year, a person familiar with the board meeting said.

Michael Frazier, a foundation spokesman, said it “has reached its funding commitments and will continue to do so.”