WORLD WORLDWIDE USA New York NY New York City NYC the city THE CITY News Journal Update - City lawyers demand Bill de Blasio pay $474K, what to know about NYC’s budget crisis, up to $1.6M in PPE tossed during pandemic

 

Dear New Yorkers,

As Mayor Eric Adams’s campaign finances are under investigation, his predecessor Bill de Blasio’s use of nearly half a million dollars in city funds is still under scrutiny.

During de Blasio’s failed campaign for the presidency, the former mayor charged city taxpayers six-figure travel costs — primarily for the NYPD security detail that was required to travel with him at all times.

Back in June, the city Conflicts of Interest Board ordered de Blasio to pay a $155,000 fine and cough up $319,000 to reimburse the city for the travel, lodging and meal expenses of the NYPD detail that accompanied him on 31 campaign trips from Iowa to South Carolina before he bowed out of the race in September 2019.

But de Blasio fought the order. He sued the board, arguing that the order was “beyond the Board’s authority...to regulate the mayor’s political activities while in office," and claiming it infringed on First Amendment rights that "afford the person elected mayor autonomy over how to lead the City."

"If a mayor decides that a presidential bid is consistent with, and even supportive of, his role as mayor, that is his decision to make, free from impediments," his suit states. "It is certainly not for the Board to question a mayor’s judgment of how to conduct that singular role."

Last week, the COIB asked a state judge to throw out the former mayor’s challenge, accusing de Blasio of concocting a “chilling vision of an imperial mayoralty.”

Read more here

Weather scoop by New York Metro Weather Wednesday's Weather Rating: 5/10. Heavy rain and gusty winds to start the day, clearing out by early afternoon. High temps will reach the mid 50s with sunshine, but gusty west winds are likely to keep us feeling chilly. The vibes are all over the place today!

Our Other Top Stories

Mayor Eric Adams says a “crisis” confronts the city and its budget, and laid out painful cuts that hit libraries, sanitation, education and more. But what does a fiscal crisis mean, and what’s the context behind the numbers? Here are THE CITY’s three things to know about NYC’s budget crisis. As much as $1.6 million worth of personal protective equipment was damaged so badly it had to be tossed during the Coronavirus pandemic, a new probe by the state inspector general has found. The state probe was launched in the summer of 2021 in response to a report by THE CITY that dozens of pallets holding boxes of masks, gowns, face shields and other protective gear were being stored improperly outside a state-operated nursing home in Queens. It put much of the blame for the debacle on the state Department of Health, whose officials were slow to respond to distress signals by nursing home administrators for months about their lack of storage. The equipment, which had been valued at between $560,000 and $1.6 million, eventually was incinerated at an additional cost of $21,000 to the state.. Marvin McLaurin figured something wasn’t right: The MTA bus driver’s fatherly instincts kicked in early on Monday when he helped reunite a 6-year-old girl and her 11-year-old brother with their parents after they boarded his bus in East New York before sunrise, wearing only pajamas and shorts. “My first thought was, ‘What are they doing out here this time of the morning?’” said McLaurin, a New York City Transit bus operator since 2017. “And why are they not with anyone and why don’t they have on any coats?”

Things To Do

Here’s what’s going on around the city this week.

Wednesday, Nov. 22: The New York Botanical Garden’s Holiday Train Show opened last weekend, as part of an array of winter festivities. Free with admission through Jan. 15 at the New York Botanical Garden in The Bronx. Wednesday, Nov. 22: Only two weeks left to see Marking Time: Art in the Age of Mass Incarceration, an exhibition that “explores the impact of the U.S. prison system on contemporary visual art.” Free at the New York Public Library’s Schomburg Center in Harlem, through Dec. 4. Wednesday, Nov. 22: The annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade balloon inflation event. Free from 12-6 p.m. on the Upper West Side (the entrance to the viewing area is at W. 72nd Street and Columbus Avenue).

Holiday Break

Heads up, Scoop will be on pause over the long weekend. We’ll be back with more news on Monday.

THE KICKER: Planning to travel through one of Manhattan’s bus or train hubs this weekend? The NY Groove has a list of tips.

Thanks, as always, for reading. Make it a great Wednesday.

Love,

THE CITY

P.S. Don’t forget, our Cyber Monday flash sale is coming up soon! On Nov. 27 only, donate $50 to get one of THE CITY’s famous tote bags — or set up a new recurring donation of at least $10 per month to receive a tote and a mug.

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