APRIL 11 - APRIL 17, 2013 15 ▲ guest op-ed street talk BY PUBLIC ADVOCATE BILL DE BLASIO How do you feel about the proposed increase in water rates? I live in a rental building, but I think it’s ridiculous. Gilbert Maisoned Bay Ridge HALL OF SHAME 87th Street between Third and Fourth Avenues BROOKLYN MEDIA GROUP/Photo by Helen Klein Incidents of graffiti have risen. The Home Reporter and Brooklyn Spectator invite you, our readers, to submit photos of vandalism – or addresses where you see graffiti – for our “Hall of Shame.” Conversely, if a home or business has “cleaned up its act,” submit a photo and information for induction into our “Hall of Fame.” Send all high resolution JPG images (300 DPI) to [email protected] with a location and a contact number. Otherwise, contact us at 8723 Third Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11209. Help us take our borough back from the vandals! Nothing special. Leilani Jackson Bay Ridge I hate it. No to taxation without representation. Mike Pietri Bay Ridge Unhappy. Everything’s going up. Suzanne Zachariou Bay Ridge I don’t like it; I don’t think we have to pay for it. Virginia Mulia Park Slope It’s insane. Mark Adams Bay Ridge I don’t agree, but I might agree if I knew a lot of information about this. Christina Pugliese Bay Ridge Nix member items A new rash of arrests of elected officials for corruption and bribery has shaken us all. And at the root of one of the more outrageous scandals is the problem that was at the heart of the slush fund scandal a few years ago that saw three council members go to prison. Discretionary funding, or member items, is money individual councilmembers award to projects of their choice. Many are worthy. Yet the system is susceptible to graft, corruption and abuse of power. The slush fund scandal featured councilmembers diverting member items to sham nonprofits to provide kickbacks to themselves, friends and family. But this breathtaking criminality isn’t the only casualty of member item abuse. The dollars are doled out at the discretion of Council leadership, with some members receiving more for their districts than others. Those closer to the speaker tend to get more money than those who fail to follow the party line. That often leads to leadership exploiting member items to retaliate against anyone who dissents. Just last week, two councilmembers admitted their member items were slashed after they crossed Speaker Quinn – a clear punitive move. The many ways member items can be abused returned to front pages when City Councilmember Dan Halloran allegedly conspired to trade member items for cash for his campaign fund. This is no way to run a railroad. We don’t need a system that invites corruption, scandal and political retribution to invest in the projects our communities need. It’s time for an outright ban of this controversial spending system. This doesn’t mean we stop sending resources to the many good nonprofits and neighborhood efforts doing important work. There are many ways New York City can continue to fund vital projects without the member item system. The truth is this is how it’s done in most municipalities and states across the country. Albany and Washington, D.C. decided to do away with the state and federal equivalents of member items. New York City shouldn’t be lagging behind. If Dan Halloran is convicted, he will be the fourth councilmember to go to jail because of the slush fund member item scandal in the past five years. It’s obvious that this system is ripe for abuse, and it’s clear the reforms instituted after the scandal broke aren’t working. We need to end this system – completely and immediately. We need more community input on issues and projects that matter to everyday New Yorkers, and we need a transparent, apolitical mechanism to ensure worthy groups and nonprofits to receive funding they deserve. We need a breath of fresh air in New York City politics. This begins with an end to member items. Bill de Blasio is NYC public advocate. Compiled by Jay Shin No problem; I don’t mind. Mohamed Shehebeledion Bay Ridge
HR04112013
To see the actual publication please follow the link above