The Mayor's Head of HHC Has A History On Destroying Closing Hospitals for Private Gain

de Blasio's Bad Medicine for NYC's Hospitals

de Blasio has sold out New Yorker's heath care to private to private companies and developers.  U S News and World Report says NY's health care ranks 40 out of 50 states.  When the mayor took office in 2014 he made Stan Brezenoff Special Advisor.  Brezenoff, as former CEO of Continuum Health Industries, fed Long Island College Hospital a slow poison that is killing it.  “Brezenoff is a poster boy for what the late great Jack Newfield called the Permanent Government,” says one doctor who has worked at LICH for 30 years and lives in the community. 

CEO of Maimonides Hospital in Brooklyn.

He used COI to bail out Maimonides a failing clinic 

Bresnoff to HHC

has chosen angle of death a man who has closed hospitals 

Then Brezenoff became CEO of Continuum, a network of hospitals with Beth Israel as the mother ship and satellites like St. Luke’s and Roosevelt Hospitals, New York Eye and Ear, and LICH.

Under Brezenoff, the Brooklyn Heights hospital began to hemorrhage red ink. A $140 million bequest to the hospital by a Brooklyn Heights couple named Donald and Mildred Othmer vanished into Continuum. Community activists say Brezenoff wanted to close LICH

Then in 2010, Brezenoff used his vast political influence to persuade the state, under then-Gov. David Paterson, to subsume LICH into SUNY-Downstate Medical Center, absorbing $300 million in red ink. Meanwhile, in a piece of political sleight of hand even Boss Tweed would envy, Brezenoff’s Continuum stayed on to do $50 million a year in medical billing.

What makes Brezenoff’s appointment so disturbing is that de Blasio was the loudest mayoral candidate backing LICH activists trying to save their vital hospital from Continuum-SUNY Downstate euthanasia. In his inaugural speech, de Blasio promised to “stem the tide of hospital closures.”

“Instead, he hires the guy the Jedi Knights trying to save LICH nicknamed Darth Vader. Brezenoff totally mismanaged LICH, and then dumped it on the state, $300 million in debt. When Continuum continued losing money, Mount Sinai Hospital bought it and gave Brezenoff a golden parachute. Now de Blasio brings Brezenoff back into city government? Scary.”

Maimonides Opens Sheepshead Bay Rehab Center

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 Ned Berke

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May 7, 2010

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Maimonides Medical Center is putting the final touches on its newly-opened Sheepshead Bay Rehabilitation Center, but they’ve been admitting patients for a little over a month.

It’s not the first time Maimonides has had control of the 3121 Ocean Avenue building. Working in reverse chronological order, the building was occupied by Coney Island Hospital’s Sheepshead Bay Primary Care Center. Before that it was Maimonides, which originally converted the structure. And going back to the days of Sheepshead lore, there was our beloved Beefsteak Charlie’s (sigh… R.I.P., friend).

Coney Island Hospital’s Sheepshead Bay Primary Care Center closed last June following city budget cuts in healthcare spending.

The new facility houses a handful of outpatient services including urology and a woman’s care center. New signage and a paint job are on the way.

Brrezenoff Named Head of the Health and Hospitals Corp 

Head of NYC's cash-bleeding public hospital system to step down ...

www.nydailynews.com/.../head-nyc-cash-bleeding-public-hospital-system-step-article-1....

Nov 7, 2016 - Dr. Ram Raju, the head of the city's embattled public hospital system, ... Stanley Brezenoff, a long time city government hand who ran the hospital system in the 1980s, will take over the post until a permanent replacement is named. Health and Hospitals has been bleeding cash — facing a total budget gap ...

Mr. Brezenoff is no stranger to controversy.  He was identified in several columns written by The New York Daily News columnist Denis Hamill for playing a role in driving Long Island College Hospital into the ground.  As a consequence of what was perceived as Mr. Brezenoff's gross mismanagement, former employees at Long Island College Hospital would refer to the CEO as "Darth Vader." 

After Mr. Brezenoff reportedly mismanaged Long Island College Hospital for years, he had a role in merging Long Island College Hospital into SUNY Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn in a deal that was later revealed to be motivated by seizing and exploiting the real estate assets of the hospital.  Long Island College Hospital closed in 2014 on Mayor de Blasio's watch after he had exploited the hospital as a campaign ploy to win votes from healthcare activists, hospital union members, and city voters impacted by a string of hospital closings.

Mr. Brezenoff's entitled and irresponsible approach to government earned him the scorn of legendary New York muckrakers, including Jack Newfield, who referred to career insiders like Mr. Brezenoff as representing the city's unaccountable "Permanent Government."

Brezenoff the Mayor's Labor Advisor, Continuum Health Partners Gets Rid of LICH Hospital With Not Blame or Finger Prints 

Hamill: Long Island College Hospital merged to death - NY Daily News(2013) SUNY Downstate Medical Center deal with LICH  absorbed $300 million in LICH red ink run up by a hospital consortium called Continuum Health Partners. Continuum is run by a ruthless powerbroker named Stanley Brezenoff whose nickname at LICH is Darth Vader. Brezenoff is a quintessential member of what muckraker Jack Newfield called The Permanent Government of New York. This professional politico was appointed by Mayor Ed Koch to run the city’s Health and Hospitals Corp., the feudal lord of a medical fiefdom within the city’s patronage-larded permanent government. While in that post, Brezenoff compiled a Rolodex listing all the shadowy players in the city, state and federal medical rackets swimming in Medicaid and Medicare dollars * Head of NYC’s cash-bleeding public hospital system to step down  (NYDN)

More on Closing Long Island College Hospital

Timeline On the Village Nursing Home Investigation 

More On Lobbyist Capalino 

“Brezenoff is a poster boy for what the late great Jack Newfield called the Permanent Government” 

Under Brezenoff, the Brooklyn Heights hospital began to hemorrhage red ink. A $140 million bequest to the hospital by a Brooklyn Heights couple named Donald and Mildred Othmer vanished into Continuum. Community activists say Brezenoff wanted to close LICH. Many feared he’d sell the land for condo development. The staff and community protested.  Then in 2010, Brezenoff used his vast political influence to persuade the state, under then-Gov. David Paterson, to subsume LICH into SUNY-Downstate Medical Center, absorbing $300 million in red ink. Meanwhile, in a piece of political sleight of hand even Boss Tweed would envy, Brezenoff’s Continuum stayed on to do $50 million a year in medical billing. Some people who know Brezenoff’s modus operandi fear that once inside City Hall, his influence could spread like a political pox. De Blasio really needs to research Brezenoff’s role in trying to kill LICH. He can start by listening to some of the people who have been saving lives there for decades and have spent the past five years trying to save LICH from Brezenoff and SUNY Downstate.* Brezenoff: Continuum Tried To Save LICH Before “Giving” It To State (City and State)

Where is the Investigation? Why Did SUNY Buy LICH?

Why Did SUNY Buy LICH for SUNY $205,350,000 owned by Continuum Health Partners If They Never Had the Resources to support A Hospital?  Now the WSJ Reports the Growing Debt of the Hospital is More Than A Real Estate Deal Will Take In

New Plan Includes 1000 Apartments

The hospital would be operated by Quorum Health Resources. Most important to local residents, a “bridge facility” would open immediately, which would include a 100-bed hospital with ER, ambulatory care, ICU and other medical services. Brooklyn Health Partners has also promised to continue to employ at least 300 healthcare workers to provide care during the bridge operation of the hospital, and an additional 2,000 when the new hospital opens.  On the real estate side, the proposal includes 1,000 units of residential development, 30 percent affordable, along with some park space. The team will seek to rezone the non-core properties, but there  is no assurance the zoning changes will be approved.* LICH Bid Winner to Maintain Full-Service Hospital(NY1) * Brooklyn Health Partners Selected to Run LICH(WSJ) * Bidder pledging full service hospital tapped to take over LICH(NYDN)

Brezenoff the Mayor's Labor Advisor, Continuum Health Partners Gets Rid of A Failing Hospital With Not Blame

Hamill: Long Island College Hospital merged to death - NY Daily News(2013) SUNY Downstate Medical Center deal with LICH  absorbed $300 million in LICH red ink run up by a hospital consortium called Continuum Health Partners. Continuum is run by a ruthless powerbroker named Stanley Brezenoff whose nickname at LICH is Darth Vader. Brezenoff is a quintessential member of what muckraker Jack Newfield called The Permanent Government of New York. This professional politico was appointed by Mayor Ed Koch to run the city’s Health and Hospitals Corp., the feudal lord of a medical fiefdom within the city’s patronage-larded permanent government. While in that post, Brezenoff compiled a Rolodex listing all the shadowy players in the city, state and federal medical rackets swimming in Medicaid and Medicare dollars

Why Did SUNY Buy A Failed Hospital It Could Not Run?

Errol Lewis Why Did SUNY Take LICH in the First Place?

Carl McCall, chairman of the SUNY Board of Trustees blames former governor Paterson for providing the funds to buy the hospital, after a comptroller report told the state not to buy the hospital. (NY1 Interview)  The State University of New York bought LICH in 2009. Big mistake: “This has been very costly for us,” says H. Carl McCall, chairman of SUNY’s board of trustees and a master of understatement — for “costly” scarcely describes it. Mayor cuffed by his own crusade(Mcmanus, NYP)

Brezenoff the Mayor's Labor Advisor, Continuum Health Partners Gets Rid of A Failing Hospital With Not Blame

Hamill: Long Island College Hospital merged to death - NY Daily News(2013) SUNY Downstate Medical Center deal with LICH  absorbed $300 million in LICH red ink run up by a hospital consortium called Continuum Health Partners. Continuum is run by a ruthless powerbroker named Stanley Brezenoff whose nickname at LICH is Darth Vader. Brezenoff is a quintessential member of what muckraker Jack Newfield called The Permanent Government of New York. This professional politico was appointed by Mayor Ed Koch to run the city’s Health and Hospitals Corp., the feudal lord of a medical fiefdom within the city’s patronage-larded permanent government. While in that post, Brezenoff compiled a Rolodex listing all the shadowy players in the city, state and federal medical rackets swimming in Medicaid and Medicare dollars

Hamill: Mayor de Blasio's choice of Stanley Brezenoff as adviser on labor deals a poor one (NYDN)

When he left HHC, Brezenoff took his Rolodex with him and wound up heading Continuum, of which Beth Israel is the mothership with satellites like Roosevelt Hospital, New York Eye and Ear Infirmary, LICH and St. Luke’s Hospital.Under Continuum, the once-profitable LICH ran up $300 million in debt from pure administrative malpractice. And then Brezenoff brokered the smelly SUNY Downstate merger, with state taxpayers absorbing the $300 million debt.* “Brezenoff is a poster boy for what the late great Jack Newfield called the Permanent Government,” says one doctor who has worked at LICH for 30 years and lives in the community. “He made his political bones in the Koch administration as the head of Health and Hospital Corp.”

“Brezenoff is a poster boy for what the late great Jack Newfield called the Permanent Government”

Under Brezenoff, the Brooklyn Heights hospital began to hemorrhage red ink. A $140 million bequest to the hospital by a Brooklyn Heights couple named Donald and Mildred Othmer vanished into Continuum. Community activists say Brezenoff wanted to close LICH. Many feared he’d sell the land for condo development. The staff and community protested.  Then in 2010, Brezenoff used his vast political influence to persuade the state, under then-Gov. David Paterson, to subsume LICH into SUNY-Downstate Medical Center, absorbing $300 million in red ink. Meanwhile, in a piece of political sleight of hand even Boss Tweed would envy, Brezenoff’s Continuum stayed on to do $50 million a year in medical billing. Some people who know Brezenoff’s modus operandi fear that once inside City Hall, his influence could spread like a political pox. De Blasio really needs to research Brezenoff’s role in trying to kill LICH. He can start by listening to some of the people who have been saving lives there for decades and have spent the past five years trying to save LICH from Brezenoff and SUNY Downstate.* Brezenoff: Continuum Tried To Save LICH Before “Giving” It To State (City and State)

Another Hospital Closing Staff Beth Israel

Beth Israel Hospital set to close soon: Staff The Villager Nurses from Mount Sinai Beth Israel made emergency calls to The Villager on Tuesday. It wasn’t to provide medical care — but rather to let the newspaper know what they say is already a done deal: that the historic hospital will close, and “sooner rather than later.” Official word may come extremely soon, the nurses said. “They are going to make a big announcement before the end of the month,” one of them said. “We anticipate this is coming next week.” *Mount Sinai denies reports it's preparing to close Beth Israel Capital New YorkMount Sinai Health System on Friday evening acknowledged that it was still looking to overhaul Beth Israel Medical Center but denied reports that it was about to close the money-losing East Side facility, saying it was "100% committed to serving the community." Nurses and physicians have been worried for some time that Beth Israel would be closed or dramatically reduced in size, shifting jobs to other parts of the health system. A spokeswoman for Mount Sinai told POLITICO New York that leadership “was working on a plan [to] develop new facilities,” but declined to provide any further comment. Ken Davis, Mount Sinai’s CEO, has previously stated he is looking to rebuild Beth Israel, replacing its aging infrastructure with what could be a smaller facility with fewer in-patient beds.* Lower Manhattan's Last Large Hospital Could Be Shrinking, Despite Denials (Gothamist)  De Blasio was openly critical of the fact that so many hospitals closed when Michael Bloomberg was mayor, and was arrested in 2013, during his mayoral campaign, for protesting the closing of Long Island College Hospital in Brooklyn.

Closing Hospitals, HHC, LICH

Why Did SUNY Buy A Failed Hospital It Could Not Run?

Errol Lewis Why Did SUNY Take LICH in the First Place?

Carl McCall, chairman of the SUNY Board of Trustees blames former governor Paterson for providing the funds to buy the hospital, after a comptroller report told the state not to buy the hospital. (NY1 Interview)  The State University of New York bought LICH in 2009. Big mistake: “This has been very costly for us,” says H. Carl McCall, chairman of SUNY’s board of trustees and a master of understatement — for “costly” scarcely describes it. Mayor cuffed by his own crusade(Mcmanus, NYP)

Brezenoff the Mayor's Labor Advisor, Continuum Health Partners Gets Rid of A Failing Hospital With Not Blame

Hamill: Long Island College Hospital merged to death - NY Daily News(2013) SUNY Downstate Medical Center deal with LICH  absorbed $300 million in LICH red ink run up by a hospital consortium called Continuum Health Partners. Continuum is run by a ruthless powerbroker named Stanley Brezenoff whose nickname at LICH is Darth Vader. Brezenoff is a quintessential member of what muckraker Jack Newfield called The Permanent Government of New York. This professional politico was appointed by Mayor Ed Koch to run the city’s Health and Hospitals Corp., the feudal lord of a medical fiefdom within the city’s patronage-larded permanent government. While in that post, Brezenoff compiled a Rolodex listing all the shadowy players in the city, state and federal medical rackets swimming in Medicaid and Medicare dollars

Hamill: Mayor de Blasio's choice of Stanley Brezenoff as adviser on labor deals a poor one (NYDN)

When he left HHC, Brezenoff took his Rolodex with him and wound up heading Continuum, of which Beth Israel is the mothership with satellites like Roosevelt Hospital, New York Eye and Ear Infirmary, LICH and St. Luke’s Hospital.Under Continuum, the once-profitable LICH ran up $300 million in debt from pure administrative malpractice. And then Brezenoff brokered the smelly SUNY Downstate merger, with state taxpayers absorbing the $300 million debt.* “Brezenoff is a poster boy for what the late great Jack Newfield called the Permanent Government,” says one doctor who has worked at LICH for 30 years and lives in the community. “He made his political bones in the Koch administration as the head of Health and Hospital Corp.”

“Brezenoff is a poster boy for what the late great Jack Newfield called the Permanent Government”

Under Brezenoff, the Brooklyn Heights hospital began to hemorrhage red ink. A $140 million bequest to the hospital by a Brooklyn Heights couple named Donald and Mildred Othmer vanished into Continuum. Community activists say Brezenoff wanted to close LICH. Many feared he’d sell the land for condo development. The staff and community protested.  Then in 2010, Brezenoff used his vast political influence to persuade the state, under then-Gov. David Paterson, to subsume LICH into SUNY-Downstate Medical Center, absorbing $300 million in red ink. Meanwhile, in a piece of political sleight of hand even Boss Tweed would envy, Brezenoff’s Continuum stayed on to do $50 million a year in medical billing. Some people who know Brezenoff’s modus operandi fear that once inside City Hall, his influence could spread like a political pox. De Blasio really needs to research Brezenoff’s role in trying to kill LICH. He can start by listening to some of the people who have been saving lives there for decades and have spent the past five years trying to save LICH from Brezenoff and SUNY Downstate.* Brezenoff: Continuum Tried To Save LICH Before “Giving” It To State (City and State)

de Blasio hires the guy the Jedi Knights trying to save LICH Hospital nicknamed Darth Vader 

Darth Brezenoff

Hamill: Mayor de Blasio's choice of Stanley Brezenoff as adviser on labor deals a poor one(NYDN) Brezenoff, who was appointed to counsel the mayor on labor contracts left unresolved by Bloomberg, fed Long Island College Hospital a slow poison that is destroying it.  Many people in Brooklyn think Mayor de Blasio’s appointment of Stanley Brezenoff is bad medicine. Brezenoff, as former CEO of Continuum Health Industries, fed Long Island College Hospital a slow poison that is killing it. Now de Blasio names Brezenoff as a special unpaid adviser on 152 municipal labor contracts left unresolved by Mayor Bloomberg.

“Brezenoff is a poster boy for what the late great Jack Newfield called the Permanent Government,” says one doctor who has worked at LICH for 30 years and lives in the community. “He made his political bones in the Koch administration as the head of Health and Hospital Corp.” This doctor says he has known de Blasio for a long time.  “I enjoy eating a dish of macaroni with Bill,” he says. “But it made me physically ill on New Year’s Day to learn he’d appointed Brezenoff, who wants LICH dead, to any post.” De Blasio spokesman Wiley Norvel wants people in Brooklyn to relax, saying, “Stan Brezenoff will serve as an unpaid adviser on labor relations with the administration.”

De Blasio spokesman Wiley Norvel wants people in Brooklyn to relax, saying, “Stan Brezenoff will serve as an unpaid adviser on labor relations with the administration.”

Under Brezenoff, the Brooklyn Heights hospital began to hemorrhage red ink. A $140 million bequest to the hospital by a Brooklyn Heights couple named Donald and Mildred Othmer vanished into Continuum. Community activists say Brezenoff wanted to close LICH. Many feared he’d sell the land for condo development. The staff and community protested. Then in 2010, Brezenoff used his vast political influence to persuade the state, under then-Gov. David Paterson, to subsume LICH into SUNY-Downstate Medical Center, absorbing $300 million in red ink. Meanwhile, in a piece of political sleight of hand even Boss Tweed would envy, Brezenoff’s Continuum stayed on to do $50 million a year in medical billing. De Blasio really needs to research Brezenoff’s role in trying to kill LICH. He can start by listening to some of the people who have been saving lives there for decades and have spent the past five years trying to save LICH from Brezenoff and SUNY Downstate. Brezenoff totally mismanaged LICH, and then dumped it on the state, $300 million in debt. When Continuum continued losing money, Mount Sinai Hospital bought it and gave Brezenoff a golden parachute. Now de Blasio brings Brezenoff back into city government? Scary.”

Why is NYU Langone Helping to Close LICH?

LICH Update: NYU Langone Joins Fortis to Rival Brooklyn Hospital Bid(Brooklyn Heights Blog) * Brooklyn Hospital makes bid for LICH(NYP)Crain’s New York reports that Brooklyn Hospital Center, as part of a group involving an unnamed private-equity firm and a developer, is offering to buy LICH. Their plan is to turn it into a comprehensive-care center with ambulance service and a 24/7 emergency room for non-critical illnesses.Inpatient services would be treated at Brooklyn Hospital, a mile away. Other outpatient services would be offered locally. The question is whether community activists can take yes for an answer. For their demand is that LICH be preserved as a full-service facility, and thus far they have prevailed in court.* Brooklyn Hospital, developer offer to buy Long Island College Hospital(NYDN) *New proposal to purchase LICH in Brooklyn(WSJ)The cure for a hospital (NYDN Ed)Good intentions won't keep LICH alive and kicking as a health-care center; a sane economic plan will* State advances vital cash to city hospital system(Capital)

NY1: “It’s not a matter of mismanagement,” said SUNY Board Chairman Carl McCall. “LICH has never had the resources to provide the kind of support that that community wants and probably needs, and we did not have those resources either. And you say that the folks there are angry. They are angry, and I understand that. But we have a lot of people here in SUNY.” McCall said that there isn’t much that they can do right now because of the court case, but they are considering some proposals to turn the hospital into an urgent care facility and also possible condominiums." * #SaveLICH:  SUNY Hearing, McCall Says Condos Possible *Growing Hospital Debt State University of New York officials say that Long Island College Hospital’s mounting financial liabilities have climbed to $500 million, far more than the proceeds expected from the sale of the property, the Journal writes* Many of New York City’s financially strapped hospitals are scrambling to sign up people for health care through the state exchange or through Medicaid, as they brace for $22 billion in federal cuts over the next eight years, The Wall Street Journal reports: * "SUNY chair Carl McCall to de Blasio re LICH: Transfer it from state to city "Maybe they can do a better job."* NYC hospitals suffer (and pay for) poor quality ratings from Medicare.  (NY World)* Health commissioner pledges 'cost transparency' in hospitals(Capital) * How long can city hospitals stay a 'going concern'? | Capital New York

Long Island College Hospital faces threat of closing, SUNY official Carl McCall warns

The Pay to Play Conflict of Interests of de Blasio's Criminal Law Firm in the Federal and State Investigation That Also Lobby's Him for Developers

Ethic Experts Will Pay to Play Contributors Be Donating to de Blasio Legal Fund?  Will JCOPE Approve the Fund?

Ethics experts howl over de Blasio’s debt fund (NYP) de Blasio’s announcement that he’ll have donors pay his mounting legal bills tied to suspected City Hall corruption is drawing howls of protest from government watchdogs and ethics experts.  De Blasio will be walking into “a trap of his own making” if he hits up supporters for cash to fund his defense, said John Kaehny, executive director of the reform group Reinvent Albany.  “He’s responding to probes about his fund-raising activities by doing more fund-raising,” Kaehny noted.  On Friday, de Blasio outlined a fund-raising effort to get himself out from under the mountain of unpaid debt he’s racked up since hiring defense lawyer Barry Berke in April.  “A donor is not giving money to an individual. You’re giving money to an elected official,” she said. “This sets up potential pay-to-play possibilities . . . It looks very messy.”  Lawyer David Grandeau, former executive director of the state Joint Commission on Public Ethics, noted JCOPE was already investigating de Blasio’s since-shuttered nonprofit, the Campaign for One New York, and could have a problem with de Blasio’s payment plan.  “Obviously, if you give money to the defense fund, you’re benefiting the mayor, so that would be problematic for those that are lobbyists or their clients,” Grandeau said. “I’m pretty sure the people at JCOPE would consider that to be an illegal gift to the mayor.” The city has $11.6 million in contracts with law firms representing de Blasio underlings in the probes, which involve both CONY and a failed bid by de Blasio to help Democrats win the state Senate in 2014.  Mayoral spokesman Eric Phillips said de Blasio wanted his own lawyer in order to spare taxpayers the expense.  He added that when the legal fund “is eventually formed, the mayor will voluntarily disclose donors and the legal protocols used to comply with any and all regulation related to City Hall.”  Neither Berke nor the managing partner at Kramer Levin, Paul Pearlman, returned requests for comment.

de Blasio Legal Fees to Be Paid for by the Same Deep Pocket Developers ThatFunded CONY Now Under Federal Investigation

NY1 and the Rest of the Media Only Report What the Mayor Flack Want About the Mayor's Criminal Investigation

Press Does Not Investigate or Ask the Mayor About the Criminal Acts That the U. S. Attorney and the Manhattan DA Have Grand Juries Hearing Evidence for Possible Charges Against the Mayor and His Team

De Blasio plans legal defense fund to cover all his probes (NYP) de Blasio on Friday said he plans to set up a legal defense fund to cover the costs of his lawyers in state and federal investigations of his administration and fundraising.  “We have not yet set that up. When we do we have to raise money into it according to a set of rules. We have to disclose, we absolutely will disclose the money.”* De Blasio Puts Out 'Fact Sheet' on Upcoming Meeting withFederal Prosecutors (NY1) "The administration has released all it will provide at this time concerning these voluntary meetings," a line from the fact sheet reads  When pressed about about his discussion with the U.S. attorney's office, which has not yet happened, de Blasio promised to let New Yorkers know once it's behind him. "We will tell you when it's done," de Blasio said. "You don't have to ask each time. We guarantee when that happens we will tell you when it's done."


The Judge in the Case That NY1 is Suing the Mayor to Release It Special Agent's Emails Said There Was A Possible "Conflict of Interest" Between the Mayor and his Lobbyist Aides Berlin Rosen

NY1 has an obligation to investigate if there is conflict of interests between the mayor and the lawyers who are both handling the mayor’s defense against pay to play and who he owes over a million dollars to at the same time the firm lobbies the mayor for dozens of real estate lobbyists

Press Only Reports On A Mayoral Flacks "Fact Sheet"

Earlier in the day, City Hall released a “fact sheet” outlining his effort to cooperate with state and federal authorities — disclosing that he had neither sought nor been offered immunity.  The document largely repeated earlier statements from Hizzoner and his reps, including that he and his staff have cooperated fully with the probes and that no one did anything wrong. The statement also said that the mayor — who had met with investigators from Manhattan DA Cyrus Vance Jr.’s office — would meet with US Attorney Preet Bharara’s team in coming days.  Though both state and federal grand juries are hearing evidence in criminal probes into the de Blasio Administration over fundraising, the mayor repeatedly refers to the investigations only as “reviews.”

Press Ignores That the Mayor is Creating A PAC to Raise Funds for Eliminate A Campaign Issues That the Tax Payers Are Not Paying for His Lawyers 

“The Mayor has never been informed that he is a target of these reviews,” the statement said, while not addressing whether he has been told he is not a target. The statement also said that “no taxpayer dollars will be used to fund the Mayor’s individual compliance with these reviews.”   Others under investigation, however, are getting lawyers that could cost taxpayers more than $11.6 million.

Why Has the Press Not Asked de Blasio Why Wolfe and Offringer Both Under State and Federal Investigation are Working in His Campaign?

Top de Blasio aide Emma Wolfe and fundraiser Ross Offinger, who’s now working as a consultant on the mayor’s 2017 re-election campaign, are also targets of the DA’s probe, according to public reports.

True News is Proud That The NY Post Finds Our Research Important But They Must Understand That Interlocking-Directorates of Kramer Levin de Blasio's Lawyers Who Lobby Him Run to Its Core of the Shadow Govt Pay to Play Just Ask Judge Lobis
The corruption cloud over Mayor de Blasio just got darker (NYP) More: The mayor’s attorney at Kramer Levin is Barry Berke, who also represents the Campaign for One New York — a group de Blasio set up but that was supposed to be independent. CONY’s fundraising on behalf of de Blasio is also under investigation.  The conflicts mushroom: In 2014, de Blasio withdrew the nomination of another Kramer Levin lawyer, Marcie Kesner, to the Landmarks Preservation Commission because she’d have to recuse herself from too many land-use cases. And Berke is also the mayor’s rep on the Lincoln Center board of directors and his ex-campaign treasurer.  As David Grandeau, a former executive director of the state Joint Commission on Public Ethics, puts it: “If you give money to the defense fund, you’re benefiting the mayor [and] that would be problematic for those that are lobbyists or their clients.”

The NY Post Says The Fact That de Blasio Has Not Paid His Law Firm and They Are Lobbying Him for Their Clients Sets Up Some Shady Ways
The idea that the law firm is, in effect, extending him credit is troubling enough, since that can be seen as a “favor” — just as any lower-than-usual rates it charges would be. But how can a mayor up to his eyeballs in corruption probes try to keep such key info secret, especially when he insists he has done nothing wrong?  What makes the secretive deferred-payment deal particularly problematic is that the law firm, Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel, also lobbies city agencies on behalf of clients with business before the city. So de Blasio may return those favors in some shady way. (NYP)

Federal Rat Rechnitz Attended Fund Raiser At Kramer Levin Office in 2013
By Dec. 3, 2013, weeks before Mr. de Blasio took office, Mr. Rechnitz was sitting in a conference room packed with other potential donors at the Midtown law firm Kramer Levin. There, according to a person who also attended the meeting, the mayor spoke to the group before leaving the room. Those in attendance were then asked for contributions. (NY Times)

Kramer Levin Pushing Tall Building On Two Bridges Community and Protesters

Waterfront Developers Reject Demand for Longer CommunityEngagement Process (DNAINFO) Developers bringing three massive residential developments to the Two Bridges waterfront have rejected a demand from neighborhood representatives to allow more time for community engagement before the city kicks off its official review of the projects' anticipated impact, stating they believe it would be "counterproductive."  Kramer Levin Lobby for Two Bridges Associates Limited Partnership City Planning, Department of (DCP), City Planning Commission (CPC), Mayor, Office of the (OTM), Borough President - Manhattan, NYC Council Members, Community Boards * Out of the mouths of attorneys: Kramer Levin’s leaders onland use, rezoning (Real Deal) 

  Kramer Levin, whose real estate condo practice is co-headed by Jay Neveloff and Jonathan Canter, took the top spot in 2015, with seven projects valued at $7.3 billion, up 73 percent year-over-year.

Neveloff A Trump Attorney Runs the Real Estate Department for Kramer Levin

For those in the industry who lack close ties to Trump, there are numerous potential middlemen that could help gain access, sources say. One is Trump’s attorney Jay Neveloff, who heads the real estate department at Kramer Levin. Asked for comment, Neveloff said he is certain Trump will not be susceptible to special interests (Atlantic Yard Review).


List of Kramer Levin Clients That They They Lobbied de Blasio's City Hall List in Formation 

137 Centre Street, LLC
Roseland Development Associates, LLC
VIDEO: Roseland Ballroom Being Gutted to Make Way forApartment Tower
The Shubert Organization, Inc., Seaver Realty LLC, Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine, DH VERNON LLC. Lenox Terrace Development Associates  Lenox Terrace ResidentsFighting Against Proposed Commercial Rezoning (DNAINFO), Urban Strategic Partners, LLC, The Core Club 55th Street LLC, Douglaston Development, SJC 33 OWNER 2015, LLC, MIP One Wall Street Acquisition LLC, The Archdiocese of New York, South Street Seaport Limited Partnership, NY 70th St. LLC, Design Center Inc., 94th Street Property TIC, 172-174 East, LLC,   DH VERNON LLC, 771 Washington Street Investor LLC, 458 LLC, 137 Centre Street, LLC, Graduate Center Foundation Housing Corporation LIC, YWA-Amsterdam LLC, 21E12 LLC, 245 Fieldston LLC, RFR Holding Corp, MIP One Wall Street Acquisition LLC, DiamondRock Hospitality Limited Partnership for the benefit of DiamondRock NY LEX Owner, LLC., 249 W 28th Street Properties, LLC, Brickman 95 Morton LLC, The Archdiocese of New York, FPG Cobble Hill Acquisitions, LLC



On April 27, 2016 Real Deal Reported Kramer Levin's Berke Was the Lawyer for the Jewish Home Lifecare Development Two Days Later Real Deal Said Another Lawyer Was Handling the Case On May 6th the Daily News Reported That Berke Was the Lawyer for Both the Development and the Parking Lot That Was Part of the Project 

In a fight with Public School 163 parents — an Upper West Side school fighting to stop the owner of a toxic lot and developer who want to put a nursing home nearby — Kramer Levin represented both the owner of the W. 97th St. parking lot, PWV Owners LLC, and Jewish Home Lifecare, the nursing home group that wants to build the 20-story facility. (NY Daily News, (May 6th 2016) * Judge Says More Environmental Review Needed on UWS NursingHome (Manhattan Express)  According to Marty Rosenblatt, a neighbor who arranged for expert lead testing on the site, the mayor’s favor for the JHL project may stem from his close relations with Kramer Levin Naftalis and Frankel LLP, a law firm that represented JHL in the past and currently represents Joseph Chetrit, a real estate developer with a big investment in the 97th Street development being approved. In late 2011, Joseph Chetrit partnered with Larry Gluck of Stellar Management, who owns the parking lot on West 97th Street that would be replaced by the nursing home, to complete a land swap deal for JHL’s current campus on West 106th Street, which like the West 97th site is between Columbus and Amsterdam Avenues. Many observers believe Chetrit, a well-known developer, plans to construct a tall luxury condo development on JHL’s former campus.  Kramer Levin, Rosenblatt noted, represented JHL on the nursing home project during its appearances before the city’s Board of Standards and Appeals in 2015. (Manhattan Express)







Kramer and Levin is Pushing A Toxic Lot According to Judge Lobis Development On the Upper West Side
De Blasio’s law firm also represents controversial UWS developer he backed (Raw Deal, April 27, 2016) Kramer Levin is working on both the mayor’s corruption probe and Jewish Home Lifecare’s nursing home project The law firm aiding Mayor Bill de Blasio in his fight against a federal campaign finance investigation is also working with Jewish Home Lifecare, the developer of a controversial 20-story nursing home on the Upper West Side, which de Blasio has supported.The firm is working with JHL on its 97th Street project, in which the developer hopes, among other things, to dig up a lead-tainted parking lot adjacent to P.S. 163. Residents have fought the project for years. It passed an environmental review last year, but that review was vacated by the New York Supreme Court in December.  The developer is seeking to overturn that ruling. De Blasio’s office filed an amicus brief on that case in March. “That is an example of where the relationships bump into one another and it would be best to keep them apart,”

Suit linked to mayor’s campaigncontroversy could disrupt land-use rules (Real Deal April 29, 2016) The mayor’s office filed a friend of the court brief in favor of the developer, Jewish Home Lifecare, setting off accusations that de Blasio simply wanted to help out the law firm representing the developer, Kramer Levin. The firm is also representing de Blasio in the federal investigation into whether he funneled contributions to candidates in the 2014 state Senate election to avoid contribution limits. City officials told the website that Kramer Levin attorney and longtime de Blasio ally Barry Berke wasn’t involved in the lawsuit, though the firm does represent the developer in other matters. Greenberg Traurig is representing the developer in the lawsuit. The city’s brief claimed that the lawsuit could “upset the consistent and predictable process developed over decades by the city for reviewing potential environmental impacts of projects and programs throughout the city.” The brief argued that Supreme Court Justice Joan Lobis’ ruling in favor of the parents and students would “insert an arbitrary threshold for adequacy into the environmental review process.”  The appeals court is slated to hear the case in June

Nursing-home associates donate to Mark-Viverito’s re-election (NYP)  Nearly two-dozen associates of an upper Manhattan nursing home donated to a City Council member’s re-election campaign after she got the facility a unique exemption from local construction rules.  A total of 17 trustees, four staff members, an associate and a lobbyist for Jewish Home and Hospital — many of whom don’t live in the city, let alone uptown — contributed to Melissa Mark-Viverito’s 2009 council campaign, online records show.  Their combined $7,825 in donations made up 10 percent of the total that Mark-Viverito — currently the front-runner for council speaker — raised for the race.  Many of their grants were matched with public funding at a rate of 6 to 1, making them worth much more.  While there’s no evidence Mark-Viverito’s campaign solicited the contributions, the donations all came after she got the nursing home the right to construct a building at 120 W. 106th St. that would exceed the height limit under a rezoning plan.  It was the only facility to get a carve-out after the center, now known as Jewish Home Lifecare, spent $100,000 on lobbying directed at council and community-board members.

Three Years Ago True News Said Berlin Rosen Relationship With de Blasio Was Corrupt Now A Judge Cites Apparent Conflict of Interests on Their Relationship

Judge raises concerns over de Blasio’s ties to consultant (NYP) A Manhattan judge on Tuesday expressed concern about the apparent conflict of interest in the mayor’s confidential relationship with a political consultant who has business before the city.“ It’s hard enough for me to accept this position if it was just the notion of a consultant, but we also have a consultant with possible conflicts. So we have kind of two hurdles,” Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Joan Lobis said.  Lobis is deciding a lawsuit filed by The New York Post and NY1 for access to emails between Mayor de Blasio and his longtime adviser Jonathan Rosen.  The mayor has said their communications are not subject to the Freedom of Information Law because the   statute exempts “consultants.”  But Judge Lobis said “one of my deepest concerns about adopting the mayor’s position is I don’t know where you draw that line” of who is a consultant and who isn’t.

Rosen has not been officially retained as a consultant to de Blasio and is not on the payroll. But he is “the only outsider” invited to high-level City Hall meetings about matters like zoning regulations while he represents developers, NY1 attorney Doug Maynard said.  “Anybody can be a consultant without any contract or relationship with an agency. How does that give you the right to exempt emails?” she asked. Consultant acted as member of de Blasio admin, email dump shows  City lawyer Jeffrey Danowtiz claimed that Rosen should be considered a consultant because he has given advice and guidance to the mayor over “many, many years.” Danowitz also said the city has already handed over communications between the two that involve Rosen’s clients who have city business.  Judge Lobis told Danowitz that “at the minimum” she may want to review all the emails to make sure the mayor’s not hiding anything. Maynard said the city has conceded that Rosen has certain conflicts of interest by making the disclosures, yet, “they don’t seem to accept the consequence that Mr. Rosen’s position is inherently conflicted.” “The conflict resides in Mr. Rosens’s business interests,” he said. The public has a “right to understand…the murky intersection between [Rosen’s] business interests and city interests,” Maynard argued.

How True News Investigation Exposed the Campaign for OneNY Interlocking Directories Story

Lobbyists BerlinRosen Takes Over NYC Government

Sugar Fix: Berlin Rosen an Unregistered Real Estate Lobbyists

NY1 Berlin Rosen and the Wiseguys Lobbyists

Berlin Rosen and de Blasio One NY PAC Slush Fund 

How Berlin Rosen Comprised Journalism

Lobbyists Berlin Rosen Takes Over NYC Government

Berlin Rosen and de Blasio One NY PAC Slush Fund 

NY1 Berlin Rosen and the Wiseguys Lobbyists

The WFP and Berlin Rosen Has Played Fast and Lose With the Election Law, Data and Field Arrests''

The Mayor in 2014 Had to Dismiss His Own Nomination to BSA From the Same Law Firm That Now Represents Him in the Federal and State Investigation of Pay to Play Corruption Because of A Conflict of Interests That He Now Says Does Not Exist 

The mayor’s office rescinded the nomination of Marcie Kesner from the Landmarks Preservation Commission.  The firm where Ms. Kesner works, Kramer Levin, had enough clients with business before the city that there was concern she’d have to recuse herself from LPC votes often.  “Marcie Kesner is exceptionally well-qualified to sit on the LPC, and the Conflicts of Interest Board had issued a guidance letter signifying approval of her future appointment,” de Blasio spokesman Wiley Norvell told the Observer.  “However, upon receipt of the COIB guidance letter and consideration of the effect of her Kramer Levin LLC her firm’s client representations on her ability to fully participate in the LPC’s deliberations, it was mutually agreed between the Mayor’s Office and Ms. Kesner to examine other opportunities within the administration that could fully benefit from her considerable experience.” NY Observer 2014

NY Times Failed Kingdom Local Mission Elect de Blasio Protect Real Estate Developers




Berke From Kramer and Levin Represents de Blasio in the Federal and State Play to Pay Investigations Took Over As His Campaign Treasurer When His Former Treasurer Offinger Became A Federal Target

Barry Berke represents de Blasio in his ongoing federal and state probe into his fund-raising.  Berke, of the high-powered firm Kramer Levin, had been representing de Blasio’s 2013 campaign and will now handle that along with the mayor personally.  De Blasio made Berke his campaign treasurer in January 2014 and designee to the Lincoln Center board of directors. In July 2014, the mayor tried to nominate another Kramer Levin staffer, Marcie Kesner, to the Landmarks Preservation Commission. That appointment collapsed over conflict questions.

At the same time, Kramer Levin has lobbied the office of the mayor, the city Department of Planning and the Board of Standards and Appeals for many real estate interests. (Daily News 2014)

de Blasio Has Not Paid His Law Firm Who Charged Their Client Bernard Kerik $850 an Hour

That’s good news since Berke — who represented disgraced former NYPD Commissioner Bernard Kerik in his unsuccessful battle against corruption charges — charges $850 an hour.

Conflict of Interests Made More Clear by True News and the Daily News: Are You Listening NY1? 
From the Daily News on de Blasio "Conflict of Interests:  De Blasio reveals deal to defer paying legal fees fromprobe until he sets up fund-raising committee (NYDN) he law firm representing Mayor de Blasio in investigations of his fund-raising tactics has been sending bills for nearly a year, but as of Friday has yet to receive a dime. The mayor said he has an agreement with the firm, Kramer Levin Naftalis, to defer payment until he sets up a fund-raising committee to foot the bill. That means the mayor likely currently owes tens and perhaps hundreds of thousands of dollars to one of the biggest lobbyist law firms in the city. He declined to say how large the tab is. The firm has said it keeps its lobbying and legal representation separate. Barry Berke, the mayor’s lawyer at Kramer Levin, did not respond to calls.

Records show the Kramer Levin firm in His Criminal Investigation (That He Owes $$$) was lobbying the mayor’s office in 2015 and 2016 on behalf of dozens of real estate developers seeking zoning changes and project approvals  
That includes DDG Development, which hired Kramer in May 2015. Kramer handled DDG’s petition for a zoning change on a luxury condo project in Tribeca before the city Bureau of Standards & Appeals.  On June 23, 2015, the BSA approved DDG’s application, despite vociferous neighborhood opposition about the project’s size. Eight days later DDG wrote a $10,000 check to the mayor’s now defunct non-profit, Campaign for One New York. CONY is now at the heart of the federal investigation.  Asked whether the law firm allowing him to defer payment on legal bills while lobbying his team presented a conflict of interest, the mayor defended the firm.  "They're one of the most renowned legal firms for this type of work. They're an obvious place to turn for legal support,” he said. “And I'm going to continue to make sure that their bills are paid off fully. But any other matters, we have an absolute ability to separate the different considerations. That's what I've said about everything in this reality. We're making decisions on any governmental matters according to the merits."  De Blasio confirmed the arrangement in response to Daily News questions at the Friday press conference, though he wouldn’t say how many hours the firm had billed for or reveal the range of hourly rates.  "I'm not even sure that's a purely appropriate public matter,” he said. “The bottom line is, they have sent bills, they will be paid. It's going to take a while. That is for sure."  He promised to eventually “disclose the money,” but didn’t say whether he would reveal names of donors or whether they had business with City Hall.  Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara is investigating whether de Blasio did favors for donors to Campaign for One New York. The News found at least $3 million of the $4.3 million he raised came from entities doing business with City Hall.

Daily News Repeats What True News Said Yesterday de Blasio is Going to the Same Pay to Play Developers Who Funded His CONY PAC That He is Under Investigation For

Bill-able hours (NYDN Ed) Give Mayor de Blasio points for consistency. His zeal to raise money above and beyond limits set by the city’s public campaign finance system gave rise to his Campaign for One New York, which raised millions from firms doing business with the city.  Investigators working with Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara took interest, given signs that those who paid, played, reaping perhaps favorable treatment in reward for their generosity.  And so de Blasio commits to set up a defense fund to pay his lawyers’ way. Eventually. Once the mayor raises more money from who knows whom with who knows what ties to city business.  Meanwhile: His lawyers, whose firm lobbies the city, are floating his way. Since they argue that all the mayor did and will do is above board, what’s to see here?