William Thompson
Thompson Demands $6 M. in Back Rent from State UN Corporation [UPDATED]
City Comptroller and likely mayoral candidate William Thompson Jr. is asking the United Nations Development Corporation to pay $6 million in back rent he says it owes the city. But the UNDC is telling him to take a hike.
At a press conference Thursday afternoon, Mr. Thompson announced the results of an audit processed by his office. According to the final report, the UNDC owes the city $12 million in rent it has not paid in the last four years.
Upon receiving a draft copy of that audit, the UNDC agreed to pay half that amount, roughly $6 million, but denied the city’s request for the remaining balance. It wants to keep the money on hand in case the UN Consolidation Building Project, a 35-story office building proposed for Robert Moses State Park, revives itself. read more »
Real Estate Races For Mayoral Graces
At the midtown Hilton last Thursday, an absolute who’s who of New York City real estate descended upon the building’s grand ballroom to nibble on crab cakes, rub elbows with competitors and chow down a big hunk of steak at the Real Estate Board of New York’s annual awards gala. Milling among the tuxedo-clad crowd—with seats alongside REBNY’s executive board, no less—were three individuals who have been getting to know the real estate industry rather well recently, the leading potential Democratic mayoral candidates, City Comptroller William Thompson Jr., U.S. Representative Anthony Weiner and City Council Speaker Christine Quinn.
For the first time in over a decade, the real estate industry is flexing its muscle in the early stages of a mayoral race, with developers and landlords dumping dollars into the campaigns of the three leading contenders. read more »
Stephen Green on '09 Mayor Race: Weiner or Thompson Will Win, Be Pro-Growth
Stephen Green, the chairman of the city's largest office landlord SL Green, gave his thoughts about the 2009 mayoral race at an investor’s conference on Monday, in response to a question about how a new mayor might affect the city's business climate.
Mr. Green--whose brother, Mark Green, lost to Mayor Bloomberg in the 2001 general election--seemed to be optimistic about the Democratic field, which he has narrowed to two realistic contenders (at least six Democrats are said to be seriously considering a run). read more »
Comptroller Thompson's City Council Candidate
Here’s an invitation for a birthday party-fund-raiser for Jackson Heights, Queens, City Council candidate Alfonso Quiroz.
Quiroz is likely to face district leader Danny Dromm in the Democratic primary.
Which makes the special guest status at the event of City Comptroller and likely mayoral candidate Bill Thompson somewhat notable: it's one of the first times I’ve seen a prospective citywide Democratic candidate back a candidate who is expected to have a contested Democratic primary.
UPDATE: A reader reminded me of what is probably a motivating factor in Thompson's role here. His director of communications is Quiroz's treasurer (and boyfriend).
Also, one of Thompson's likely opponents in 2009, Christine Quinn, has known Quiroz's opponent for a number of years, since they were both community activists, according to a knowledgeable source. That may lead Quinn to actively support Danny Dromm.
Flyover Country or Bust
We all know one—that friend or relative who split New York City recently for the common cascade of reasons: high home prices, high rents, high living costs, high noise, high stress, or too much getting high or all of the above.
And when these people exit our five boroughs, they really exit: City Comptroller Bill Thompson’s office analyzed the Census Bureau’s recent American Community Survey and found that about two-thirds of the 190,150 people age 25 to 64 who left in 2005 moved not to the green suburbs to get just a daily break from the city grind, but outside of the metro area altogether.
Nearly a quarter of them split for the South, with 14.9 percent settling in Florida and 5 percent in Georgia, especially Atlanta. (And, no, the Florida settlers weren’t all ancient—far from it: over 90 percent were under 65.) Another 4.4 percent went to California. Only about 36 percent settled in New Jersey or elsewhere in New York state.
About 40 percent left big-city life altogether, opting out of the metro region as well as out of those large cities that traditionally compete with New York. L.A.? It claimed 2.6 percent of our people; Boston, even less at 2 percent. Wheezing Philadelphia (motto: Please Let Us Be Your Sixth Borough! We Got Rid of the Rocky Statue!)—claimed 3 percent; San Francisco and Chicago less than 2 percent. Atlanta led all cities with 4.5 percent. The rest of the percentages were dotted all over American exurbia.
In the end, of course, who went where depends on why. New Yorkers with younger children were more likely than childless people to leave the city, according to the comptroller, and those that left and stayed in the metro region—most of them still work in the city, trading the costs of living here for longer commutes. read more »
Bill Thompson Open to Bi-Partisan Probe of Spitzer
Here’s a bit of Bill Thompson’s interview with Jay DeDapper of WNBC in which he discusses Eliot Spitzer’s still-unfolding Joe Bruno problem.
Thompson said that if a circumstance arose in which his own chief of staff failed to inform him that he was doing the kinds of things Spitzer’s top aide, Rich Baum, admitted to doing, Thompson would fire him.
From the interview:
JD: If your chief of staff didn't tell you about something like this that was going on and was actively involved, would he still be working for you?
BT: My chief of staff would not be working for me. I'm not going to commenton what Eliot should do with his staff, at the same point, the one thingthat has to occur, his two staff people, it has come out today that they have not spoken to the Attorney General's office. They have to come forward.
Later in the interview, Thompson says he's open the idea of another inquiry into the whole matter, as long as it's carried out by both houses of the state legislature, not just by the Republican-controlled Senate.
From Spitzer's point of view, it's not exactly clear that getting the Democratic-controlled Assembly involved in this matter would be an entirely good thing.
A longer excerpt of the interview is after the jump. read more »
Events for March 2, 2007
8:30 a.m. Gov. Eliot Spitzer speaks at an Association for a Better New York breakfast forum at the Hilton New York, 1335 Sixth Ave., between 53rd and 54th streets.
8:30 a.m. The Continuing Care Leadership Coalition hosts a forum on the proposed state budget at the Schervier Nursing Care Center Community Hall, 2975 Independence Ave. in Riverdale.
9 a.m. The New School's Schwartz Center for Economic Policy Analysis will present a high-profile panel featuring top economists, policy analysts, and business executives, with New School President Bob Kerrey discussing "Is the Sky Falling? Challenging Conventional Economic Wisdom" at The New School, 55 West 13th Street
9 a.m. The Rev. Al Sharpton prays with Nicole Paultre-Bell, Joseph Guzman and Trent Benefield prior to their grand jury testimony regarding the police shooting of Sean Bell outside the Queens Criminal Courthouse, 125-01 Queens Blvd.
10 a.m. A finance committee hearing on property tax assessments will be held at City Hall.
10 a.m. The state's Committee on Codes, Committee on Correction and Committee on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse will have a public hearing on people with a history of alcohol and/or drug dependency being released from incarceration and the implementation of a parole initiative at the Assembly Hearing Room, 250 Broadway.
10 a.m. Celebrity readers including Susan Sarandon, Serena Williams and Kayla Pratt participate in "reading on the Red Carpet" to celebrate Read Across America Day at The New York Public Library at Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street.
10 a.m. Open Society Institute will hold a roundtable discussion on Turkey at 400 West 59th St. between 9th and 10th Avenues.
2 p.m. A panel discussion on ending child marriages in developing countries will be held at the Church Center for the United Nations at 777 UN Plaza.
3 p.m. A 15-year-old girl who used to be a soldier in the Congo appears at a panel discussion on children of war at the Open Society Institute, 400 West 59th St.
6:30 p.m. The Brennan Center for Justice conducts panel discussion on reforming and renewing the American government, featuring the Observer's Joe Conason, Representative Jerrold Nadler, the editorial board of The New York Times and Katrina Vanden Heuvel, editor of The Nation, at Lipton Hall, 40 Washington Square South.
-- Gillian ReaganESDC Breathes Sigh of Relief
Plus, Norman Oder floats a theory on why City Comptroller William Thompson supports the arena and housing complex: $22,500 in campaign contributions from Bruce Ratner's relatives in 2001.
-Matthew SchuermanMr. Asterisk
James Brennan
Newsday has a helpful summary today about citywide candidates who have filed to raise funds for 2009.
The list is led by City Comptroller William Thompson Jr., who has so far raised $519,000 as an undeclared candidate.
Others who have raised money but have not declared the office they're seeking are Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz (about $83,800) and City Councilmen John Liu ($350,000), Peter Vallone Jr. ($232,000), Domenic Recchia Jr. ($84,500), Michael McMahon ($108,000) and Bill de Blasio ($32,000).
So who's missing?
Left off of the list is Brooklyn Assemblyman James Brennan, who has raised close to $11,000 from 49 donors for a campaign to succeed Bill Thompson as comptroller.
Just to round things off. read more »
—Nicole Brydson CORRECTION: We missed the latest information on James Brennan's disclosure filing with the Campaign Finance Board. Brennan reports total contributions of $154,515 from 800 donors, considerably more than the approximate $11,000 from 49 donors that we originally reported. He has one opponent so far, David Weprin, who has raised $362,413 from 477 donors.Snapple Lemons
Now, Crain's reports, Comptroller William Thompson is charging that New York City Marketing (the company responsible for dreaming up these "branding" opportunities for the city) owes the city of more than $200,000 in commissions from Snapple. New York City Marketing begs to differ.
- Lizzy RatnerBubble Boys
And vice versa, which is why we're hanging on to our Pets.com stock.
-Matthew GraceCity Republicans Lack a Farm Team
