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| This is a rendering of the proposed building at 120 3rd Ave. in Brooklyn. Two more major de Blasio donors have been picked for the project. (AUFGANG ARCHITECTS) © via New York Daily News |
Yesterday brought the news that two wealthy real estate companies that were donors to New York mayor Bill de Blasio's campaign last year, where he was re-elected to his second four-year term in a landslide, received New York City approval to build luxury housing on land belonging to the underfunded New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA). The numerous housing projects currently run by NYCHA continue to be plagued by a host of problems, but with neither the city nor state, let alone the federal government able to find or raise funding, de Blasio has turned to private entities as a way of purportedly raising support for NYCHA's existing housing stock.
According to The New York Daily News, the new housing, to be built by developers the Arker Companies and Two Trees, is supposed to include 500--or half of its total--"half-market rate" apartments, which in practical terms means that in addition to the luxury rentals, the landlords will be able to get $3,900 (or $46,8000/year) for two-bed apartments, or half-market rate, on public land. NYCHA will lease the land, for 99 years, in return for payments to address its extensive low-income housing problems. The Daily News points out that this is the second such sweet deal involving a de Blasio donor.
In recent years, I've noted often harsh dismissals of labeling of actions like the developers' deal as neoliberalism, but this strikes me as a textbook example of it. Instead of seeking and finding government funding, via taxes, fees, etc. to support a public housing organization, the government is turning to private entities, which will benefit its lease of government subsidized, lower-cost land, to support private businesses, with some peanuts thrown back to the government in return. This is about as far from the "Sandinista" tag, with which opponents associated Blasio during his first run in 2013, as you can get.
Meanwhile, as the The Daily News article also points out:
Two de Blasio donors have said they raised money for the mayor to gain access to City Hall.
De Blasio disputes claims City Hall intervened on behalf of donor Restaurateur Harendra Singh pleaded guilty to conspiring to bribe de Blasio, stating that he gave to get favorable treatment on back rent he owed for his restaurant on city-owned land.
Prosecutors said a senior aide to de Blasio arranged a meeting for Singh “in an effort to pressure the agency to make its proposed settlement terms more favorable to Singh.”
Developer Jonah Rechnitz said he spelled out to a top de Blasio aide that he was giving money to gain access. After Rechnitz paid a fine over an illegal hotel he owned, the city stopped responding to another year’s worth of complaints about the place.
The Manhattan US Attorney chose not to press pay-to-play charges against de Blasio, however. Nevertheless, according to the paper, "Prosecutor Joon Kim...made a point of stating that his investigation had determined that the mayor had intervened or directed subordinates to intervene on behalf of donors."
Here's a comic I drew around the time that de Blasio was campaigning five years ago. I often joked with C about how de Blasio's teenage son Dante's afro seemed to be a talisman, working its magic on voters (and de Blasio himself), and then played with it a bit in the frames below. It is the "afro," not Dante, who's speaking.
If my handwriting isn't clear the frames (beginning with #3) say:
VOTE FOR MY DAD!
HE'LL ADDRESS INEQUALTY & POVERTY!
HE'LL DO SOMETHING ABOUT STOP & FRISK!
HE'LL IMPROVE SCHOOLS & RAISE TAXES ON THE RICH!
HE IS THE ONLY PROGRESSIVE WHO CAN WIN!
& HE'LL HAVE MY SPECIAL POWER TO GUIDE HIM!
More recently, during the lead-up to the 2017 mayor's race, I revisited my Magic Afro drawing. At one point the younger de Blasio, now a student at Yale University, had shaved his afro off, but as the recent campaign picked up, and during recent appearances with his father, Dante has sported that spectacular afro again.
Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to have any magic to work against neoliberalism, the real estate industry, inequality, homelessness, or any of the other ills plaguing New York City. But hey, Bill de Blasio has another four years to figure it out, no?
If my handwriting isn't clear the frames (beginning with #3) say:
IT'S ELECTION SEASON. VOTE FOR MY DAD!
HE WAS SUPPOSED TO BE THE PROGRESSIVE MAYOR OF NEW YORK
PEOPLE EVEN CLAIMED HE WAS LIKE A SANDINISTA!
HE'S BEEN THE BEST THING BIG REAL ESTATE COULD HAVE HOPED FOR!
CRIME IS DOWN, HOMELESSNESS IS UP, HYPERGENTRIFICATION RACES AHEAD. SO VOTE FOR HIM!
I'M IN NEW HAVEN BUT I CAN STILL WORK MY MAGIC DOWN IN NYC!
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