Originally Published: December 2, 2014
NEW YORK, NY – Citizens Union today sent a letter to the Conflicts of Interest Board (the “Board”) requesting an investigation into whether a meeting on July 14, 2014, attended by Mayor Bill de Blasio and sponsored by Local 1182 of the Communications Workers of America (“CWA”) at P.S. 66 in Brooklyn may have violated the conflicts of interest provisions of the New York City Charter.
Citizens Union seeks the investigation by the Board in light of conduct described in a report issued last week by the Commissioner of the New York City Department of Investigation (“DOI”) and the Special Commissioner of Investigation {“SCI”) for the New York City School District.
The meeting, held on school grounds, was scheduled by the Mayor’s Office and CWA to coincide with the end of a Cablevision work shift. At the time, CSW and Cablevision were engaged in a labor dispute. P.S. 66 is located near a Cablevision garage where CWA members and prospective members work.
As reported by the DOI and SCI, the meeting may have violated the City’s conflicts of interest rules. The City’s investigators were unable to determine whether the meeting was a “political activity” because they could not obtain a record of what the mayor and other participants actually said at the meeting. Investigators requested recordings, transcripts and written accounts of the meeting from the Mayor’s Office and did not receive any. In light of the lack of transparency and the open questions about the participants’ discussions, Citizens Union called on the Board to investigate whether the parties misused City resources for political activity or violated the conflicts of interest rules in any other way.
“From what is known, this appears to have been a political event held at a public school in violation of city rules,” said Dick Dadey, the executive director of Citizens Union. “The fact that the commissioners of DOI and SCI have noted the possibility of a violation of the conflicts of interest rules underscores the need for the Board’s review. It is important that New Yorkers who want a transparent and accountable city government know that our public officials are faithfully following the laws of New York and the rules that guide their implementation.”