Ratner Money Fueling Challenge to James' Council Seat?
Despite protestations to the contrary, it’s looking like Bruce Ratner is going to be a major player in the challenge to Council Member Letitia James’ seat in the 35th District. Atlantic Yards Report, which broke the news of the campaign by Delia Hunley-Adossa earlier this month, has a post out this morning about Hunley-Adossa’s campaign…
Despite protestations to the contrary, it’s looking like Bruce Ratner is going to be a major player in the challenge to Council Member Letitia James‘ seat in the 35th District. Atlantic Yards Report, which broke the news of the campaign by Delia Hunley-Adossa earlier this month, has a post out this morning about Hunley-Adossa’s campaign treasurer Charlene Nimmons. According to AYR, Nimmons, like Hunley-Adossa, runs a small non-profit whose major purpose appears to be to funnel salaries from Bruce Ratner to the women who run them in return for their support of the Atlantic Yards project.
As with Hunley-Adossa’s Brooklyn Endeavor Experience (BEE), Nimmons’s Public Housing Communities (PHC) likely relies on the largess of developer Forest City Ratner. (Neither would confirm or deny that most funding comes from FCR, though Hunley-Adossa has acknowledged that FCR supported one program and Nimmons has cited an FCR-supported event sponsored by her organization.) If so, given the light workload of both nonprofits, the salaries Nimmons and Hunley-Adossa both draw from their nonprofits give them leave to work on the campaign–which suggests that the developer is supporting the challenge to James even without direct contributions.
In her one speech thus far, Hunley-Adossa, who owns a security company in addition to serving as the head of the 88th Precinct’s community council, tried to make her campaign about “the issues” but the Atlantic Yards project is clearly the elephant in the room.
Photo by Jonathan Barkey
Ratner has spread his money throughout Albany as well. A number of state senators are bought lock stock and barrel.
I don’t see how anyone could compare it to spending money on issue advocacy. He is making illegal campaign contributions, first of all. Second of all, it is for his own personal enrichment. Now is there a grey area? Of course businessmen are more likely to support pro-business candidates. But what Ratner does is clearly influence-peddling of the highest order and these politicians are just feeding off FCR. If this isn’t political corruption, what is?
Ratner has spread his money throughout Albany as well. A number of state senators are bought lock stock and barrell.
I don’t see how anyone could compare it to spending money on issue advocacy. He is making illegal campaign contributions, first of all. Second of all, it is for his own personal enrichment. Now is there a grey area? Of course businessmen are more likely to support pro-business candidates. But what Ratner does is clearly influence-peddling of the highest order and these politicians are just feeding off FCR. If this isn’t political corruption, what is?
Tish is a bum. I’ve resided in her district for as long as she’s been in office and she most certainly does not represent me or my views. While I’d love for her to be ousted, I doubt that anyone could beat her and believe that we’ll be stuck with her incompetent ass for years to come.
What issues? AY? Hmmmmm. Love her or hate her Tish has definitely represented her district well. Combined with Tish’s activity in the realm of creating and preserving affordable housing, she has few peers in city council.
The challengers…of course it’s Ratner’s money….But…Tish has been no saint in terms of her political activities for the Kings County democratic party. Could her challengers be a case of turnabout is fair play. Tish will now have to turn her attention to beating back these primary challenges. And with the Bloomberg initiative to overturn term limits, Christine Quinn will be a thorn in Tish’s side as she seeks to be city council speaker. Presuming she triumphs over her challengers of course.
Contributions to the non-profits are presumably tax-deductable. Campaign contributions aren’t.
the analogy doesn’t work Mr. Joist. Eli Pariser wasn’t running against George Bush.
you’d do well to actually read the articles Brownstoner is pointing to.
Ratner is paying a nice salary to Adossa’s and Nimmons’ shell organizations so they can be freed up to run a political campaign as surrogates for AY.
Not only is it corrupt, but it may be illegal.
Funding advocacy is one thing, obfuscating your role in the elevation of a politician that will have direct influence on your lucrative projects is something else.
Leaving aside the “Atlantic Yards: good or bad” issue, I find it ridiculous that many think it’s “corrupt” or “vote buying” to support a politician that shares your views.
Letitia James is obviously not a fan of Ratner so he’s aiding her political rivals. Free country people!
Was it “corrupt” when George Soros used his billions to fund MoveOn to get rid of Bush?! Don’t be so hypocritical.
rotten big city politics. so corrupt it’s almost elegant. should we admire how well the big sticks play the game? (damn, that’s like a cool card trick!) or be repulsed by the fact that this is all done with a kind of casual impunity? the govt. that should be watching seems to be blind to these cancerous shenanigans. (oops, inadvertent Gov. Patterson joke, actually aimed at Pataki,and Bruno, and Silver…)
ouch. damn. it get’s me mad. get’s me riled up in a dumb cartoony kinda way.
don’t be deceived by the business suit. ratner plays dirty and for keeps. he’s goonish that way. he’ll buy the votes if he needs the votes. the process will be stage-managed to perfection. Jay Z might show up, depending. but bet your ass Marty Putzinchief will be there for the ribbon cutting on the newly redesigned stadium craporama, which, on account of cost cutting, will be indistinguishable from Metrotech Atlantic Mall of America Nowhereville Soul Suckertown.