Christine Quinn Emily Giske Anne Washburn Friends of the High Line Slush Fund Allegations of Corruption

City & State investigates the use of taxpayer money to benefit Friends of the High Line. This taxpayer money is funneled to FOTHL through New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn's slush fund accounts. Lobbyist and former high level state Democratic Party official Emily Giske's wife is connected to FOTHL, and Giske is close personal friends with New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn. In the past, Giske has been retained to do lobbying work for Friends of the High Line to do what else -- lobby Speaker Quinn ! There's a lot of shady conflicts of interest here, with the appearances of possibilities of taxpayer money flowing through FOTHL back to conflicted parties, lobbyists, and close personal friends of Speaker Quinn. This is a situation that appears to be ripe for graft. How do Speaker Quinn, Emily Giske, Giske's wife (Anne Washburn), and FOTHL get away with this ?

Media Advisory : "Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn" Book Reading and Discussion

2013-07-23 Roots of Betrayal Book Reading - Media Advisory by Connaissable

Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn can be purchased at the following bookstores :

• Book Thug Nation, 100 N. Third St., Williamsburg, Brooklyn ;
• Spoonbill & Sugartown Booksellers, 218 Bedford Ave., Williamsburg, Brooklyn ;
• St. Mark’s Bookshop, 31 Third Ave., Manhattan ; and
• Bluestockings, 172 Allen St., Manhattan.

A Comparison of @anthonyweiner and @ChrisCQuinn on LGBT Issues

A Comparison of @anthonyweiner and @ChrisCQuinn on LGBT Issues http://t.co/3mIWZb2x41 @outmagazine

— Stop Christine Quinn (@stopchrisquinn) July 20, 2013

A Comparison of Anthony Weiner and Christine Quinn on LGBT Issues

Both Anthony Weiner and Christine Quinn are candidates for mayor of New York in the 2013 election, and each are courting the LGBT vote. Samantha Henderson from Out magazine makes a list of how the two candidates have been good and bad on LGBT issues.

Read more : The 'Gay Pants' Candidate vs. the Gay Candidate

Working Interns To Collapse In Heat Wave

A young woman fainted and hit her head at Christine Quinn's presser in Williamsburg. Almost 20 mins later, ambulance hasn't shown up

— Holly Bailey (@hollybdc) July 16, 2013

During speaker Christine Quinn press conference in Bklyn an intern collapsed .15 min & no ambulance. pic.twitter.com/yoguM2FlwM

— Ti-Hua Chang (@tihuachang) July 16, 2013

How many more slush fund arrests ?

Head of Huntley-linked charity surrenders in 88G ‘scam’ : "Van Holmes, president of the Young Leaders Institute in Laurelton, was arrested as he walked up Austin Street towards the 112th Precinct in Queens at 5:50 a.m.," Sally Goldenberg of The New York Post reported this morning. "Charges by state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman are expected to include grand larceny, forgery and falsifying business records. He faces up to 15 years in prison if found guilty, sources said. Holmes allegedly stole money directly from his nonprofit — funds that were allocated by Huntley and City Council members." Christine Quinn continues to insist that her slush fund is being used for community empowerment, but every time that City Council discretionary funds make the news, those funds are tied to corruption arrests. Meanwhile, there are very worthy community groups that go unfunded. If we want to empower the community through discretionary funds, then the allocation of those funds should be determined by the community, and not by corrupt politicians.

We already know from press reports that Christine Quinn funnels discretionary funds to nonprofit groups, who then bundle contributions to her mayoral campaign. How much longer can Quinn keep up these shady acts before prosecutors catch up with her ?

Today in Carolyn Ryan Media Bias

This week in @carolynryan media bias : @nytimes puts @Quinn4NY 1st in headline, even though she's 2nd in poll. http://t.co/7gYtpf7cnl

— Stop Christine Quinn (@stopchrisquinn) July 16, 2013

2013-07-15 Poll Finds Quinn, Weiner and Spitzer Are Out Front - NYTimes.com by Connaissable

Quinn reimbursed to New York City $18,000 in travel-related expenses

. @Quinn4NY reimburses NYC over $18,000 in unexplained campaign-related travel costs, per @MichaelPetrelis http://t.co/RJyi7FOw4u

— Stop Christine Quinn (@stopchrisquinn) July 15, 2013

Activist and blogger Michael Petrelis is reviewing Christine Quinn's campaign finance filings, and he has discovered that the Quinn campaign has reimbursed to New York City over $18,000 in travel expenses. These expense date from March 2011 through March 2013. There's no explanation yet from Quinn's campaign spokesperson why the reimbursements needed to be made from Quinn's campaign account.

This Week in Carolyn Ryan Media Bias

If you read The New York Times, you might ask yourself, "What hospital closing crisis ?"

In the last week, doctors, nurses, medical staff, Brooklyn residents, advocates for improved healthcare access, and even politicians (!) have been staging almost daily demonstrations in an effort to apply political pressure on New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo to save Long Island College Hospital (LICH).

Last Sunday, "Public Advocate and mayoral candidate Bill de Blasio rallied with nurses and healthcare workers outside the struggling Long Island College Hospital Sunday, calling on Gov. Cuomo to intervene to save the Cobble Hill facility and another Brooklyn hospital," reported Metro New York. On Monday, several hundred activists congregated outside Gov. Andrew Cuomo's office, demanding that the governor take state action to save LICH. On Wednesday, NYSNA ED Jill Furillo, RN ; President-Elect Judy Sheridan Gonzalez, RN ; Mr. de Blasio ; and about a dozen others were arrested in a trying to deliver a petition with approximately 7,000 signatures to SUNY officials in an effort to save LICH. On Thursday, Assemblywoman Joan Millman was among three people arrested at Brooklyn Bridge in another LICH protest.

But if you've been reading the "political coverage" on The New York Times, you would have only read one surly blog posting by Anemona Hartocollis (@anemonanyc), the hospital closing reporter. Ms. Hartocollis, who is normally asleep at the switch, or out shopping at for trendy shoes, wrote an article glamourising mayoral candidate Bill de Blasio for getting arrested on Wednesday's act of civil disobedience.

But Ms. Hartocollis's blog posting completely left out the growing community's concerns with the chicanery going on with Gov. Cuomo's deliberate attempts to shut down LICH.

But in all of the hospital closing articles or blog postings that Ms. Hartocollis has ever written, she's never managed to connect the dots with the pressure that the for-profit insurance industry and austerity cuts to healthcare being made by politicians are each having on the finances of New York City hospitals. Too bad Ms. Hartocollis shares the same lack of political depth in her reporting as Carolyn Ryan, the new politics editor, at The New York Times, has in her editing.

It might have been premature to think that Ms. Ryan had evolved from her identity politics support for her fellow lesbian mayoral candidate, Christine Quinn.

NYSNA Nurses Were Arrested At Hospital Protest To Save LICH

NYSNA ED Jill Furillo, RN, right, and President-Elect Judy Sheridan Gonzalez, RN, left, were arrested on Wednesday alongside Long Island College Hospital nurses, caregivers, community allies, City Councilmember Stephen Levin, and Public Advocate Bill de Blasio to #SaveLICH and keep Brooklyn hospitals #open4care !

Nurses, doctors, and community activists have received no support from City Hall or Albany, and they are having to resort to civil disobedience in an effort to save LICH from closing. What does it say when police drag our nurses into jail, just because our nurses are fighting to save our hospitals ?

Activists are calling on LICH's operator, SUNY, to stop their unlawful and dangerous ambulance diversion and to stop trying to sabotage care for Brooklyn patients.

Activists and Bill de Blasio Were Arrested in an Act of Civil Disobedience to Save LICH

DeBlasio also marched out in cuffs with a bunch of media following. #savelich pic.twitter.com/aLWH8rB3Z9

— Sarah Jaffe (@sarahljaffe) July 10, 2013

New York City public advocate Bill de Blasio was lead away in handcuffs after reports that a peaceful demonstration to save Long Island College Hospital from closing turned into an act of civil disobedience.

.@BilldeBlasio being placed under arrest. Put in the back of police van. pic.twitter.com/PbleLR3hbJ

— Erin Durkin (@erinmdurkin) July 10, 2013

A demonstration had been scheduled Wednesday morning to apply political pressure on SUNY management officials. SUNY will decide whether LICH remains open or is closed as part of Gov. Andrew Cuomo's radical healthcare cuts to window dress the New York State budget in advance of his expected bid for the 2016 presidential race.

Healthcare activists, hospital employees, and healthcare union officials have been trying for months to appeal for help from politicians from Albany to City Hall for help, but the legislative session ended last month with no rescue package, and locally Mayor Michael Bloomberg and New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn closed next years budget negotiations without making any provision to save LICH from closure.

In the last few weeks, activists had been holding many demonstrations, rallies, and other acts of protest to draw attention to the plight of Brooklyn hospitals. Since 2006, ten New York City hospitals have either closed or downsized, and the remaining hospitals are over-burnded. Wait times at emergency rooms are escalating, and patients in life-or-death situations are having to take longer and longer ambulance rides to get to the next nearest emergency room.

On Feb. 8, 2011, four community activists were arrested in an act of civil disobedience to save St. Vincent's Hospital, but the community received no support from Speaker Quinn.

Speaker Quinn accepted $30,000 in campaign donations from Rudin Management Company before she approved the billion-dollar Rudin condo conversion plan for St. Vincent's Hospital.

Roots Of Betrayal : Book Signing And Discussion At Bluestockings

"Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn" -- Book Signing and Discussion

On Tuesday, July 23 at 7 p.m., the LGBT blogger and activist Louis Flores will be at Bluestockings, 172 Allen Street, Lower East Side, to present a short YouTube video from his online activism, which shows how the closing of St. Vincent's Hospital led to the beginning of his research about the political betrayals of Christine Quinn. And then the author will read from Vol. I of Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn. A Q&A will follow.

Please RSVP to the Facebook event : "Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn" -- Book Signing and Discussion

Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn can be purchased at the following bookstores :

• Book Thug Nation, 100 N. Third Street, Williamsburg, Brooklyn ;
• Spoonbill & Sugartown Booksellers, 218 Bedford Avenue, Williamsburg, Brooklyn ;
• St. Mark’s Bookshop, 31 Third Avenue, Manhattan ; and
• Bluestockings, 172 Allen Street, Manhattan.

2013-06-26 "Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn" - Press Release by Connaissable

Did Scott Stringer Prostitute Himself to Rudin Management Company ? Is This a Rhetorical Question ?

Scott Stringer received almost $8,000 from members of the billionaire Rudin real estate empire, before he rendered his recommendation in support of the Rudin luxury condo conversion of St. Vincent's Hospital.

Democratic candidate for NYC comptroller Scott Rudin Stringer received sizable campaign contributions form members of the Rudin family before he made his recommendation in the ULURP application to approve the Rudin condo conversion plan in November 2011.

Mr. Stringer, who was acting in official capacity as Manhattan Borough President, makes recommendations to the New York City Council in all zone-busting ULURP applications that come up for a vote. Mr. Stringer recommended that the City Council approve the Rudin luxury condo conversion plan, but the media made no mention of the inherent conflict of interest in the Rudin family's large campaign donations. These campaign donations were made during a time when the Rudin family were anticipating plans to develop the property underneath St. Vincent's, before the hospital was driven into bankruptcy, and Mr. Stringer cashed the checks way in advance of having to render his ULURP recommendation.

New York City Campaign Finance Board records indicate that Mr. Stringer accepted $500.00 from Madeleine Rudin Johnson, $3,850.00 from Beth Rudin DeWoody, $500.00 from Eric Rudin, $2,000.00 from Jack Rudin, and $1,000.00 from Bill Rudin. These reported donations bundle into a total of : $7,850.00. It's not known if there are other, unreported campaign donations, that might have been made on top of these amounts.

Did the $7,850.00 in campaign donations made by Rudin family members influence Scott Stringer's recommendation on the St. Vincent's luxury condo conversion ULRUP application ???

Because there is an appearance of "pay to play" or quid pro quo, was Mr. Stringer prostituting himself to the Rudin family ? We already know that campaign donations allegedly play a role in New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn determining her official acts in office. Does the same hold true for Mr. Stringer ?

In total, the members of the Rudin family contributed over $200,000 in campaign donations to various politicians, each of whom would have had some kind of influence over the fate of the Rudin luxury condo conversion plan for St. Vincent's Hospital.

The Rudin campaign donations made during the 2009, 2013 election cycles follow.

2013-07-08 Rudin-Rudin Advanced Search - New York City Campaign Finance Board

2013-07-08 Johnson-Rudin Advanced Search - New York City Campaign Finance Board

2013-07-08 DeWoody-Rudin Advanced Search - New York City Campaign Finance Board

Christine Quinn and Her Six Year Slush Fund Scandal

Christine Quinn and Her On-Going Slush Fund Scandal ... Six Years Later

New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn’s opponents in the mayoral race are trying to resurrect the “slush fund scandal”, when the Council allegedly assigned millions of dollars to fictitious organizations, The Wall Street Journal writes (via City & State) : Campaigns Hit Quinn on 'Slush Fund'

. @ChrisCQuinn's Quid Pro Quo : Slush Funds In Exchange for Campaign Donations http://t.co/fT05HkE4nj #Preet #corruption #indictment

— Stop Christine Quinn (@stopchrisquinn) July 3, 2013

Litter and symbolism in the 2013 Heritage of Pride Parade

Does Speaker Quinn's campaign material only amount to litter ?

Yesterday's Heritage of Pride Parade was billed as a huge celebration of the SCOTUS victories that saw the overturning of the Defense of Marriage Act ("DOMA") and Prop 8. To that end, you saw political spin being given to the participation of political figures in yesterday's parade, as if each year, politicians needed a different reason to march in the Heritage of Pride Parade -- reasons other than the fight is not over for civil equality.

But if there was any extra jubilation in the parade to be found from the advancements made in the area of marriage equality, what does it say about the parade's symbolism when LGBT New Yorkers come together to march against the mayoral campaign of openly-lesbian New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn ?

After members of Queers Against Christine Quinn completed the march in yesterday's Heritage of Pride Parade, members found hundreds of posters from Christine Quinn's mayoral campaign abandoned and discarded at the end of the parade route, just off of Christopher Street. The Quinn campaign's participation in the parade was all for a temporary show of support for her troubled mayoral campaign. But the reasons that voters have against for voting against her in this year's mayoral election are rooted in her long-term betrayals on issues like overturning term limits, her conflicted handling of the closing of St. Vincent's Hospital, and her refusal to stand up to Mayor Bloomberg's 1% agenda. Quinn's campaign treats her resources as disposable, and that includes the one-time support she used to have in the LGBT community.

Term Limits Taking Toll On Quinn Campaign

"In more than two dozen interviews last week with registered Democrats who participated in a Wall Street Journal/NBC 4 New York/Marist College poll that showed Ms. Quinn dropping to second place in the primary field, many volunteered that her handling of the term-limits issue led them to rule her out," reported The Wall Street Journal. "Ms. Quinn had long opposed overturning term limits but changed her mind after the economy went into a deep recession in 2008 and Mr. Bloomberg, whom she counts as a close ally, began making a vigorous case for a third term. At the time, Ms. Quinn was also facing a scandal: a federal investigation into how the City Council had issued grants to community organizations. ... Giving herself, Mr. Bloomberg and other city politicians another term was seen as helping her put distance between the scandal and her 2013 run for mayor. "

Well, it seems that extending term limits has backfired on Speaker Quinn.

Link : Term-Limits Decision Taking a Toll on Christine Quinn in Mayor's Race