Christine Quinn Is "Standard Political Flimflam"

@stopchrisquinn @tomallon @chriscquinn @msnbctv don't know these deets but my exp w/her was very negative. Standard political flimflam

— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) January 5, 2012

Eric Rudin : "Let Them Eat Cake"

Queers Against Quinn respond to @nytimes endorsement of @Quinn4NY https://t.co/E9IjDCe4iR @colvinj @SallyGold @Azi pic.twitter.com/gPc2aoFt2t

— Stop Christine Quinn (@stopchrisquinn) August 24, 2013

"Is This How Eric Rudin Does Business ?"

Watch as 1%'er Eric Rudin laughs at community activists, who are fighting for a hospital to replace St. Vincent's.

AOL VIDEO : Christine Quinn and Mayor Bloomberg Exposed on St. Vincent's Hospital Closing

AOL VIDEO has produced a report about the slapping incident that occurred at a press event in front of the former site of St. Vincent's Hospital. St. Vincent's closed in 2010 after Rudin Management Company foreclosed on mortgage notes it held. The hospital was rezoned for a billion dollar luxury condominium and townhouse complex after Rudin Management Company executives and owners were exposed to have contributed $30,000 in campaign donations to what eventually became Christine Quinn's 2013 mayoral campaign account

Christine Quinn - Moving On Up

A new video posted on YouTube takes a satirical look of New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn’s political record. The video is set to a Karaoke recording of “Moving On Up,” the famous theme song from the hit sitcom, The Jeffersons, and the video uses sarcasm when Speaker Quinn denies some of the most controversial political choices she’s made.

Among the issues addressed in this short video are :

• the $30,000 in campaign contributions Speaker Quinn accepted from Rudin Management Company, which basically foreclosed on St. Vincent’s Hospital ;
• Speaker Quinn’s controversial support for police commissioner Ray Kelly, who oversaw a culture of racism and brutality at the NYPD ;
• Speaker Quinn’s controversial use of fictitious accounts to hide her political slush fund ; and
• the ever-changing rationale for extending term limits.

Does NSA Have Proof of St. Vincent's Pay-To-Play ?

So, you mean to tell me that the NSA knows everything that transpired btwn Quinn + Rudin re: St. Vincent's ? #Preet twitter.com/stopchrisquinn…

— Stop Christine Quinn (@stopchrisquinn) June 9, 2013

"Mayoral front-runner Christine Quinn refused to criticize President Obama over reports that the federal government has engaged in widespread monitoring of Americans’ Internet activity and telephone calls–arguing that surveillance is crucial to the city’s safety," Jill Colvin is reporting, quoting Quinn as saying, "I do want the City of New York to be doing the type of monitoring and surveillance that is within the power of a municipal government, at times working with the federal government." (Christine Quinn Defends Surveillance in Wake of Monitoring Reports * Politicker)

Rudin Pay-To-Play St. Vincent's Deal Caused Intern To Quit Christine Quinn Mayoral Campaign

Rudin donations to fix St. Vincent's luxury condos deal caused intern to quit @chriscquinn campaign : christine-quinn-sold-out.blogspot.com/2011/02/rudin-… @nycisnot4sale

— Stop Christine Quinn (@stopchrisquinn) May 9, 2013

How Christine Quinn Approved St. Vincent's Hospital To Become Luxury Condos

Is this how Bill Rudin does business ?

To Preet Bharara : Do @chriscquinn's official acts come as a result of campaign donations ? christine-quinn-sold-out.blogspot.com/2011/02/rudin-… #StVincentsHospital

— Stop Christine Quinn (@stopchrisquinn) April 4, 2013

In 2009, Bill Rudin and New York City Planner Amanda Burden were photographed at the same plush "Observer 100" party to celebrate money, power, and influence. In spite of their cozy relationship, Ms. Burden did not recuse herself during the zone-busting approval process for Mr. Rudin's billion-dollar luxury condo conversion of St. Vincent's Hospital. There is no such thing as a conflict of interest in New York City government, and the Department of Investigation is a joke.

The conflict of interest in respect of Ms. Burden paints a pattern of how Bill Rudin does business. Mr. Rudin also participated in an arrangement with the appearance of being a quid pro quo with former mayor Ed Koch.

Rudin family offered #EdKoch posh apartment.nytimes.com/2013/02/03/nyr… ; Koch promoted Rudin condo plan for #StVincent's. dnainfo.com/new-york/20110…

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

But Ms. Burden and Mr. Koch were not alone in compromising the integrity of the government approval process that stacked the deck in favour of Mr. Rudin's devastating zone-busting plan, which seized a charitable community hospital as the site for his billion-dollar luxury condo conversion plan.

Did Christine Quinn Give Up On Saving St. Vincent's In Exchange for Campaign Donations From The Rudin Family ?

In an apparent conflict of interest, Beth R. DeWoody, Madeleine R. Johnson, Eric C. Rudin, Jack Rudin, Katherine Rudin, and William C. Rudin each donated $4,950 to Christine Quinn's presumed 2013 mayoral campaign. During this time, the Rudin family has been trying to salvage a multi-million dollar real estate purchase of the buildings that belong to the bankruptcy estate of St. Vincent's Hospital. Since the Rudin family wants to build luxury high-rise condos on the site of St. Vincent's, do these large campaign donations explain why Speaker Quinn has done nothing to restore a hospital to the former St. Vincent's site ?

Not only that, but the Rudin family also donated over $7,000 to the campaign coffers of Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer. President Stringer eventually approved the luxury condo conversion of St. Vincent's, pointing to a second public official who seems to subscribe to the "pay-to-play" corruption that the ULURP process has apparently become ?

2009 - Rudin Family Donations to Scott Stringer - St. Vincent's Conflict of Interest - Advanced Search - Ne...

Does Bill Rudin use the Association For A Better New York to further his economic interests ?

Not only has Bill Rudin and his family funneled money to the mayoral campaign of Christine Quinn, but he also helps to fluff Speaker Quinn's image in the media. Mr. Rudin put Speaker Quinn on the podium to give her a venue to talk about the post-Sandy real estate projects, from which developers are eager to make money. The emergency response to Hurricane Sandy was still on-going at the time of Speaker Quinn's speech, but the political and economic opportunism was shown to be in full swing.

Does Bill Rudin use the Partnership For New York City to further his economic interests ?

Another vehicle, which Mr. Rudin uses to great effect, is his position as a director of the Partnership For New York City, an elite chamber of commerce-like entity, which helps billionaires and large corporations buy insider influence with government leaders.

For example, while Brad Hoylman was chairman of Manhattan Community Board 2, which was overseeing the initial elements of the zone-busting real estate approval process for the luxury condo conversion of St. Vincent's Hospital, Mr. Hoylman was then employed by Mr. Rudin's Partnership.

Of course, if you were Bill Rudin, you would look successful if you had the resources, the conflicts of interest, the malfeasance, and the gall to corrupt so much of the government for your own personal gain.

Asbestos Problem at Rudin Luxury Condo Conversion of St. Vincent's

The construction workers at the site of the former St. Vincent's Hospital are using a regular street-side dumpster to collect Asbestos and Asbestos-contaminated construction materials in the luxury condo conversion to benefit Rudin Management Company.

Photo credit : Anonymous (via Suzannah B. Troy)

For weeks, there have been concerns expressed amongst the residents of the West Village, around the former site of St. Vincent's Hospital, about the integrity of the asbestos abatement procedure being conducted by Rudin Management Company construction workers.

There have been other disturbing photographs being shared amongst community activists, showing construction workers wearing scary-looking Haz-Mat suits at the construction site.

Some activists have been trying to collecting official reports about the safety of the seemingly casual treatment of asbestos at the construction site, but, thus far, no official reports have been released.

Almost a year ago, the blogger Suzannah B. Troy noticed Asbestos records that were exposed to the elements.

The below report only contains one reference to Asbestos, namely, that there was a presence of the carcinogen on the construction site, and nothing else.

2011 05 23 Saint Vincent Eas City Planning Asbestos

More information is available about the out-of-control Asbestos problem at the Rudin condo conversion.

Melanie Meyers and Samantha Rudin diminish Sarge Shriver's legacy

Like our new Facebook page : Is Fried Frank betraying the legacy of Sarge Shriver ?

From the Demand A Hospital e-mail listserv :

Dear All : 

We were a small group today, but we did well to keep showing up to say that our fight goes on :  we still need a full-service hospital to replace St. Vincent's. 

At today's real estate forum, it shocked our conscious to learn that Julie Menin, candidate for Manhattan Borough President, was a participant -- even through the highlight of the forum was Melanie Meyer's and Samantha Rudin's distorted presentation about St. Vincent's Hospital.  We will contact Ms. Menin, to ask her to explain why she took part in the real estate forum, if it was glorifying the Rudin takeover of St. Vincent's.... 

We were not allowed inside the forum, and one of our friends reported to us that the conference was deliberately not being recorded or live streamed, because the forum's participants did not want their conversations recorded for public examination.  While Melanie Meyers and Samantha Rudin talked about the profits that they are making, they don't want us to know the exact amount of their riches... 

Here is our video of our protest, pointing out how Melanie Meyers and the Rudin family are corrupting Sarge Shriver's legacy at the law firm of Fried Frank :  http://youtu.be/O-lN9sw2UsA 

Thank you for all that you do.

People Aren't Laughing At Christine Quinn, So Much As Christine Quinn Is Laughing All The Way To The Bank

From ''Christine Quinn Doesn't Care If You Are Laughing At Her ; She'll Just Get Even'' :

Christopher London wrote on February 3, 2013, 3:21 PM [LINK]

As stated in Rolling Stone: “In an excellent new book, Twilight of the Elites, journalist Chris Hayes argues that what happened is this: Our ruling class failed us. Behind the seemingly haphazard pile-up of recent calamities he sees a pattern: In each case, a cadre of Very Important People succumbed to some combination of blinkered groupthink, deception, self-dealing, fraud, smugness, and self-delusion. And in virtually every case, they escaped accountability. Or, as Hayes puts it: "All the smart people f_cked up, and no one seems willing to take responsibility."

There is a mainstream citizen revolt against the attempt by societal elites and Mayor Bloomberg to install Quinn as the next Mayor of New York City. All levers of the media will be used in an effort to insure that reality against the prevailing and existing will of the people. In my estimation, Christine Quinn represents a doubling down by the elites in an effort to control the aftermath of what they have created for or imposed on the rest of us, through unchecked and uninvestigated government waste. 'Pontificating Poseur & Societal Elite Windbag' - Senator Tom Duane – an opportunistic and self professed LGBT hero and his protégé in identity politics, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn enabled her crony capitalist sponsor, Bill Rudin of Rudin Management and the Rudin Family to seize St. Vincent’s Hospital, the epicenter of the AIDS Crisis, for pennies on the dollar so the Rudin Family Luxury Blood Condos could be built in its place. Is this what Quinn’s sponsor believes will lead to “A Better New York” – that he trumpets through ABNY – the Association for a Better New York? The best AIDS Memorial is preservation of the hospital and treatment facility at the epicenter of the AIDS epidemic, for its humanity in treating patients not luxury condos in its place.

Quinn is now taking heat from the LGBT Community including her own Chelsea: District 3, because, her remarks (via mass email) praising Ed Koch upon his death, she didn't acknowledge his failure to address the AIDS Crisis as thousands of gay men were dying. The gay press has not yet mentioned the fact that Christine Quinn actually rewarded Koch for his endorsement, despite his preference for someone other than Quinn, by renaming the Queensboro Bridge after him in exchange for his unwavering support of her Mayoral candidacy. The Council and the public opposed the renaming of that bridge.

Quinn Deal Was All Fake For Chelsea Market Concorse Protections For Food Businesses

From DNAinfo : Chelsea Market Agreement Leaves Food Concourse at Risk, Opponents Say

Jamestown Properties, the owner of Chelsea Market, is under no obligation to "keep the historic building's food concourse" after its zone-busting expansion deal was approved by New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, reported DNAinfo.

Speaker Quinn had sold the zone-busting deal for Chelsea Market with a sketchy bait-and-switch "promise" that the food business located in the concourse of Chelsea Market would be "protected."

But now comes DNAinfo to report that Speaker Quinn's deal to protect the food businesses was all made up. According to Speaker Quinn's signing statement, "The Council’s action permanently protects 75 percent of the current total interior ground-floor concourse retail space for food-related uses." But DNAinfo now reports that there is no legally-binding protection that exists that matches Speaker Quinn's promise.

The protections for the food businesses in the concourse that Speaker Quinn "brokered" was all fake. What remains surprising is how anybody can claim to be "shocked," when Speaker Quinn has a track record for many years now of never standing up for anything that is important to the community ? When are folks going to "see the light" that Speaker Quinn represents all that is bad about neoliberalism ?

Who Is Josh Isay ?

The Man Pulling The Levers, Turning The Knobs, And Flipping The Switches Behind The Curtain

Josh Isay is New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn's campaign spokesman. Mr. Isay is a major political consultant in New York and Albany, with an outlet in Washington. Mr. Isay also worked as a member of Mayor Bloomberg's media and mail team in the elections of 2005 and 2009, meaning, he worked to elect Mayor Bloomberg for a controversial third term.

Mr. Isay is also one of Sen. Charles Schumer's main political consultants and advisors. So, when we wonder : why is it that no matter who gets elected, nothing seems to change, it is because the paid political consultants are the ones who keep pushing politicians into certain agendas that make them "electable" ? Who is advising Speaker Quinn to make these backroom deals, to keep NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly, in spite of the fact that we need a federal commission to investigate the NYPD ?

When all of us keep working to demand reforms from government, who are the people behind the scenes, who are saying, "No" ? We only see Christine Quinn, but do we ever know to take a look at who is Josh Isay. Josh Isay worked for Bill Rudin. When the community kept demanding a full-service hospital to replace St. Vincent's, Josh Isay was advising Christine Quinn that it was O.K. to use the community of the Lower West Side of Manhattan as pawns in their game to help Josh Isay's other clients, the Rudin Family. And when we wonder what happened to Speaker Quinn's former Progressive roots, all you have to do is to look at her political advisors. If you vote for Speaker Quinn, because you are under the impression that you are going to get the "old" Christine Quinn of 15 years ago, then I invite you to please take a look at who decides what Speaker Quinn is allowed to do.

Read more : Who is Josh Isay ?

Fast Food Living Wage ?

RT @stopchrisquinn: #FastFoodFWD workers : "We're hungry." @chriscquinn : "Eat some fried chicken." #livingwage #RealTalk

— Occupy Wall Street (@OccupyWallStNYC) November 29, 2012

What ever happened to that living wage bill that New York Speaker Christine Quinn watered down ? Remember how Speaker Quinn stalled, delayed, thwarted, and then revised the living wage bill until she and lobbyists watered it down soooo much until it would only benefit, according to her very own calculations, perhaps as few as 400 New York City jobs -- all this to please the Partnership for New York City and campaign contributors ?

And then remember how Speaker Quinn stormed out of the farcical living wage press conference, after somebody referred to the mayor by the moniker, "Pharaoh Bloomberg" ?

One of the major puppet masters behind Speaker Quinn's opposition to a real living wage law is the lobbyist Emily Giske. Ms. Giske represents the parent-holding company of the fast food restaurant chains Kentucky Fried Chicken, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell. Ms. Giske’s firm, Bolton St. John, has also lobbied against the paid sick leave bill.

Many campaign donors, who give tens of thousands in electioneering payments to Speaker Quinn, belong to the Chamber of Commerce, such as Rudin Management Company. Members of the Chamber of Commerce try to subvert campaign disclosure laws and unfairly try to influence legislation so that the City Council agenda only promotes big business interests, instead of protecting workers' rights or union rights.

How sincere is it, when Speaker Quinn issues a message of solidarity with #FastFoodFWD workers, but it was she herself who watered down this year's living wage bill. Is this acceptable to you ?

Read more : New York Is Site of Nation’s Biggest Drive to Unionize Fast-Food Workers

St. Vincent's Hospital Gutted

Like our faith in how our democratic form of government, and our faith in politicians who falsely sell themselves as progressives, here is the former St. Vincent's Hospital, being gutted for the exclusive benefit of the 1%, in this case, for the billion-dollar enterprise Rudin Management Company and their owners.

Norman Siegel Calls For An Investigation Of City Council

Norman Siegel, Esq. - Testimony at Press Conference March 10, 2012

Text of Mr. Siegel's prepared remarks :

I am here today to support members of Manhattan's West Side and the Greenwich Village and Chelsea community, who want and need a full service Trauma 1 hospital in their community. I also speak out in strong opposition to what occurred on Tuesday March 6 at the Public Hearing concerning the current plan for the St. Vincent's site.

First and foremost, residents of Manhattan's West Side need a hospital that is adequately accessible to its residents. Eliminating St. Vincent's Hospital and replacing it with 450 luxury condos creates a healthcare crisis for residents and visitors alike. For example, it is not adequate that if you need immediate emergency care that you must go to Beth Israel on the East Side or St. Luke's Roosevelt on West 59th Street. Residents need a full service hospital here on 12th Street and Seventh Avenue and not a two bed facility! I urge all our elected officials to stand with the community in calling for a Greenwich Village hospital. This is a not only a Manhattan West Side issue - it is a New York City issue. If the City can transform a 350 bed hospital site into luxury housing here in this community it will create a precedent that will lead to the elimination of other community hospitals. We must oppose this here and now.

Second and very troubling is how the hearing was conducted. Shame on the City Council and the Speaker. Scheduling a hearing in a room at 250 Broadway that holds 40 people when you should have anticipated a large turnout is not only wrong but suspect. And even if you did not anticipate a turnout of 200 - 300 people you should have. Hundreds of people waited in the cold wanting to testify. At that time you should have moved the hearing to the City Council Chamber which could have accommodated ten times more people. According to records, alternative spaces were available.

To have residents, many of whom were senior citizens, wait for hours in the cold to gain access to a public hearing is cruel and undemocratic. The right of the public to fully participate in a public hearing of public concern is a cornerstone of a democratic society. To deny this right is not what NYC's governing body should be about.

Reportedly, letting the Rudin spokespersons in and not allowing the opponents in on an equal basis is also wrong, undemocratic and suspect. Public discourse must take place on an equal playing field. The City Council, at a public hearing stage, must be fair and provide all opponents an equal opportunity to present their views. This was not done last Tuesday. Last Tuesday, unfortunately, was unequal and favored one party to this controversy over another. Rudin's spokespeople went first and the room was filled with all of Rudin supporters. The opponents followed. Rudin's spokespeople had all members of the committee present to hear their position. By the time the opponents spoke there were only two or three out of the 11 council members or their representative present. Not fair. Wrong. Suspect. This is not what democracy looks like.

What happened on Tuesday March 6 requires:

1. An investigation by the Mayor's office to establish whether this hearing was conducted in error by oversight and lack of appropriate planning or by a biased intentional design?

2. Public statements by City Council members and any and all candidates wanting to run for Mayor in 2013 as to where they stand on (a) the St. Vincent's controversy and (b) what happened on Tuesday, March 6. We, the voters, need information so we can hold officials accountable.

3. A public apology by the City Council and its leaders to those who attempted to participate in last Tuesday's error filled public hearing.

Thank you.

Which Side Are You On ?

Is Christine Quinn ever going to do anything to stop all the hospital closings ? Or is she just going to sit around and watch as our social safety net is shredded by budget cuts and corruption ?

Join our Facebook Page : Gays Against Christine Quinn.

Rudin Mayday Hospital Closing Protest

May Day Protest Against Rudin Management Company, Inc.

On May 1, New York City voters will protest outside the real estate empire offices of the Rudin family.

Activists will issue the "Mayday" signal to indicate the life-threatening emergency caused by the Rudin family's billion-dollar luxury condominium and townhouse conversion of St. Vincent's Hospital.

New York City has been experiencing a massive wave of hospital closings, which is triggering a new wave of the single-payer healthcare movement.

In the time that Christine Quinn has been Speaker of the New York City Council, at least eight city hospitals have closed. In 2010, North General Hospital in Harlem declared bankruptcy and St. Vincent's Hospital in the West Village shut down after shady backroom meetings. In 2009, two hospitals in Queens – St. John's Queens Hospital in Elmhurst and Mary Immaculate Hospital in Jamaica – went bankrupt. In 2008, Cabrini Medical Center in Manhattan, Parkway Hospital in Queens, and Victory Memorial Hospital in Bay Ridge closed. And in 2007, St. Vincent's Midtown in Manhattan was closed. Separately, one other hospital in Brooklyn, Long Island College Hospital, was saved in early 2011 : it had been on the brink of closing, and the only way the hospital was saved was by merging it with SUNY Downstate. Still yet one other hospital, Peninsula Hospital Center, filed for bankruptcy in late 2011 and was slated to close ; but Peninsula's bankruptcy workout plan is now threatened, meaning, that Peninsula may yet still close. Everywhere you look, incumbent politicians like Speaker Quinn are overseeing the shredding of the social safety net.

After Irresponsible Hospital Closings in New York, Where Do Emergency Patients Go ?

With St. Vincent's Hospital Closed, Where Do Emergency Patients Go ?

With St. Vincent's closed, the West Side still has no hospital beds below 57th Street. How is this responsible city planning ?

How can we bring a hospital back to our community ? How can we get true universal healthcare ? Come Join the Discussion ! RSVP at the Facebook page for the St. Vincent's Community Assembly.

Luxury Condos Can't Do CPR !

Join us on Tuesday, Jan. 31, at 6 p.m. at the LGBT Community Center at 208 West 13th Street in the West Village.

With St. Vincent’s closed, the West Side still has no hospital beds below 57th Street. How can we bring a hospital back to our community ? How can we get true universal healthcare ? Come Join the Discussion ! RSVP at the Facebook page for the St. Vincent's Community Assembly.

This "town hall" is a consensus-based conversation facilitated by HEALTHCARE FOR THE 99%, an OCCUPY WALL STREET working group.

2012-01-31 St Vincents Community Assembly - Luxury Condos Cant Do CPR