Crains New York - April 8, 2013 - (Page 10)
OPINION
Lessons from the scandals
L
ast week’s corruption scandals produced
the usual calls for reforms. Obviously, it’s
time for change. But while some proposed
reforms would have deterred the
conspiracies that federal authorities
exposed, others are examples of advocates
seizing an opportunity to promote longheld agendas irrelevant to the cases at hand.
Prosecutors allege that Democratic state Sen. Malcolm
Smith offered payoffs to Republican Party officials to allow
his entry into the GOP mayoral primary. He needed three of
the city’s five Republican county chairmen to say yes, thanks
to an old state law that grants that power to these obscure
officials. Clearly, that statute is an invitation to abuse and
should be stricken—or rendered moot by allowing candidates
to run in primaries regardless of their party affiliation.
That’s not enough, however. Federal complaints laid out
five other corrupt schemes pervasive in New York politics:
ⅷ To approve a Rockland County development, town officials allegedly demanded a piece of the action.
ⅷ Councilman Daniel Halloran, R-Queens, allegedly accepted donations from “straw donors” via an undercover FBI
agent who had reimbursed the donors.
ⅷ Mr. Smith dangled state funding for a road project important to a builder,who in return was to bribe party leaders to support Mr. Smith’s mayoral candidacy, prosecutors charged.
ⅷ Mr. Halloran allegedly sought kickbacks for providing
public funds, known as member items. He was also charged
CRAIN’S ONLINE POLL
with being a conduit for Mr. Smith’s bribes.
ⅷ Bronx Assemblyman Eric Stevenson was charged with
accepting cash-filled envelopes to advance legislation. Another indicted assemblyman helped the feds to avoid jail himself.
The question is how to prevent these timeworn schemes.
Some suggest public financing of campaigns and stricter
limits on contributions. But those practices can actually
encourage corruption. Two associates of City Comptroller
John Liu face trial for using straw donors to evade
contribution limits. Former Councilman Sheldon Leffler
was convicted after a big donor funneled smaller amounts
through fake donors to generate public matching funds.
Investigators cannot tap the phones of our 213 state
legislators, 51 City Council members and countless
municipal officials. Reforms must instead focus on limiting
the opportunities and temptations to cheat. That means
getting rid of member items and other funding pools that
individual lawmakers largely control. Ballot access—notably
for special elections for the Assembly and Senate—should
not be essentially decided by party bosses, lest they “sell”
seats. Zoning should be geared to encourage as-of-right
development, so projects cannot be held hostage by town
officials or council members with their hands out.
Finally, advocates for public financing and donor limits
should stop portraying these reforms as anticorruption
measures. Mr. Halloran is a publicly financed city
councilman, after all, and Mr. Smith allegedly was trying to
bribe his way into a publicly financed mayoral race.
COMMENTS
Ode to the 212 code
IT’S NOT JUST ABOUT
BRAGGING RIGHTS
SHOULD CONGRESS
OFFER UNDOCUMENTED
IMMIGRANTS A CHANCE
TO BECOME CITIZENS?
Yes. The nation has long served as a beacon
of hope for immigrants seeking a better life
and has thrived on their energy and
entrepreneurialism.
No. Immigrants who enter the country without
documents should not be rewarded for
breaking the law, especially when they take
jobs from U.S. citizens.
Date of poll: April 1
689 votes
37%
Yes
63%
No
FOR THIS WEEK’S QUESTIONS:
Go to www.crainsnewyork.com/poll to have your say.
10 | Crain’s New York Business | April 8, 2013
Your April 2 online poll asked,
“Should the coveted 212 area
code be sold outside of
Manhattan and even out of
state?” Remember: 212 once
belonged to the whole city. It’s
no longer a question of just
Manhattan anymore; rather, if
area codes are widely distributed, we lose a way of knowing
where most calls originate. I can
see greater opportunities for
fraud—just imagine what
overseas boiler-room operators
will be scamming up next with
their 212 area codes!
—aaron biller
ONE OF THE REASONS for keeping
area code and geography linked
is that you can identify a caller
by the area code. When I get
marketing calls, I see on my
caller ID that the call is from
Omaha or Dallas, and I know to
let the machine pick it up. Also,
it allows businesses to identify
the calling area. If area codes
were to have no geographic link,
it would hurt businesses, and
not just in New York.
—paula
JOBLESS BILL
WILL BACKFIRE
The New York City Council’s
recent enactment of a law to
allow rejected job applicants to
sue for alleged discrimination
based on employment status
(“Lawsuits feared from new
unemployment law,” March 14)
will do more harm than good.
In aiming to protect the jobless,
this new law will actually make
it more difficult to find a job.
Faced with the threat of
litigation, many companies will
simply hire fewer people or
seek to fill positions internally.
For small businesses on a tight
budget, the threat of litigation
will have a significant impact
on hiring and will compromise
their ability to grow. And for
companies already considering
leaving New York for greener
(and less litigious) pastures, this
new law will undoubtedly be a
major consideration.
This new class of
unemployment lawsuits will
lead to widespread nuisance
litigation—benefiting neither
job-seekers nor employers.
Perhaps the only silver lining is
that lawmakers will soon have
ample evidence that such a
proposal should not be adopted
statewide.
—thomas b. stebbins
Executive director
Lawsuit Reform Alliance
of New York
A SEXIST POLL?
Re “Will City Council Speaker
Christine Quinn’s bad temper
trip up her mayoral bid?” (poll,
April 1): How dare you offend
51% of the population with
that sexist question! Would you
have asked that about a man (as
though Michael Bloomberg
and Rudy Giuliani don’t have
tempers)? I think not. Shame
on you, Crain’s.
—susan meshberg
CRAIN’S WELCOMES SUBMISSIONS to its opinion pages. Send letters to letters@crainsnewyork.com. Send columns of 475
words or fewer to opinion@crainsnewyork.com. Please include the writer’s name, company, address and telephone number.
CRAIN’S
NEW YORK BUSINESS
editor in chief Rance Crain
publisher, vp Jill R. Kaplan
EDITORIAL
editor Glenn Coleman
managing editor Jeremy Smerd
deputy managing editors Valerie Block,
Erik Ipsen
assistant managing editor Erik Engquist
senior producer, news Elisabeth Butler Cordova
news producer Amanda Fung
contributing editor Elaine Pofeldt
columnists Greg David, Alair Townsend
crain’s health pulse editor Barbara Benson
senior reporters Theresa Agovino,
Aaron Elstein, Lisa Fickenscher, Matthew Flamm
reporters Chris Bragg, Matt Chaban,
Daniel Geiger, Andrew J. Hawkins, Annie Karni,
Adrianne Pasquarelli
web reporter, producer Nazish Dholakia
art director Steven Krupinski
deputy art director Carolyn McClain
staff photographer Buck Ennis
copy desk chief Steve Noveck
copy editor Thaddeus Rutkowski
data editor Suzanne Panara
assistant data editor Emily Laermer
researchers Eva Saviano, Amy Stern
intern Ali Elkin
ONLINE AND INTERACTIVE SERVICES
senior web developer, interactive
Chris O’Donnell
ADVERTISING, MARKETING AND PRODUCTION
director of sales and marketing
Nancy Adler
senior account managers Irene Bar-Am,
David Harkey, Jill Bottomley Kunkes,
Courtney McCombs, Suzanne Wilson
director of custom content Trish Henry
sales coordinator Danielle Wiener
newsletter product manager Alexis Sinclair
credit Todd J. Masura (313-446-6097)
director of audience & content
partnership development Michael O’Connor
senior marketing manager
Catherine Schutten
director of conferences & events
Courtney Williams
reprint sales manager Lauren Melesio
production and pre-press director
Simone Pryce
advertising production manager
Suzanne Fleischman Wies
TO SUBSCRIBE:
For print and digital subscriptions or customer
service, e-mail customerservice@crainsnewyork.com
or call 877-824-9379 (in the U.S. and Canada) or
313-446-0450 (all other locations). $3.00 a copy for
the print edition; or $99.95 one year, $179.95 two
years, for print subscriptions with digital access.
www.crainsnewyork.com/subscribe
TO ADVERTISE:
Contact Nancy Adler at
nadler@crainsnewyork.com or call 212-210-0278.
www.crainsnewyork.com/advertise
FOR INFORMATION ON OUR EVENTS:
Contact Courtney Williams at
cwilliams@crainsnewyork.com or 212-210-0257.
www.crainsnewyork.com/events
TO CONTACT THE NEWSROOM:
711 Third Ave., New York, NY 10017-4036
editorial phone: 212.210.0277
fax 212.210.0799
Entire contents ©copyright 2013 Crain Communications Inc.
All rights reserved. ®CityBusiness is a registered trademark
of MCP Inc., used under license agreement.
CRAIN COMMUNICATIONS INC. BOARD OF DIRECTORS
chairman Keith E. Crain
president Rance Crain
treasurer Mary Kay Crain
Cindi Crain
executive vp, operations William Morrow
senior vp, group publisher Gloria Scoby
vp/production, manufacturing David Kamis
chief information officer Paul Dalpiaz
founder G.D. Crain Jr. (1885-1973)
chairman Mrs. G.D. Crain Jr. (1911-1996)
secretary Merrilee Crain (1942-2012)
http://www.crainsnewyork.com/subscribe
http://www.crainsnewyork.com/advertise
http://www.crainsnewyork.com/events
http://www.crainsnewyork.com/poll
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Crains New York - April 8, 2013
IN THE BOROUGHS
IN THE MARKETS
THE INSIDER
BUSINESS PEOPLE
SMALL BUSINESS
OPINION
GREG DAVID
REPORT: BANKING
THE LISTS
FOR THE RECORD
CLASSIFIEDS
REAL ESTATE DEALS
NEW YORK, NEW YORK
SOURCE LUNCH
OUT AND ABOUT
SNAPS
Crains New York - April 8, 2013
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20130812
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20130729
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20130722
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20130715
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20130708
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20130624
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20130617
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20130610
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20130603
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20130527
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20130520
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20130513
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20130506
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20130429
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20130422
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20130415
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20130408
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20130401
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20130325
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20130318
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20130311
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20130304
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20130225
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20130218
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20130211
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20130204
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20130128
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20130121
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20130114
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20130107
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20121224
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20121217
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20121210
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20121203
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20121203_v2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20121126
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20121119
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20121112
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20121105
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20121029
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20121022
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20121015
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20121008
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20121001
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20120924
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20120917
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20120910_v2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20120910
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20120827
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20120820
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20120813
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20120806
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20120806_v2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20120730
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20120723
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20120716
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20120709
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20120625
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20120618
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20120611
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20120604
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20120528
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20120521
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/20120514
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/crainsnewyork/nxtd
https://www.nxtbookmedia.com