SHAME : de Blasio mailer praises LICH closure

From the Demand A Hospital listserv

Dear All :

A deceptive astroturf mailer is being sent to Brooklyn residents formerly treated by Long Island College Hospital. The mailer praises the condo conversion deal that closed the hospital with plans to replace it with another "urgent care center on steroids."

LINK : De Blasio-allied group defends LICH deal to brownstone Brooklyn (Capital New York) : http://www.capitalnewyork.com/article/city-hall/2014/07/8548261/de-blasio-allied-group-defends-lich-deal-brownstone-brooklyn

Shades of when Bll Rudin used an astroturf group called "Westside Healthcare Coalition" to send his own deceptive mailers about the inferior urgent care center to be operated by North Shore-LIJ/Lenox Hill at the old O'Toole Building that the community was being duped into accepting as a sub-par replacement for the full-service and Trauma Level I hospital that was St. Vincent's.

LINK : Westside Healthcare Coalition is a Lie (Scribd) : http://www.scribd.com/doc/52718885/West-Side-Healthcare-Coalition-is-a-Lie

The really shocking part of the deceptive LICH mailers being sent to Brooklyn residents is that the mailers are coming from the lobbying firm Berlin Rosen, which is Mayor Bill de Blasio's political arm in public relations.

Mayor de Blasio didn't save LICH, betraying his campaign promise to support "hospitals, not condos." Now, the mayor and his people want to spin a story about how the luxury condo conversion of another hospital is good for still yet another big name real estate developer, this time the Fortis Property Group.

Shame !!!!!

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Tell Mayor Bill de Blasio and Gov. Andrew Cuomo to stop closing our hospitals. Call 311 for the mayor and 1 (518) 474-8390 for the governor.

You can also tweet your concerns to : @BilldeBlasio -and- @NYGovCuomo

Bill de Blasio and Bill Rudin Community Betrayal ?

Has Mayor de Blasio turned his back on the community demand for a full-service hospital to replace St. Vincent's ?

Bill Rudin is one of the most corrupt real estate developers in New York City. He is the one, who basically foreclosed on St. Vincent's Hospital. He and his family paid off former Council Speaker Christine Quinn with $30,000 in campaign donations to look the other way. Has Bill Rudin found a way to pay off Mayor Bill de Blasio, too ?

• RELATED : Bill de Blasio may not like the condos Rudin Management is building in place of the old St. Vincent's Hospital, but that hasn't impacted his relationship with the developer's former lobbyist, James Capalino. (A former Rudin lobbyist volunteers for Bill de Blasio * Capital New York)
• RELATED : Last week, Mayor Bill de Blasio stopped by an Association for a Better New York power breakfast to pay respect to one his key real estate development supporters, Bill Rudin. (Mayor de Blasio Makes Surprise Stop at Bill Rudin's ABNY Power Breakfast * The New York Observer)

From the Demand A Hospital listserv :

Dear All :

Last year, Bill de Blasio demonstrated outside the construction site for the $1 billion Rudin luxury condo complex in order to burnish his appeal amongst the communities impacted by hospital closings. The theme of that protest was "Hospitals, Not Condos."

• LINK : Bill de Blasio to lead ‘Hospitals Not Condos’ rally at former St. Vincent’s site, with Belafonte, Sarandon, Cynthia Nixon, others (East Villager)

Furthermore, one of the NYC Is Not For Sale commercials that helped to elect Mayor de Blasio focused on the corrupt role of Bill Rudin's campaign donations to former Council Speaker Christine Quinn.

• LINK : New Super PAC ad blasts Christine Quinn for role in closing of St. Vincent’s Hospital (The New York Daily New)

But now that he's been elected, Mayor de Blasio is socializing with the very same corrupt real estate developer whose luxury condo conversion deal he once criticized.

• LINK : Bill Bratton, Bill de Blasio and Bill Rudin at an April 3 gala. (Crains).

Does this mean that Mayor de Blasio has turned his back on the community's demand for a full service hospital to replace St. Vincent's ?

Thanks for all that you do.

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Tell Gov. Andrew Cuomo to stop closing our hospitals : 1 (518) 474-8390

You can also tweet your concerns to Gov. Cuomo at : @NYGovCuomo

Remembering St. Vincent's Hospital and Dr. Brickner ; Mayor de Blasio with Bill Rudin (twice)

From the Demand A Hospital listserv :

Dear All :

A news round-up, plus photographs of Mayor de Blasio kissing up to Bill Rudin and embracing Rudin lobbyist, James Capalino.

1. Remembering Dr. Brickner. Dr. Philip Brickner, who was chairman of St. Vincent's community medicine department, made house calls and set up a “free clinic” for people in need. He passed away on March 24 at his home in the Riverdale section of the Bronx. He was 85. (Remembering Dr. Philip Brickner, who made house calls to the vulnerable, dies at 85 * The New York Times)

2. Remembering St. Vincent's Hospital. Some say that Rudin Management, the builder of the new billion-dollar luxury condominium complex at St. Vincent’s footprint, was coincidentally former City Council Speaker Christine Quinn’s largest campaign contributor, and she didn’t do all she could do to save the hospital. Sadly, this article unfairly blames St. Vincent's for the economic consequences of making good on its own charity mission. Healthcare has taken a beating in Greenwich Village and Chelsea, and, citywide, the assault continues. (Remembering St. Vincent's Hospital * The Indypendent)

3. Bill Rudin breakfast. Mayor Bill de Blasio makes a "surprise" appearance last Wednesday morning at Bill Rudin's Association for a Better New York power breakfast. (Mayor de Blasio makes surprise stop at ABNY insider breakfast * The New York Observer)

4. Bill Rudin gala. Mayor de Blasio expresses support Thursday night for police crackdown as a way to jack up real estate values at Bill Rudin's Waldorf-Astoria charity benefit in this desperate Bloomberg public relations puff piece meant to help rehabilitate the Rudin family's tarnished image. See photo. (Mayor de Blasio kisses up to Bill Rudin at Waldorf-Astoria gala * Bloomberg)

5. James Capalino connection. Reminder that last year, then mayoral candidate Bill de Blasio literally and figuratively embraced campaigning with Rudin's corrupt ULURP condo conversion lobbyist, James Capalino. See photo. (James Capalino, a former Rudin lobbyist volunteers for de Blasio * Capital New York)

Thank you for all that you do.

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Tell Gov. Andrew Cuomo to stop closing our hospitals : 1 (518) 474-8390

You can also tweet your concerns to Gov. Cuomo at : @NYGovCuomo

Bill de Blasio Marches In Veterans Day Parade With OWS Nemesis ; What Political Mandate ?

Mitch Rudin, president and CEO of U.S. commercial operations at Brookfield Office Properties, evicted Occupy Wall Street from Zuccotti Park.

Mitch Rudin, CEO of US operations for Brookfield Properties, joined Bill de Blasio for Veterans Day Parade http://t.co/avrBBjhWcB #OWS

— Louis Flores (@maslowsneeds) November 12, 2013

For several blocks, New York City mayor-elect Bill de Blasio marched in today's Veterans Day Parade alongside Mitch Rudin, the US CEO for Brookfield Properties. Brookfield Properties was the landlord over Zuccotti Park, which had been the site of the Occupy Wall Street encampment, before Brookfield asked Mayor Michael Bloomberg and the NYPD to evict the protesters.

Mr. de Blasio campaigned for mayor on a platform that supported Occupy Wall Street sensibilities, but the de Blasio campaign has not addressed the apparent contradiction of the mayor-elect embracing Mr. Rudin when so many Occupy activists were under the impression that Mr. de Blasio was a sympathizer.

Occupy Wall Street is "speaking to what people feel all over this country" –Bill de Blasio at Zuccotti Park, 10/13/11 http://t.co/g6PxIWBFeX

— Michael Moore (@MMFlint) November 6, 2013

• Mitch Rudin, CEO of US operations for Brookfield Properties, joined Bill de Blasio for Veterans Day Parade
• How committed is Bill de Blasio to progressive reforms ?
• Bags of Cash : Political Corruption and Lobbyists in NYC, NYS
• Bill de Blasio is going to let liberals down

Voter Turn-Out Was 22% : What political mandate ?

The media keeps describing Mr. de Blasio's win as a "landslide," yet his effective voting tally expressed as a percent of total registered voters is actually lower than 20%. Given how few registered voters made it to the polls on election day, how can the media spin such a low participation rate to equal a political mandate ?

Newsday’s Dan Janison notes the paltry turnout numbers in last week’s general election, running counter to the narrative of a “popular uprising” for de Blasio. (Voter turnout disappointing in Tuesday's elections : New York Newsday)

Turnout in Tuesday’s election for New York City mayor appeared to have set a record low of 24 percent of registered voters. (New York: Voter Turnout Appears to Be Record Low * The New York Times)

Corrupt Campaign Finance and Lobbyist Scandals in de Blasio and Cuomo administrations

Bags of Cash : Political Corruption and Lobbyists in NYC, NYS

Real estate developers, gambling interests, and lobbyists corrupt New York City and New York State politics. In this YouTube video, questions are raised about why the super-majority of liberal and progressive politicians in New York are unable to propose and enact real campaign finance and lobbyist reforms. Are Public Advocate Bill de Blasio, Gov. Andrew Cuomo, and Prosecutor Kathleen Rice more interested in milking big business interests and lobbyists of campaign donations to dare to reform the broken political system ?

Stay tuned ....

C.W.A., a pro-@deBlasioNYC union contributed $507,000 to the Anybody but Quinn campaign. (via @SallyGold) http://t.co/FxmwqgaAW2

— Gideon Resnick (@GideonResnick) October 30, 2013

.@deBlasioNYC the big winner from IE spending in the general election: his backers spent $1.29M; supporters of @JoeLhota4Mayor spent $387K.

— Thomas Kaplan (@thomaskaplan) November 4, 2013

De Blasio Accused of Coordinating with Anti-Quinn Super PAC http://t.co/E9l3Qau77L #CSFirstRead (via @ccampy)

— City & State (@CityAndStateNY) November 4, 2013

James Capalino, Other Lobbyists Lined Up To Help Host Million-Dollar Bill de Blasio/Hillary Clinton Fundraiser

James Capalino, Other Lobbyists Lined Up To Help Host Million-Dollar Bill de Blasio/Hillary Clinton Fundraiser

From Daily News Daily Politics :

The host committee of Bill de Blasio's million-dollar Monday-night fundraiser with Hillary Clinton read like a who's who of big-league city lobbyists -- and it's drawing fire from his GOP foe in the mayor's race.

"The level of Bill de Blasio's hypocrisy is alarming. He takes cash from developers and special interests while telling New Yorkers he supports something different," Jessica Proud, a spokeswoman for Republican nominee Joe Lhota, told the Daily News. "I don't think anyone can trust who the real Bill de Blasio is when he always tries to play both sides."

De Blasio spokesman Dan Levitan declined comment on both Proud's comments or the number of lobbyists involved in the cash bash.

Among those on the host committee for the Roosevelt Hotel soiree : James Capalino, who in the past lobbied for Rudin Management, which is developing high-end condos near the site of the shuttered St. Vincent's Hospital, and A-list lobbyist Suri Kasirer, who has met with de Blasio on Atlantic Yards project.

Kasirer characterized her role in the fundraiser as more about old friendships than pending business.

"It was kind of like Old Home Week," said Kasirer, who said her 25-year friendship with the mayoral frontrunner goes back to the administration of former Mayor David Dinkins and continued through and past Clinton's 2000 run for the Senate.

While Kasirer says she's closely watching issues that may extend into the next administration, such as Midtown East rezoning, she painted the evening as "a way for a lot of New Yorkers to give a boost to Hillary and let her know that we were eagerly waiting for her decision and want her to run [for president]...

"I think for me it was less about lobbying than it was about sort of longtime relationships."

Capalino didn't immediately return a call about the fundraiser.

Fordham University's Costas Panagopoulos said the list wasn't surprising given that given that "money follows power and special interests can read the polls just as well as anyone else can," and that de Blasio and many of his backers are "established politicians with access to lobbyists and other donors" happy to help raise cash for a man who may make decisions critical to their clients.

The political science prof also said there is of course the issue of "whether someone who's been elected partly as a result of having attracted considerable financial support is subsequently beholden to those interests" if he or she wins.

"We'd like to think that kind of quid pro quo -- or some would go so far as to call it corruption -- doesn't exist, but it's a legitimate question," he said. "Answering this question will require vigilance and surveillance if [de Blasio is] elected."

Others on the lengthy host committee list included Stan Natapoff and Alexandra Stanton of Empire Global Ventures; Rachel Amar of Waste Management Of New York; and Michael Woloz of Connelly McLaughlin & Woloz.

Will Bill de Blasio Fight For A New Hospital To Replace St. Vincent's ?

Bill de Blasio made campaign stops in front of the luxury condominium and townhouse complex that Rudin Management Company is constructing on the former site of St. Vincent's Hospital. These campaign stops were meant to highlight the healthcare injustice of the spree of hospital closings in New York City. Will Bill de Blasio lead the charge to call for a full-service hospital and Level I Trauma Center to replace St. Vincent's, or were all those campaign stops just exploitation of the issue to drum up votes ?

To get a full-service hospital to replace St. Vincent's, Bill de Blasio has to feel that he's *not* going to stride to an easy finish.

— Stop Christine Quinn (@stopchrisquinn) September 11, 2013

Instead, Bill de Blasio's going to put on a pair of skates and then take to the same thin sheet of ice that Quinn just got yanked off of.

— Stop Christine Quinn (@stopchrisquinn) September 11, 2013