Christine Quinn Tax Payer Money to buy votes Housing advocacy vs to directly service poor
"The funding generally is given to groups that provide services to the poor, the elderly and children, including Citymeals-on-Wheels and the Brooklyn Children's Museum last year. The funding was voted on as a block by the full council.
"It's not typical of discretionary-funding projects to have a more advocacy angle....What's different is that this is for advocacy more than for direct services," said Rachael Fauss of Citizens Union, a nonprofit group that closely observes city and state budgets.
Benjamin Dulchin, the Association for Neighborhood and Housing Development's executive director, defended his organization's use of the money, saying it also was used to do policy research. Its reports are available to all city officials and the public. "Putting a position out there is what we do. We are proud of the fact that we took permanent affordability from a pipe dream to something that people saw as realistic and implementable," he said.
Ms. Quinn, a Manhattan Democrat, declined an interview request. Jamie McShane, a spokesman for the speaker's office, said it isn't unprecedented for funds to be given to groups that advocate on public issues. He pointed to the Council of Senior Centers and Services of New York City, which received a $20,000 member item this year to run workshops and training for the nonprofit group's providers."
