COMPTROLLER SEEKS COURT ORDER FOR ACCESS TO DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE TAX RECORDS

  The Office of the City Comptroller has filed a lawsuit, asking the New York State Supreme Court to issue an order enforcing the Comptroller’s rights under the City Charter to access the Department of Finance tax records necessary to audit Finance’s collection of the General Corporation Tax (GCT).

The purpose of this audit is to determine the security and reliability, including the accuracy and completeness, of the assessment and collection of the GCT by Finance. Like all audits, the GCT audit is being done to safeguard the interests of New York City and its taxpayers.

GCT is a tax paid by domestic and foreign corporations that conduct business activities, utilize capital, own or lease property, or maintain an office in New York City. In addition, the GCT makes available many exemptions, deductions, and credits.  It is estimated that the GCT for this year could be as high as $3 billion.

“It is our duty as the City’s fiscal watchdog to monitor this enormous tax collection enterprise and verify that it is fair to all and that the interests of all City taxpayers are being protected,” said City Comptroller John Liu. “Finance is asking us to take its word that the collection of these funds is being properly handled. We don’t do that for any other agency and we will not do it for the Department of Finance.

“For decades Finance has been hiding behind an inaccurate interpretation of law to deny the City Comptroller’s Office the information it needs to ensure that corporations doing business within the five boroughs of New York City are paying their fair share.”

Our office has asked the Court for an order granting it access to records from Finance’s “FAIRTAX” computer system, which contains business tax return information and other vital data relating to how Finance processed the GCT returns.  Finance has denied us those records, citing tax-secrecy provisions, even though the City Charter states that the Comptroller is “entitled to obtain access to agency records required by law to be kept confidential.” Finance relied on a 1991 Opinion of the Corporation Counsel, which the Corporation Counsel reaffirmed in response to our October 2013 subpoena for the GCT records.   

The Comptroller’s Office routinely receives confidential information from City agencies when performing audits. The court order we are seeking would enable us to audit the collection of the GCT and other City taxes that account for close to seven billion dollars.

“After more than 20 years, we are asking the court to resolve this issue once and for all,” said Comptroller Liu.

Background:

“Section 93(c) of the NYC Charter provides, in relevant part (highlighting added):

The comptroller shall have power to audit all agencies, as defined in subdivision two of section eleven hundred fifty, and all agencies, the majority of whose members are appointed by city officials.  The comptroller shall be entitled to obtain access to agency records required by law to be kept confidential, other than records which are protected by the privileges for attorney-client communications, attorney work products, or material prepared for litigation, upon a representation by the comptroller that necessary and appropriate steps will be taken to protect the confidentiality of such records. 

In addition to the power to audit agencies under § 93(c), the Comptroller has:

the power to audit and investigate all matters relating to or affecting the finances of the city . . . and take the testimony under oath of such persons as the comptroller may deem necessary.”

 

N.Y.C. Charter § 93(b). The power to take testimony under § 93(b) includes the power to subpoena documents.

WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW

By Senator Rev. Rubén Díaz
32nd Senatorial District, Bronx County, New York 

 
The Magnificent Seven Members of the Moreland Commission

  Late Monday afternoon, after most people had left work for the day, the Moreland Commission to Investigate Public Corruption released its preliminary report. The Moreland Commission, as it is commonly called, was convened by Governor Andrew Cuomo in July and included significant involvement from members of his staff.

As expected, the report painted a very bleak picture of New York State politics. According to Thomas Kaplan of the New York Times: “While providing limited details, the report described ‘a pay-to-play political culture driven by large checks,’ in which wealthy interests exchanged campaign contributions for legislation; candidates spent campaign money on personal items like clothing and cigars; and the Board of Elections consistently failed to enforce election laws. The report suggested that campaign finance laws were so lax that fund-raising can amount to ‘legalized bribery’.”

As was also expected, the Moreland Commission presented recommendations to clean up New York State’s political mess, including the public financing of campaigns similar to the system that is already in place in New York City and implementing limits on campaign contributions.
Ladies and gentlemen, you should know the report did not have the unanimous consent of all the members of the Commission. There were seven dissenters and I stand with these magnificent seven members of the Moreland Commission. I stand with these magnificent seven members of the Moreland Commission in their statement that public funds should not be used for political campaigns. Why should public funds be used for my political campaign when just the other day the New York Daily News described the Bronx as “the hungriest borough?” Why should public money be used to finance political campaigns when our homeless shelters are overflowing and affordable housing is so scarce? How can any politician in good conscience accept public money for his or her campaign when so many of their constituents continue to struggle to support their families?
You should also know that the majority of politicians who have been indicted, found guilty and who are presently serving or waiting to serve prison sentences, are not in prison as a result of campaign finance and election law violations. They are in prison or have been found guilty for other unrelated crimes. The simple reality is that had the Moreland Commission’s recommendations already been in place, the recommendations would not have prevented these politicians from committing the types of crimes for which they were found guilty and subsequently sent to prison.
My dear reader, don’t get me wrong, the current system needs to be fixed and loopholes exist that you could drive a Sherman Tank through. Take for example Governor Cuomo’s birthday fundraiser bash he held at the Roseland Ballroom in New York City on Tuesday night. The top ticket came with a price tag of $50,000. How can he honestly look at any politician with a straight face, especially on the heels of his Moreland Commission’s report, and call for campaign finance reform while he blatantly increases his already-bloated war chest? Shouldn’t the Governor be the role model for campaign finance reform? Shouldn’t the Governor eliminate the influence of big money donors who have business before the State? Shouldn’t the Moreland  Commission be looking into the Governor’s campaign contributions as well as the Legislature’s?
You should know that just because the Governor’s big money fundraiser is not technically illegal, it doesn’t mean that it is morally and ethically justifiable. As I have written before in this column, “In ancient Rome there was a saying that says Caesar’s wife should not only be pure, but have the appearance of purity.”  
That is why I agree with the Magnificent Seven Members of the Moreland Commission.  And I hope that all my colleagues in the Senate do the same.
I am Senator Rev. Rubén Díaz and this is what you should know.

 

Metro North Derailment Update

  Work this afternoon to get all of the Metro North Railroad cars up righted and removed from the derailment site went smoothly as the lead car that almost wound up in the Hudson River has been placed back on Metro North Tracks. Just the first three cars remained as of this afternoon, and all three are expected to be taken away by tomorrow. All that is left to do is clean up the debris from the derailment and fix the track that was damaged. 

  Late this afternoon it was said that the black box recorder in the derailed Metro North train showed that the train was going 82 MPH as it entered the sharp curve north of the Spuyten Duyvil station. The top speed limit for the track is 70 MPH and goes down to 30 MPH at the sharp curve. It was also said that the National Transportation Safety Board has not spoken to the engineer yet, but was looking into his cell phone data to see if he might have been distracted before coming to the sharp curve. Service should now be back to normal by the end of the week or early next week.

Left - Cranes dig the first car from the banks of the Hudson River.

Right - This car is being placed back on the tracks.

 

Left - The first car is now back on the tracks.

Right - Another car that had been placed back on the track is awaiting to be taken away. That is the cut off to the Amtrak Bridge as both Amtrack and Metro North share the Hudson Line tracks above where the train derailment occurred.

Official Chanukah Menorah Lighting

   Tonight was the official Riverdale Chanukah Menorah lighting. State Senator Jeff Klein joined Rabbi Levi Shemtov and both went up in the Con Edison truck bucket to light the fifth light of the Riverdale Menorah. This was the official lighting and over 100 people came out to watch, dance, have delicious donuts and potato latkas , and a good time. 

   As you will see in the photos below Senator Klein and Rabbi Shemtov put on safety harnesses and went up in the trucks bucket up to the top of the giant menorah (the largest in the Bronx) to light the Chanukah lights. 

Left - The Chanukah party is in full swing.

Right - Rabbi Shemtov explains to Senator Klein just what he has to do in lighting the giant menorah.

Left - The pair put on their safety harnesses.

Right - The bucket starts to go up to the top of the giant menorah.

Left -   The center light is lit first.
Right - The fifth light is next for the fifth night.

Left - Rabbi Shemtov guides the bucket operator so the other lights can be lit.

Right - The other lights are lit one by one.

Left - Once all the days lights are lit the bucket returns to ground level.

Right - Now that all of the days lights are lit that partying begins. There are three more nights of Chanukah left to enjoy and to light the lights of the eight nights of Chanukah.

Koppell Farewell Party

   This afternoon at the Riverdale Y current Councilman Oliver Koppell held his annual Holiday Party. This year however it was a farewell party for the term limited councilman. Over 300 of Koppells friends and acquaintances showed up to bid the good councilman a fond farewell, but was it a good-bye party or a party in preparation of Oliver Koppell annannouncement that he will be running for the 34th State Senate seat against current State Senator Jeff Klein. Recently Koppell and his wife have expressed their dismay with how Senator Klein has risen to be Co-Leader with Dean Skellows of the Republican minority in the State Senate. Both have called Klein a traitor to the Democratic Party for doing so, and it was reported that Councilman Koppell has had talks with the State Senate Democratic committee for a possible challenge to Senator Klein. While Mrs. Koppell told me two years ago that once her husband was to be term limited out of office he would not seek any other office and retire from politics. Today was another story as she told me that she is encouraging husband Oliver to stay active in the political world. In what could be another hint at a senate run in his speech Councilman Koppell said that he is known for his honesty, integrity, and for being a loyal progressive Democrat.

  Among the elected officials on hand were Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz, City Controller Elect Scott Stringer, and Congressman Jerry Nadler. There were many Community Board 8 and even some Community Board 7 members who have been appointed with Councilman Koppell's stamp of approval. 

  His daughter Jackie opened up the party by asking for a moment of silence for those who were killed or injured in the mornings train derailment by the Hudson River in South Riverdale. She added that her father has been in politics longer than she has been around, and even got chocked up a bit in saying some of the many things that her father has done. 

  When he spoke Councilman Koppell told of the time he ran for Bronx Borough President in 1979 loosing and being left penny less after the election, but he said that it was his partner of over 30 years that encouraged him to continue in his pursuit of elected office. He went through a power point presentation of many of his accomplishments in the district. Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz was then invited up to say a few words. Dinowitz said that he had known Oliver Koppel for over 40 years, and that Oliver could have made a lot of money if he had chosen to go into a private life. He then thanked Councilman Koppell on behalf of the community. 

  One of Oliver Koppell's most remembered moments in the State Assembly came when he introduced the Bottle Bill which became law, and he said that over100 billion bottles and cans have been recycled as of that law in New York State. 

 

Left - The Koppell's - Oliver, daughter Jackie and wife Lorraine.

Right - The power point presentation of just a few of Councilman Koppell's accomplishments.

left - Congressman Jerry Nadler and City Controller Elect Scott Stringer wait to be called to say a few words about Oliver Koppell.

Right - Herb Barrett presents Councilman Koppell with a special plaque for his help in getting the Veterans Memorial Grove in Van Cortlandt Park renovated.

Metro North Derailment Update

UPDATE

  It will be at least 7 - 10 days before the National Transportation Safety Board completes its investigation of today's Metro North derailment on the tracks just north of the Spuyten Duyvil station. No information other than shuttle bus service will be provided has come out as the Hudson line is closed below Tarrytown

.

  There are reports that a fifth and possibly more passengers have died in the derailment as it is not known if there were any people still under any of the train cars. There was also a report that a body had washed up on the shoreline below the station on either side of the water. 

  As to the exact cause of the derailment it has been reported that the engineer said that he applied the brakes to slow the train down from the 70MPH it was going before the sharp curve that has a speed limit of 30MPH, but that the brakes did not slow the train down.

  More details will be posted when they become available.

Metro North Derailment by Spuyten Duyvil Station

  Above was the scene this morning as a diesel engine seven car Metro North commuter train that originated from Poughkeepsie derailed just north of the Spuyten Duyvil Station in Riverdale. The train was being pushed by the diesel engine and derailed as it had just gone over the curved split in the Metro North tracks that lead to the Amtrak Bridge or south to the Spuyten Duyvil Station. All cars left the train tracks with the first car landing on the banks of the Hudson River. The diesel engine was at the back of the train (as has been normal for these trains from Poughkeepsie) and pushing the train so the engineer would not know of any danger or impediments that may have been on the track. 

  

  In the past two diesel engines were used so the train was always being pulled with the engineer at the front of the train rather than using only one diesel engine with the engineer at the back of the train. That is something that will have to be investigated to see if had the engineer been at the front of this train, could this accident been averted?

  There were 67 passengers on the Sunday morning train, and four people were declared dead at the scene with 11 other people critically injured and taken to local hospitals. Had this been a regular morning rush hour train the dead and injured would have been much greater. The speed limit is 30 MPH in the Spuyten Duyvil Station area, but those who wait at the station will tell you that it seems that the trains from Poughkeepsie go much faster than 30 MPH. Back in July less than six months ago there was another derailment of a freight train on this same Metro North line between the Spuyten Duyvil Station and the Marble Hill stations.

Below are more photos of the derailment.

The lead car of this train ended up on the banks of the Hudson River outside the Spuyten Duyvil Station.

Here you can see how the train cars in the middle of the train ended up. You can see the car on the right is on its side and is being braced in this and other spots so the car does not move any more.

Here the diesel engine that was pushing the 7 passenger cars lays sideways off the tracks.

STATEMENT FROM BOROUGH PRESIDENT DIAZ

RE: Metro North Train Derailment

“This morning a horrible accident has left four people dead and dozens more injured, casting a dark shadow over the Thanksgiving and Hanukkah holidays. While we learn more about the specifics of what exactly happened this morning, my thoughts and prayers, as well as those of all 1.4 million Bronx residents, are with the victims and their families as they deal with this terrible tragedy," said Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr.

Families looking for information on specific passengers should call 718-817-7444. Visit mta.info or call 511 for more information regarding transit service.