Professional Documents
Culture Documents
ROOTS
OF
BETRAYAL
:
THE
ETHICS
OF
CHRISTINE
QUINN
2013
BY
LOUIS
FLORES
ALL
RIGHTS
RESERVED.
I
have
heretofore
likewise
mentioned
the
necessity
of
a
large
and
equal
representation
;
and
there
is
no
political
matter
which
more
deserves
our
attention.
A
small
number
of
electors,
or
a
small
number
of
representatives,
are
equally
dangerous.
But
if
the
number
of
the
representatives
be
not
only
small,
but
unequal,
the
danger
is
increased.
Thomas
Paine,
Common
Sense
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 1 -
Media
Inquiries
If
you
would
like
to
speak
with
the
author,
schedule
speaking
opportunities,
or
to
inquire
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acquisition
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rights,
please
contact
Louis
Flores
at
:
louisflores@louisflores.com
or
1
(646)
400-1168.
Notes
Many
people
chose
not
to
coperate
with
this
book.
Christine
Quinn,
through
one
of
her
political
aides,
Alexandra
Nudelman,
ended
communication.
A
few
months
before
he
died,
Ed
Kochs
staff
declined
a
request
for
an
interview.
Sen.
Tom
Duane s
office,
before
he
stepped
down,
did
not
return
an
e-mail.
But
Sen.
Duane
did,
through
DNAinfo.com,
dismiss
critics
of
Speaker
Quinn
as
a
small
fringe
group
of
people
that
try
to
demand
attention.1
Many
progressive
LGBT
activists
also
did
not
agree
to
interviews
for
fear
of
retaliation
by
Speaker
Quinn.
Much
of
the
research
collected
for
this
book
is
public
record,
and,
where
possible,
footnotes
to
Web
site
sources
are
provided
on
the
Scribd
link
for
this
book
project.
The
intention
of
this
book
project
is
to
provide
an
overview
of
Speaker
Quinns
ethics.
The
research
and
analysis
that
is
provided
herein
is
to
help
voters
become
aware
of
the
direction
that
Speaker
Quinn
first
promised
to
take
us
and
the
direction
in
which
we
have
been
actually
heading
under
her
leadership.
Courtesy
titles
are
used
where
appropriate.
Because
of
the
constant
repetition
of
Speaker
Quinns
and
(sometimes)
former
Sen.
Tom
Duanes
names,
they
may
be
referred
to
by
their
first
names
more
often
than
naught.
The
use
of
courtesy
titles
would
have
otherwise
stilted
the
narrative,
and
in
no
way
should
the
lack
of
use
of
courtesy
titles
be
interpreted
to
mean
anything
else.
1
http://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20130109/new-york-city/christine-quinn-foes-prepare-campaign-spoil-
her-mayoral-hopes
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 2 -
Prologue
On
a
frigid
February
day
in
2003,
New
Yorkers
would
wake
up
to
the
harsh
realities
of
a
police
state.
The
Republican
Mayor,
Michael
Bloomberg,
and
the
militarized
NYPD
Commissioner,
Raymond
Kelly,
had
denied
citizens
the
right
to
participate
in
a
protest
march
that
organisers
had
planned
to
denounce
the
impending
U.S.
invasion
of
Iraq.
Instead,
the
protest
would
take
the
form
of
a
rally
near
a
stage
at
East
51st
Street
and
First
Avenue
in
Manhattan.
But
the
turn-out
was
so
large
that,
according
to
The
New
York
Times,
crowds
filled
First
Avenue
from
49th
Street
to
72nd
Street
and
spilled
over
into
side
streets
and
to
Second,
Third
and
Lexington
Avenues,
where
thousands
more
were
halted
at
police
barricades,
far
from
the
sights
and
sounds
of
the
demonstration.2
The
protest
in
New
York
City
was
part
of
a
world-wide
demonstration
taking
place
on
Saturday,
February
15,
in
opposition
to
President
George
W.
Bushs
eventual
invasion
of
Iraq.
Many
people
believed
that
President
Bush,
Vice
President
Dick
Cheney,
and
Secretary
of
Defense
Donald
Rumsfeld
were
determined
to
invade
Iraq,
regardless
of
the
outcome
of
any
weapons
inspections,
and
New
Yorkers
were
moved
to
participate
in
the
massive
rally
on
February
15
as
a
way
to
express
their
dissent
with
the
Bush
administrations
war
plans.
New
Yorkers
thought
that
since
they
lived
in
New
York
City,
arguably
the
most
progressive
city
in
the
United
States,
then,
for
them,
showing
up
at
the
February
15
anti-war
rally
would
be
easy.
But
they
would
be
wrong.
2
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/16/nyregion/threats-and-responses-overview-from-new-york-to-
melbourne-cries-for-peace.html
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 3 -
Police put up metal barricades along the East Side avenues in Midtown Manhattan. Horse-mounted police were deployed. Some said that Manhattan-bound subway trains from Queens stopped running that afternoon, so that the mayor and police could prevent more people from getting to the demonstration. Those, who made it, were locked inside metal barricades and were forced to stand in tight spaces in subfreezing temperatures with no room to move to keep warm. Days before, everybody had seen Secretary of State Colin Powell deliver an alarming presentation at the United Nations, showing his collection of satellite photos.3 New Yorkers thought that the February 15 rally would be an effective way to express their opposition to the army of state actors being dispatched to clear the way for the impending war. But the organizing of the February 15 rally was being hobbled at every turn by each of Mayor Bloomberg, Commissioner Kelly, and the federal courts. How could it come to be that, right here in New York City, the proud beacon of progressive values, an anti-war protest that reflected such a large proportion of the public opinion be thwarted ? Was there no public official in New York City, who understood the importance and role of citizens participation in their own governance, in direct democracy ? Someone, who could stand up and fight for the right of the people to determine what their government is allowed to do ?
3
http://www.un.org/apps/news/storyAr.asp?NewsID=6079&Cr=iraq&Cr1=inspect
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 4 -
Chapter
1
When
Christine
Quinn
won
a
special
election
in
February
1999
to
represent
Manhattan
District
3
in
the
New
York
City
Council,
New
York
was
in
an
in-between
place.
It
was
transitioning
from
being
the
peoples
capital
city
--
with
edge
and
sizzle
--
to
becoming
the
gentrified
land
of
luxury
--
increasingly
gated
by
the
invisible
hands
of
income
and
wealth
requirements.
This
district
had
been
known
for
supporting
progressive
politics,
and,
given
Christines
ideology
and
her
reputation
as
a
lesbian
activist
known
for
supporting
left-wing
causes,4
all
she
had
to
do
was
to
stay
true
to
her
roots,
and
there
was
going
to
be
no
way
that
she
could
mess
this
up.
There
was
a
lot
riding
on
her
career.
People
had
hitched
so
much
symbolism,
so
much
meaning,
to
her
success.
It
was
as
if
she
had
become
the
chosen
one,
the
politician
that
was
going
to
stand
up
and
represent
by
proxy
the
entire
LGBT
community
in
New
York
City.
Many
activists,
who
started
out
as
grassroots
community
organizers,
dreamed
of
changing
the
world.
And
here
was
Christine,
being
one
of
the
fortunate
activists
to
have
found
an
opportunity
to
take
her
sensibilities
about
activism
into
the
inside
of
politics.
Some
activists
in
Christines
community
would
stay
true
to
their
cause,
whilst
others
would
sell
out.
Heres
an
overview
of
the
arc
of
the
ethics
that
Christines
activism
would
take,
which
would
nominally
start
out
as
a
heros
journey,
before
it
would
ultimately
morph
into
something
else.
Christine
was
lucky
to
have
found
a
mentor
in
the
then-newly-elected
New
York
State
Senator
Tom
Duane.
Sen.
Duane
had
just
vacated
the
very
City
Council
4
http://articles.nydailynews.com/1999-02-20/entertainment/18092136_1_christine-quinn-gay-rights-lesbian-
anti-violence-project
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 5 -
seat,
which
Christine
had
won
in
a
special
election,
and
she
owed
everything
to
him.
One
year
after
Christine
had
graduated
from
college,
she
was
in
New
York
City
working
on
behalf
of
tenants
rights
alongside
a
controversial
activist
named
Michael
McKee.5
Mr.
McKee
would
later
be
criticized
for
being
more
about
flash
than
about
results.6
Nonetheless,
in
a
very
short
time,
Christine
would
come
to
the
attention
of
LGBT
activists
in
Manhattan,
even
though,
in
her
early
years,
Christine
was
living
in
the
closet.7
In
almost
no
time,
Christine
jumped
from
being
a
tenants
rights
activist
with
the
Housing
Justice
Campaign
in
19898
to
serving
as
Sen.
Duanes
campaign
manager
in
1991,
when
he
was
first
running
for
the
City
Council
seat
that
would
eventually
become
her
own.9
Christines
work
as
a
campaign
manager
helped
Christine
meet
with
other
community
organizers,
such
as
Jane
Wood,
who
was
a
tenant
organizer
respected
for
her
commitment
to
grassroots
activism.
Christine
used
all
of
her
activist
connections
to
build
support
for
Mr.
Duanes
1991
political
campaign.
After
he
won
the
election,
Christine
naturally
took
the
job
as
Mr.
Duanes
chief-of-staff
at
the
City
Council.
In
those
early
years,
Christine
kept
following
her
passion
:
meeting
and
working
for
more
and
more
politicians.
In
1992,
Christines
networking
would
lead
her
to
meet
a
Democratic
campaign
adviser,
Emily
Giske,
in
whom
Christine
would
find
a
powerful
friend
and
political
ally.10
Ever
since
Harvey
Milk
inspired
the
LGBT
community
with
his
courageous
message
of
hope
in
the
face
of
tragedy,
the
thought
among
some
community-
5
http://blogs.wsj.com/metropolis/2012/10/23/quinn-skips-hearing-on-chelsea-market-expansion/
6
http://christinequinn.com/content/quinns-fake-tenant-credentials-phony-mckees
7
http://observer.com/1999/06/christine-quinn-sets-it-straight-im-a-lesbian-yup-100-percent/
8
http://blogs.wsj.com/metropolis/2012/10/23/quinn-skips-hearing-on-chelsea-market-expansion/
9
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2012/04/02/120402fa_fact_mead
10
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/02/nyregion/for-speaker-quinn-mayor-race-will-test-alliance-with-
lobbyist.html
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
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organizing activists was that if more LGBT politicians could be elected, then progress could be made by an elected official running an inside strategy concurrently with activists running an outside strategy. If more LGBT politicians could be symbolically elected to public office, then real equality could finally be legislated or officiated. Activism was intense and sometimes messy work, especially for activists who use direct action or civil disobedience. For an intense social movement, like the one for AIDS treatment and social services, if an activist burned out or turned out to be ineffective, then there was always somebody else ready to take his or her place, or a new working group or an entirely new organization could be formed ; activists were autonomous like that. But once an activist got elected to a political office, that one politician would be an elected official for the term of their office, and that official would benefit from incumbency privileges. The only chance to replace that elected official would be through an election. Once you were stuck with an immovable politician, the possibility of social change would then depend on influencing electoral politics. Looking back, it becomes clear that after a few years of having worked as chief-of-staff under then Councilmember Duane, Christine had begun to be groomed for her own symbolic run for political office. In 1996, Christine began to wade out on her own, by assuming the leadership position at an important LGBT nonprofit agency, the New York City Gay and Lesbian Anti-Violence Project (AVP). Her time at AVP would help Christine solidify a working relationship with a very accomplished
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 7 -
activist
from
ACT
UP
named
Barbara
Hughes.11
Ms.
Hughess
community
organizing
and
activism
skills
would
inspire
and
inform
Christines
worldview
during
this
time.
Indeed,
Christine
and
then
Councilmember
Duane
had
been
involved
in
ACT
UP.
Many
years
later,
long
after
Christine
had
succeeded
in
consolidating
power,
she
would
always
look
back
to
Ms.
Hughes
as
a
guidepost
for
what
their
shared
passion
for
activism
had
once
meant
to
Christine.
Ms.
Hughes
was
somebody,
who
actually
followed
through
on
the
altruism
of
her
activism,
and
this
resonated
with
Christine
in
her
early
years
in
public
office.
This
is
how
Christine
spoke
of
Ms.
Hughes
during
an
interview
many
years
later,
after
Christine
had
reached
a
milestone
in
her
efforts
to
achieve
power
:
Shes
somebody
who
gave
up
a
job
where
she
couldve
made
a
lot
of
money
and
dedicated
all
parts
of
her
life
to
improving
the
lot
of
others.
And
if
I
can
keep
the
idea
she
kept
in
mind,
while
Im
speaker,
I
think
Ill
have
done
a
very
good
job.12
Ms.
Hughes
was
also
somebody,
who
would
become
a
critical,
early
defender
of
Christines
career.
At
every
opportunity,
in
those
early
years,
Christine
was
meeting
and
working
with
people,
who
would
either
serve
as
mentors
or
cheerleaders.
People
really
wanted
to
believe
that
Christine
was
going
to
be
the
real
deal
:
a
community
activist-organizer,
who
was
going
to
make
the
transition
into
a
powerholder
--
and
stay
true
to
her
activist
roots.
How
would
Christine
handle
this
responsibility
?
Christine
had
graduated
from
being
a
political
activist
to
a
community
organizer
to
political
aide
to
the
executive
director
of
an
agency
to
a
councilmember.
She
had
participated
in
rallies,
protests,
and
civil
disobedience
and
now
was
11
http://www.treatmentactiongroup.org/barbara-hughes
12
http://www.projectrenewal.org/downloads/WNBC%20Barbara%20Hughes%20-%20Jan%2006.pdf
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 8 -
deliberately transitioning from an outside, grassroots strategy to an inside, powerholder strategy. The promise that Christine was making was that if she could rise to power, then she would become a beacon of top-down support for bottom-up community empowerment -- that she could fulfill on the progressive political sensibilities of New Yorkers. She was sold as being one of us, from an old-time Irish tradition of politically-minded progressive idealists, one person said. This was the shiny wrapping in which Christine was being packaged. One of Christines self-described early successes was shrouded in some controversy. While she was executive director of AVP, Christine claimed to have not only expanded its range of programs and services, but also increased awareness of bias crimes nationwide.13 The backchannel talk was that Christine reorganized the agency by purging the staff, one person said. And another person said that what Christine did was to professionalize the agency in order to qualify for grants and so on. No case notes were kept, one source said, offering one example of what Christine was confronting, and Christines changes in staff were part of her efforts to improve the agency. Again, whenever people were approached to speak about Christines record, there was a sensibility expressed about being the target of retaliation from Christine. Those, who would speak, requested anonymity. But many people would refuse to speak at all. Notwithstanding the backchannel rationalizations, Christine would be criticized years later for the way she dismissed the staff of AVP during the agencys
13
http://christinequinn.tripod.com/bio.htm
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 9 -
reorganization,
which
would
cast
doubt
on
the
storyline
about
Christines
reforms.14
15
Christine
needed
swift
success
at
AVP
in
order
to
parlay
that
gig
into
a
greater
personal
opportunity.
But
Christine
was
courting
trouble
by
claiming
to
need
to
professionalize
AVP.
Christine
was
implying
that
the
agency
needed
improvement
when
she
took
over,
which
was
far
from
the
truth.
And
here,
in
the
tale
of
what
happened
at
AVP,
was
the
beginning
of
what
would
come
to
be
described
as
a
manufactured
early
success
for
Christine,
which
needed
to
happen
in
order
to
begin
to
lay
the
groundwork
for
a
myth
about
Christine.
Christines
term
at
AVP
was
critical
to
her
career.
Christine
would
understand
at
AVP
the
tremendous
pressure
caused
by
nonprofit
fund
raising.
Nonprofits
faced
outsized
influence
from
their
benefactors
and
the
members
of
the
board
of
directors,
who
were
responsible
for
raising
money.
The
pressure
by
one
board
member
is
allegedly
what
would
lead
Christine
his
young
lover,
multiple
sources
said.
This
hiring,
in
connection
with
Christines
purging
of
the
expert
staff
at
AVP,
would
lead
to
a
great
controversy
among
LGBT
activists.
But
AVP
didnt
just
have
paid
staff,
it
also
had
trained
volunteers,
who
answered
the
hotlines,
because
AVP
was
providing
critical
services
to
LGBT
victims
of
violence
and
hate
crimes.
The
disruption
caused
by
Christines
changes
to
AVPs
staff
was
having
an
impact
on
the
morale
of
those
who
remained
working
and
volunteering
there,
and
among
the
activist
community,
who
appreciated
the
valuable
role
of
AVP
to
the
public
and
personal
safety
of
LGBT
New
Yorkers.
14
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/02/nyregion/for-speaker-quinn-mayor-race-will-test-alliance-with-
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 10 -
At
this
very
early
point
in
Christines
career,
LGBT
activists
in
Chelsea
and
Greenwich
Village
began
to
question
her
judgment.
It
wasnt
that
she
was
trying
to
add
her
own
stamp
to
AVP,
but
that
she
was
jamming
the
agencys
smooth
continuity.
AVP
did
critical
work,
and
Christine
was
disrupting
it.
Matt
Foreman,
Christines
predecessor
at
AVP,
was
described
by
more
than
one
person
as
being
very
accomplished,
and
he
has
subsequently
had
an
impeccable
and
principled
record
of
successfully
managing
leadership
roles
at
many
LGBT
agencies.
Indeed,
after
his
impressive
record
at
AVP,
Mr.
Foreman
went
on
to
serve
as
the
executive
director
of
the
Empire
State
Pride
Agenda
and
then
of
the
National
Gay
and
Lesbian
Tax
Force
(NGLTF).
Mr.
Foreman
was
such
a
successful
nonprofit
executive
that
he
more
than
doubled
the
budget
at
the
NGLTF
during
his
five-year
term.16
Not
only
that,
but
Mr.
Foreman
was
a
founding
member
of
Heritage
of
Pride,
the
group
under
which
the
LGBT
Pride
events
are
organized
in
New
York
City.17
Under
Mr.
Foreman,
AVP
formed
working
relationships
with
ACT
UP
and
Queer
Nation
to
bring
about
necessary
reforms,
to
the
point
where
Mr.
Foreman
engaged
in
civil
disobedience.18
Activists
knew
and
trusted
Mr.
Foreman,
they
knew
he
was
real,
and
these
activists
began
to
see
how
Christines
efforts
to
fluff
her
track
record
were
having
the
effect
of
throwing
Mr.
Foreman,
who
was
highly
respected
in
the
LGBT
community,
under
the
bus.
The
myth
being
propagated
as
a
result
of
Christines
changes
was
that
she
was
transforming
AVP
from
an
amateur-run,
volunteer-based
organization
into
a
16
http://thetaskforce.org/press/releases/PR_012308
17
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matt_Foreman_(activist)
18
http://www.outweek.net/pdfs/ow_104.pdf
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 11 -
professionalized
agency.
This
myth
contradicted
the
pioneering
and
extensive
same- sex
anti-violence
counseling,
anti-bias
awareness
training,
and
community
outreach
work
being
done
by
existing
staff
members,
such
as
Kris
Drumm
and
Maura
Bairley,
among
others.
Not
only
that,
but
Mr.
Foreman
oversaw
AVPs
role
in
making
the
NYPD
more
sensitive
to
bias
violence
against
the
LGBT
community.
There
were
remarkable
gains
being
made
by
AVP
under
Mr.
Foreman,
and,
before
him,
under
his
predecessor,
David
Wertheimer.
This
was
during
a
time
when
not
only
homophobia
was
increasingly
leading
to
violence,
but
phobia
about
HIV/AIDS
was
also
triggering
a
backlash
against
the
LGBT
community.19
All
the
talk
from
Christine
and
her
team
about
her
need
to
professionalize
AVP
was
unfairly
casting
aspersions
upon
the
good
name
of
Mr.
Foreman
and
others.
It
was
uncomfortable
but
necessary
for
Mr.
Foreman,
Mr.
Wertheimer,
and
some
of
AVPs
former
associates
to
speak
out,
sometimes
through
letters
to
the
editor
of
LGBT
publications
which
no
longer
exist,
to
clarify
AVPs
successes
prior
to
Christines
arrival.
AVP
had
been
a
daring
and
effective
agency
since
its
inception.
But
the
desperate
energy
with
which
Christine
was
trying
to
force
immediate
success
at
AVP,
unfortunately,
was
playing
out
publicly,
and
her
management
style
was
rubbing
people
the
wrong
way,
some
observed.
This
episode
at
AVP
would
begin
to
sow
the
seeds
of
suspicion
and
mistrust
among
activist
of
Christines
motivations
and
machinations.
In
spite
of
efforts
to
correct
the
misconception
that
Christine
was
espousing,
her
myth
would
go
henceforth
:
Christine
purged
the
staff
and
instituted
her
own
changes
at
AVP,
and
she
brandished
these
changes
as
19
http://www.nytimes.com/1988/07/03/weekinreview/ideas-and-trends-are-homosexuals-facing-an-ever-
more-hostile-world.html
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 12 -
necessary
in
order
to
lead
to
success.
This,
and
her
prolific
photo
opportunities
and
media
sound
bites
during
her
tenure
at
AVP,
helped
Christine
to
propagate
her
myth
as
a
successful
leader.
Christines
post
at
AVP
had
earned
her
a
lot
of
press
in
the
major
daily
newspapers,
especially
The
New
York
Daily
News
and
The
New
York
Times.
Christine
was
even
quoted
in
a
lengthy
analytical
article
in
The
Washington
Post
about
the
Andrew
Cunanan
case.
Christine
had
cordinated
the
dissemination
of
wanted
fliers,
and
she
launched
the
first
reward
for
information
leading
to
the
arrest
and
conviction
of
the
notorious
spree
killer.
This
was
before
he
died
on
a
houseboat
in
Miami
Beach.20
Fernando
Carreira,
the
man
credited
with
discovering
Andrew
Cunanans
hideout
on
a
Miami
Beach
houseboat,
traveled
to
New
York
to
collect
the
AVP
reward
offered
by
Christine.21
Such
was
the
public
role
that
she
made
for
herself
:
a
self-proclaimed
media
spokesperson
on
behalf
of
the
LGBT
community.
Christines
reward
was
out
of
the
realm
of
the
AVPs
budget,
so
the
agency
was
only
able
to
partially
pay
Mr.
Carreira
the
reward
on
the
day
of
his
photo
op
with
Christine.
After
a
gay
man
was
attacked
at
a
New
York
City
sex
club
in
February
1998,
there
was
Christine,
issuing
a
public
warning
in
the
pages
of
The
New
York
Times
to
patrons
of
gay
sex
clubs.22
This
was
Christine,
back
when
she
was
willing
to
speak
the
truth
about
issues
facing
the
LGBT
community,
no
matter
how
shocking
she
may
have
appeared
to
the
average
sensibilities
of
New
Yorkers.
This
was
when
Christine
20
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/longterm/cunanan/stories/manhunt.htm
21
http://www.nytimes.com/1997/07/29/nyregion/cunanan-reward-paid-and-mayor-is-chided.html
22
http://www.nytimes.com/1998/02/15/nyregion/patrons-of-gay-sex-club-report-attacks-by-a-man-with-a-
knife.html
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 13 -
was
seemingly
reaching,
on
our
behalf
and
from
a
place
of
goodwill,
for
fairness
--
acts
that
would
make
her
appear
like
she
cared
for
the
LGBT
community.
Over
time,
this
side
of
Christine
would
become
more
and
more
one-dimensional
and
predictable.
She
was
now
ready
to
run
for
public
office
herself,
and
she
did
so
with
Sen.
Duanes
blessing
and
support.
To
this
day,
Sen.
Duanes
Wikipedia
entry,
most
likely
written
with
Sen.
Duanes
blessing,
proudly
boasts
about
how
Christine
succeeded
him
on
the
City
Council.23
He
was
proud
of
her
--
all
of
her.
Since
Sen.
Duane
was
openly
gay
and
Christine
had
finally
become
openly
lesbian,
they
had
in
common
the
experience
of
being
trailblazers
by
coming
out
of
the
LGBT
community
and
entering
the
dog-eat-dog
world
of
New
York
City
politics.
Christines
rise
to
power
came
in
the
1990s
--
a
time
in
New
York
City
when
so
many
gay
men
had
already
died
from
AIDS
and
so
many
New
Yorkers
had
spent
over
a
decade
being
pulled
into
the
radical,
grassroots
activism
of
ACT
UP
and
other
affinity
groups.
The
LGBT
community
was
being
decimated
by
HIV/AIDS,
and
so
many
leaders
had
been
lost
to
death
or
to
the
burn-out
from
the
long-term
toll
of
sustained,
herculean
activism.
As
a
community,
LGBT
New
Yorkers
had
been
confronting
the
AIDS
pandemic,
the
death
toll,
the
discrimination,
the
bias-based
violence,
as
well
as
the
community
organizing,
political
protests,
and
healthcare
activism
to
demand
access
to
newer,
more
effective
medical
treatments,
housing,
and
social
services.
The
unique
forces
of
this
once-in-a-lifetime
challenge
created
opportunities
for
Sen.
Duane
and
Christine
to
come
into
power.
Once
an
activist
had
lived
through
the
horror
of
what
a
loved
ones
AIDS
death
looked
like,
there
was
no
23
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Duane
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 14 -
more tragic argument for urgency. During this busy time, the political careers of Sen. Duane and Christine were political experiments : efforts by the LGBT community to legislate change from the inside under the shadow of a time some would describe as a holocaust. Sen. Duane and Christine were seen, at least in part, as the communitys demand for political power and in response to what everybody came to see as the inaction by former Mayor Ed Koch during the AIDS pandemic. Under then Councilmember Duane, Christine had learned a lot. As his chief- of-staff, she got to work on LGBT issues. She got sneak peeks at how county leaders functioned in the political system, how important it was to impose discipline within the political party, how the political parties use incentives to reward, as well as disincentives to punish, members in an effort to exert that discipline, how many community needs had to be run through the standard legislative procedure, no matter how urgent they seemed to be, and how you had to pick your political battles. When then Mayor Rudolph Giuliani was proposing to shut down the New York City Division of AIDS Services, Christine helped then Councilmember Duane in his efforts to stop the mayors extremist cuts to the LGBT community. Activists put pressure on the outside, and then Councilmember Duane and Christine were there to act on the inside. That was the model of social, legal, and economic change that they had envisioned. They were there to show that there were times you had to buck the system to stand up for what you believed. That was the old Christine. In Christines first special election, she ran on a left-leaning platform of improving education, parks, and the environment ; fighting bias crime; and fighting
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 15 -
for lesbian and gay rights, tenant organizing, and womens issues.24 (Even though by the early 1990s, a sensibility had already begun around the country to be expressly inclusive of bisexuals and transgenders, that sensibility had not yet made it into Christines 1999 campaign.) Many of the credits in her 1999 campaign biography reflected accomplishments or work that she did in her capacity as then Councilmember Duanes chief-of-staff.25 Politics wasnt for the humble, but for the peremtory. Christine was nothing if not aspirational and ambitious. Some element of that she perhaps got from her father. Christines father, Larry, was a union representative. Mr. Quinn, a one-time union steward, is Ms. Quinns link to and tutor in the old machine-style politics of relationship-building and favor-trading, is how The New York Times would once describe him.26 Union activism was meant to help workers achieve living wages, safe working conditions, and fair benefits from their employers. But here, Mr. Quinn had learned the best from his own union activism, and apparently he was helping to counsel Christine about how to use the tools of union organizing to augment Christines activism skills to further Christines career. Kind of like how, in the early years, Hillary and Bill Clinton were described as a two-for-one pair, so, too, could Christine and Larry Quinn be seen through a similar prism. Daughter and father came as a package deal. Larry worked with Christine on then Councilmember Duanes 1991 campaign, and the two would work on campaigns to come.
24
http://christinequinn.tripod.com/priorities.htm
25
http://christinequinn.tripod.com/bio.htm
26
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/19/nyregion/19quinn.html
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 16 -
Activists, union officials, and advocates for progressive ideals shared an urgency for social, legal, and economic reforms that government officials on the inside did not share. There was a disconnect that would always be the source of friction. As insiders, elected officials viewed the process of running the governments affairs as transactional. There was a business as usual tone to it. Legislation had to be sponsored. Councilmembers had to be found to pass legislation, not because it was right, but because it was about the trading of support and the imposition of discipline that allowed each councilmember to appear to be productive. If Councilmember A supported Councilmember Bs legislative agenda, then Councilmember B became obligated to help Councilmember As legislative agenda. There might be a few random acts of generosity by councilmembers, but, mainly, there were situational calculations being made and political indebtedness being traded. When she was only former Councilmember Duanes political aide, Christine did not have the authority to make final decisions for Councilmember Duanes office -- that was his responsibility. But she got to see the inner workings of the City Council. And she got to develop her own connections with community groups. And she learned about fundraising. And when it came time for her to run for office, Christine was seen by some to be trying to take credit for accomplishments as if she was already the politician in charge. To look at Christines record as a leader, though, one would need to examine the journey she would take on her own, and to disconnect her record from that of Sen. Duane.
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 17 -
The election that Christine won, which would put her into the New York City Council, took place on Tuesday, February 16, 1999. Christine ran a campaign that appeared to be a grassroots effort. But only four days after her first successful Election Day, The New York Daily News was already describing Christine as savvy and possibly even a sellout.28 Before she was elected to City Council, Christine had served as the executive director of AVP, which put her in a position to be constantly interviewed for news stories about violence against LGBT New Yorkers. Her visibility at AVP had earned her a spot on a civic panel when, in 1997, Christine was appointed by Mayor Rudy Giuliani to a task force on police brutality. This task force, first charged with improving police-community relations,29 was formed by Mayor Giuliani after Abner Louima was brutalized by police officers in a bathroom at a Brooklyn police station.30 The task force stopped being referred to as a police-community relations panel and began to be referred to as a police brutality task force after the Giuliani administration was criticized for not taking seriously the aggressive tactics of the police department. Christine opened herself to the early criticism in The New York Daily News article, because she was making the same weak recommendations for seemingly nominal reforms of the NYPD as were being made by Staten Island Borough President Guy Molinari, a controversial Republican member of the task force. Borough President Molinari had angered the LGBT community, because he
28 http://articles.nydailynews.com/1999-02-20/entertainment/18092136_1_christine-quinn-gay-rights-
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 18 -
had opposed a political campaign based on the candidates sexual orientation.31 Here was a homophobic member on the task force with Christine, but Christine worked along side Borough President Molinari as if his discrimination was not an issue. On top of that, the police brutality reforms that Christine recommended, when she sided along with Borough President Molinari in what came to be known as the majority report, included, among other things, increasing pay for police officers, requiring new cops to live in New York City, and improving police training. But the criticism that would sting the most, which progressive and reform leaders in New York would make, was based not on Christines choice to stand alongside Borough President Molinari, but on the fact that the majority reports recommendations actually stopped short of making real police brutality reforms. 32 One of the reforms, which Christine rejected, was the creation of a special prosecutors office to independently oversee the NYPD.33 On issues like police brutality and race, you never compromise, Norman Siegel was quoted as having said at the time. Mr. Siegel was then the executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU). But Quinn said her strategy was to make it easier for Mayor Giuliani who called some of the report's recommendations unrealistic to adopt reforms quickly in the wake of the sodomy and torture of Abner Louima, allegedly by police, reported The New York Daily
31 http://articles.nydailynews.com/1999-02-20/entertainment/18092136_1_christine-quinn-gay-rights-
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 19 -
News.34
Here
was
Christine,
serving
on
her
first
major
civic
role
before
running
for
City
Council,
and
her
strategy
was
to
water
down
the
police
brutality
task
forces
recommendations.
This
very
act
here
foreshadowed
so
much
of
what
was
to
come.
A
nave
activist
or
leader,
early
in
their
career,
can
be
excused
for
trying
to
work
within
a
system
with
a
broken
culture,
such
as
the
NYPD.
But,
over
time
or
if
one
truly
works
to
reach
consensus
with
others
more
experienced,
one
would
come
to
figure
out
that
the
political
system
and
the
NYPD
have
a
culture
that
is
unaccountable
for
their
failures.
A
politician,
who
wants
to
advocate
for
superficial
or
incremental
change,
should
be
transparent
about
bringing
about
change
on
such
terms.
But
Christine
was
prioritizing
her
desire
to
want
to
develop
a
working
relationship
with
the
same
mayor,
who
once
tried
to
restructure35
and
defund36
the
citys
Division
of
AIDS
Services,
over
the
need
to
reform
the
NYPD.
This
was
not
about
expecting
confrontation
between
Christine
and
the
mayor
for
the
sake
of
confrontation,
but
about
observing
where
Christine
would
betray
progressive
ideals
and
not
own
up
to
the
consequences
of
having
lost
opportunities
to
bring
about
real
reforms.
New
York
City
was
known
for
having
a
police
force
that
believed
in
using
excessive
force
on
citizens.
Here
had
been
an
opportunity
for
members
of
the
task
force
to
create
not
only
a
whole
new
direction
for
police-community
relations,
but
to
also
finally
create
an
opening
to
perhaps
put
an
end
to
the
systemic
police
use
of
brutality
and
violence.
Tragically,
the
politically-expedient
approach
for
Christine
was
to
leave
unchallenged
the
NYPDs
culture
of
using
excessive,
and
sometimes
34
http://articles.nydailynews.com/1999-02-20/entertainment/18092136_1_christine-quinn-gay-rights-
lesbian-anti-violence-project 35 http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/news/aids-head-bounced-shakeup-hra-article-1.701037 36 Bull, Chris. "Cutting It-Close : New York Citys mayor relents on AIDS budget cuts -- but for how long ?" The Advocate 14 June 1994: 20. Print.
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 20 -
brutal, force. We lost an opportunity to fully address police brutality in 1997 because of Christine. How would this lost opportunity come back to haunt us ? So much of Christines story used to revolve around public safety. In the early years of her political career, she said that she was an advocate for people, who were the victims of brute force. Thats what got her a seat at the table of Mayor Giulianis police brutality task force, even though Christine would go on to side with the recommendations that had been watered-down, in order to appease Mayor Giuliani. In her later years, Christine would continue to play both sides, still trying to maintain the pretense that she continued to be an advocate for people, but, more and more, she would be seen as a defender of the repressive actions of the NYPD. To help make this distinction, take a look at how Christine handled the New York City memorial for Matthew Shepard. A few months after Mayor Giuliani resoundingly dismissed the police brutality task forces recommendations, which Christine strategized needed to be watered down, Matthew Shepard was tortured and murdered in Wyoming in a grisly hate crime that quickly became a cultural touchstone for the LGBT community. One week after Matthew died from the violent injuries, activists in New York City scheduled a candle-lit memorial and march in Midtown Manhattan. What was supposed to be a peaceful early evening march down Fifth Avenue, from about the Plaza Hotel at 59th Street to about Madison Square Park near 23rd Street, turned into a massive NYPD attack on freedom of speech and freedom of assembly -- during an emotionally-charged memorial to Matthew. People were grieving, and the mourners decided to peacefully march in honor of Matthews memory and as a
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 21 -
demonstration
for
other
victims
of
hate
crimes.
And
here
came
the
NYPD
to
bust
up
this
LGBT
procession.39
According
to
a
report
of
that
evenings
events
on
ACT
UPs
website,
between
3,000
and
5,000
people
took
part
in
the
memorial.
At
many
points,
the
peaceful
march
became
chaotic,
even
from
the
beginning,
and
this
was
entirely
due
to
the
NYPDs
attempts
to
thwart
it.
When
some
of
the
march
participants
stopped
using
the
sidewalk
and
instead
started
to
walk
on
Fifth
Avenue,
police
officers
made
arrests
of
many
people
on
the
street.
That
tone
of
hostility
and
confrontation
set
the
tone
for
what
followed.
The
people
in
the
march
had
to
make
two
detours
in
the
memorial
route
because
of
police
roadblocks,
and
over
130
people
were
reported
to
have
been
arrested
during
the
march.
NYPD
deployed
horse-mounted
police,
put
up
barricades,
tried
to
block
the
memorial
march
at
several
points,
and
hurled
anti-gay
slurs
against
the
march
participants.
Some
police
officers
used
physical
force
to
push
some
of
the
mourners
at
both
of
the
route
detours,
and
there
were
reports
that
horse-mounted
police
threatened
to
trample
some
of
the
activists.
The
peaceful
and
emotional
procession
in
memory
of
Matthew
Shepard
was
turning
into
a
one-sided
smackdown.40
The
mourners,
who
survived
the
brutal
over-reach
by
the
NYPD,
managed
to
reach
their
final
destination
at
Madison
Square
Park,41
but,
with
the
march
over,
New
Yorkers
had
witnessed
a
deliberate
attempt
by
the
police
to
suppress
freedom
of
assembly
and
freedom
of
expression.
Five
of
those
march
participants,
who
had
39
http://www.actupny.org/reports/Shepard.html
40
http://www.actupny.org/reports/Shepard.html
41
http://www.actupny.org/reports/Shepard.html
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 22 -
been
arrested,
had
been
denied
their
AIDS
medicine,
according
to
AVP.
Christine
took
to
the
media
to
intercede
on
behalf
of
people
with
AIDS,
who
the
police
had
forced
to
miss
their
medication,
a
situation
that
had
serious
health
implications.42
ACT
UP
portrayed
the
confrontation
against
march
participants
as
intolerance
by
the
police,
whereas
The
New
York
Daily
News
described
the
marchers
as
clashing
with
cops.43
In
between
the
competing
descriptions
was
Christine,
making
the
neutral
observation
to
The
New
York
Daily
News
that
there
was
an
enormous
outpouring
of
sadness
and
rage,
with
no
more
qualification
about
police
tactics.
Once
she
was
in
office,
Christine
found
herself
reaching
a
point
where
she
could
not
advocate
for
real
reforms.
Although
that
is
precisely
what
she
was
expected
to
do,
she
could
not
afford
the
political
risk
associated
with
calling
for
systemic
reforms
of
the
NYPD
--
not
even
with
the
sensibilities
from
once
having
been
the
executive
director
of
AVP.
If
she
couldnt
do
it
as
a
member
of
a
civic
task
force,
where
she
had
the
benefit
of
the
NYCLU
as
a
ready
partner
to
triangulate
public
opinion
into
calling
for
real
police
reforms,
then
she
certainly
wasnt
going
to
initiate
calls
for
reforms
as
an
elected
official
on
the
City
Council.
It
was
left
up
to
ACT
UP
to
give
the
blow-by-blow
on
its
website
about
what
really
took
place
during
the
Matthew
Shepard
memorial
march
for
the
public
to
fully
understand
what
had
happened.
42
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 23 -
One
year
later,
eight
of
the
march
participants
filed
a
federal
lawsuit
against
Mayor
Giuliani,
Police
Commissioner
Howard
Safir,
and
the
NYPD.44
At
a
press
conference
outside
NYPD
Headquarters
to
announce
the
federal
lawsuit
related
to
the
Matthew
Shepard
memorial
vigil,
one
of
the
lawsuits
plaintiffs
and
his
lawyer
were
joined
by
Christine
and
Sen.
Duane.
The
political
pair
were
there
to
lend
support
to
the
march
participants,
who
had
been
falsely
arrested,
had
been
unlawfully
held
on
buses
with
no
access
to
bathrooms
or
telephones,
and
had
had
their
constitutional
rights
violated.
But
about
two
years
earlier
from
that
days
federal
lawsuit
press
conference,
Christine
was
watering
down
the
Task
Forces
recommendations,
in
order
to
make
them
more
palatable
to
Mayor
Giuliani.
The
Matthew
Shepard
memorial
vigil
became
another
example
of
NYPDs
use
of
excessive
force,
and
there
was
Christine
playing
both
sides
of
the
fence
:
visibly
playing
the
part
of
a
sympathetic
LGBT
leader,
as
in
her
AVP
days
;
meanwhile,
in
backroom
meetings,
she
was
trying
to
make
it
easier
for
Mayor
Giuliani
--
to
basically
prevent
real
reforms
of
the
NYPD.
Christine
was
learning
in
her
very
first
year
in
City
Council
that
she
could
appease
a
powerful
mayor
by
watering
down
public
oversight
of
the
NYPD
on
the
one
hand,
and
then,
later,
to
use
photo
ops
to
maintain
the
pretense
of
her
image
as
someone,
who
cared
about
how
the
NYPD
unfairly
oppressed
peaceful
LGBT
demonstrations
on
the
other
hand.
Christines
political
career
was
being
founded
on
an
experiment
:
could
a
once
bold
community
activist
really
hold
public
office
and
remain
true
to
her
former
outside
strategy
from
the
inside
?
How
would
this
experiment
play
out
?
44
http://www.nytimes.com/1999/11/13/nyregion/eight-arrested-at-rally-file-suit-saying-city-violated-their-
rights.html
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 24 -
Christines political career was born, and would lunge forward, from so many political contradictions. The LGBT community found a more welcoming home among the Democratic Party, but, when she first ran for public office, Christine had to run a grassroots campaign as an outsider within the Democratic Party, even though she had had Sen. Duanes support. It had taken years for Sen. Duane to launch a real political career. He had been the elected Democratic District Leader for Chelsea for several years before he eventually ran for City Council, said Phil Ryan, a public relations consultant, who used to be a member of Chelsea Reform Democratic Club during that time. The party system rewards people, who put in their time year after year and sort of wait their turn to run, Mr. Ryan said recently, about the beginning of Sen. Duanes career. But in her campaign for City Council, Christine had leapfrogged over those, who had been patiently waiting their turn. There was urgency for the LGBT community to explain Christines campaign. Going back to the 1970s, there was always a cadre of LGBT Democrats, who pushed for equality and sought to become players in Manhattan Democratic politics, Mr. Ryan said. This was part of the gay movement and antedates the emergence of HIV. By the mid-1980s, HIV became the paramount issue, of course. It became even more important to make elected officials pay attention to us and our interests, and inevitably to run LGBT folks for public office. Insurgent political campaigns by LGBT candidates, although rare, were nothing new in New York City. In 1973, the year when Harvey Milk launched his first campaign for the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, which turned out to be
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 25 -
unsuccessful,
Jim
Owles
announced
his
political
campaign
for
City
Council.
Mr.
Owles
had
accused
a
reform
Democrat
politician,
Carol
Greitzer,
of
having
become
all
talk
and
no
action,
and
he
challenged
her
for
her
City
Council
seat.45
At
the
point
when
elected
officials
reached
the
stage
of
having
become
transactional
politicians,
they
became
vulnerable
to
electoral
challenge.
While
Mr.
Owles
lost
that
contest,
major
social
and
legal
changes
were
already
underway.
The
revolutionary
Stonewall
riots,
the
work
of
LGBT
civil
rights
group
Gay
Activist
Alliance,
which
had
been
co- founded
by
Mr.
Owles,
and
the
emergence
of
openly
LGBT
candidates
for
public
office
signaled
the
crossing
of
a
threshold.
Indeed,
in
1985
a
very
inspiring
activist,
David
Rothenberg,
ran
for
City
Council.
In
the
progressive-leaning
West
Side
of
Manhattan,
Mr.
Rothenberg
came
to
be
seen
as
the
ideal
kind
of
leader
for
whom
the
LGBT
community
could
provide
support.
Before
he
became
politically
active,
Mr.
Rothenberg
had
been
a
Broadway
producer
and
press
agent.
His
experience
producing
a
play
called
Fortune
and
Mens
Eyes
led
to
his
founding
of
the
Fortune
Society,
an
organization
which
helps
inmates
and
formerly
incarcerated
individuals.46
Years
before
AVP
was
formed,
Mr.
Rothenberg
was
engaging
with
NYPD
to
create
a
new
sensibility
among
police
officers
about
LGBT
concerns.47
Mr.
Rothenberg
ran
against
Ms.
Greitzer
in
1985,
because
once
again
Ms.
Greitzer
remained
vulnerable
to
accusations
of
having
become
ineffectual.
The
LGBT
community
was
heavily
concentrated
in
the
Manhattan
neighborhoods
of
Chelsea
and
Greenwich
Village,
but
because
Ms.
45
http://www.nytimes.com/1993/08/08/obituaries/james-w-owles-is-dead-at-46-was-founder-of-gay-rights-
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
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Greitzers district extended to the East Side, the demographics would not yet support the election of an LGBT politician. Mr. Rothenberg described his campaign as a watershed moment, because he had all the resources to win, including the support of civil rights champion Bayard Rustin.48 Mr. Rothenberg still waged what The New York Times described, at that time, as one of the best-financed campaigns in New York City Council history.49 The occasion of Mr. Rothenbergs close campaign made many LGBT activists see that it was really possible to finally elect an openly LGBT candidate into public office. In 1989, Tom Duane was inspired to mount a campaign against Ms. Greitzer. He, too, came close to winning the primary election, but again the demographics in the district did not exist to help an LGBT candidate to win office.50 But time was on the side of LGBT activists. Former mayor Ed Koch would lose the 1989 mayoral election to David Dinkins.51 To many in the LGBT community, Mayor Koch had become a symbol of failure and disappointment. Mayor Kochs loss pointed to the fact that the LGBT community was able to look beyond identity politics and elect a candidate solely based on the issues. Would this serve as a foreshadowing for Christines future ? The front side of the need to elect an LGBT candidate to replace Ms. Greitzer was to fulfill on the promise of electing a leader, to whom the community could turn, for support within city government. The 1980s was the first decade of the AIDS
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 27 -
pandemic. Agencies were being forming around the issue of advocating for services for LGBT victims of bias violence and healthcare for people with HIV/AIDS. Activists wanted laws passed to outlaw discrimination against the LGBT community. An elected LGBT official with a truly progressive sensibility could help facilitate breakthroughs in legal, social services, and healthcare reforms. But the 1980s also coincided with the mayoral administration of Ed Koch, who was not sympathetic to LGBT causes. The back side of the need to elect an openly LGBT politician was to counter the do-nothing administration of Mayor Koch. The LGBT community would keep pushing to elect a real leader, who could deliver reforms. Many decades later, an acquaintance of Christine portrayed the emergence of Christines political career as having been built upon decades of gay politics. There was a great deal riding on Christines political career, one person said. But this observation was part of Christines unofficial backchannel myth : that Christine saw herself as the embodiment of the LGBT movement for equality. She did not see herself as an interchangeable advocate, who just so happened to be in this particular point in time the one who was readily willing and available to help to answer the communitys pent-up demand for reforms, equality, and representation. As was seen with AVP, Christines ideas of reforms were not always based on reality, but on creating a legend. It is unclear if Christine was so vain as to really believe that she was the poster child for LGBT equality, or if she was deliberately trading on her identity solely to advance her political career. Nonetheless, the myth about the importance of Christines career to the larger LGBT community would continue to be propagated.
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 28 -
Many people described Christine as someone, who rewarded her allies and punished her critics. One person described her in the most diplomatic of terms : as impatient. Like the political party system itself, Christine demanded political discipline in her personal relationships. Mr. Ryan, one of the only people, who would actually speak on the record, had a balanced view of Christine. He said that he first met Christine when she was brought in to run Tom Duanes campaign for City Council in 1991. Christine had great energy and determination, he said. Christines first longterm companion, Laura Morrison, assisted with Tom Duanes campaign for City Council, and it was around that time when Christine and Ms. Morrison became lovers, Mr. Ryan remembered. For many years, Mr. Ryan employed Ms. Morrison in his public relations office. Other activists described Ms. Morrison as a very effective field organizer. She was extremely valuable on political campaigns. From her work on Tom Duanes campaigns for the City Council, Ms. Morrison came to be known to many people. They could relate to her, and she learned a lot about Chelsea and Greenwich Village. When it came time for Christine to run for office, Christine relied on a lot of assistance from Ms. Morrison. But the activist community was a small world. Many people adored Ms. Morrison, and they were shocked to find out that as soon as Christine won the 1999 special election with a lot of help from Ms. Morrison, Christine ended her relationship with Ms. Morrison. People felt like Ms. Morrison was a sincere and endearing person, but they saw Christines treatment of Ms. Morrison as opportunistic and unfair. After the episode where Mr. Foreman and
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 29 -
others
had
been
thrown
under
the
bus
by
Christine,
many
activists
noted
her
perceived
mistreatment
of
Ms.
Morrison
in
a
similar
fashion.
In
the
1999
special
election
that
put
Christine
on
the
map,
she
campaigned
as
the
underdog.
Early
on,
Christine
learned
that
when
people
were
confronted
with
two
opposing
opinions
about
the
same
situation,
people
tended
to
chose
the
opinion
that
would
keep
them
in
accord
with
a
larger
group
of
people.
Because
activists
were
very
passionate
and
dedicated
to
bringing
about
social
change,
and
because
so
many
activists
had
become
invested
in
seeing
Christine
succeed
--
after
all,
there
were
gains
to
be
made
in
the
name
of
LGBT
equality,
HIV/AIDS
healthcare,
and
anti- discrimination
reforms
--
Christine
had
found
a
way
to
use
peer
pressure
and
a
constant
invocation
of
cognitive
dissonance
to
her
advantage.
The
key
to
Christines
career
can
be
found
in
her
efforts
to
maintain
a
broad,
if
superficial,
appeal
among
the
LGBT
community.
Years
later,
though,
it
would
become
important
to
Christine
to
tone
down
her
agitation
on
behalf
of
LGBT
advocacy
in
order
to
blend
in.52
Just
like
how
President
Barack
Obama
now
goes
to
great
lengths
to
avoid
appearing
as
an
angry
Black
man,
to
the
point
of
embracing
passivity
and
aloofness,
Christine
would
also
eventually
be
guided
by
communications
professionals
to
avoid
situations,
where
she
would
be
perceived
as
solely
being
an
LGBT
candidate
in
order
to
attract
more
mainstream
support.
In
spite
of
her
raison
dtre,
Christine
would,
over
time,
come
to
agree
to
tone
down
her
advocacy
for
LGBT
equality.
A
constant
observation
made
was
that
over
the
course
of
Christines
career,
she
had
to
be
femmed-up.
But
in
those
early
years,
it
52
http://gaycitynews.com/when-a-lesbian-marriage-trivializes-a-political-career/
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 30 -
was important for her to be seen as agitating on behalf of LGBT advocacy, even if it meant interrupting local institutions or traditions. She first had to solidify her street cred. In the days following the Matthew Shepard memorial vigil, there was talk in LGBT circles that the annual Greenwich Village Halloween Parade needed to be canceled, because the parade had come to be perceived as one giant opportunity of permissible taunting and bullying of LGBT participants and spectators, including instances of anti-LGBT violence.53 That year, in the time leading up to that 1999 special election for her City Council seat, Christine had been publicizing as many examples of anti-LGBT violence to raise her profile and to discuss violence against the LGBT community. Advocacy work was highlighting the fact that there was an 81% rise in New York City of reported anti-LGBT biased crimes.54 And now, some critics were making the observation that Tom Duane was calling for the Halloween Parades cancellation based on his perception that the Halloween Parade had become a sea of homophobia, solely to set up a platform for Christine to talk up the issue of anti-LGBT bias. Parade organizers resented that Tom and Christine were co-opting the parade for short-term campaigning advantages. In spite of the last- minute politicization by Tom and Christine, the parade went on that year, as scheduled, and Christines and Toms careers kept on ascending, which was the whole point. They got the attention that they wanted.
53 http://www.nytimes.com/1998/10/31/nyregion/bad-spirits-invade-village-parade-minor-event-becomes-
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 31 -
Christine
had
become
a
master
of
crafting
a
caring
public
image
:
always
standing
in
the
foreground
at
press
conferences
and
major
photo
ops
about
LGBT
issues.
When
former
First
Lady
Hillary
Rodham
Clinton
was
on
the
campaign
trail
to
first
run
to
represent
New
York
in
the
U.S.
Senate,
Christine
walked
along
one
side
of
Ms.
Clinton
in
the
2000
Gay
Pride
Parade
whilst
Sen.
Duane
walked
alongside
the
other.55
Christine
kept
on
the
look-out
for
opportunities
like
that,
where
she
could
fluff
her
image.
But
on
November
14,
1999,
Christines
self-image
making
would
take
a
back
seat
to
the
larger
narrative
of
the
suppression
of
freedom
of
speech
by
the
NYPD.
On
August
7,
1998,
the
United
Stated
embassies
in
Tanzania
and
Kenya
were
bombed.56
The
U.S.
launched
cruise
missile
strikes
on
targets
in
each
of
Sudan
and
Afghanistan
as
an
international
response
to
the
attacks
on
the
American
embassies
in
Africa.57
More
locally,
Mayor
Giuliani
ordered
tighter
security
around
City
Hall,
because,
in
his
mind,
he
thought
that
City
Hall
would
become
a
natural
retaliatory
target
in
response
to
the
U.S.
cruise
missile
strikes,58
and
the
NYPD
put
up
concrete
barricades
around
City
Hall
and
placed
police
cruisers
to
block
the
entrances
to
parking
areas.59
The
legal
battles
that
Mayor
Giuliani
triggered
with
his
restrictions
to
public
access
to
City
Hall
would
drag
on
through
the
final
year
of
his
administration,
but,
in
1999,
those
restrictions
would
almost
interfere
with
one
of
Christines
staged
press
conferences.
57
55 Plunkett, Suzanne. The Associated Press. The Lakeland Ledger, Monday, June 26, 2000, p. A3. 56 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1998_United_States_embassy_bombings
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 32 -
After
a
series
of
unexplained
murders
of
gay
men
in
Harlem,
Christine
organized
a
last-minute,
week-end
press
conference
on
the
steps
of
City
Hall.60
61
Police
said
that
they
had
not
received
a
message
left
by
Christines
Council
office
with
the
NYPDs
City
Hall
security
unit.
The
message
was
described
to
be
a
request
for
permission
to
use
City
Hall
property
for
a
media
event.
Because
the
police
said
that
they
had
not
received
the
message,
whatever
that
meant,
police
officers
would
not
approve
Christines
press
conference.
Such
were
the
unreasonable,
some
would
say
arbitrary
and
possibly
politically-motivated,
security
restrictions
imposed
around
City
Hall
by
Mayor
Giuliani.
But
Christine
knew
the
trick
about
getting
around
the
NYPD.
All
it
took
was
for
her
to
ask
the
NYPD
to
call
the
Speaker
of
the
City
Council,
then
Peter
Vallone,
Sr.,
and,
once
the
City
Council
Speaker
vouched
for
Christine,
the
police
allowed
Christine
to
have
her
press
conference.
The
next
day,
in
The
New
York
Times,
the
article
about
Christines
press
conference
focused
more
on
police
restrictions
on
the
public
use
of
City
Hall
steps
than
on
the
communitys
concern
for
a
possible
connection
between
three
different
killings
of
gay
men
up
in
Harlem.62
Still,
Christine
kept
pushing
her
public
image,
and
she
learned
a
valuable
lesson
:
police
took
orders
from
City
Hall,
which
could
be
the
mayor
or
the
speaker
of
the
City
Council.
You
had
a
higher
chance
of
having
your
freedom
of
speech
protected
from
harassment
by
the
NYPD
if
you
were
a
City
Councilmember
and
if
you
were
in
good
standing
with
the
City
Council
Speaker.
The
City
Hall
police
unit
deferred
to
the
60
http://www.nytimes.com/1999/11/15/nyregion/police-officers-again-guard-city-hall-from-officials.html
61
http://www.nytimes.com/2000/02/27/nyregion/neighborhood-report-harlem-wake-four-murders-
politicians-gay-groups-urge-action.html 62 http://www.nytimes.com/1999/11/15/nyregion/police-officers-again-guard-city-hall-from-officials.html
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 33 -
bosses inside City Hall ; they took orders from politicians. Look at how as soon as Speaker Vallone approved Christiners request to have her press conference, that that was considered sufficient validation for the City Hall police unit. If a City Council Speaker said that it was O.K. for a group to use a public space, like a public sidewalk, a public park, perhaps, or the public steps outside City Hall, then it really was O.K. The City Council Speaker had that kind of power.
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 34 -
Chapter
2
A
trap
that
befalls
some
activists
is
that
some
activists
begin
to
believe
that,
in
order
to
win
against
an
unjust
system,
one
must
play
by
the
rules
of
that
unjust
system.
There
comes
to
be
a
desperation
to
break
through
the
high,
almost
impenetrable,
barriers
to
policy-making
that
have
been
erected
by
incumbents
or
powerholders,
which
keep
citizens
out
of
participating
in
their
own
governance.
Theres
a
sense
that,
for
an
activist
to
become
a
powerholder
in
the
traditional
sense,
namely,
to
become
an
elected
official,
an
activist
cannot
take
the
highroad,
because
an
incumbent
will
always
have
more
options
available,
especially
if
incumbents
are
politically-expedient
or
even
underhanded.
Temptations
exist
that
may
compromise
an
activists
ethics
or
morals
on
his/her
ascension
into
becoming
an
office
holder,
even
if
an
activist
once
was
a
community
organizer.
In
the
personal
journey
that
some
activists
make
to
become
a
community
organizer,
the
process
to
become
influential
in
policy-making,
and,
later,
to
make
the
transition
to
become
a
powerholder,
some
activists
put
their
own
electability
over
the
urgency
of
the
needs
of
the
communities
they
promised
to
serve.
In
other
words,
it
becomes
a
rat
race
to
win
elections.
Rather,
it
should
be
a
process,
a
set
of
decisions
and
realizations
about
the
importance
of
respecting
and
improving
opportunities
for
all
citizens
to
participate
in
our
representative
form
of
democratic
governance.
Because
of
our
representative
form
of
government,
the
goal
should
be
to
move
toward
greater
direct
participation,
not
less.
The
sensibility
for
equality
and
progress
should
show
up
very
early
in
an
activists
career
or
reveal
itself
in
the
arc
of
their
activism.
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
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This
idea,
that
our
elected
leaders
should
never
lose
focus
on
the
need
to
continually
reform
government
to
eliminate
the
tendencies
for
corruption
of
the
democratic
process,
was
an
important
underpinning
of
the
Progressive
Era
in
the
United
States.65
Political
reforms,
such
as
voter
initiatives,
voter
referenda,
recall
petitions,
direct
primaries,
and
the
direct
election
of
U.S.
Senators,
for
example,
were
hallmark
Progressive
Era
achievements
during
the
first
two
decades
of
the
20th
Century.
66
The
idea
that
the
will
of
voters
should
not
be
subverted
was
an
important
corollary.
During
this
time,
other
reforms
would
come
about.
In
New
York
State,
the
Moreland
Act
was
a
state-level
Progressive
Era
achievement
that
came
about
only
after
corruption
in
New
Yorks
insurance
department.67
68
In
New
York,
it
seemed
like
it
took
a
crisis
for
the
citizenry
to
rise
up
to
demand
government
reforms.
After
146
people
died
and
71
people
were
injured
during
the
1911
Triangle
Shirtwaist
Factory
fire,
for
example,
reforms
came
about
that
would
give
rise
to
inspections
of
workplace
conditions.69
It
took
for
living
conditions
in
tenement
apartments
to
reach
inhumane
proportions
before
reforms
would
give
rise
to
improving
tenement
housing
conditions.
70
71
Meanwhile,
in
New
York
City,
the
Tammany
Hall
political
machine
once
controlled
municipal
elections
for
decades.
During
the
Tammany
Hall
era,
New
York
City
voters
lived
through
systematic
and
institutionalized
political
and
electoral
corruption.
Democratic
Party
nominations
and
the
allocation
of
political
patronage
65
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Progressivism_in_the_United_States
66
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Progressivism_in_the_United_States
67
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moreland_Act
68
http://www.lifeinthefingerlakes.com/articles.php?view=article&id=228
69
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triangle_Shirtwaist_Factory_fire
70
http://books.google.com/books/about/The_Progressives_and_the_Slums.html?id=_eXT5Bp1n4IC
71
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_State_Tenement_House_Act
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 36 -
were
solely
based
on
maintaining
and
expanding
the
power
of
the
political
machine.72
Consequently,
some
New
York
City
activists
were
quick
to
use
the
term
political
boss
to
describe
officials,
who
were
perceived
to
be
deliberately
trying
to
undermine
an
open
and
democratic
process
to
citizen
participation
of
any
kind.
Because
the
Greenwich
Village
neighborhood
of
Manhattan
was
an
epicenter
of
new
and
radical
ideas,
the
reforms
that
the
Progressive
Era
brought
about
came
to
be
cornerstones
of
the
political
thought
of
Greenwich
Village
voters
and
activists.
Even
half
a
century
after
the
Progressive
Era
ended,
Greenwich
Village
was
still
an
important
outpost
of
what
it
meant
to
continue
to
fight
for
government
reforms.
In
1964,
it
was
Jane
Jacobs,
a
Greenwich
Village
author
and
activist,
and
her
community
organizing,
which
ended
up
convincing
New
York
City
to
oppose
a
controversial
crosstown
expressway
through
Lower
Manhattan.73
The
progressive
ideals
of
Greenwich
Village
came
to
be
shared
by
the
city-at-large.
In
the
1990s,
when
a
popular
anti-incumbent
movement
developed
in
the
country,
New
Yorkers
twice
approved
new
political
reforms
in
the
form
of
limits
of
two
terms
on
the
mayoralty
and
other
city
officials.74
People
wanted
a
government
that
answered
to
voters,
not
one
that
encouraged
incumbents
to
cater
to
special
interests.
Even
though
nationally
the
Progressive
movement
achieved
political
visibility
in
both
political
parties,
it
was
former
Republican
President
Theodore
Roosevelt
in
whom
the
movement
gained
critical
early
mainstream
support.75
Over
time,
as
the
Progressive
movement
gave
way
to
the
New
Deal,
ideals
about
making
72
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tammany_Hall
73
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/blueprintamerica/video/the-dig-web-video-the-master-builder-1977/925/
74
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/03/nyregion/03limits.html
75
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Progressive_Party_(United_States,_1912)
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 37 -
government
reforms
came
to
be
more
closely
aligned
with
the
underpinnings
of
the
Democratic
Party.
Voters
in
New
York
City,
and
the
rest
of
the
state,
routinely
turned
to
Democrats
for
leadership
on
progressive
issues.
If
one
voted
for
Democrats,
then
it
was
thought
that
one
stood
a
stronger
chance
of
laying
the
ground
work
for
progressive
solutions
to
social,
economic,
and
political
issues.
So
long
as
liberals
did
not
become
corrupted,
the
Democratic
Party
seemed
to
be
a
safe
bet
for
progressives.
Therefore,
in
those
early
years,
Christine
embraced
the
moniker
of
progressive.
Her
early
campaign
website,
hosted
on
Tripod,
described
her
as
a
long-time
progressive
activist.76
At
the
time,
Sen.
Duane
described
Christine
as
a
"progressive
Democrat
deeply
committed
to
serving
our
neighborhoods."77
The
repetition
of
the
code
word
was
not
accidental.
Voters
were
looking
forward
to
elections
to
select
politicians,
who
could
be
counted
on
delivering
reforms.
Here,
Christines
campaign
was
effective
on
messaging
:
they
knew
what
voters
wanted
to
hear.
And
as
Christines
political
career
was
taking
off,
she
was
learning
from
her
political
advisers,
and
she
was
drawing
from
her
own
experience,
that
it
was
prudent
and
beneficial
to
have
the
right
veneer.
If
the
modifier
progressive
was
repeated
enough
times,
people
would
learn
to
believe
it,
especially
considering
she
needed
something
to
counteract
her
record
on
Mayor
Giulianis
task
force,
for
example.
Her
principal
challenger
for
the
Democratic
primary
race
for
the
City
Council
seat
in
1999
was
Christopher
Lynn.
Mr.
Lynn
was
running
for
City
Council
with
76
http://christinequinn.tripod.com/bio.htm
77
http://christinequinn.tripod.com/articles.htm#Waking%20up%20the%20voters
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 38 -
endorsements from two of the citys high profile political clubs : the Village Reform Democratic Club and the Stonewall Democratic Club.78 Mr. Lynn was a prominent gay attorney, and he had put in his time and had patiently waited his turn. Finally, his time had come to be allowed to run for office. All things being equal, if any political machine was still at work, then Mr. Lynn should have won : he had advantages bestowed upon him by the Democratic Party. And in some slightly altruistic way, it would have been a great sign of the progressive mindset that might have prevailed during that election, that might have at first glance given the impression that voters werent able to be swayed by party favoritism, but it cannot be entirely determined if Christine won that race based on a truly grassroots effort. While Mr. Lynn was proud of some noteworthy political achievements, such as boasting that he had previously served as Taxicab Commissioner79 and Transportation Commissioner,80 there was also criticism about his politics. Mr. Lynn had been involved in a controversy that led to a whistleblower incident and other questionable acts during his service in the Giuliani administration.81 But issues about political party favouritism or integrity werent what came to the fore in the City Council race. Instead, Christine was helped to win that first, special election to City Council in 1999, because of a last-minute smear campaign. Nobody knows who did it, but somebody leaked embarrassing information to The Village Voice about one of Christines opponents. In The Village Voice hatchet job, it was the tabloid-like
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 39 -
arrest
of
one
of
Mr.
Lynns
campaign
workers
on
drugs
and
weapons
charges
that
was
used
to
smear
Mr.
Lynn
just
weeks
before
the
special
election.82
The
expos
wasnt
based
on
Mr.
Lynns
alleged
close
ties
to
the
real
estate
industry
or
developers,83
but
it
was
an
arrest
of
a
campaign
worker
that
would
basically
lead
to
the
end
of
his
political
career.
And,
out
of
Mr.
Lynns
misfortune,
rose
Christine,
who
ran
as
Mr.
Duanes
favorite.
A
few
days
after
news
broke
about
the
drug
and
weapons
charges
against
Mr.
Lynns
former
campaign
worker,
The
New
York
Post
published
allegations
made
by
Mr.
Lynns
campaign
that
Maura
Keaney
was
working
on
Christines
election
campaign,
even
though
she
was
being
paid
to
be
Sen.
Duanes
campaign
manager.
Ms.
Keaney
had
worked
for
then
Councilmember
Duanes
City
Council
staff,
and
now
she
was
doing
campaign
work.
The
New
York
Post
questioned
whether
Mauras
work
for
Christines
campaign
amounted
to
surreptitious
financial
help.
Candidates
who
accept
matching
funds
from
the
Campaign
Finance
Board
--
and
all
of
the
candidates
to
replace
Sen.
Duane
on
the
City
Council
had
applied
for
such
funds,
The
New
York
Post
reported
--
must
agree
to
a
$137,000
spending
limit.
Any
transactions
conducted
outside
that
limit
are
illegal.84
Sen.
Duane
denied
the
Lynn
campaigns
allegations,
calling
them
completely
ridiculous.
And
Christines
campaign
also
denied
the
allegations.
That
the
Lynn
campaign
would
resort
to
making
such
allegations
was
an
indication
that
that
Mr.
Lynns
campaign
was
desperate,
people
close
to
Christine
alleged.
Mark
Guma,
a
82
http://www.villagevoice.com/1999-01-26/news/the-company-he-keeps/
83
http://www.dcwatch.com/dorothy/dot000313.htm
84
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/item_m3TNZ93XMcjLvSCG7BLFeN
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 40 -
spokeman
for
Christines
campaign,
told
The
New
York
Post
that
Mr.
Lynns
campaign
must
be
sinking
fast.
In
his
interview
with
Sen.
Duane,
David
Seifman,
the
City
Hall
Bureau
Chief
at
The
New
York
Post,
was
able
to
confirm
that,
although
Sen.
Duane
was
paying
Maura
to
be
his
campaign
manager,
she
was
also
volunteering
for
Christines
campaign
on
the
side.
Mr.
Seifman
wrote
that
Maura
worked
long
hours
raising
funds,
scheduling
house
parties
and
petitioning
for
Sen.
Duanes
unopposed
primary
and
general
election
victory,,85
which
ended
up
being
a
landslide.
Sen.
Duanes
state
senate
district
encompassed
Manhattans
very
liberal
West
Side.
Why
would
Mauras
work
take
long
hours
when
the
candidate
was
being
hand-picked
by
the
political
party
to
run
in
an
unopposed
primary
in
a
bastion
of
liberal
politics
?
For
all
her
work,
Maura
received
an
extraordinary
$5,000
bonus
after
Sen.
Duane
won
his
election.
Yet,
for
all
the
time
she
performed
her
time-consuming
work,
for
which
she
was
paid
by
Sen.
Duanes
campaign,
Sen.
Duane
acknowledged
that
Maura
had
also
found
the
time
to
volunteer
for
Christines
campaign.86
On
Christines
official
campaign
finance
reports,
there
were
no
disclosures
of
donations
of
volunteer
time
paid
by
Sen.
Duane.87
Christines
first
campaign
was
not
entirely
a
grassroots
effort
;
she
raised
a
total
of
$67,595.00
in
declared
in
contributions.88
The
average
donation
was
approximately
$125.18.
Because
New
York
City
has
progressive
campaign
finance
87
85
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/item_m3TNZ93XMcjLvSCG7BLFeN
86
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/item_m3TNZ93XMcjLvSCG7BLFeN
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 41 -
laws,
Christines
first
run
for
public
office
was
augmented
by
generous
public
campaign
financing.
This
allowed
her
to
leverage
the
first
tranche
of
campaign
donations
into
additional
resources
in
the
form
of
public
financing.
The
New
York
Posts
reporting
included
a
snapshot
of
the
dueling
campaigns
finances
:
As
of
January
31,
1999,
Christine
had
received
the
maximum
amount
in
matching
campaign
funds,
namely,
$75,350.
Yet,
Mr.
Lynns
campaign
was
still
waiting
to
receive
$50,000.00
in
matching
funds,
which
were
being
delayed
due
to
missing
paperwork.
89
In
the
critical
weeks
of
his
campaign,
when
candidates
almost
solely
focus
on
generating
voter
turn-out,
Mr.
Lynn
was
at
a
clear
disadvantage.
Eventually,
the
New
York
City
Campaign
Finance
Board
would
report
that
Mr.
Lynn
had
a
$50,000.00
finance
advantage
over
Christines
campaign.90
Nevertheless,
Christine
would
go
on
to
win
the
special
election
two
weeks
later.
When
The
New
York
Times
reported
an
account
of
Christines
election
win
by
a
nearly
3-to-1
lead
over
her
closest
opponent,
the
newspaper
of
record
attributed
Christines
success
to
Mr.
Lynns
association
with
the
Giuliani
administration.
Mr.
Lynn's
candidacy
proved
to
be
less
formidable,
Manhattan
politicians
contend,
largely
because
of
his
association
with
the
Republican
Mayor
in
a
heavily
Democratic
district.
Mr.
Lynn
finished
last
in
yesterday's
election.91
In
those
early
years,
Christine
was
vocal
about
how
she
was
an
activist,
about
how
she
advocated
on
behalf
of
those
with
less,
be
they
the
poor,
the
working
class,
women,
LGBT
New
Yorkers,
and
still
yet
others,
who
knew
discrimination
or
89
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/item_m3TNZ93XMcjLvSCG7BLFeN
90
http://www.nyccfb.info/VSApps/WebForm_Finance_Summary.aspx?as_election_cycle=1999A&sm=press_12
91
http://www.nytimes.com/1999/02/17/nyregion/gay-rights-advocate-wins-village-seat.html
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 42 -
injustice.
To
be
an
effective
advocate,
Christine
needed
to
remain
independent
from
outside
pressure
groups,
which
would
be
opposed
to
social,
legal,
and
economic
reforms.
And
the
key
to
Christines
political
independence
would
be
to
have
integrity
about
from
whom
she
would
solicit
campaign
donations.
Indeed,
Christine
was
reported
to
have
made
a
promise
to
voters
that
she
would
not
accept
campaign
donations
from
the
real
estate
industry.92
But
her
1999
special
campaign
donation
records
were
reviewed
by
John
Fisher,
the
administrator
of
ChristineQuinn.com,
and
what
he
discovered
seemed
to
indicate
that
Christine
wasnt
keeping
true
to
her
promise
of
forgoing
real
estate
campaign
donations.
Donor
REAL
ESTATE-RELATED
CAMPAIGN
DONATIONS
TO
CHRISTINE
QUINNS
1999
CAMPAIGN
Employer
Amount
Margaret Brown Stuart Beckerman Jerome Gottesman William Gottlieb (and/or possible others) Brenda Levin Eileen OToole Michael Ratner Howard Rubenstein Steven Rubenstein Joy Tomchin Ian Tattenbaum Paul Travis
Association for a Better New York (Attorney) Edison Properties William Gottlieb Real Estate NYC2012 Kossoff Alper & Unger Ratner/Forest City Rubenstein Associates Rubenstein Associates Vanguard Investors (Attorney) Washington Square Partners
92
http://christinequinn.com/content/quinns-lies-debates-past
93
http://christinequinn.com/content/when-did-quinn-start-lying
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 43 -
Not
only
was
Christine
already
accepting
donations
from
real
estate
interests,
but
she
was
also
accepting
donations
from
affordable
housing
and
tenant
activists,
such
as
employees
of
Housing
Works
and
the
Gay
Mens
Health
Crisis
(GMHC).
Also
donating
to
Christines
campaign
was
Michael
McKee,
that
controversial
tenant
activist
alongside
whom
Christine
once
did
tenant
organizing.94
And
herein
lies
the
paradox
behind
the
myth
of
Christines
career.
She
would
always
claim
that
she
began
her
career
in
tenant
advocacy,
but
the
stories
she
would
tell
would
be
incomplete,
because
she
would
always
neglect
to
mention
that
she
also
had
a
history
of
playing
both
sides
of
the
fence.
She
would
propagate
her
image
as
an
advocate
for
the
cameras,
but,
behind
the
scenes,
she
was
also
taking
real
estate
money.
Christine
was
double-dipping,
but
she
knew
that
if
she
kept
giving
lip
service
to
her
advocacy
work,
she
would
trigger
cognitive
dissonance.
She
would
make
people
believe
in
her,
just
by
repeating
what
people
were
desperate
to
hear
:
that
she
was
going
to
be
a
different
kind
of
politician.
She
was
going
to
base
her
entire
political
career
on
staying
true
to
her
activist
roots.
This
was
the
myth
in
which
Christine
wanted
you
to
believe.
But
Christine
couldnt
pull
off
this
strategy
of
cognitive
dissonance
all
by
herself.
She
needed
help.
She
needed
people
to
give
her
cover.
Christine
was
lucky
that,
early
in
her
career,
she
had
Sen.
Duane
to
talk
up
her
progressive
nature.
But
Christine
also
had
others.
One
of
her
early
supporters
was
Kenneth
Monteiro,
one
of
94
http://www.nyccfb.info/searchabledb/AdvancedContributionSearchResult.aspx?ec_id=1999A&ec=1999A&can d_id=204&cand=Quinn%2c+Christine+C
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 44 -
the
former
chairs
of
the
board
of
directors
at
AVP.
Another
early
supporter
was
Kevin
Finnegan.
Mr.
Finnegan
was
a
New
York
City
political
operative,
who
began
his
political
career
by
working
on
Harvey
Milks
successful
1977
campaign
to
join
the
San
Francisco
Board
of
Supervisors.95
96
Christines
career
also
had
the
support
of
other
political
operatives,
like
Elizabeth
Berger,
who
was
once
a
partner
at
the
old
law
firm
of
LeBeouf
Lamb
Greene
&
MacRae,
and
lobbyist
Emily
Giske
and
lawyer
Robert
Christmas,
who
both
once
worked
at
another
old
law
firm,
Nixon
Hargraves.
Still
yet
another
key
early
supporter
was
Richard
Davis,
a
former
partner
with
the
law
firm
of
Weil,
Gotshal
&
Manges.97
Mr.
Davis
distinguished
himself
by
having
been
a
member
of
the
Watergate
Special
Prosecutor
Force,
where
he
was
chief
trial
counsel
in
the
prosecutions
of
Nixon
Deputy
Assistant
Dwight
Chapin
and
California
Lt.
Gov.
Edwin
Reinecke.98
Mr.
Davis
also
got
to
work
with
Christine
on
Mayor
Giulianis
task
force
on
police-community
relations.99
Many
of
these
early
supporters
would
be
rewarded
over
time
for
their
contributions
in
helping
to
launch
Christines
political
career,
and
they
would
be
part
of
the
effort
to
give
her
political
cover
in
the
years
to
come.
But
some
of
Christines
early
supporters
would
eventually
come
to
face-to-face
with
Christines
political
ethics.
In
the
years
to
come,
how
would
Christine
maintain
the
veneer
of
her
progressive
label
?
Already,
Christine
had
experienced
criticisms
for
having
thrown
highly-respected
LGBT
leaders
under
the
bus,
for
having
appeared
to
have
97
95
http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dailypolitics/2009/01/finnegan-the-new-gaspard-at-11.html
96
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harvey_Milk
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 45 -
hitched her political wagon to the divisive Republican mayor, Rudy Giuliani, and for having appeared to have double-dipped in tenant advocacy and real estate industry campaign donations. In what direction would the trajectory of her political arc lead under the next mayor ? Would she remain true to her grassroots political upbringing, or would her journey into the belly of the whale result in a different kind of outcome, one that would lead to a political betrayal of her roots in activism ? In her first year in office, Christine did her part to brandish her progressive, if not radical, traits. At her swearing-in ceremony, as was reported by New York magazine, Eve Ensler performed a reading of The Vagina Monologues, which was already on its way to becoming a revolutionary play about womens empowerment.100 Christine was bold to use The Vagina Monologues as the backdrop for her inauguration festivities, but this was the old Christine, who was confident about her radical roots. The Vagina Monologues fit in nicely with her identity as an activist and advocate. After she was elected, Christine wasnt the first lesbian City Councilmember in New York City. Margarita Lpez, who once represented the East Village in City Council, had been elected to the City Council before Christine.101 But Christine had ambition and determination to not stop at just being an official representing a small municipal district, even if it was in New York City. Now that she held public office, it was Christines turn to pick a chief-of-staff. Like she had once been Mr. Duanes right arm in his City Council office, Christine was going to need an idealistic person, on whom she could rely, someone with
100
http://nymag.com/nymetro/news/people/columns/intelligencer/1127/
101
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margarita_Lpez
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 46 -
whom
she
could
be
compatible,
somebody
who
shared
the
same
sensibilities
of
integrity
and
complete
loyalty.
She
picked
Maura
Keaney.
Maura
had
been
selected
the
year
before
to
be
Sen.
Duanes
campaign
manager,102
a
position
that
Christine
had
also
once
served
for
Sen.
Duane.
Prior
to
that,
Maura
had
worked
as
one
of
then
Councilmember
Duanes
aides.
It
would
only
be
natural
for
Christine
to
pick
Maura,
since
Maura
had
herself
started
out
with
then
Councilmember
Duane.
This
was
Christines
opportunity
to
mold
somebody
in
her
own
image,
and
since
Sen.
Duane
would
be
spending
so
much
of
his
official
time
up
in
Albany,
Maura
now
had
a
way
to
stay
grounded
in
New
York
City.
But
if
Christine
and
Maura
had
been
strangers,
then
at
first
blush,
one
would
see
how
they
would
use
their
connection
to
Sen.
Duane
as
way
to
build
a
new,
closer
shared
affinity.
But
in
actuality
they
knew
each
other
:
both
of
them
worked
out
of
the
same
campaign
office.
While
Maura
was
working
for
Duanes
senatorial
campaign,
Ms.
Morrison
was
working
on
Christines
City
Council
campaign
in
the
very
same
office
space
:
at
33
West
14th
Street.
Sen.
Duane
had
had
an
easy
election,
because
he
ran
unopposed
in
the
Democratic
primary,
a
sure
sign
that
the
Democratic
Party
was
hand-picking
him
to
win.
When
a
political
party
wants
a
candidate
to
win,
they
make
sure
that
the
primaries
are
cleared
for
their
favorites.
There
was
a
way
to
enforce
discipline
like
that.
So,
Sen.
Duanes
campaign
was
going
to
be
a
shoe-in.
In
fact,
he
ended
up
winning
86
percent
of
the
vote.103
Meanwhile,
Christine
was
in
a
four-way
race,
facing
Mr.
Lynn,
who
had
two
major
political
club
endorsements
and
his
own
bipartisan
connections
with
the
Giuliani
administration.
102
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/item_m3TNZ93XMcjLvSCG7BLFeN
103
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/item_m3TNZ93XMcjLvSCG7BLFeN
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- 47 -
Whereas
Sen.
Duane
ran
with
the
blessings
of
the
Democratic
Party,
Christine
had
to
wage
her
first
political
campaign
against
the
Democratic
Partys
chosen
favorite
any
way
that
she
could.
A
few
months
after
her
swearing-in,
Christine
found
herself
at
the
receiving
end
of
a
vicious
post-election
smear
campaign.
The
New
York
Observer
reported
that
Christines
political
enemies
were
circulating
rumours
that
she
was
actually
heterosexual
and
not
a
lesbian.
In
her
short
time
in
City
Council,
Christine
had
rubbed
enough
people
the
wrong
way
that
she
had
triggered
a
serious
backlash,
which
could
amount
to
political
death
in
her
heavily
gay
district,
wrote
Greg
Sargent.104
The
cumulative
effect
of
Christines
treatment
of
Mr.
Foreman,
Ms.
Morrison,
members
of
political
clubs,
and
still
yet
others
were
catching
up
to
her.
So,
Christine
had
to
grant
a
one-on-one
interview
to
Mr.
Sarget
of
The
New
York
Observer,
in
order
to
do
damage
control,
as
he
described
it.
Some
voters
in
Christines
district
complained
that
she
was
a
sore
winner,
that
she
was
punishing
political
foes
with
Tammany-in-lavender
tactics
that
have
no
place
in
the
Village
and
Chelsea,
the
heart
of
Democratic
reform
politics.105
A
few
startling
passages
in
The
Observer
served
to
illustrate
Christines
temperament
:
Ms.
Quinn
doesnt
see
herself
as
a
hack.
She
prefers
the
term
bitch.
I
am
very
clear
that
a
part
of
my
personality
is
what
some
people
might
call
a
bitch,
she
said.
And
I
am
very
comfortable
with
that.
I
accept
it
both
as
a
personality
asset
and
as
a
personality
defect.
And
I
think
as
Ive
gotten
more
mature
--
$500,000
worth
of
therapy
104
http://observer.com/1999/06/christine-quinn-sets-it-straight-im-a-lesbian-yup-100-percent/
105
http://observer.com/1999/06/christine-quinn-sets-it-straight-im-a-lesbian-yup-100-percent/
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 48 -
later
--
I
know
when
to
be
a
bitch
and
I
know
when
not
to
be
a
bitch.
I
make
a
conscious
decision
about
when
Im
gonna,
you
know,
open
up
the
bitch
tap
and
let
the
water
run.
It
can
be
really
effective
when
I
need
it
to.
Ive
gotten
through
to
people
who
are
far
more
important
than
me
by
being,
you
know,
a
real
bitch
to
their
staff
on
the
telephone.
106
Even
this
early
on,
reports
began
to
surface
of
political
retaliation
made
by
Christine
against
people
for
ridiculous
but
perceived
slights.
Now
that
Christine
was
an
office
holder,
she
had
power,
and
she
was
unafraid
to
exert
it.
The
Observer
piece
addressed
this.
Then
there
is
the
strange
case
of
Kyle
Merker,
who
charges
he
was
bumped
from
midtowns
Community
Board
5
by
Ms.
Quinn
--
in
retaliation
for
challenging
a
Quinn
loyalist
for
the
coveted
post
of
Board
5s
vice
chairman.
Not
exactly
Tammany
Hall,
perhaps
--
but
unpleasant
nonetheless
for
Mr.
Merker,
who
loves
his
community
board
hobby.
(He
was
reappointed
by
Manhattan
Borough
President
Virginia
Fields.)
Ms.
Quinn
responded
that
she
thought
Mr.
Merker
was
overly
politicizing
the
board.
107
Christines
temperament
and
some
of
the
changes
she
made
early
in
her
tenure
as
a
councilmember
were
really
ruffling
up
some
feathers.
A
major
schism
developed
within
one
political
club,
the
Village
Independent
Democrats,
in
the
time
leading
up
to
Christines
first
special
election.
But
Christine
had
already
been
resocialized
as
an
adult
in
the
world
of
New
York
City
politics
under
Sen.
Duane
and
by
Mr.
Quinn.
Christines
ambition
and
personality,
including
their
divisive
impact,
where
here
to
stay.
The
Village
Independent
Democrats
was
a
political
club
with
roots
in
the
reform
movement
;
it
was
founded
to
defeat
a
Tammany
Hall
leader,
Carmine
DeSapio.108
One
of
its
leaders
was
Carol
Greitzer,
against
whom
each
of
Mr.
Owles
106
http://observer.com/1999/06/christine-quinn-sets-it-straight-im-a-lesbian-yup-100-percent/
107
http://observer.com/1999/06/christine-quinn-sets-it-straight-im-a-lesbian-yup-100-percent/
108
http://www.villagedemocrats.org/about
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
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ran in 1973, Mr. Rothenberg in 1985, and Tom Duane in 1989. Against the backdrop of LGBT voters becoming a new, important voting bloc, two LGBT equality advocacy groups merged in 1990 to form the Empire State Pride Agenda (ESPA). Back then, the ESPA was headed by Dick Dadey, and the newly formed group helped to build support for a newly redistricted New York City Council seat that could be deemed winnable by a member of the LGBT community.109 One activist described Mr. Dadey as one among many who had been very involved in the redistricting effort. From 1990 through 1991, the Third City Council district, then held by Ms. Greitzer, underwent a redistricting process to make it more likely that an LGBT candidate could win that seat.110 Meanwhile, before the redistricting could be completed, Deborah Glick, a former president of the influential political club, the Gay and Lesbian Independent Democrats, ran for the New York State Assembly in 1990 to represent the Greenwich Village seat, and she won to become the states first openly LGBT Assemblymember.111 Her State Assembly district, in Lower Manhattan, partly overlapped with the Third City Council district. Finally the timing was right for an openly LGBT official to be elected to public office. One year after Assemblymember Glick won, Tom Duane,112 with help from Christine as his campaign manager, was elected to the City Council. But going back to how close Mr. Rothenbergs 1985 and Tom Duanes 1989 campaigns for City Council had been, it is not exactly known how
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 50 -
much
of
Mr.
Duanes
1991
win
could
be
attributed
to
Christines
campaign
management
--
and
how
much
should
be
attributed
to
the
deliberate
change
in
the
districts
boundaries.
If
Tom
Duanes
win
was
deemed
to
really
come
from
the
redistricting,
which
altered
the
demographics
just
right,
then
that
would
weaken
the
myth
about
Christines
contribution
to
Tom
Duanes
win.
Because
there
was
so
much
progressive
pressure
to
elect
an
LGBT
candidate,
Ms.
Greitzer
chose
not
to
run
against
Tom
Duane,
giving
him
the
most
of
an
opportunity
to
portray
himself
as
the
necessary
champion
that
the
LGBT
community
needed
in
office
to
deal
with
major
issues,
such
as
HIV/AIDS,
social
services,
discrimination,
and
healthcare
reforms.
The
original
intention
of
their
redistricted
City
Council
seat,
common
first
to
Mr.
Duane
and
later
to
Christine,
was
to
fulfill
on
the
promise
of
being
a
voice
of
LGBT
advocacy
and
to
renew
the
progressive
tradition
many
described
as
having
been
abandoned
by
the
exiting
Ms.
Greitzer.
Interestingly,
some
of
the
political
opposition
that
Assemblymember
Glick,
then
Councilmember
Duane,
and
Christine
faced
or
would
later
face
would
come
from
insiders,
who
were
close
to
former
Mayor
Ed
Koch.
Indeed,
Assemblymember
Glick
had
been
a
critic
of
the
Koch
administration,
and
when
she
was
campaigning
for
her
Assembly
seat,
the
LGBT
political
club
known
as
the
Stonewall
Democrats,
whose
membership
worked
closely
with
Mayor
Koch,
refused
to
endorse
her,
in
spite
of
the
historic
nature
of
her
campaign.113
114
Mayor
Koch
never
publicly
supported
these
candidates,
and
some
activists
claimed
that
he
actually
opposed
them.
Back
then,
activists
were
disappointed
with
the
dismal
record
of
the
Koch
113
http://gvshp.org/blog/2013/02/01/ed-koch-1924-2013-and-the-village/
114
http://www.outweek.net/pdfs/ow_61.pdf
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 51 -
administration,
and
some
people
said
that
Mayor
Koch
feared
having
openly
LGBT
officials
elected
to
public
office,
because
Mayor
Koch
didnt
want
to
his
administration
pressured
on
issues,
which
he
was
fearful
of
publicly
supporting.
But
once
Christine
was
safely
in
office,
after
her
1999
special
election,
some
members
of
the
political
club
Village
Independent
Democrats
expressed
being
upset
with
Christine.
Going
back
to
the
controversial
article
published
by
The
New
York
Observer,
many
began
to
see
Christines
style
as
a
return
of
old-school
bossism.
115
The
1999
special
election
was
over,
but
Christine
was
still
being
subjected
to
a
litmus
test.
By
this
time,
the
Village
Independent
Democrats
had
been
freed
from
Koch
Democrats,
since
Mayor
Kochs
supporters
had
largely
split
off
from
the
Village
Independent
Democrats
to
form
the
Village
Reform
Democratic
Club.116
So,
the
criticisms
that
Christine
received
from
the
Village
Independent
Democrats
were
not
politically-motivated
by
Mayor
Kochs
supporters,
unlike
the
criticisms
Assemblymember
Glick
received
from
Stonewall
Democrats,
whose
membership,
in
turn,
were
largely
comprised
of
Mayor
Kochs
supporters.
Theres
a
very
mean
and
vindictive
spirit
in
her,
Hal
Friedman,
the
president
of
Village
Independent
Democrats,
told
The
New
York
Observer,
referring
to
Christine.
Shes
beginning
to
act
like
a
Tammany
hack.117
The
New
York
Observer
described
Christine
as
having
been
molded
by
her
mentor.
Sen.
Duane
had
groomed
Ms.
Quinn
as
his
successor.
There
was
Sen.
Duane,
having
helped
his
one-time
campaign
manager
and
former
chief-of-staff,
but
his
help
had
come
across
as
having
circumvented
the
participation
115
http://observer.com/1999/06/christine-quinn-sets-it-straight-im-a-lesbian-yup-100-percent/
116
http://gvshp.org/blog/2013/02/01/ed-koch-1924-2013-and-the-village/
117
http://observer.com/1999/06/christine-quinn-sets-it-straight-im-a-lesbian-yup-100-percent/
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
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of progressive and reform political clubs. Allegations of boss-style politics even touched upon Sen. Duane, who, The New York Observer reported, was seen as using Christine as a tool to expand his influence over West Side politics.118 Here was where Christine would find herself in 1999. She had finally launched her own political career in the capital city of New York. And she was already having to defend herself, her management style, her judgment, her temperament, and even the truth about her own sexual orientation. An activist, who worked as a community organizer and executive director of a major LGBT organization, doesnt just make it onto the City Council on her own ; it takes help from a lot of people. Some of her supporters saw in Christine something special, a charisma and a determination. But in this early review of her work in The New York Observer, there was a foreshadowing of things to come, that to win, one must be willing to go to any lengths, to pay any costs. She was already being compared to other LGBT politicians, who had unmistakably and unapologetically been able to shake up the system in their favor. Nothing could be off limits, not even the loss of a little sense of self-restraint. The young Ed Koch, for instance, spent years honing his irascible public persona by savaging opponents at community meetings. Being loud and flamboyant is a particular badge of honor in gay politics. In his 1991 Council race, for instance, Mr. Duane squeaked past the opposition in part by mailing a letter to 40,000 West Side households proclaiming he was HIV positive, The New York Observer reported.119
118
http://observer.com/1999/06/christine-quinn-sets-it-straight-im-a-lesbian-yup-100-percent/
119
http://observer.com/1999/06/christine-quinn-sets-it-straight-im-a-lesbian-yup-100-percent/
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
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Before the old millennium came to a close, Christine had to run for re- election. Only a few months after Christine won that first special election in February 1999, she was on the November 1999 ballot again, this time to be elected serve a partial, two-year term to complete the remainder of what would have been Tom Duanes formerly full term.120 It was all technicalities now. Since she was an incumbent, Christine naturally had an easy re-election, and her campaign only needed to raise a mere $13,908.00 in contributions,121 thats how much of an easy time she had, back in the beginning. The average donation came out to be approximately $80.39.
120 http://www.nytimes.com/1999/11/03/nyregion/1999-elections-city-council-though-heavily-outspent-
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Chapter
3
In
her
early
years,
Christine
worked
hard
to
cultivate
a
public
image
of
someone
true
to
the
communitys
progressive
expectations.
Only
one
month
after
she
won
the
first
February
1999
special
election,
Christine,
Sen.
Duane,
an
LGBT
civil
rights
activist
Brendan
Fay,
and
three
other
activists
were
arrested
during
an
act
of
peaceful
civil
disobedience.
They
were
trying
to
make
a
St.
Patricks
Day
Parade
in
the
Bronx
to
be
more
inclusive
of
LGBT
march
participants.122
To
defend
mom-and-pop
shops,
Christine
opposed
a
plan
by
Costco
to
open
a
big
box
store
on
14th
Street
in
Manhattan.123
She
was
critical
of
zone-busting
development
along
23rd
Street
in
Manhattan,
making
the
observation
that
the
construction
of
so
many
tall
buildings
was
remaking
23rd
Street
into
the
beginning
of
Midtown.124
She
was
among
many
politicians
who
expressed
concerns
about
a
condominium
resolution
that
could
potentially
refuse
accommodation
to
same-sex
couples.125
When
New
York
Citys
Division
of
AIDS
Services
was
egaging
in
practices
possibly
violating
the
confidentiality
of
HIV-positive
clients,
Christine
stood
up
to
expose
and
challenge
the
troubled
city
agency.126
And
when
a
stage
actor
was
run
over
and
killed
by
a
double-decker
tour
bus,
Christine
called
for
suspending
the
companys
license
to
operate
its
tour
buses.
She
partially
rationalized
the
suspension
based
on
long-time
122 http://www.nytimes.com/1999/03/15/nyregion/6-gay-marchers-arrested-at-st-patrick-s-parade-in-
bronx.html 123 http://www.nytimes.com/1999/09/19/nyregion/neighborhood-report-greenwich-village-teeth-bared- over-costco-s-plans.html 124 http://www.nytimes.com/1999/10/10/realestate/in-the-flower-district-a-crop-of-high-rises.html 125 http://www.nytimes.com/1999/10/10/nyregion/neighborhood-report-midtown-who-s-family-who-s- guest-condo-s-rule-draws.html 126 http://www.ny1.com/content/top_stories/4779/workers-at-aids-facility-leave-confidential-documents-on- sidewalk
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
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community complaints about the tour buses.127 And when a former Giuliani administration official out of office for four years was reported to be still receiving a car and driver paid for by taxpayers, Christine questioned the use of taxpayer money to chauffeur the investment management company executive.128 It seemed like Christine was doing right by the community, and her office made sure that there were headlines and sound bites as proof. The year 2000 was a federal election year, and it wasnt only Hillary Clinton who was running for office. Al Gore was running against George W. Bush to become president, and we all know how well that worked out for progressives and reform Democrats. In New York, regular municipal and state elections generally take place one year after the four-year federal election cycle. The voter turn-out for municipal and state elections, as expected, is much lower than during federal elections, and many voters skip the off-year elections. Although some states and municipalities try to coordinate elections to maximize voter participation,129 New York City does not. So, after Ms. Clinton was sworn into office as the new junior senator for New York during the aftermath of Bush v. Gore, everybody in New York shifted their focus to the mayoral and City Council races. Mayor Rudy Giuliani was serving out the final months of his second term. Because of term limits imposed by two voter referenda, he was prevented from running for office for a third term. The term limits law also applied to other major officeholders, including City Councilmembers.
127
http://www.nytimes.com/2000/05/23/nyregion/tour-bus-kills-actor-as-he-walks-on-45th-st.html
128
http://www.nytimes.com/2000/11/14/nyregion/ex-official-uses-city-car-four-years-after-leaving.html
129
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Election_Day_(United_States)
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There was a lot at stake in the next mayoralty. The Giuliani administration had intentionally caused major setbacks for entire communities within New York City. Shameful acts of police brutality against minorities had aggravated racial tensions.130 The caustic mayor had violated citizens First Amendment rights on many fronts, and the litigation from his overreach led to several costly legal losses for the mayor and for New York City.131 And before Major Giulianis second term was over, a federal judge ruled that New York City had failed to provide services to thousands of people with AIDS in a decision that put the citys AIDS agency under a federal monitor132 for a period of three years.133 Progressives were looking for change. The 2001 municipal politics in New York started out as business as usual. Two mayoral candidates for the Democratic Partys mayoral nomination were accused of sending staff and campaign supporters to the meetings of an influential LGBT political club and making their representatives join the club as members, in hopes of influencing the clubs vote on its mayoral endorsement. New York City Controller Alan Hevesi sent at least six associates to join the Gay and Lesbian Independent Democrats (GLID). GLID was the political club formerly headed by Assemblywoman Debroah Glick, before she was elected to public office. Among the Hevesi operatives sent to infiltrate GLID was Christines father, Lawrence Quinn, who was considered to have a special place inside the LGBT community because his
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
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daughter
is
Christine.
Remember,
Mr.
Quinn
acted
as
Christines
surrogate
:
he
worked
on
campaigns
in
order
to
collect
favors
for
his
daughter.
The
other
Democratic
mayoral
candidate,
Public
Advocate
Mark
Green,
sent
at
least
22
supporters
to
infiltrate
GLID.
On
both
sides,
many
of
the
representatives
sent
to
join
GLID
were
straight.
The
last
time
such
infiltrating
was
reported
to
have
happened
on
this
scale
was
1993,
when
the
dueling
Democratic
mayoral
campaigns
of
incumbent
David
Dinkins
and
challenger
Andrew
Stein
were
said
to
have
sent
supporters
to
do
the
same
thing,
according
to
a
news
story
in
The
New
York
Daily
News.
134
Christines
first
years
of
the
two
partial
terms
she
served
would
not
count
against
her
with
respect
to
the
term
limits
restrictions.
She
would
be
running
for
her
first
full
term
in
public
office
in
the
2001
election.
Still,
there
were
benefits
to
her
incumbency.
For
example,
in
the
2001
race,
she
raised
about
half
the
contributions
that
she
had
raised
in
her
contentious
four-way
race
in
the
first
special
election
in
February
1999.135
In
the
fundraising
cycle
for
the
2001
race,
the
myth
that
Christine
was
still
an
advocate
for
the
people
was
reflected
in
the
modest
contributions
she
received.
There
was
a
$10.00
donation
made
by
a
New
York
City
Housing
Authority
maintenance
worker.
Christine
accepted
$250.00
from
the
Affordable
Housing
PAC,
Ltd.,
which
doles
out
tens
of
thousands
of
dollars
to
politicians,
even
though
New
York
City
never
builds
up
its
supply
of
affordable
housing
units.
Dick
Dadey,
the
former
executive
director
of
ESPA,
which
lobbied
for
the
redrawing
of
the
City
Council
district
common
to
both
former
Councilmember
Duane
and
Christine
134
http://articles.nydailynews.com/2001-03-13/news/18170150_1_gay-political-club-lesbian-community-
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
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around demographics so as to finally support an LGBT candidate, donated $250.00 to Christines 2001 campaign. There was no need to worry about Christine needing to run an aggressive campaign, nor raise serious money, because the myth of her advocacy work was still intact, all things considered. People still saw her as one of them. But, on the side, Christine was still taking money from lobbyists, real estate developers, and other consultants. This was a pattern that Christine established at the outset of her career as an elected official, and it would continue into this race. Christine raised $500.00 from Norman Adler, who was a partner of the lobbyist Emily Giske. Christine raise $1,000.00 from James Capalino, who heads up a lobbying firm that would later go on to represent developers of two of the most contentious real estate projects in Christines district a decade later. At the time, Dirk McCall worked for Capalino, and he made a contribution of $100.00 to Christines campaign. Mr. McCall would also go on to serve in various roles with LGBT agencies. Another notable contributor was Adam Rose, a developer of high- rise apartment buildings. He contributed $500.00 to Christines campaign. The myth that Christines crusade for public office to reform the system was giving way to taking money just like other politicians. These conflicts of interest were not going to stand in the way of Christines reelection. She was a political insider now. The run-up to the 2001 election, again, was following tried-and-true political machinations. Christine wrote an opinion-editorial piece for the Gotham Gazette, in which she previewed the emergence of her own self-motivated political ideals, a quasi-Quinn doctrine. She began to warn the public about a very real danger with
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
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New
York
Citys
term
limits
law.136
In
Christines
mind,
term
limits
would
give
lobbyists
and
corporate
interests
an
unfair
advantage
over
the
political
process
at
the
City
Council.
Term
limits
would
create
a
rotating
door
of
novice
councilmembers,
who
would
be
constantly
replacing
incumbents,
who,
in
turn,
would
need
to
leave
office
after
two
full
terms
in
office.
In
her
opinion
piece,
Christine
wrote
that
term
limits
did
more
harm
to
council
staff
than
to
elected
officials,
because
the
revolving
door
of
elected
officials
would
lead
to
a
churn
in
staff.
This
was
a
confusing
position
to
take.
Why
would
staff
matter
more
to
Christine
than
the
elected
officials,
who
would
be
charged
with
voting
on
zoning
issues
?
The
most
controversial
zoning
issues
involve
the
taking
of
public
or
common
property
for
the
private
profit
to
benefit
developers.
How
complicated
would
this
dilemma
be
for
councilmembers
to
analyze
?
Like
other
aspects
of
Christines
political
philosophy,
there
was
no
consistency
to
it.
And
in
the
coming
years,
her
flip-flops
on
important
issues
like
term
limits
and
real
estate
development
would
be
critical
to
examine
Christines
penchant
for
political
expediency
and
self-interest.
The
emerging
Quinn
doctrine
on
term
limits
was
a
political
philosophy,
which
rested
on
the
public
service
myth
of
politicians
and
their
political
staff.
When
she
was
an
activist,
Christine
subscribed
to
the
idea
that
powerholders
were
answerable
to
their
constituents,
but,
once
she
became
a
political
insider,
Christines
worldview
on
powerholders
changed.
Instead
of
having
faith
that
politicians
and
their
staff
would
have
the
fortitude
to
take
action
on
demands
from
their
communities,
something
about
her
first
few
years
in
political
office
transformed
136
http://old.gothamgazette.com/commentary/quinn.shtml
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Christine. She began to prefer for the idea of the public servant wiser than his or her constituency. Because term limits would restrict the advantages of incumbency for councilmembers, who were nominally the true legislative decision-makers, Christine wanted voters to shift their focus to political aides. Christine wanted voters to trust the judgment of the City Council staff -- to have blind faith that these unelected political insiders would have no binding legal obligation to do the right thing for voters. Public officials could come and go with the election cycle, but staff had an indeterminate value, and it was unclear why Christine was putting all her faith in staff. Rather than to strengthen restrictions on lobbying or patronage, or, more importantly, strengthen the enforcement of these restrictions, Christine wanted to spare any turnover on the hundreds of aides and central staff members caused by term limits. One could examine Christines change in philosophy as a product of identity politics. The great bargain the LGBT community made with Christine was that if she got elected, it could trust her to do the right thing. Christine never promised to be answerable to the community. She made campaign promises to get elected, of course, but she did not recite vows to respect the consensus of the community. This new philosophy of public service was in contrast to her time as an activist, when Christine was an activist citizen within social movements seeking more affordable housing or for increasing the healthcare response to HIV/AIDS. Back then, she supported citizens participating in their own governance. But along with her reflections on term limits, her outlook on citizen participation changed.
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As
an
official,
she
did
not
view
participation
as
important.
Writing
about
term
limits,
Christine
pointed
to
the
complicated
example
of
the
citys
opaque
land
use
laws.137
These
laws
favored
wealthy
real
estate
developers,
who
could
afford
expensive
attorneys,
consultants,
and
advisers.
Although
the
public
had
some
input,
the
publics
input
was
nonbinding.138
Voters
would
have
to
trust
the
public
service
spirit
of
politicians.
It
was
a
catch-22.
And
Christines
Band-Aid
approach
to
a
solution
to
eliminating
undue
influence
from
corporations,
real
estate
developers,
and
lobbyists,
given
her
background
as
a
tenant
activist,
was
to
advocate
that,
among
other
things,
the
City
Council
staff
be
saved
from
the
constant
turnover
in
councilmembers
political
aides.
We
must
work
to
preserve
the
expertise
of
the
Council
staff,
she
wrote.139
Either
this
marked
a
real
public
turning
point
for
Christines
relationship
with
voters,
or
it
sounded
like
she
was
grasping
at
straws.
Christine
had
promoted
herself
as
a
progressive,
as
a
tenant
activist
--
how
would
she
handle
complex
land
use
now
that
she
was
part
of
the
political
inside
?
How
realistic
was
keeping
political
aides
going
to
be
to
fend
off
billionaire
real
estate
developers
and
their
armies
of
white-shoe
law
firm
partners
and
other
lobbyists
?
Christine
would
have
you
believe
that
the
character
of
political
aides
would
make
a
difference,
that
all
voters
had
to
do
was
to
trust
unelected
political
actors
in
our
government.
One
of
the
Christines
unofficial
political
advisors
was
Emily
Giske.
Ms.
Giske
worked
as
a
lobbyist
at
the
very
same
time
that
she
served
as
vice
chair
of
the
New
137
http://old.gothamgazette.com/commentary/quinn.shtml
138
http://www.nyc.gov/html/dcp/html/luproc/ulpro.shtml
139
http://old.gothamgazette.com/commentary/quinn.shtml
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 62 -
York
State
Democratic
Party,
though
she
would
sometimes
be
described
as
a
political
consultant
to
soften
the
negative
connotation
around
her
work
as
a
lobbyist.
During
this
time,
she
was
also
on
the
Board
of
Directors
of
the
Human
Rights
Campaign
(HRC).140
Ms.
Giske
partly
rose
to
prominence
in
political
circles
because
of
her
membership
and
activities
in
GLID,
the
often-infiltrated
political
club
of
which
Christine
was
also
once
a
member.
The
same
lobbyists
and
their
special
interests
which
concerned
Christine,
would,
over
time,
also
come
to
encompass
Ms.
Giske.
Back
then,
Ms.
Giske
served
in
a
sense
as
a
public
official
by
virtue
of
her
position
within
the
state
Democratic
Party,
and
she
used
her
position
to
endorse
Christine
during
Christines
campaigns
for
those
early
partial
terms
in
the
City
Council.141
But
even
though
Ms.
Giske
was
sometimes
described
as
having
a
superficial
outlook
on
the
direction
of
LGBT
equality
and
on
the
evolution
of
the
annual
Heritage
of
Pride
parade,
also
known
as
the
Gay
Pride
Parade
in
Manhattan,142
Ms.
Giske
offered
Christine
legitimacy
from
within
the
state
Democratic
Party
and
from
Ms.
Giskes
insider
role
as
lobbyist
and
adviser
to
special
interests.
As
a
highly
visible
elected
LGBT
politician,
Christine
used
her
first
few
years
as
a
councilmember
to
portray
herself
as
being
a
champion
for
LGBT
equality.
If
anybody
was
going
to
criticize
Christine,
they
were
going
to
be
met
with
the
admonition
:
Hush,
shes
here
fighting
for
LGBT
equality.
We
need
her
on
the
inside
to
pass
new
laws.
Dont
rock
the
boat
;
otherwise
you
will
jeopardize
our
chances
at
140
http://www.hrc.org/files/assets/resources/AnnualReport_2001.pdf
141
http://christinequinn.tripod.com/endorsements.htm
142
http://www.nytimes.com/2000/06/25/nyregion/for-gays-party-search-purpose-30-parade-has-gone-
mainstream-movement-s-goals.html
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 63 -
finally establishing our civil rights. And thus a double-standard emerged for Christine : she was going to, by and large, get a pass from LGBT activists, who were known to put pressure on nonresponsive government officials, because we were all waiting around for Christine to update the civil rights laws applicable to the LGBT community. One very prominent LGBT civil rights activist based in New York City described the negative impact that Christines election to City Council created for LGBT activists. Under her influence, he said, the community has gone from being mobilized to being demobilized. For this, he blamed the perception that, once a good politician was elected, there was no more reason for the community to be thoroughly engaged. After the community transformed into an organization to get Christine elected to replace Sen. Duane on the City Council, the community organization essentially dissolved. Rather than maintaining a voting public in a state of mobilized participation, Christines election led to the disempowerment of this voting public. The election cycle gives voters their biggest opportunity at direct participation in their own governance, as far removed as it is. Once the election cycle was over, voters retreated, and politicians brandished their badges of wise public servants, as Christine did in the time leading up to the 2001 election year. Rather than listening to the communitys demands for systemic progressive reforms to increase direct democratic participation, Christine would have total discretion to decide by herself when to propose legislation, which issues would get a priority, when to play an active role in causes, and what her legislative agenda would even look like. It would become difficult to believe that Christine once believed in direct
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
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participation, let alone, direct action. Indeed, the role of direct action in Christines political ascendancy would remain part of her activist myth, even though her leadership style no longer welcomed or encouraged citizen participation. Under Christines leadership, change would seem to come in incremental and random forms. In a rare display of national leadership on LGBT equality issues, Christine signed onto a consensus statement from New York LGBT elected officials, withholding her support from an LGBT march on Washington being called the Millennium March.143 The Millennium March, which took place over the last week- end in April 2000, was mired in controversy. The surviving lover of Barry Winchell, a private first class murdered because he was gay, was rebuffed by organizers of the Millennium March.144 Though it appeared intolerant for organizers to invite Mr. Winchells mother but not his transgender lover, the main causes for controversy were finances and transparency. Some of the week-ends events would benefit LGBT organisations, with the proceeds of one large concert going to fund the work of HRC. This was during the time when Ms. Giske served on HRCs Board of Directors. For Christine to join a small group of peers and basically tell the larger LGBT community to stay away from this large-scale, corporate-sponsored demonstration over criticisms of the demonstrations planning process was a big deal.145 Christine saw the potential for harm from planning that excluded grass-roots community groups and activists, and she acted in solidarity with her colleagues.
143
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 65 -
This
was
when
Christine
was
still
showing
the
last
of
her
community- organizer
mindset.
She
still
had
sensibilities
about
putting
the
integrity
of
the
decision-making
process
above
reaching
situational
politically
motivated
results.
Not
only
that,
but
Christine
wanted
transparency
in
the
demonstrations
finances.
Money
has
been
raised
in
the
name
of
the
LGBT
community,
but
there
has
been
no
meaningful
financial
accountability.146
This
was
Christine
in
her
rarest
of
form
:
taking
a
bold
stand
based
on
progressive
ideals
of
increasing
participatory
democracy.
Christine
was
arguing
for
giving
the
LGBT
community
a
say
in
its
own
march
on
Washington.
Being
able
to
display
leadership
like
this
is
rare
in
politics.
Yet,
Christine
did.
She
was
not
afraid
to
stand
up,
at
least
in
those
early
years,
against
attempts
to
shut
out
the
grassroots
participation
of
the
LGBT
community.
Denied
are
grassroots
activists
like
the
ones
who
brought
us
ACT
UP
in
the
'80s
and
'90s,
the
Gay
Activist
Alliance
in
the
'70s,
and
in
the
beginning,
Stonewall
itself,
read
Christines
statement,
and
she
said
that
exclusion
was
not
acceptable.
The
statement
that
was
issued
by
Christines
office
bore
her
chief-of-staff
Maura
Keaneys
name
and
telephone
number
as
the
press
contact.
And
the
statement,
with
other
opposition,
had
ripple
effects
on
how
the
Millennium
March
would
be
examined.
But
already
there
was
a
dichotomy
emerging
in
Christines
political
doctrine.
On
the
one
hand,
she
would
begin
to
say
that
the
direct
democratic
votes
that
had
imposed
term
limits
were
dangerous
and
would
lead
to
corrupt
real
estate
developers
taking
advantage
of
unsuspecting
freshmen
councilmembers.
And
on
the
146
http://www.inform.umd.edu/EdRes/Topic/Diversity/Specific/Sexual_Orientation/Reading/News/march.html
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 66 -
other
hand,
she
would
still
say
that
organizations
could
not
have
integrity
unless
there
was
grassroots
support,
participation,
transparency,
and
accountability.
When
it
came
to
government,
Christine
would
claim
public
service
as
a
purification
of
her
motives.
But
when
it
came
to
organizing
a
large-scale
LGBT
demonstration
in
Washington,
wiser
public
spirited
leaders
didnt
count,
it
wasnt
enough.
Christine
was
able
to
make
this
distinction
in
her
own
mind,
but
she
was
not
able
to
see
the
contradiction.
True
to
the
suspicions
of
Christine
and
others,
the
Millennium
March
turned
out
to
be
controversial.
The
demonstration
on
Washington
was
not
a
self-supporting
effort.
It
ran
up
a
debt
of
about
$1
million
that
had
to
be
forgiven,
in
most
part,
and
wound
up
with
over
$300,000.00
in
debt
that
could
not
be
repaid.147
And
Christine
wasnt
the
only
major
LGBT
activist
in
New
York
City
to
oppose
the
demonstration.
According
to
The
San
Francisco
Chronicle,
Bill
Dobbs,
an
attorney
and
member
of
several
LGBT
groups,
helped
to
organize
a
group
to
oppose
what
he
saw
as
a
reckless
demonstration.
He
also
helped
to
launch
a
Web
page
to
denounce
the
Millennium
March.148
Once
the
Millennium
March
was
passed
them,
LGBT
activists
returned
their
attention
to
working
for
LGBT
equality
in
their
local
and
state
elections.
Andy
Humm
is
a
journalist
in
New
York
City,
and
he
has
a
long
and
distinguished
career
in
reporting
about
LGBT
equality.
He
could
not
be
reached
for
an
interview
for
this
book.
Less
than
two
months
after
the
failed
Millennium
March,
Mr.
Humm
wrote
a
seminal
article
that
was
published
in
the
Gotham
Gazette
under
147
http://web.archive.org/web/20010707023343/www.advocate.com/html/stories/842/842_mmow.asp
148
http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Gay-Rally-In-Washington-Bares-Deep-Divisions-2762139.php
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 67 -
the
headline,
The
State
of
Gay
Rights
in
New
York.
In
his
survey
of
LGBT
equality,
Mr.
Humm
examined
the
progress
that
the
movement
for
LGBT
civil
rights
had
made
since
the
1969
rebellion
that
started
it
all
at
the
Stonewall
Inn
in
Greenwich
Village,
located
right
in
Christines
City
Council
district.
From
the
issues
that
Mr.
Humm
outlined,
a
guidepost
emerges
from
which
to
examine
one
critical
aspect
of
Christines
leadership
and
political
ethics
:
what
she
has
delivered
for
the
LGBT
community.
New
York
was
supposed
to
be
progressive,
it
was
supposed
to
be
a
beacon
for
advancement
of
human
rights.
But
despite
New
York's
distinction
as
the
birthplace
of
the
modern
gay
movement,
and
its
reputation
as
a
haven,
advocates
for
gay
rights
see
the
city
and
state
as
lagging
behind
much
of
the
country
in
its
legal
protections
and
political
support,
Mr.
Humm
wrote
in
2000.149
Mr.
Humm
has
written
about
LGBT
issues
with
foresight
and
wisdom
from
the
perspective
of
setting
out
a
vision.
The
issues
he
raised
in
his
journalism
then
would
make
daily
headlines
a
decade
later
on
issues
such
as
bullying
in
schools.
In
his
rights
survey,
Mr.
Humm
described
how
New
York
State
lacked,
at
that
time,
an
antidiscrimination
law
that
is
specific
to
LGBT
residents,
which
would
outlaw
anti-gay
bias
in
jobs,
housing,
and
public
accommodations.
150
Mr.
Humm
noted
that
there
was
still
an
ongoing
effort
to
add
back
in
transgender
protections
to
the
New
York
Citys
human
rights
law
;
these
protections
were
omitted
14
years
earlier
when
Mayor
Koch
signed
a
homosexual
rights
bill
into
law.151
At
the
time
of
149
http://www.gothamgazette.com/iotw/gayrights/
150
http://www.gothamgazette.com/iotw/gayrights/
151
http://www.nytimes.com/1986/04/03/nyregion/koch-signs-homosexual-rights-bill.html
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 68 -
publication,
Mr.
Humms
rights
survey
was
predicting
final
passage
of
a
state-wide
hate
crimes
bill.
After
intense
organizing,
the
bill
would
be
eventually
signed
into
law
by
Gov.
George
Pataki.152
In
spite
of
the
surprising
breakthrough
under
a
Republican
governor,
the
passage
of
the
hate
crimes
bill
was
not
without
controversy
:
it
excluded
protections
for
transgender
New
Yorkers.153
154
How
long
would
it
take
LGBT
leaders
to
address
this
2000
omission,
and
what
role
would
Christine
Quinn
have
in
that
effort
?
A
critical
item
on
the
agenda
for
LGBT
equality
was
the
Dignity
For
All
Student
Act
(DASA),
which
would
require
all
school
superintendents
in
New
York
state
to
take
steps
to
deal
with
complaints
of
discrimination,
or
bullying,
based
on
race,
religion,
or
sexual
orientation,
etc.
155
As
of
the
date
of
Mr.
Humms
report,
no
U.S.
state
had
yet
enacted
marriage
equality
legislation
that
would
extend
marriage- based
civil
rights
to
loving
and
committed
couples
of
the
same
gender.
The
closest
the
LGBT
movement
had
come
to
accomplishing
this
as
of
2000
was
the
success
in
Vermont,
which,
at
that
time,
was
the
only
state
to
confer
civil
unions
on
same-sex
couples,
which
was
supposed
to
be
an
inferior,
but
legally
acceptable
way
to
offer
almost
all
of
the
rights
to
which
a
married
man
and
woman
are
entitled,
though
stopping
short
of
full
legal
marriage.
And
Mr.
Humm
warned
that
even
if
New
York
State
residents
wanted
to
enter
into
the
civil
unions
offered
in
Vermont,
there
was
federal
legislation
in
the
form
of
the
Defense
of
Marriage
Act
(DOMA),
which
barred
federal
recognition
of
legal
same-sex
marriages
performed
in
any
state
and
gave
the
152
http://www.nytimes.com/2000/07/11/nyregion/pataki-signs-bill-raising-penalties-in-hate-crimes.html
153
http://www.paulinepark.com/2010/06/millenium-march-reflections-by-a-transgendered-woman-of-color/
154
http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/10/12/transgender-provision-is-sought-in-state-hate-crimes-law/
155
http://www.gothamgazette.com/iotw/gayrights/
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 69 -
other
states
the
right
not
to
honor
such
a
contract.
Even
worse,
as
of
2000,
Thirty- two
states
passed
laws
barring
recognition
of
same-sex
marriages
performed
in
other
states,
even
though
no
state
or
nation
allows
gay
couples
to
obtain
a
marriage
license.
156
At
the
time,
one
of
the
greatest
local
advancements
in
the
civil
rights
of
loving,
committed
LGBT
couples
was
the
granting
of
hospital
and
prison
visitation
rights,
which
were
only
recognized
at
the
end
of
Mayor
Kochs
administration,
according
to
Mr.
Humms
report.
It
was
under
the
administration
of
the
following
mayor,
David
Dinkins,
when
a
local
domestic
partnership
registry
was
established.
The
victory
in
another,
long
battle
was
finally
won
under
the
administration
of
Rudy
Giuliani,
when
it
enacted
legislation
passed
by
the
City
Council
to
provide
to
the
same-sex
partner
of
a
city
employee
the
same
benefits
automatically
afforded
to
a
heterosexual
city
employees
spouse.
And
to
add
to
these
gains,
Mr.
Humm
pointed
to
a
proposal
that
Christine
was
formulating,
which
would
require
contractors
doing
business
with
New
York
City
to
extend
to
the
same-sex
partners
of
contractors
employees
domestic
partner
benefits
if
those
contractors
provide
spousal
benefits
to
their
employees.
The
year
2000
wasnt
all
that
long
ago,
but
that
was
it.
The
only
issue
that
Mr.
Humm
had
left
out
was
the
idea
of
an
omnibus
federal
LGBT
civil
rights
law,
similar
to
one
that
was
once
introduced
in
1974
by
U.S.
Representatives
Bella
Abzug
and
Ed
Koch.157
In
Mr.
Humms
report,
hopes
were
being
pinned
on
a
new
class
of
politicians
being
elected
to
government,
like
Christine,
and
fellow
Councilmembers
156
http://www.gothamgazette.com/iotw/gayrights/
157
http://www.thetaskforce.org/issues/nondiscrimination/narrative
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 70 -
Phil
Reed
and
Margarita
Lopez,
as
opportunities
for
the
LGBT
movement
to
find
legislative
leadership
to
end
de
facto
and
de
jure
discrimination
against
LGBT
New
Yorkers.
Yet,
for
all
these
gains,
Mr.
Humm
pointed
to
resistance
to
the
idea
of
same- sex
marriage
and
to
ongoing
sensitivity
around
the
St.
Patricks
Day
Parade,
which
continued
to
exclude
open
LGBT
participation
;
these
were
raw,
open
wounds
for
the
LGBT
community
that
could
not
find
a
resolute
political
response,
even
from
political
allies.158
For
the
historical
perspective
that
Mr.
Humms
writings
offer,
his
2000
report
is
especially
valuable
and
can
serve
as
a
touchstone
against
which
to
measure
Christines
future
performance
in
office
with
respect
to
LGBT
equality
issues.
When
the
U.S.
Supreme
Court
ruled
in
2000
in
favor
of
allowing
the
Boy
Scouts
of
America
to
continue
to
exclude
gays,
Christine,
with
a
bold
sense
of
courage
and
urgency,
almost
automatically
took
a
very
tough,
public
stance
on
the
issue.
Even
though
only
a
small
percent
of
young
boys
pass
through
the
Boy
Scouts,
as
a
rite
of
passage,
it
lives
on
in
Americana
as
a
sentimental,
if
archaic,
symbol
of
character-
and
citizenship-building159
in
spite
of
the
groups
policy
of
discrimination.
Nevertheless,
Christines
response
to
the
Supreme
Court
ruling
was
swift
:
she
said
that,
based
on
the
Boy
Scouts
exclusionary
powers,
New
York
City
might
be
violating
its
own
human
rights
laws
by
accommodating
Boy
Scouts
meetings
in
the
citys
school
buildings.160
Here,
again,
as
in
the
statement
she
issued
criticizing
the
Millennium
March
in
Washington,
DC,
Christine
was
unafraid
of
159
http://scouting.org
160
http://www.nytimes.com/2000/06/29/us/the-supreme-court-the-reaction-victory-has-consequences-of- 158
http://www.gothamgazette.com/iotw/gayrights/
its-own.html
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 71 -
taking a dramatic position rooted directly on radical activist ideals. For the LGBT civil rights movement to build into a critical mass, more leaders would need to be bold and to reach for true equality under matters governed by civil laws. The LGBT community was investing a lot of its hope of a brighter future on leaders like Christine. But would Christine deliver on these expectations ? In spite of the temporary setbacks and the long road ahead, progress, if uneven and unequal, was still being made to advance LGBT civil rights, and politicians had begun to court the LGBT community as a voting block to help win elections. And this could be seen more and more in New York City politics. The following years Gay Pride Parade was continuing its path toward becoming more and more a corporate-sponsored event, meaning, it was now making a more noticeable shift to being tailored to corporate advertising budgets instead of LGBT equality issues. The Pride Parade was also becoming to be considered a politically safe event for all politicians to attend. In 2001, all six major candidates for New York City mayor took part, including two Republican mayoral candidates. As usual, it was the candidate, who marched alongside Christine and Sen. Duane, who garnered a lot of attention. That year, it was Mr. Hevesi, who was one of the politicians, who sent operatives to infiltrate GLID. The year 2001 was supposed to be a watershed year for New York City government. The term limits law, which was passed twice by voter referenda, was going to restrict politicians to two full terms in elected office. As reported in the Gotham Gazette, 36 out of the 51 members of the New York City Council were going
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
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to have to step down.161 Christine didnt have anything to worry about, because her first election was a special election to serve out the remainder of Sen. Duanes City Council term, so Christines first years in City Council would not count. Yet, she would benefit from being an incumbent, as could be seen from her fundraising results. Christine was now raising money from real estate developers and lobbyists without fear of criticism. She was learning that she could have it both ways : maintain her myth of being a peoples advocate, while also taking in special interest money. The grassroots movement against career incumbents -- whose only concern was reelection rather than accountability to voters -- was going to achieve something short of a wholesale dissolution of the New York Citys legislative body. While voters were fed up with incumbents, some of the municipal legislators werent going to take the forced retirement of so many members sitting down. What happened when term limits took effect, leading up to the 2001 municipal elections, is critical to understanding what Christine would face seven years later. In 2008, Christine would launch a very public campaign against term limits, but that was so far away into the future. Back in 2001, municipal legislators were faced with an agonizing frustration caused by term limits. And according to Christines contradictory political doctrine, Christine was more sensitive about the impact that term limits would have on the City Council staff than on politicians having to abide by voter referenda.
161
http://www.gothamgazette.com/searchlight2001/
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- 73 -
For a freshman political candidate to win elected office, many stars would have to line up, and that is because incumbents have many advantages provided to them by political parties. For example, in an analysis made by Lenore Chester for the Gotham Gazette in 2001, Ms. Chester noted that political parties protected incumbents from the dangers to reelection posed by any redistricting process. If the boundaries of an incumbents district are to be changed, political parties always intervened to make sure that the new districts are reconfigured so as to re-elect the incumbent ... . Another way that political parties helped incumbents was by erecting difficult barriers for challengers who tried to get on election ballots. This was done in various ways. First, incumbents benefited from the assistance of political party officials at the county and district level, the provision of organizational support from the political party, and the provision of opposition work against primary challengers. In New York City, candidates for public office must gather a certain number of signatures from registered voters on petitions in order to qualify to appear on the ballot. Political parties helped incumbents to collect enough signatures that would survive challenges, which is important, because political candidates and their supporters often raise questions with respect to the petition signatures collected by their challengers. Not only that, but political parties in New York, as elsewhere, also tend to nominate family members of incumbents to succeed incumbents162 as a way to make it more difficult for candidates without name recognition, outsiders, or reformers to win elected office.
162
http://www.gothamgazette.com/searchlight2001/feature3.html
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 74 -
It
is
no
surprise
then
that
incumbents
often
run
for
re-election
unopposed,
wrote
Ms.
Chester.
163
But
the
advantages
enjoyed
by
incumbents
dont
just
stop
there.
Incumbents,
especially
legislators,
are
able
to
steer
taxpayer
money
to
projects
that
benefit
their
constituents,
Ms.
Chester
wrote.
164
In
New
York
City,
councilmembers
request
annual
disbursements
of
tax
dollars
to
community
groups,
which
are
approved
by
the
Speaker
of
the
City
Council.165
The
approval
process
for,
and
the
delivery
of,
member
items,
as
these
annual
disbursements
are
sometimes
called,
are
fraught
with
controversy,
because
the
allocation
can
be
based
on
political
motivations.
For
example,
taxpayer
money
could
be
steered
to
individuals
or
groups
that
would
benefit
an
incumbents
next
reelection
effort.
Yet,
the
practice
of
using
member
items
continued.
Another
major
advantage
that
benefits
incumbents
of
the
New
York
City
Council,
for
example,
was
a
reserve
fund
controlled
by
the
City
Council
speaker.
In
the
beginning,
the
reserve
fund
was
said
to
be
used
to
correct
errors
or
respond
to
emergencies,
New
York
magazine
would
later
report.
But,
over
time,
the
allocations
made
from
the
reserve
fund
came
to
be
regarded
as
political
rewards
to
the
supporters
of
the
City
Council
speaker.
166
Not
much
was
known
at
the
time
about
some
of
these
secret
budgetary
advantages
enjoyed
by
incumbents,
but
New
York
City
voters
were,
nonetheless,
able
to
relate
to
and
agree
with
the
national
anti-incumbency
sentiment
that
led
to
the
approval
of
term
limits
here
in
New
York
City.
Progressive
voters
wanted
politicians
to
focus
on
delivering
social,
legal,
and
163
http://www.gothamgazette.com/searchlight2001/feature7.html
164
http://www.gothamgazette.com/searchlight2001/feature7.html
165
http://nymag.com/news/politics/46821/
166
http://nymag.com/news/politics/46821/
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 75 -
economic solutions -- not on protecting their incumbencies. And right here, the merging of two separate expectations by progressives would convey to Christine her political political authority. In Christines specific case, she was elevated from being a community organizer to a political aide to an agency figurehead to a politician in order to deliver on LGBT equality. Also, she was elected with the expectation from progressives that she would deliver reforms. As long as she was achieving legislative results, she would be fulfilling her mandate. But if a time came when her political agenda would deviate from progressive or LGBT values, Christine would risk losing her political legitimacy. A backlash began to take form in 2001 among some councilmembers : some incumbents wanted to overturn term limits. Incumbents wanted to keep running for office without restrictions. Councilmembers strategized to send up a test balloon on repealing term limits by way of a bill, known as Intro 880, introduced into the City Council by 22 members167 and sent to the Governmental Operations Committee for review and further action. On March 15, 2001, the committee met for a vote under immense pressure from incumbents supporting the repeal and outside groups wanting term limits to remain in effect.168 Speaker Vallone told the press at the time that he opposed the repeal, and, in spite of his personal opinions about the bill, he was adhering to a fair procedure of allowing the appropriate committee to review and decide the fate of the bill. The councilmembers, who favored repealing term limits, explained their motivation as maintaining the continuity and institutional
167
http://gothamgazette.com/thisweek/02.05.01.html
168
http://observer.com/2001/03/tech-is-dreck/
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 76 -
memory
of
the
City
Council.169
For
her
part,
Christine
publicly
told
the
Gotham
Gazette
in
2001
that
she
did
not
support
the
repeal
of
term
limits.170
But
the
full
City
Council
would
not
get
a
chance
to
vote
on
Intro
880.
The
bill
was
defeated
in
the
Governmental
Operations
Committee
by
the
narrowest
of
votes,
5-4.
A
freshman
Republican
councilmember
from
Staten
Island,
Stephen
Fiala,
stood
up
and
gave
a
rousing
speech
in
defense
of
the
two
voter
referenda,
which
approved
term
limits.
Although
he
did
not
agree
with
the
concept
of
term
limits,
Councilmember
Fiala
voted
against
the
repeal,
because
the
voters,
who
decide
who
shall
represent
them
in
our
representative
form
of
government,
chose
to
limit
the
terms
of
their
representatives.
His
speech
was
inspiring,
and
parts
of
it
were
especially
moving
:
Citizen
apathy
and
frustration
are
not
new
to
our
nation
--
or
our
city
-
but
the
level
of
contempt
for
and
disengagement
from
our
democratic
institutions
are
new
and
pose
a
real
threat
to
our
way
of
life.
Patriotism
--
if
it
is
understood
correctly
--
is
not
compatible
with
contempt
for
the
institution
of
government.
And
Freedom
--
if
it
is
truly
appreciated
--
is
not
compatible
with
disengagement
from
your
civic
responsibilities.
Only
a
fool
exercises
his
or
her
right
not
to
vote.
In
our
democracy,
Patriotism
and
Freedom
are
not
mutually
exclusive
virtues,
but
rather
they
are
intertwined
and
interdependent
ingredients
of
the
greatest
experiment
in
representative
democracy
ever
conceived
by
man.
But
they
require
commitment
and
appreciation.
Thomas
Paine
understood
this
in
1776
when
he
declared,
"What
we
obtain
too
cheaply,
we
esteem
too
lightly
;
it
is
dearness
only
that
gives
everything
its
value."
Ours
is
a
representative
form
of
government
--
known
as
a
republic
--
meaning
simply
that
people
do
not
decide
issues,
they
decide
who
shall
decide.
169
http://www.gothamgazette.com/thisweek/02.26.01.html
170
http://www.gothamgazette.com/searchlight2001/term_chart.html
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 77 -
As
wrong
as
term
limits
are
--
and
they
are
--
the
means
prescribed
in
redressing
this
wrong
are
potentially
worse.
The
death
of
our
democracy
is
not
likely
to
be
an
assassination
but
by
ambush.
It
will
be
a
slow
extinction
caused
by
apathy,
indifference
and
undernourishment.
As
much
as
I
disagree
with
the
outcome
of
both
referenda
elections,
I
nonetheless
recognize
the
importance
of
respecting
the
integrity
of
the
electoral
process.
For
if
the
integrity
of
the
process
is
questioned
then
that
slow
extinction
caused
by
apathy,
indifference
and
undernourishment
will
only
be
accelerated.
Our
democracy
hangs
in
the
balance;
its
health
is
in
jeopardy.
Term
limits
need
to
be
reconsidered
and
repealed.
But
this
is
not
the
means
of
doing
so.
It
is
with
that
hope
--
and
as
Edmund
Burke
would
charge
us
--
my
best
judgment
that
I
vote
NO.171
And
with
Councilmember
Fialas
vote
and
his
impassioned
appeal
for
virtues
of
calmness,
civility,
detachment,
reasonableness,
and
concern
for
the
long- term,
voters
who
had
twice
approved
term
limits
were
going
to
have
their
wishes
respected.172
By
having
instituted
term
limits
through
the
direct
democracy
reform
that
was
made
possible
by
the
gains
made
during
the
Progressive
Era
in
the
United
States,
namely,
voter
referenda,
Councilmember
Fiala
was
saying
that
voters
had
the
final
say
on
which
politicians
shall
decide
on
their
behalf.
While
he
had
serious
disagreements
with
term
limits
and
their
effect
on
the
continuity
of
certain
elected
government
officials,
the
Republican
from
Staten
Island
was
affirming
the
role
of
direct
democracy
in
our
representative
form
of
government.
Councilmember
Fiala
would
become
a
modern-day
defender
of
Progressive
Era
reforms.
How
fortunate
and,
at
the
same
time,
how
telling,
that
in
these
polarizing
political
times,
171
http://www.gothamgazette.com/searchlight2001/fiala_transcript.html
172
http://www.gothamgazette.com/searchlight2001/fiala_transcript.html
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 78 -
progressives
in
the
liberal
city
of
New
York
would
find
a
crucial
ally
in
the
Republican
Party.
Not
too
long
after
his
historic
vote,
Councilmember
Fiala
resigned
from
the
City
Council
in
order
to
accept
an
appointment
made
by
Republican
Gov.
George
Pataki
to
become
the
County
Clerk
of
Richmond
County,
which
covers
all
of
Staten
Island.173
This
defender
of
the
peoples
voice
was
taken
out
of
electoral
politics.
Thats
how
the
party
system
dispatched
him.
All
of
this
--
the
efforts
by
incumbents
to
challenge
the
will
of
two
voter
referenda
--
was
playing
out
for
Christine
to
see.
She
was
a
relatively
new
councilmember,
but
she
was
not
an
entirely
nave
newcomer
to
the
scene.
Christine
was
not
an
innocent,
as
one
source
said.
She
had
already
mastered
the
art
of
photo
ops.
And
when
she
was
a
lowly
chief-of-staff,
she
had
an
inside
view
to
the
machinations
that
determined
the
legislative
agenda.
Christine
watched
as
the
effort
to
overturn
term
limits
was
defeated,
but
this
episode
would
inform
her
entire
worldview
:
at
any
time,
the
City
Council
could
blatantly
act
in
a
self-serving
or
self- dealing
manner.
For
progressives,
the
self-dealing
by
incumbents
was
a
violation
of
the
reforms
that
tried
to
end
corruption.
The
fight
against
corruption
was
a
central
underpinning
of
the
movements
ideals.
Political
parties
put
forth
candidates,
and
candidates
had
an
obligation
to
act
in
the
best
interest
of
citizens.
And
this
meant
that
the
political
party
apparatus
had
to
carry
out
this
ethic,
not
just
the
government
itself.
Elected
politicians
had
a
greater
obligation,
because
governments
were
in
charge
of
providing
security
and
resources,
administering
justice,
and
ensuring
173
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/11/07/nyregion/the-2001-elections-the-council-new-look-shaped-by-the-
primary-comes-into-focus.html
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 79 -
integrity
in
our
representative
form
of
democratic
governance.
But
political
parties
were
the
source
of
leadership,
and
voters
had
rightly
come
to
demand
that
candidates
for
public
office
had
to
be
motivated
to
act
for
the
greater
public
good,
not
in
their
own
self-interests.
And
so
where
political
parties
failed
on
their
duty
to
deliver
reforms
against
corruption,
it
was
up
to
citizens
to
create
grassroots
support
for
new
leadership.
As
with
the
case
with
Councilmember
Fiala,
the
hope
of
creating
meaningful
change
would
rest
on
freshmen
politicians,
who
had
the
least
vested
interest
in
maintaining
the
status
quo,
as
opposed
to,
say,
Ms.
Greitzer,
the
former
councilmember
against
whom
Mr.
Owles
once
ran.
Until
she
was
finally
unseated
from
office,
Ms.
Greitzer
had
served
in
office
for
22
consecutive
years.
The
problem
with
freshmen
politicians
coming
up
through
the
political
party
system
was
the
same
all
over
:
could
they
come
up
without
having
to
make
deals
with
political
gatekeepers,
lobbyists,
and
special
interests
?
On
some
level,
the
experiment
her
supporters
were
making
with
Christines
political
career
could
be
said
to
have
been
made
decades
ago
with
Ms.
Greitzers
reform-minded
career,
excepting
the
LGBT
equality
issues.
As
progressives
in
the
West
Village
and
in
Chelsea
--
and
the
LGBT
community
in
all
five
boroughs
--
looked
to
Christine,
was
she
going
to
be
the
politician,
who
was
really
going
to
promote
social,
economic,
and
legal
reforms
and
advancements
?
Was
she
going
to
be
different
?
Early
in
2001,
New
York
magazine
published
a
list
of
the
top
101
New
Yorkers,
who
were
openly
gay
or
lesbian
and
in
positions
of
power.174
Christine
was
lumped
in
with
Sen.
Duane
and
three
other
politicians,
who
all
came
into
political
174
http://nymag.com/nymetro/urban/gay/features/4425/
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 80 -
office during the 1990s. Christines appearance on the list also put her name alongside Mr. Dobbs, the notable activist who had opposed the Millennium March ; Christines friend, Ms. Giske, the lobbyist and Democratic Party insider ; AIDS activist Larry Kramer ; and Allen Roskoff, an LGBT civil rights activist and political operative. Others, who appeared on the list, included out gays and lesbians with distinguished jobs in the arts, fashion, and publishing. The New York magazine piece described the list as an important touchstone in LGBT history, because gays and lesbians in important positions in government and business were developing the courage to come out of the closet. As the New York magazine article noted then, gays and lesbians did not find supportive environments in all industries. Finance and professional sports were singled out as especially unfriendly. And the New York magazine list made only one mention of a bisexual, the gossip columnist Liz Smith. In spite of growing transgender activism, New York magazine named none to its list. This combination reflected the uneven changes in social and cultural attitudes within the category LGBT equality. The courage of this incomplete, yet visible group of out gays and lesbians, and the one bisexual, was supposed to lead to a social revolution, to inspire others to come out of the closet. But what was that social revolution supposed to look like, and who was putting themselves out there to be the poster children for this revolution ? One of the keys to understanding the ethics of Christine was to observe and analyze to what extent she challenged the status quo, and how she allowed the process of conducting the citys business to serve as a conduit to facilitate a social transformation, like creating a safe and nurturing space for LGBT New Yorkers to
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 81 -
come out, rise up through community organizing, and to train new leaders. One often neglected segment within the LGBT community were issues surrounding LGBT youth. Would Christine tackle the social determinants that caused LGBT youth to become homeless ? Was she going to take the easy route, to just serve as a token LGBT leader in politics, to basically be used for photo ops and sound bites ? Or was she going to really undertake the serious work of supporting community organizing and consensus-building in order to facilitate transformational breakthroughs -- not just for LGBT civil rights, but also on behalf of her progressive constituents ? A few months after the New York magazine story was published, Wall Street billionaire businessman Michael Bloomberg waved a rainbow flag and marched in that years Gay Pride Parade alongside the caustic Mayor Giuliani,175 who used cruel and aggressive tactics to attack the social safety net,176 manufacture budget shortages to threaten budget cuts,177 and, at least once, tried to defund New York Citys Division of AIDS Services.178 Mr. Bloomberg would become as paradoxical on LGBT issues as Mayor Giuliani was known to be antagonistic. Although Mr. Bloomberg had said that he believed that all discrimination was wrong, period, he said, at the time, that he would not support making marriage equally available to loving and committed LGBT couples. Even though by and large the laws that determined who could get married were written and enforced by state governments, Mr. Bloomberg was quoted in The New York Times as having said that
175 http://www.nytimes.com/2001/06/25/nyregion/a-parade-underscores-candidates-unity-on-gay-
issues.html 176 http://www.nytimes.com/2000/07/25/nyregion/judge-rules-against-city-on-welfare.html 177 http://www.nytimes.com/1998/03/27/nyregion/council-sees-more-revenue-for-the-city-than-giuliani.html 178 Bull, Chris. "Cutting It-Close : New York Citys mayor relents on AIDS budget cuts -- but for how long ?" The Advocate 14 June 1994: 20. Print.
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 82 -
he
had
a
laissez-faire
approach
towards
marriage
rights.
I
don't
think
it's
the
government's
business
to
tell
anybody
who
they
should
be
married
to
or
who
they
can
marry,
period.179
But
because
New
York
City
was
about
to
complete
two
terms
under
Mayor
Giuliani,
everyones
hope
was
that
power
in
City
Hall
would
swing
back
to
the
Democratic
Party,
to
allow
the
city
to
make
up
for
the
regression
that
progressives
had
experienced
under
Mayor
Giulianis
two
terms.
Given
Mr.
Bloombergs
worldview
that
government
should
take
a
hands-off
approach
to
social
justice,
his
stopping
short
of
full
commitment
to
LGBT
equality
was
one
more
warning
signal
to
liberals
in
New
York
that
the
mayoralty
had
to
return
to
a
progressive
Democrat.
Christine
and
her
team
were
supporting
Mr.
Hevesi.
A
different
camp
of
Democrats
were
supporting
Mr.
Green.
The
hopes
of
making
progressive
gains
were
being
pinned
on
stalwart
Democrats,
like
Mr.
Hevesi
or
Mr.
Green,
and
on
a
new
crop
of
leaders,
like
Christine.
In
the
lead-up
to
the
Democratic
primary
election
for
mayor,
during
the
summer
of
2001,
voters
saw
the
standard
political
flimflam
of
an
average
municipal
election
year,
nothing
that
anybody
hadnt
seen
before.
Mr.
Hevesi
took
a
hit
in
the
press
over
what
he
saw
as
a
cost-saving
approach
to
his
campaign
spending.
Mr.
Hevesi
had
a
close
relationship
as
both
a
friend
and
a
client
of
a
powerful
political
consultant,
in
Hank
Morris,
who
was
a
name
partner
along
with
Mark
Guma,
the
husband
of
Christines
chief-of-staff,
Ms.
Keaney,
in
the
political
consulting
firm
of
Morris,
Carrick
&
Guma.
Mr.
Hevesi
was
operating
a
mayoral
campaign
with
no
official
independent
campaign
headquarters
and
with
only
four
paid
staff
members,
179
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/06/25/nyregion/a-parade-underscores-candidates-unity-on-gay-
issues.html
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 83 -
according
to
The
New
York
Times.180
Cloaked
as
one
friend
helping
another,
the
arrangement
with
Mr.
Morriss
political
consulting
firm
was
providing
substantial
assistance
to
Mr.
Hevesis
campaign,
and
this
arrangement
was
coming
under
serious
criticism
for
its
questionable
ethics.
Mr.
Morris
was
providing
Mr.
Hevesi
with
use
of
office
space
for
a
campaign
headquarters
and
the
use
of
its
office
equipment.
181
It
cannot
be
determined
the
value
of
other
incidentals,
such
as
the
time
of
Mr.
Morriss
own
paid
office
staff
in
the
form
of
volunteers.
The
way
that
The
New
York
Times
described
Mr.
Morriss
assistance
to
Mr.
Hevesis
mayoral
campaign
was
either
the
ruthless
exploitation
of
the
city's
campaign
finance
law
by
an
unscrupulous
campaign
or
the
single-minded
frugality
of
Mr.
Morris.
There
was
a
larger
danger
to
the
electoral
process,
and
The
New
York
Times
put
the
context
of
the
Morris-Hevesi
controversy
in
terms
of
the
reforms
instituted
in
the
wake
of
President
Richard
Nixons
blurring
of
electioneering
ethics.
Since
Watergate,
virtually
every
attempt
to
regulate
campaign
contributions
and
spending
has
been
stymied
by
some
politicians
or
consultants
who
have
intrepidly
poked
a
hole
in
the
system
--
including,
it
now
seems,
the
New
York
City
system,
which
its
supporters
have
described
as
the
best
in
the
nation.182
Mr.
Hevesis
supporters
defended
this
arrangement
as
a
way
for
the
Hevesi
campaign
to
be
able
to
funnel
its
resources
into
TV
ads,
while
his
critics
judged
this
arrangement
as
a
backdoor
way
for
the
Hevesi
campaign
to
receive
unfair
financial
support
that
was
not
being
declared
to
the
Campaign
Finance
Board.
This
was
a
similar
charge
that
180
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/07/22/nyregion/what-s-a-campaign-debt-between-friends.html
181
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/07/22/nyregion/what-s-a-campaign-debt-between-friends.html
182
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/07/22/nyregion/what-s-a-campaign-debt-between-friends.html
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 84 -
was
hurled
at
Christine
during
the
1999
special
election
campaign,
when
Ms.
Keaney
was
being
paid
by
the
Duane
campaign
for
the
state
Senate
to
work
on
his
shoe-in
campaign
in
the
November
1998
election,
even
though
Ms.
Keaney
was
volunteering
for
Christines
campaign
in
the
February
1999
special
election.
Both
the
Duane
and
Quinn
campaigns
shared
the
same
campaign
office
then,
as
were
the
Hevesi
campaign
and
Mr.
Morriss
consultanting
firm
in
the
2001
campaign.
Wed
been
here
before,
but,
this
time,
to
progressive
and
reform
Democrats,
the
size
of
assistance
and
the
potential
for
external
influence
on
a
campaign
were
not
so
easy
to
overlook.
City
Council
Speaker
Vallone
was
one
of
one
of
the
leading
Democratic
candidates
in
the
primary
against
Mr.
Hevesi,
and
Speaker
Vallone
was
credited
with
being
one
of
the
authors
of
the
campaign
finance
law
in
New
York
City,
which
limits
influence
of
private
money
on
candidates.
183
What
critics
found
troubling
with
Mr.
Hevesis
arrangement
with
Mr.
Morriss
political
consulting
firm
was
the
ethical
dilemma
that
accepting
unpaid
help
from
a
friend,
who
was
a
powerful
political
consultant
:
would
favors
be
traded
on
a
quid
pro
quo
basis
?
Were
they
deliberately
trying
to
circumvent
the
citys
campaign
finance
law
?
Speaker
Vallone
told
The
New
York
Times,
The
whole
point
of
the
law
was
to
make
it
a
level
playing
field
so
that
money
doesn't
determine
the
outcome.
So
if
you
can
find
a
loophole,
then
the
law
is
not
doing
what
the
law
is
supposed
to
be
doing.
For
his
part,
Mr.
Morris
defended
his
actions,
and
he
portrayed
it
as
business
183
http://ir.lawnet.fordham.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1553&context=ulj&sei-
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 85 -
as
usual.
The
New
York
Times
reported
that,
Mr.
Morris
said
he
was
astonished
by
all
the
attention
being
paid
to
his
unusual
business
arrangement,
describing
it
as
no
different
from
the
way
he
had
served
any
of
his
other
clients.
184
Eventually,
Mr.
Hevesis
campaign
was
ordered
to
pay
Mr.
Morris
an
additional
$240,000.00,
in
order
to
put
an
end
to
the
controversy
being
caused
by
the
appearance
of
a
conflict
of
interest
over
Mr.
Morris
unpaid
work
on
Mr.
Hevesis
campaign.185
And
so
it
was
during
the
summer
of
2001,
leading
up
to
the
primary
elections,
which
were
scheduled
to
take
place
on
Tuesday,
September
11,
2001.
Candidates
flooded
the
memberships
of
influential
LGBT
political
clubs
to
get
their
endorsements,
and
one
LGBT
ally
candidate
was
coming
under
fire
for
allegations
that
he
was
flouting
the
campaign
finance
law
for
possibly
accepting
free
or
cut-rate
services
from
a
powerful
political
consulting
firm.
You
had
Christine
taking
more
campaign
money
from
developers
and
lobbyists.
This
was
the
way
that
politicians
and
their
consultants
conducted
political
campaigns
in
New
York
City.
If
progressives
saw
anything
wrong
with
this,
it
was
difficult
to
intercede,
because,
as
we
have
seen,
political
parties
put
up
barriers
to
challengers,
especially
if
they
were
reformers.
Reformers
challenged
the
status
quo,
and
political
parties
no
longer
supported
reformers,
as
seen
with
what
happened
to
our
hero,
Councilmember
Fiala.
Elected
officials,
who
stand
up
for
reform,
are
banished
into
an
invisible
paper-pushing
post
out
in
Staten
Island.
At
some
point,
early
in
their
official
careers,
politicians
figure
out
that
the
political
system
on
the
inside
abhors
reformers.
Its
not
known,
except
to
Christine
184
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/07/22/nyregion/what-s-a-campaign-debt-between-friends.html
185
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/08/17/nyregion/17FINA.html
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
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herself,
when
she
figured
that
out
for
her
own
political
career
--
either
when
she
was
a
political
activist
in
her
early
youth,
when
she
later
became
a
campaign
manager
and
then
a
political
aide
to
then
Councilmember
Duane,
when
she
eventually
became
an
agency
head
at
AVP,
or
even
later
than
that,
once
she
became
a
councilmember
herself.
But
hers
was
a
career
that
was
supposed
to
lead
to
reforms.
The
premise
of
Christines
political
career,
her
whole
raison
dtre,
was
not
her
own
political
advancement.
At
its
origins,
her
career
was
supposed
to
be
all
about
her
bargain
with
the
LGBT
community,
with
tenant
activists,
with
AIDS
activists,
with
womens
rights
groups,
and
with
her
progressive
supporters.
There
was
more
than
a
sense
that
people
pushed
Christine
up
the
ladder,
so
she
could
legitimately
boost
progressive
causes,
reforms,
and
LGBT
equality.
The
year
2001
was
also
a
critical
year
for
an
important
development
project,
the
High
Line
in
Manhattans
Lower
West
Side.
The
New
York
City
Council
approved
an
allocation
of
$125,000.00
of
taxpayer
money
in
the
form
of
a
grant
to
the
Friends
of
the
High
Line.
At
the
time,
Christine
found
crucial
support
for
the
High
Line
from
Councilmember
Gifford
Miller.
186
It
would
be
the
beginning
of
a
valuable
partnership
between
the
two.
The
scope
of
the
High
Line
project
would
nominally
transform
an
old
abandoned
elevated
railroad
into
an
open
public
space
and
pattern
it
after
a
very
successful
and
similar
project
undertaken
in
Paris,
la
Promenade
plante.
The
High
Line
would
be
the
first
large-scale
redevelopment
project
that
Christine
would
help
champion,
and
it
would
be
from
this
project
that
she
would
learn
the
benefits
of
having
political
influence
over
real
estate
development
projects
186
http://www.designtrust.org/pubs/01_PSM_Future_of_High_Line.pdf
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
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that
would
gentrify
neighborhoods,
inflate
targeted
property
values,
and
enrich
real
estate
developers.
Already
the
owners
of
formerly
downtrodden
real
estate
in
the
Meatpacking
District
were
slowly
beginning
to
renovate
or
erect
new
luxury
buildings.
The
Meatpacking
District
was
playing
catch-up
to
West
Chelsea,
which,
by
the
late
1990s,
was
being
transformed
into
an
art
gallery
district
led
by
the
never- ending
churn
in
real
estate.
The
High
Line
project
would
act
to
give
speculators
affirmation
of
the
impending
gentrification
of
these
formerly
forgotten
parts
of
Manhattan.
The
High
Line
project
would
foreshadow
future
zone-busting
real
estate
development
deals,
which
Christine
would
support.
And
as
the
business
of
real
estate
in
her
Council
district
was
moving
onward
and
upward,
Christine
knew
enough
not
to
let
her
former
tenant
and
affordable
housing
activism
stand
in
the
way.
If
she
was
moved,
she
would
write
a
letter
on
the
communitys
behalf
to
at
least
superficially
protest
the
elimination
of
affordable
housing,
like
she
did
in
1999
when
the
McBurney
YMCA
was
on
the
verge
of
closing
and
displacing
long-term
residents.187
But
the
flood
of
new
building,
especially
in
the
Meatpacking
District,
would
be
allowed,
by
and
large,
to
go
forward,
and
market
rents
would
keep
rising
all
across
her
Council
district,
displacing
many
low-income
tenants.
Gentrification
had
long
ago
come
to
SoHo
;
now,
it
was
coming
to
Chelsea,
the
West
Village,
and,
eventually
even
to
Hells
Kitchen.
And
maintaining,
much
less
expanding,
affordable
housing
would
remain
an
elusive
ideal,
not
to
be
put
on
the
political
agenda,
even
in
the
face
of
market-driven
real
estate
speculation.
187
http://www.nytimes.com/1999/07/17/nyregion/ymca-chelsea-sheds-its-tenants-34-men-used-single-
rooms-know-new-homes-will-be.html
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
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By 2001, Christine had become a professional at photo ops and token gestures that would give the impression of sincerity. The grand bargain that voters had come to make : to elect a former community organizer to political office was already backfiring. Christine was beginning to reflect the culture of incumbents. She began to exhibit the constant concern over reelection by making sure to appeal to powerful business interests pushing the High Line project, which would create vast private wealth for owners of expensive Manhattan real estate, instead of challenging authorities on behalf of powerless low-income constituents. As such, she was facing an easy reelection. And from the upcoming election, Christine would learn first hand the powerful advantages of being an insider. She was now an incumbent, with all the privileges and benefits. Christine had been facing a challenger in the Democratic primary for her City Council seat. Victor Mendolia was a community organizer and a member of the direct action group, ACT UP, and he had launched a campaign to run against Christine. The constant grumble over Christines early political career would continue : she was facing criticism over her decision-making process as an elected official from within the LGBT community. Mr. Mendolia, who could not be reached to be interviewed for this book, questioned in the press Christines ability to work with other Democratic Party activists. According to the Gotham Gazette, he pointed to the discord, which took place back during the 1999 special election, when Christine blew off an important political club, the Village Independent Democrats. He also criticized Christine over her leadership style, telling the Gotham Gazette that she had alienated many in the community and on the City Council. (Although not exactly specified, it can be
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 89 -
deduced that Christines temperament was at issue.) But Mr. Mendolia eventually dropped out of the race because of health issues, and Christine ran for reelection with no challenger leading up to the primary. Christines only competition would be a candidate on the Republican ticket, Michelle Bouchard.188 Things were looking good, and, with each passing day, things were looking even better, for Christine. Hell would have to freeze over before voters in the Third City Council district of New York would ever elect a Republican, so Christine was, practically speaking, in a position of easily coasting to a win. On the morning of Tuesday, September 11, 2001, New Yorkers would wake up, and the early birds would begin going to the polls at 6 a.m.189 -- it would be the day of the political party primary elections. Everybody was expecting just another day of business as usual.
188
http://www.gothamgazette.com/searchlight2001/dist3.html
189
http://www.gothamgazette.com/searchlight2001/dist8.html
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 90 -
Chapter
4
On
the
morning
of
September
11,
polling
locations
for
the
New
York
primary
elections
opened
at
6
a.m.,
but
they
were
ordered
closed
about
five
hours
later,
after
Gov.
Pataki
declared
a
state
of
emergency190
and
issued
an
executive
order
to
close
the
polls.191
It
would
take
a
very
long
time
for
anybody,
who
lived
through
the
horror
of
the
September
11
attacks,
to
return
to
a
normal
life.
In
the
immediate
aftermath
of
the
coordinated
terrorist
attacks
on
the
World
Trade
Center,
New
Yorkers,
answering
their
own
humanitarian
call
to
give
what
they
could
to
help
the
rescue
and
response
effort,
lined
up
outside
St.
Vincents
Hospital
in
the
Lower
West
Side
of
Manhattan,
to
donate
blood.
Doctors,
nurses,
and
medics
were
prepared
to
receive
a
large
influx
of
patients
for
triage
at
St.
Vincents
Hospital,
the
closest
Level
I
Trauma
Center
to
Ground
Zero,
to
receive
survivors.
But
the
impacts
of
each
jet
on
each
of
the
Twin
Towers,
and
the
subsequent
collapse
of
the
skyscrapers,
would
create
more
casualties
than
survivors
with
immediate
acute
injuries.
As
each
hour
goes
by,
families
are
facing
the
terrible
likelihood
that
their
loved
one
is
dead,
Dr.
Spencer
Eth,
the
behavioral
sciences
unit
director
at
St.
Vincents
Hospital,
was
quoted
by
CNN
as
having
said
that
day.
St.
Vincents
Hospital
had
treated
hundreds
of
survivors,192
but
there
were
thousands
of
people
still
missing.
As
time
went
on
and
it
became
apparent
that
there
werent
going
to
be
many
survivors,
the
friends
and
families
of
the
victims
at
the
World
Trade
Center
posted
flyers
with
the
names
190
http://www.panynj.gov/wtcprogress/events-091101.html
191
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/09/12/nyregion/12ELEC.html
192
http://edition.cnn.com/2001/US/09/12/medical.response/index.html
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 91 -
and
photographs
of
their
missing
loved
ones
on
the
outside
walls
at
St.
Vincents
Hospital,
hoping
that
their
loved
ones
were
lost
instead
of
among
the
dead
in
the
smoking
and
smoldering
rubble
at
Ground
Zero.
While
New
York
City,
the
nation,
and
the
world
were
coming
to
terms
with
the
horror
of
these
acts
of
war,
politicians
were
having
to
come
to
terms
with
the
elections.
Gov.
Pataki
had
postponed
the
primary
elections
across
New
York
State.
Two
days
later,
a
special
session
of
the
state
legislature
rescheduled
the
primary
elections
to
Tuesday,
September
25.
If
run-off
elections
were
necessary,
then
they
would
take
place
on
Thursday,
October
11.193
Mayor
Giuliani
had
earned
almost
global
sympathy
and
respect
for
his
handling
of
the
response
to
the
September
11
attacks.
Even
though
he
was
known
for
his
antagonistic
personality,
within
four
days
of
the
attacks,
people
began
to
openly
call
for
the
overturning
of
the
term
limits
in
effect
in
New
York
City,
so
that
Mayor
Giuliani
could
run
for
a
third
term
in
office,
so
he
could
continue
to
supervise
the
recovery.
The
people
of
New
York
City
know
Rudy
Giuliani
and
they
know
he
may
have
some
warts,
but
they
know
that
he's
a
very
efficient
and
capable
guy.
I
happen
to
think
he's
a
wonderful
leader.
I'm
wondering
if
they're
going
to
repeal
the
term
limits
that
keeps
him
from
running
again,
Sen.
John
McCain
told
Jeff
Greenfield
on
CNN.194
Eight
days
after
the
attacks,
Sen.
Clinton
was
interviewed
on
Larry
King
Live
on
CNN.
Mr.
King
asked
Sen.
Clinton
if
she
would
support
the
extension
of
term
limits
to
allow
Mayor
Giuliani
to
stay
in
office.
Sen.
Clinton
praised
Mayor
Giuliani,
but
she
said
that
she
would
not
support
the
extension
of
term
limits.
193
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/09/14/nyregion/14PRIM.html
194
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0109/15/se.10.html
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 92 -
You
know,
everyone
--
everyone
in
the
world,
I
think
--
agrees
that
he
has
done
a
superb
job.
And
not
just
where
one
would
have
expected
it
in
his
determination
and
courage,
but
his
compassion,
his
caring
and
concern
have
really
shown
a
bright
light
for
a
lot
of
people
in
this
darkness.
But
I
also
think
it
is
important
to
recognize
that
in
a
democracy,
no
matter
how
superb
a
person
is,
no
matter
how
great
a
job
he
is
doing,
we
have
to
believe
in
our
democracy,
in
the
rule
of
law.
Elections
are
absolutely
essential
to
how
we
conduct
our
affairs,
and
our
country.
And
I
would
be
concerned
that
we
would
upend
that
respect
for
the
rule
of
law.
I
do
hope
and
anticipate
that
the
mayor
will
work
every
minute
of
the
remaining
days
in
his
term,
and
then
be
given
the
kind
of
responsibility
that
will
enable
him
to
keep
working
for
the
city
he
loves
and
be,
frankly,
enlisted
[in]
the
war
against
terrorism.195
Less
than
two
weeks
after
the
attack,
journalists
from
the
all-news
cable
TV
channel
NY1
and
The
New
York
Times
co-hosted
a
forum
for
three
of
the
leading
Democratic
candidates
running
for
New
York
City
mayor.
All
three
--
Mr.
Hevesi,
Mr.
Green,
and
Fernando
Ferrer
--
said
term
limits
should
not
be
extended
for
Mayor
Giuliani.
196
For
about
two
weeks
after
the
attacks,
Mayor
Giuliani
was
publicly
avoiding
answering
press
questions
about
whether
he
supported
the
overturning
of
term
limits
so
that
he
could
serve
another
term
as
mayor.
According
to
a
press
report
by
Eric
Fettmann
in
The
New
York
Post,
Mayor
Giuliani
was
playing
coy
with
reporters.
The
problem
right
now
is
that
what
started
as
the
mayor
being
carried
along
on
a
"keep
Rudy"
public
groundswell
is
starting
to
look
like
an
ever-evolving
series
of
back-room
political
machinations
by
everyone
concerned
--
the
mayor
included.
Asked
publicly
about
his
decision,
Giuliani
piously
insists
he
has
"not
had
time
to
think
about
it"
and
says
this
is
not
the
time
to
talk
politics.
195
http://edition.cnn.es/TRANSCRIPTS/0109/19/lkl.00.html
196
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/09/23/nyregion/23PRIM.html
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 93 -
But
top
advisers
Randy
Levine,
Randy
Mastro
and
Joe
Lhota
have
all
been
working
the
phones
to
the
news
media
pushing
the
"keep
Rudy
mayor"
effort
along.
And
the
mayor
himself
took
time
out
over
the
weekend
to
record
a
late
automated
phone
message
for
comptroller
candidate
Herb
Berman.197
For
all
the
confusion
that
the
postponement
and
rescheduling
of
the
primary
and
run-off
elections
were
causing,
Mayor
Giuliani
was
now
throwing
the
elections
into
turmoil,
a
popular
word
used
to
describe
the
effect
of
the
effort
to
extend
term
limits
in
the
aftermath
of
the
September
11
attacks.
Speculation
focused
on
whether
the
state
legislature
or
the
New
York
City
Council
would
overturn
the
term
limits
law.
A
spokesman
for
the
New
York
State
Assembly
Speaker
Sheldon
Silver
said
that
the
speaker
believed
that
if
voters
wanted
to
repeal
the
term
limits
law,
then
the
voters
should
do
it
via
another
voter
referendum.198
But
there
would
not
be
enough
time
to
do
that.
The
Los
Angeles
Times
reported
that
Mayor
Giuliani
and
his
political
advisers
were
looking
for
novel
ways
for
Mayor
Giuliani
to
stay
in
office.
One
alternative
approach
that
Giuliani
is
said
to
be
exploring
calls
for
a
power- sharing
arrangement
permitting
him
to
stay
temporarily
in
office
while
a
new
mayor
learns
the
ropes,
a
veteran
political
observer
said.199
Even
though
Mayor
Giuliani
had
been
doing
a
great
job
at
seeming
to
keep
the
city
together,
he
was
letting
his
ego
get
in
the
way
to
believe
that
a
newly
elected
mayor
would
enter
into
a
power-sharing
arrangement
with
the
former
officeholder.
But
peoples
emotions
had
become
out
of
touch
with
reality
--
apparently,
even
the
emotions
of
our
political
leaders.
It
seemed
that
Mayor
Giuliani
thought
that
the
next
mayor
would
197
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/opinion/opedcolumnists/item_i57kHjPYJ3gs31o1ZWBlcO
198
http://articles.nydailynews.com/2001-09-24/news/18367548_1_term-limits-mayor-giuliani-repeal
199
http://articles.latimes.com/2001/sep/27/news/mn-50551
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be
illegitimate
without
validation
from
him
alone.
Mayor
Giulianis
extreme
attachment
to
public
office
showed
why
it
was
important
to
have
integrity
in
orderly
election
succession.
Elections
could
be
corrupted
if
voters
were
deceived
into
believing
that
one
politician
had
more
authority
than
other
political
candidates,
solely
because
of
his
or
her
celebrity
--
or
incumbency.
Councilmembers,
who
had
just
failed
to
overturn
term
limits,
were
all
witnessing
one
more
attempt
to
circumvent
the
two
voter
referenda
governing
term
limits.
And
among
those
looking
on
was
Christine.
It
was
into
the
belly
of
this
whale
that
Christine
had
descended.
Could
she
be
counted
on
to
remember
why
she
went
into
politics
?
The
outcome
of
the
2001
elections
was
a
setback
for
professional
politicians
and
led
to
a
nearly
wholesale
turnover
of
the
City
Council.
Mr.
Bloomberg
was
ushered
into
power
over
other
candidates,
who
were
seasoned
city
administrators,
continuing
Republican
control
over
City
Hall.
Of
the
51
seats
in
the
City
Council,
37
members
were
going
to
be
serving
in
the
municipal
legislature
for
the
first
time.
Some
new
blood
was
coming
into
the
City
Council.
One
of
the
fresh
faces
chosen
by
voters
was
John
Liu.
But
because
in
New
York
some
politicians
are
known
to
shuttle
between
elected
offices
in
Albany
and
New
York
City
during
their
political
career,
some
of
the
new
councilmembers
had
actually
once
been
state
legislators,
like
Albert
Vann,
Melinda
Katz,
and
Larry
Seabrook,
among
others.
Three
new
councilmembers
were
the
children
of
retiring
councilmembers.200
Once
the
new
City
Council
would
convene
in
the
new
year,
many
junior
councilmembers
would
find
themselves
in
positions
of
leadership,
including
Christine.
200
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/11/07/nyregion/the-2001-elections-the-council-new-look-shaped-by-the-
primary-comes-into-focus.html
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And in the days and weeks after the September 11 attacks, as the city would try to put on a strong face and deal with false bomb threats, real anthrax powder scares, and still more terrorism fears, one of Christines closest friends, the successful Albany lobbyist and Democratic Party official, Ms. Giske, would arrange for Christine to meet a new girlfriend. After Christine had used her first longtime companion, Ms. Morrison, to get elected in the first February 1999 special election, Christine had ended their relationship. But now, in the aftermath of the attacks, Christine was to find love.201 As she moved up into a leadership position in the vacuum created by term limits, Christine would find herself as a focal point in voters demands for checks and balances on the incoming Bloomberg administration. Could Christine lead the charge and call for a restoration of progressive ideas in our government ?
201
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/council_speaker_christine_quinn_yjq8Ki9FCdYi7cK2suEjWL
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Chapter
5
The
utter
trauma
of
September
11,
as
psychologically
devastating
as
it
was,
would
become
a
tsunami
that
would
go
on
to
create
economic,
political,
and
legal
disasters,
too.
And
some
people
would
thrive
in
the
aftermath
of
the
attacks.
Mayor
Bloomberg
was
so
wealthy
--
his
fortune
was
estimated
to
be
$4
billion
in
2001202
--
that
he
forewent
the
opportunity
to
move
into
Gracie
Mansion,
opting
instead
to
continue
occupying
his
luxurious
Upper
East
Side
mansion,
a
decision
that
critics
like
Fran
Lebowitz
would
later
say
was
a
warning
sign
of
the
mayors
imperious
attitude
toward
the
less
fortunate.203
Not
only
that,
but
the
mayor-elect
had
spent
over
$50
million
of
his
own
wealth
to
self-finance
his
campaign.204
The
flouting
of
the
citys
reform-oriented
campaign
finance
laws
that
everybody
howled
about,
such
as
when
Mr.
Morris
was
helping
Mr.
Hevesi
for
little
or
no
cost,
was
being
openly
run
around
by
Mr.
Bloomberg.
But
the
billionaire
mayor-elect
had
found
a
situational
narrative
for
justification
:
his
business
acumen
would
help
the
city
recover
from
the
economic
devastation
of
the
September
11
attacks.
Like
Mayor
Giuliani
before
him,
Mr.
Bloomberg
was
putting
situational
ethics
over
process.
The
indisputable
truth
was
that
New
York
City
had
suffered
real
economic
shocks,
and
that
was
the
justification
Mr.
Bloomberg
used
to
violate
the
spirit
of
taking
money
out
of
politics.
In
his
argument
for
self-financing
his
own
campaign,
Mr.
Bloomberg
was
resting
on
the
age-old
reasoning
of
the
wise,
public-spirited
elite
--
we
had
to
put
our
trust
in
him,
that
he
would
do
the
right
thing.
202 http://www.nytimes.com/2001/11/07/nyregion/man-in-the-news-finding-a-new-mission-michael-rubens-
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The
citys
finances
were
in
more
severe
shambles
than
reported.
Mayor
Bloomberg
faced
an
almost
$5
billion
hole
in
the
city
budget.
But
the
problems
in
New
York
were
not
just
municipal
in
nature
;
there
were
also
national
implications.
The
attacks
would
spur
an
endless
and
unaffordable
war
on
terror,
and
civil
rights
and
civil
liberties
would
be
diminished
in
the
paranoid
and
partisan
mindset
of
militant
Republican
aggressors
in
Washington.
And
as
New
York
would
forever
anchor
one
focus
in
this
endless
elliptical
churning
of
politically
motivated
fear- mongering,
attention
would
always
focus
on
City
Hall
:
would
the
mayor
and
City
Council
enable
a
rising
domestic
militaristic
response,
or
would
New
York
set
an
example
of
reason
?
While
progressives
across
the
nation
looked
on
in
disgust
and
disapproval
as
Democrats
in
Washington
did
nothing
to
stand
up
to
the
Patriot
Act,
progressives
across
the
five
boroughs
would
keep
waiting
for
New
York
City
Democrats
to
do
something
about
the
onslaught
of
regressive
policies
about
to
be
unleashed
here
in
the
city.
After
about
six
weeks
in
office,
Mayor
Bloomberg
began
to
circulate
plans
to
slash
$1.8
billion
from
the
city
budget.
And
even
though
first
responders,
like
the
FDNY,
and
Level
I
trauma
centers,
like
St.
Vincents
Hospital,
had
proven
to
be
critical
in
the
immediate
aftermath
of
the
September
11
attacks,
Mayor
Bloomberg
would
launch
into
what
would
become
his
annual
effort
to
slash
and
burn
the
number
of
firehouses
and
firefighters
in
New
York
City.205
Safety-net
hospitals
would
become
targets
of
more
reckless,
short-sighted
efforts
to
just
slash
government
budgets.
To
cut
costs,
some
parts
of
the
citys
recycling
program
would
205
http://articles.nydailynews.com/2002-02-13/news/18198138_1_cost-of-living-wage-increases-city-hall-
spending-plan
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easily
be
suspended,
and
future
taxpayers
would
be
saddled
with
debt
that
was
borrowed
to
finance
regular
city
operations.206
By
the
end
of
2002,
taxes
would
be
raised
by
an
incredible
18%
for
property
owners,207
but,
over
time,
the
regressive
impact
would
disproportionately
fall
upon
renters,
who
would
face
an
even
larger
net
increase
due
to
the
relentless
compounding
of
annual
increases
for
those
in
rent-stabilized
apartments
and
the
out-of-control
free
market
rents
in
New
York.
Other
social
safety
net
programs,
like
senior
citizen
centers,
came
under
attack
and
would
remain
targets
for
annual
budget
cuts
by
Mayor
Bloomberg.
208
209
When
the
City
Council
reconvened
after
the
start
of
the
new
year,
the
council
elected
a
new
speaker
:
Gifford
Miller.
Speaker
Miller
had
been
the
councilmember,
who
had
helped
Christine
pass
the
special
grant
to
fund
a
study
for
the
development
of
the
High
Line.
He
was
elected
to
Speaker
after
running
on
a
strategy
of
helping
to
elect
many
of
the
new
candidates
running
for
City
Council.
Of
the
25
candidates
who
he
had
supported,
13
won
their
elections.
The
New
York
Times
reported
that
those
13
incoming
councilmembers
were
predisposed
to
support
his
speakership.210
Speaker
Miller
ran
a
parallel
strategy
to
find
more
support
among
other
councilmembers.
To
do
that,
Speaker
Miller
turned
to
the
support
of
Democratic
Party
leaders
of
Queens
and
the
Bronx,
who,
in
turn,
put
pressure
on
their
corresponding
councilmembers,
to
support
the
new
incoming
speaker.
One
new
councilmember,
David
Yassky,
told
The
New
York
Times,
I
think
its
unfortunate
that
206
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/06/21/nyregion/city-hall-avoids-deep-cuts-but-full-bill-may-come-
later.html 207 http://articles.nydailynews.com/2002-11-24/news/18202256_1_property-tax-tax-hike-mayor-bloomberg 208 http://www.nytimes.com/2002/06/21/nyregion/city-hall-avoids-deep-cuts-but-full-bill-may-come- later.html 209 http://articles.nydailynews.com/2011-02-18/local/28628713_1_budget-cuts-daycare-budget-plan 210 http://www.nytimes.com/2002/01/08/nyregion/upper-east-side-councilman-has-speaker-s-job-all-but- won.html
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
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it was brokered by the party bosses, referring to Mr. Millers speakership.211 And Christine learned to really broker leadership positions from this experience. Christine had a close working relationship with Speaker Miller, and she provided crucial support to the new speakers campaign. Indeed, Christine was described to be part of the war room cast of characters engineering Mr. Millers speakership.212 In return, she was rewarded with her choice of a chair appointment to the Health Committee. 213 Committee chair appointments were coveted not just because of the influence that the positions afforded, but also because leadership appointments also come with stipends, or lulus, a colloquial term for the cash payments that are given to councilmembers in leadership posts in-lieu-of expenses that the leadership role may cause to be incurred. For her support in the speakership campaign, Christine received a $15,000.00 lulu in connection with her Health Committee chair appointment.214 All this is to say that Christines inside strategy to bring about progressive reforms would get co-opted by a political system emphasizing the advancement of high-ranking incumbents instead of developing or implementing social, economic, or legal reforms. What is more, Christine was beginning to go along with the broken system that decides who will become Speaker of the City Council. Rather than being a system where the councilmembers decide who will be their leader, the entire system hinges on political party bosses of certain counties. It would be
211 http://www.nytimes.com/2002/01/08/nyregion/upper-east-side-councilman-has-speaker-s-job-all-but-
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- 100 -
councilmembers,
who
would
be
carrying
the
voters
mandate,
but
Christine
would
side
with
a
system
where
political
bosses
would
get
to
decide
the
leadership
of
the
City
Council.
The
arrangement
that
Speaker
Miller
made
with
the
county
bosses
in
Queens
and
in
the
Bronx
was
that
if
the
county
bosses
supported
his
speakership,
Speaker
Miller
would,
in
exchange,
appoint
councilmembers
loyal
to
the
respective
party
bosses
as
chairs
of
the
City
Councils
most
powerful
committees.
For
example,
the
Queens
County
Democratic
political
boss,
Thomas
Manton,
was
promised
that
councilmembers
loyal
to
him
would
be
named
as
chairs
of
Finance
Committee
and
the
Land
Use
Committee.
The
Bronx
County
Democratic
political
boss,
Robert
Ramirez,
was
seeking
the
chair
position
on
Land
Use
Committee
for
a
councilmember
loyal
to
him.
Alternatively,
it
was
reported
that
Mr.
Ramirez
was
willing
to
accept
a
combined
post
of
deputy
majority
leader
and
Housing
and
Buildings
Committee
chairman.215
As
Councilmember
Yassky
pointed
out,
the
county
bosses
would
decide,
not
the
councilmembers
recently
elected
by
the
voters.
As
a
self-described
progressive,
Christine
ought
to
have
fought
for
a
system
that
considered
voter
sentiments
in
the
election
of
the
legislative
leadership.
But
Christine
now
had
a
personal
financial
incentive
to
go
along
with
allowing
county
political
bosses
to
decide
the
speakership.
When
there
was
money
involved,
Christine
would
throw
the
progressive
ideal
of
increasing
direct
voter
participation
under
the
bus.
Early
in
his
administration,
it
became
apparent
that
Mayor
Bloomberg
would
two-time
LGBT
equality.
He
supported
the
exclusion
of
LGBT
participants
in
the
215
http://articles.nydailynews.com/2002-01-08/news/18198023_1_term-limits-speaker-committees
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- 101 -
annual St. Patricks Day Parade on Fifth Avenue. This early transgression prompted Christine to speak out against Mayor Bloomberg. If the mayor actually analyzed the history of the struggle, he would see that his decision is wrong, Christine said, back in 2002. Many people have tried to work with the Ancient Order of Hibernians from within, and it has been proven that it doesn't work. Well-respected Hibernians have tried and couldn't. No reason to believe this mayor can.216 But Mayor Bloomberg would find a way to triangulate his way around early LGBT critics by marching in an LGBT-inclusive St. Patricks Day Parade in Queens, founded and organized by Brendan Fay. "This is great," was Christines reaction to The New York Daily News, after it was announced that Mayor Bloomberg was going to march in the LGBT- inclusive St. Patricks Day Parade. The mayor was learning to appease his critics among the LGBT community and, at the same time, cozy up to hard-core Catholics, who favored a policy of exclusion against LGBT parade participants. "I still think marching on Fifth Ave. is a mistake, Christine was quoted as having said about the mayors double-dealing, adding, but I think marching with us in Queens is the right thing to do."217 With the issue of the St. Patricks Day Parade, Mayor Bloomberg would learn how to diffuse political criticism by finding situational supporters among vocal constituency groups, in this case, Mr. Fay. And Christine, who was watching Mayor Bloomberg embrace situational ethics, would be there to help the mayor get out of some of his difficult positions. This would be the beginning of Christines subjugation to Mayor Bloomberg.
216
http://www.gothamgazette.com/civilrights/feb.02.shtml
217
http://articles.nydailynews.com/2002-02-06/news/18191901_1_day-parade-marching-mayor-bloomberg
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When it would come to one of the greatest civil liberties problems of our time -- an issue that takes a lot of understanding, reading, and exploration -- whether the New York Police Department should be allowed to weasel out of a court-supervised order known as the Handschu Agreement, no progressive or liberal politician would be willing to stand up to the NYPD. What came to be known as the Handschu Agreement was a 1985 court settlement that stemmed from a 1971 trial of radical civil rights activists, which revealed that the police were infiltrating groups and spying on activists. This agreement forbade police from monitoring the lawful political activities of activists and protesters. Because of New Yorks size and the focal point it became on the war on terror, expanding the NYPDs powers came to be portrayed as important to national security, with the no-win accusation of, Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists. Even though time and time again, it would come to be revealed that the NYPD had a perpetual pattern of misusing its authority to suppress political dissent, politicians were trying to rally support around expanding police authority without supervision. And just like Mayor Bloomberg had found in Christine a situational supporter on the St. Patricks Day Parade issue, the mayor would continually turn to political enablers, who would offer him situational support on the controversial issue of excusing aggressive NYPD tactics. In the case of loosening the restrictions of the Handschu Agreement, Mayor Bloomberg would find support from a former mayor, Ed Koch. Former Mayor Koch had a controversial relationship with LGBT activists. Community leaders, such as Larry Kramer and Allen Roskoff, blamed Mayor Koch
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for not doing enough in New York Citys initial response to the AIDS pandemic. Critics of Mayor Koch said that although that Mayor Koch was widely thought to be a closeted gay man, his shame and lack of courage on LGBT issues made Mayor Koch avoid having anything to do with dealing with AIDS out of fear of being associated with what, in the beginning, was known as a gay disease.218 In fact, in the time before HIV/AIDS was better understood, the then-new and unexplained cluster of sick and dying gay men was being described by a proposed name : the Gay-Related Immune Deficiency, or GRID. Mayor Koch had served three terms as mayor of New York City, and his own arc of politics should have informed him to make wiser choices. Indeed, Mayor Kochs rise to political prominence had been built on a platform of opposing machine-style politics.219 But over the years, Mayor Koch evolved into a powerful politician, whose own mayoral administrations had become beset by corruption scandals, and his history of throwing his own community and his progressive ideals under the bus made him an ideal situational supporter to Mayor Bloomberg. In Mayor Koch, Mayor Bloomberg had found an important situational ally. What kind of government do we have, when former office holders, who no longer have any public mandate, can exert such regressive influence on our government ? How could this be allowed ? In 2002, the beginnings of increased domestic surveillance in New York City can be traced back to Mayor Bloombergs appointment of David Cohen, a former high-ranking CIA intelligence and operations official, to a newly created post of
218
http://nymag.com/nymetro/news/people/features/2423/
219
http://blogs.villagevoice.com/runninscared/2009/10/clip_job_koch_f.php
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Deputy Commissioner of Intelligence.220 Even as the economy was in free-fall, Mayor Bloomberg prioritized Mr. Cohens appointment over even trying to patch up the $5 billion hole in the New York City budget. And as national political machinations allowed paranoia to triumph over civil rights and civil liberties, the general consensus of municipal politicians continued to be to refrain from imposing an independent monitor over the NYPD. Police would begin a decade-long effort to initiate surveillance of innocent people of faith and would expand a controversial tactic known as stop-and-frisk. How would Christine respond to these civil liberties and civil rights violations ? What never seemed to make sense in a city like New York was that even under the recent oppositional aspect of a Republican mayoral administration, the City Council would always be composed of a super-majority of Democrats. When the political cards are so stacked in favor of the political party that would seemingly support progressive reforms, what would explain the failure to make advancements on difficult social, economic, and legal problems ? And this is where political accountability for stagnation and regression rolls up to our Democratic political leaders. As Christines career began an ascendant trajectory as a consequence of the imposition of term limits, opportunities for making advances would be lost, past achievements would become unraveled, and new grassroots social movements would necessarily need to take shape to pressure progressive office holders. What
220
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- 105 -
explains this contradiction, and how would Christine maneuver through these political obstacles ? Christine Quinn always identified with the more progressive or liberal wing of the LGBT Democrats, the group I count myself among, said Phil Ryan, the public relations consultant who was a former member of Chelsea Reform Democratic Club. From his work in civic politics, Mr. Ryan had observed Christines work over many years. But, in the years to come, how would Christine handle the challenges that would face New York City ? Before 2002 was out, the City Council would once again participate in still yet another effort to change the term limits law. In 2003, the NYPD would thwart a huge anti-war demonstration. In 2004, the NYPD would again thwart massive protests, this time against the Republican National Convention. Zone-busting real estate deals would be proposed by developers, who were seeking support from the billionaire enabler mayor. These projects would propose to tear up the special social fabric of New York City. On whose behalf would Christine advocate, neighborhood activists or real estate developers ? Andrew Berman, a former chief-of-staff to Sen. Duane, would emerge as a leading voice for historical preservation, because Amanda Burden, the socialite City Planner under Mayor Bloomberg, would recommend so many zone-busting projects that a stronger preservation movement would be needed. Tenant issues would come to the fore as large affordable housing complexes, such as Starrett City, Stuyvesant Town, and Peter Cooper Village, would be put up for sale. How would Christine, with her self- proclaimed tenant advocacy background, handle these issues ? And how many advancements would the LGBT community make under Mr. Humms detailed 2000
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
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analysis of civil rights ? What would be Christines involvement and contribution to making advancements on those and other LGBT civil rights issues ? New York State and New York City would begin a campaign to close hospitals as a way to shred the social safety net and to indiscriminately cut governmental budgets. Later, Christine would launch her own campaign for a citywide leadership position. How would that work out for her progressive and LGBT constituencies ? Incumbent politicians would still yet once more revisit the issue of term limits in 2008. How would Christines chief-of-staff, Maura Keany, contribute to Christines record of reforming integrity in government ? A political scandal would erupt and nearly cost Christine her leadership role. And after the near collapse of the global economy, a massive global grassroots movement demanding political, economic, and social reforms would focus on corruption on Wall Street right about the time that Christine would begin a full-throttle effort to curry favor with big business political donors, including real estate developers and financiers from Wall Street. Over 50 years ago, Carol Greitzer and other members of the Village Independent Democrats political club organized to vote out the remnants of Tammany Hall from New York City politics, only for Ms. Greitzer to become entrenched in the City Council for 22 years, until Tom Duane took her place, which he then turned over to Christine. It's been shown that voters can organize to vote political bosses out of office. Voters imposed a simple system of checks and balances to prevent entrenched politicians from becoming 22-year incumbents, like Ms. Greitzer, or 15-year incumbents, like Christine. And as Christine would carry forward her initial mandate to fight for equality and reforms, how would equality
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 107 -
and reforms be reflected in her governance at City Council ? And how would Christine deal with lobbyists, like her best friend, Ms. Giske ? More people would begin to question whether Ms. Giske would unduly influence Christine. At the dawn of what would become the Bloomberg era, Christine was moving into a very powerful position as a quasi-public advocate. Would she lean forward to call for reforms in transparency and accountability, like she did when she opposed the Millennium March in Washington, DC, or would she stall and lose opportunities to make bold advances, as when she watered down the recommendations in the police brutality commission under Mayor Giuliani ? With the chronology of her formative years in New York City politics firmly established and with an overview of the advantages enjoyed by incumbents, the rest of the story would be an analysis of the challenges Christine would confront. In the coming years, New York City politicians would confront the major issues of our time : public safety, runaway healthcare costs, income and wealth disparities, and the enduring problems of discrimination and inequality. As each of these issues would be examined, voters would experience less and less of a say in the matters of their own governance. Looking forward from 2002, voters would ask who would be responsible for upholding -- or betraying -- the progressive tradition in New York City government ?
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
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Chapter
6
With
an
overview
of
her
early
years
on
New
York
City
political
scene
complete,
what
follows
is
an
overview
of
the
challenges
Christine
would
confront
during
Mayor
Bloombergs
time
in
office.
Four
broad
areas
of
concern
would
emerge
under
the
Bloomberg-Quinn
administration.
The
first
would
cover
the
decline
of
affordable
housing.
The
second
would
be
an
examination
of
the
police
department
as
a
threat
to
public
safety.
The
third
would
encompass
violations
of
civil
rights
and
civil
liberties.
Finally,
the
Bloomberg-Quinn
administration
would
be
examined
for
the
declining
state
of
public
health.
Although
Christine
was
only
chair
of
the
City
Council
Health
Committee
when
Mayor
Bloomberg
began
his
first
term
in
office,
eventually
she
would
take
her
place
as
Mayor
Bloombergs
greatest
enabler,
so
the
citys
political
response
to
these
four
major
areas
would
require
sign-off
from
Christine
before
Mayor
Bloomberg
would
be
allowed
to
carry
out
his
agenda.
The
three-pronged
test
that
would
apply
to
Christines
political
ethics
would
be
simple,
but
the
results
would
be
damning
to
the
assessment
made
of
her
political
career.
First,
each
major
issue
would
be
examined
to
construct
Christines
influence
--
the
capacity
to
be
able
to
shape
actions
--
over
the
people,
who
had
a
stake
in
determining
the
citys
response
to
its
major
problems.
Second,
each
major
issue
would
be
reviewed
to
layout
Christines
authority
--
the
actual
governmental
powers
at
her
disposal
--
over
the
citys
actual
response
to
major
problems,
or
over
other
people,
who
would
be
the
decision-makers.
Third,
Christines
response
would
be
reviewed
to
identify
whether
her
ideas
would
advance
a
progressive
solution
to
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 109 -
the
citys
problems.
The
first
might
be
made
possible
as
a
result
of
perceptions
about
the
force
Christine
could
exert
over
others,
the
second
would
be
made
possible
by
her
actual
position
as
an
elected
official,
and
the
third
would
be
to
stack
her
actual
response
against
what
had
been
historically
made
possible
under
the
progressive
banner
versus
the
business
as
usual
approach
of
modern
political
flim
flam.
Michael
Bloomberg
began
his
mayoralty
under
the
auspices
of
being
a
successful
self-made
billionaire
businessman.
He
was
elected
with
a
mandate
to
help
New
York
City
out
of
the
economic
black
hole
caused
by
the
September
11
attacks.
The
idea
was
that
he
would
play
the
role
of
the
noble
public
servant,
who
was
wiser
than
his
constituency,
and
his
motivation
was
to
help
apply
his
business
expertise
to
city
government.
Indeed,
Mayor
Bloomberg
would
take
office
with
a
net
worth
estimated
at
$4
billion
dollars,226
and,
by
the
time
of
his
final
year
in
office,
his
net
worth
would
be
estimated
at
$27
billion.227
Mayor
Bloomberg
used
his
successful
accumulation
of
wealth
as
the
only
measurement
that
counted
that
he
must
be
doing
something
right,
but
years
later,
the
cultural
and
social
critic
Fran
Lebowitz
would
make
this
observation
about
Mayor
Bloombergs
wealth,
No
one
earns
a
billion
dollars.
You
steal
a
billion
dollars.228
If
one
followed
Ms.
Lebowitzs
logic,
these
kinds
of
grand
transfers
of
wealth
would
have
to
come
at
the
expense
of
others.
As
Mayor
Bloombergs
greatest
political
enabler,
where
would
Christine
find
herself
in
this
epic
and
disproportionate
redistribution
of
wealth
?
226
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/11/07/nyregion/man-in-the-news-finding-a-new-mission-michael-rubens-
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- 110 -
In
her
role
as
a
municipal
legislator,
Christine
would
be
deeply
rooted
in
the
routine
issues
that
New
Yorkers
faced
every
day.
Because
Christine
began
her
career
as
a
tenant
activist
and
she
later
embraced
the
badge
of
being
a
progressive,
it
was
expected
that
she
would
lead
the
charge
on
protecting
and
increasing
access
to
affordable
housing.
It
wasnt
just
voters,
who
had
expectations
of
Christine.
When
Sen.
Duane
passed
the
baton
to
Christine,
everybody
had
high
expectations
of
her.
At
the
inception
of
her
career
as
an
elected
official,
following
her
win
in
the
City
Council
race
during
that
first
February
1999
special
election,
observers
zeroed
in
on
the
fact
that
Christines
district
was
also
the
heart
of
the
tenants
rights
movement,
because
people
fall
in
love
with
the
neighborhoods
in
the
3rd
District
and
dont
want
to
be
forced
out.
But
even
back
then,
in
the
very
beginning,
there
was
reason
to
worry
about
Christines
fortitude.
Sen.
Duane
began
to
predict
trouble
ahead.
Its
going
to
be
hard
for
her,
Sen.
Duane
told
The
New
York
Daily
News
in
1999.
Development
pressures
are
greater
than
theyve
been
for
the
past
15
years
because
the
market
is
so
hot,
hot,
hot.229
The
concern
was
already
on
peoples
minds
as
to
whether
Christine
would
be
able
to
withstand
the
pressures
from
real
estate
developers.
One
way
to
examine
Christines
commitment
to
her
roots
as
a
tenant
activist
would
be
to
see
if
she
would
be
committed
to
the
cause,
or
if
she
would
practice
a
doctrine
of
selective
advocacy.
Early
on,
Christine
was
visible
in
the
community
when
she
used
to
be
an
organizer
for
the
Housing
Justice
Campaign
in
1989
;
when
she
worked
to
organize
alongside
tenant
activists
like
Jane
Wood
when
she
was
229
http://www.nydailynews.com/building-ties-bind-new-councilwoman-quinn-common-good-article-1.827902
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 111 -
managing
Tom
Duanes
successful
campaign
for
City
Council
in
1991
;
and,
later,
when
Christine
wrote
a
letter
expressing
her
displeasure
with
the
planned
closure
and
displacement
of
long-term
residents
from
the
McBurney
WMCA
in
1999.230
In
these
and
other
instances,
Christine
learned
how
to
use
the
press
to
portray
a
myth
of
engagement.
She
would
use
her
presence
at
media
events
to
fluff
her
tenancy
work.
These
media
placements
could
be
a
powerful
tool
to
help
shape
public
opinion
and
to
apply
political
pressure
on
landlords
and
developers.
But
was
Christine
only
going
to
serve
up
an
appearance
of
being
an
advocate
for
tenants
rights
and
for
affordable
housing,
or
was
she
going
to
deliver
results
?
Christine
was
using
her
constant
media
appearances
to
construct
a
powerful
media-supported
soapbox
from
which
she
could
influence
public
opinion.
Helping
to
shape
public
opinion
was
one
way
to
create
grassroots
support
to
call
for
governmental
action.
Christine
had
effectively,
if
distastefully,
used
the
media
before
to
her
advantage.
She
once
used
threats
to
cancel
the
1998
Halloween
Parade
in
Greenwich
Village
to
influence
voters
perceptions
about
her
being
a
crusading
advocate
for
LGBT
equality.
Being
in
the
public
spotlight
like
that
gave
Christine
not
only
legitimacy,
but
it
gave
her
the
ability
to
sway
voters.
Was
she
going
to
use
her
position
of
influence
to
make
advances
on
housing
issues
?
And
how
would
she
use
her
powers
as
a
municipal
legislator
to
make
progress
for
New
York
City
tenants
?
In
the
time
leading
up
to
the
2001
election,
Christine
had
aligned
herself
with
Gifford
Miller,
who
would
go
on
to
become
the
new
Speaker
of
the
City
Council.
In
exchange
for
her
early
support
of
Speaker
Miller,
Christine
was
rewarded
by
being
230
http://www.nytimes.com/1999/07/17/nyregion/ymca-chelsea-sheds-its-tenants-34-men-used-single-
rooms-know-new-homes-will-be.html
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- 112 -
given
the
position
of
chair
of
the
City
Council
Health
Committee.
Thats
how
the
political
system
worked.
This
was
a
positive
affirmation
of
that
system
of
paybacks
that
Christines
father
had
instilled
in
her.
You
helped
somebody,
which
compeled
that
somebody
to
help
you.
Christines
political
motivations
were
once
given
by
a
sensibility
that
social,
legal,
or
economic
wrongs
needed
to
be
corrected.
But
after
being
in
office
for
about
three
years,
her
motivations
were
already
becoming
more
like
those
of
an
entrenched
incumbent.
Heres
one
example
of
how
Christine
began
to
care
more
about
her
relationship
with
her
political
donors
over
the
concerns
of
tenants
in
affordable
housing.
In
the
aftermath
of
the
September
11
attacks,
many
downtown
residents
faced
a
housing
disaster,
because
of
the
toxic
debris
caused
by
the
collapse
of
three
towers
at
1,
2,
and
7
World
Trade
Center.
Security
and
health
concerns
led
Downtown
residents
to
face
evacuation,
and
these
residents
were
locked
out
of
their
apartments
for
some
time.
Returning
to
normal
would
prove
to
be
difficult,
since
businesses
would
close
as
a
result
of
residual
effects
from
the
attacks.
In
Downtown
Manhattan,
the
social
fabric
had
been
seriously
disrupted.
A
couple
of
years
after
the
attacks,
tenants
at
Independence
Plaza
North,
a
massive
affordable
high-rise
building
in
Tribeca,
faced
a
devastating
prospect.
Their
landlord
was
proposing
to
take
the
whole
complex
out
of
an
affordable
housing
program
called
Mitchell-Lama.
Mitchell-Lama
was
a
housing
program
developed
after
the
severe
housing
shortage
experienced
in
New
York
following
the
end
of
World
War
II.231
The
program
provided
incentives
for
real
estate
developers
to
construct
affordable
231
http://open.nysenate.gov/legislation/bill/A3020-2013
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 113 -
housing,
and
in
exchange
developers
received
what
were
essentially
subsidies,
mainly
in
the
form
of
low-cost
loans.
The
program
proved
to
be
moderately
successful,
and
about
165,000
units
were
constructed
across
400
projects.
There
were
conditions
that
governed
when
the
owner
of
a
Mitchell-Lama
building
could
exit
the
program.
Some
of
the
buildings
were
rental
apartments,
and
others
were
built
as
co-ops
for
sale.
If
the
building
was
a
rental
apartment
building,
then
the
caps
on
rents
that
would
make
the
apartments
affordable
would
only
last
about
20
years,
give
or
take,
from
when
the
building
first
entered
the
program.
.232
When
the
new
owner
of
Independence
Plaza
North
seemed
intent
on
taking
the
large
complex
of
buildings
in
TriBeCa
out
of
the
program,
many
tenants
sought
help
from
New
York
City
councilmembers.
Tenants
were
seeking
added
protections
that
would
let
them
stay
in
their
affordable
to
moderately
affordable
apartments.
City
Council
Speaker
Miller
proposed
legislation
to
help
answer
the
concerns
of
Mitchell-Lama
residents.
His
proposal
would
add
new
regulations
to
owners
of
Mitchell-Lama
buildings,
making
it
more
difficult
for
owners
to
make
a
windfall
by
throwing
out
their
old
tenants
in
favor
of
new
tenants
willing
to
pay
free
market
rents.233
Speaker
Miller,
Christine,
residents
of
Independent
Plaza
North,
and
others
stood
on
the
steps
of
City
Hall
at
a
press
event
to
build
public
support
for
Speaker
Millers
proposed
bill.
This
kind
of
a
press
event
had
already
become
par
for
the
course
to
Christine,
as
she
had
mastered
the
art
of
the
media
sound
bite.
But
according
to
recollections
of
that
press
event
posted
on
the
Internet
by
Neil
Fabricant,
a
former
tenant
organizer
at
Independence
Plaza
North,
Christine
refused
232
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/11/02/realestate/leaving-mitchell-lama-many-paths-all-bumpy.html
233
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/11/02/realestate/leaving-mitchell-lama-many-paths-all-bumpy.html
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- 114 -
to speak in front of the cameras in support of the Mitchell-Lama protection bill. When the microphone was passed to Christine, she passed on the microphone without making any remarks to the press. Christines refusal to speak in support of the bill confounded Mr. Fabricant, especially since Christine was a co-sponsor of Speaker Millers bill. Later I learned that she was not the enthusiastic supporter that she had made herself out to be. Mr. Fabricant would learn the hard way that, by this time, Christine already had close ties to the real estate industry.234 The bill proposed by Speaker Miller had been negotiated by tenants rights activists. It would have required building owners to give residents notice of 18 months before they could leave the program instead of 12 months, which had been the requirement at the time, and building owners would have to pay a fee of $1,000.00 per unit that would be converted to free market rent. On top of that, the proposed bill would make it a requirement to have a community impact study.235 When taken as a whole, these added protections were viewed as being fair by concerned Mitchell-Lama tenants. Tenants faced the prospect of huge rent increases or evections if building owners left the program. At one Mitchell-Lama complex on the East Side of Manhattan, rents on a three bedroom Mitchell-Lama apartment would be raised from $1,500.00 to about $4,000.00 once that complex left the program.236 At one Brooklyn Heights building, all of the Mitchell-Lama residents
rents-and-a-diverse-building.html
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 115 -
received eviction notices.237 There was a lot at stake for people of low-income or of the working class. In postings on a political Web site, Mr. Fabricant described the pressure that real estate developers exerted over councilmembers. Even though Speaker Miller was sponsoring the proposed bill, and tenant activists had lined up a veto-proof majority support within the City Council, the real estate industry still carried weight. At the City Hall press event, Mr. Fabricant recounted that Speaker Miller had admonished him for having gone too far in his critical remarks about owners of Mitchell-Lama buildings. We dont want to demonize the landlords, Mr. Fabricant recalled Speaker Miller as having said.238 According to Mr. Fabricants retelling of that days events, Mr. Fabricant came to believe that the only reason that Speaker Miller had sponsored the draft bill to help Mitchell-Lama residents was that the proposed changes would by and large not impact members of the powerful Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY).239 REBNY is a powerful lobbying group for wealthy developers and others in the real estate trade.240 In spite of a history of corruption in New York City real estate,241 REBNY fought efforts at regulation.242 In later years, the trade group took further steps to exert even more influence over politicians.243 But once REBNY saw that
237 http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/news/tenants-shown-door-mitchell-lama-buyer-pulls-1st-total-
eviction-article-1.527747 238 http://bloombergwatch.com/index.php/07/the-real-christine-quinn-stands-upand-quickly-sits-down/ 239 http://bloombergwatch.com/index.php/07/the-real-christine-quinn-stands-upand-quickly-sits-down/ 240 http://therealdeal.com/issues_articles/getting-checkbooks-out-for-rebny-as-annual-dues-look/ 241 http://www.nytimes.com/1999/06/12/nyregion/8-charged-with-getting-kickbacks-at-31-buildings.html 242 http://cooperator.com/articles/1095/1/The-Debate-Goes-On/Page1.html 243 http://observer.com/2010/04/rebny-taps-former-bloomberg-official-to-lead-political-push/
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 116 -
Mitchell-Lama
activists
like
Mr.
Fabricant
were
becoming
a
threat,
the
trade
group
publicly
denounced
Speaker
Millers
draft
bill.244
The
following
year,
the
owner
of
Independence
Plaza
North
was
allowed
to
leave
the
Mitchell-Lama
program,
but
tenants
received
some
nominal
protections
from
escalating
rent
increases.
The
draft
bill
proposed
by
Speaker
Miller,
once
it
became
opposed
by
REBNY,
was
transformed
from
a
bill
with
restrictions
on
Mitchell-Lama
buildings
owners
to
one
that
would
provide
low-cost
refinancing
of
existing
mortgages
and
new,
low-interest
loans
to
building
owners.245
In
the
minds
of
the
City
Councilmembers,
this
package
of
loans
would
somehow
stop
evictions
and
steep
rent
increases,
but
this
bill
would
only
work
if
Mitchell-Lama
landlords
accepted
the
new
low-cost
loans.
In
the
new
bill,
there
were
no
more
demands
or
requirements
made
of
the
Mitchell-Lama
landlords.
Instead,
the
bill
became
a
low- cost
loan
giveaway.
Huge
real
estate
holdings
are
managed
like
any
other
investment
company
:
its
a
business
thats
all
about
leveraging
the
lowest
cost
of
capital
for
the
highest
return
on
equity.
The
low-cost
loan
giveaway
would
be
a
boon
to
landlord
profits.
Yet,
the
spin
that
city
officials
put
on
the
loan
program
was
that
the
proceeds
of
the
loans
would
go
for
building
repairs.
But
these
Mitchell-Lama
buildings
were
neither
flophouses
nor
rattraps.
These
were
rather
well
maintained
buildings.
But
City
Councilmembers
had
to
show
something
for
the
low-cost
loan
giveaway,
and
so
they
made
it
appear
that
the
loan
package
would
be
used
to
finance
building
repairs,
for
which
the
landlords
should
have
already
budgeted
244
http://www.downtownexpress.com/DE_14/councilsays.html
245
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/29/nyregion/city-announces-financing-deal-for-mitchell-lama-
landlords.html
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 117 -
through
existing
rent
proceeds.
The
new
bill
fit
the
classic
description
of
smoke
and
mirrors
:
it
was
only
an
illusion
that
the
new
bill
served
to
provide
of
more
tenant
protections.
In
the
new
bill,
there
was
no
specification
for
oversight
to
make
sure
that
building
repairs
was
exactly
how
the
loan
money
would
actually
be
used.
And
this
was
precisely
how
REBNY
got
its
way
in
New
York
City
politics.
The
new
package
of
15
year
loans
was
estimated
to
potentially
cost
New
York
City
taxpayers
over
$75
million.
This
money
would
not
pay
for
new
construction
of
affordable
housing,
and
there
was
no
way
to
guarantee
compliance
with
the
making
of
repairs.
In
all
likelihood,
these
low-cost
loans
would
just
help
Mitchell-Lama
landlords
to
maximize
their
return
on
equity
and
nothing
else.
Meanwhile,
Christine
had
to
make
sure
that
there
was
an
appropriate
political
cover
to
the
low-cost
loan
giveaway.
Michael
McKee,
the
controversial
tenant
activist
alongside
whom
Christine
once
worked,
praised
the
loan
package
to
landlords.
We
think
its
a
good
program,
and
we
support
it,
he
told
The
New
York
Times.246
As
it
turned
out,
the
deal
for
Independent
Plaza
North
was
beset
by
further
controversy.
Tenants
would
not
be
able
to
qualify
their
apartments
for
rent
stabilization.
247
Its
not
known
how
the
story
for
Independence
Plaza
North
might
have
played
out
had
Christine
made
different
choices.
She
deliberately
passed
the
buck
on
the
crisis
faced
by
its
tenants.
She
had
at
her
disposal
a
platform
in
the
City
Hall
press
that
gave
her
a
visibility
that
enhanced
her
authority
with
voters,
but
she
246
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/29/nyregion/city-announces-financing-deal-for-mitchell-lama-
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 118 -
chose not use that influence to build public support for reforms to extend Mitchell- Lama protections. As a councilmember, Christine supported a watered-down bill that, instead of putting binding restrictions on Mitchell-Lama landlords, gave them a package of more low-cost loans to building owners, who had already enjoyed similar benefits for over 20 years. The low-cost loan giveaway paled in comparison with past attempts at instituting progressive reforms in the New York real estate market. Past progressive reforms included outright bans on poorly constructed apartment buildings, and other reforms included the roll-out of programs that would finance the construction of numerous affordable housing buildings. The extension of more low-cost loans by the New York City Council achieved no transformative gains for Mitchell-Lama tenants, and REBNY saw how they could manipulate a crisis over affordable housing into a legislative package of more financial incentives that the wealthy landlords could use to their advantage. About the time that the fight for tougher protections for Mitchell-Lama residents was playing out, Christine fought against the only major zone-busting development deal that she would ever publicly mount in her entire political career. This was before she had made a pact with Mayor Bloomberg to enable his agenda of gentrification that would price out low-income and middle class workers into the margins of New York City. Mayor Bloomberg was trying to rezone a large part of the West Side of Midtown Manhattan for high rise construction in order to supposedly create tax revenues to fund the construction of a new sports stadium. For the first few years of Mayor Bloombergs administration, Christine was very visible in her
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 119 -
opposition
to
this
plan.
This
would
be
the
last
time
that
Christine
would
ever
publicly
oppose
Mayor
Bloomberg.
In
the
beginning
stages
of
Mayor
Bloombergs
project,
it
wasnt
exactly
clear
whether
Christine
was
completely
committed
to
opposing
both
aspects
of
the
plan.
The
part
of
the
project
that
involved
the
rezoning
of
vast
amounts
of
land
was
referred
to
Hudson
Yards,
while
the
building
of
the
sports
stadium
was
referred
to
as
the
West
Side
Stadium.
At
one
early
media
event
on
the
steps
of
City
Hall
in
opposition
to
Mayor
Bloombergs
plans,
Christine
was
absent,
creating
the
impression
that
she
was
waffling
on
her
opposition
to
the
Hudson
Yards
aspect
of
the
project.
When
Christine
learned
that
one
activist,
who
wished
to
remain
anonymous,
was
challenging
her
commitment
to
the
opposition
movement,
Christine
opened
up
her
bitch
tap,
and
she
let
the
activist
have
it.248
Christine
had
been
absent
from
a
press
conference
that
had
been
called
to
oppose
the
massive
construction
plan,
and
she
felt
that
she
had
to
defend
herself,
even
though
she
never
explained
why
she
did
not
participate
at
the
press
conference.
To
others,
Christines
absence
looked
remarkably
similar
to
the
episode
when
Christine
passed
the
microphone
without
speaking
one
word
at
the
Mitchell-Lama
press
conference
--
an
indication
that
Christine
didnt
want
to
upset
developers
and
landlords.
But
to
Christine,
it
was
important
to
keep
maintaining
her
myth
as
a
tenants
right
activist
and
to
keep
appearing
as
if
she
opposed
major
zone-busting
real
estate
deals.
Any
indication
to
the
contrary
would
be
met
with
harsh
retribution
from
Christine,
and
thats
exactly
how
she
reacted
to
the
one
activist
over
the
Hudson
Yards
project.
248
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EpvoM2eQED8
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 120 -
Christine
left
a
couple
of
indignant
and
dramatic
voice
mail
messages
for
the
Hudson
Yards
activist.
In
those
voice
mail
messages,
which
the
activist
recorded
and
posted
to
YouTube
years
later,
Christine
was
deliberately
belittling
the
activist,
and
the
tone
of
her
messages
was
intimidating
and
menacing.249
I
couldnt
be
at
the
press
conference.
Are
you
saying
that
Tom
[Duane]
and
Dick
[Gottfried]
are
waffling,
because
they
only
sent
staff,
or
do
you
merely
single
out
the
female
councilmember
to
attack
in
some
kind
of
sick,
sexist
routine
?
I
would
like
a
list
of
every
single
person
you
told
this
blatant
lie
to.
I
would
like
an
e-mail
to
my
office
immediately.
We
will
call
each
one.250
These
voicemail
messages
would
finally
offer
a
public
insight
into
Christines
self-described
bitch
tap,
what
others
would
describe
as
the
dark
side
of
her
personality.
The
myth
about
her
advocacy
was
so
important
to
Christine
that
she
was
not
above
bullying
others
to
keep
this
public
myth
alive.
Predictably,
real
estate
interests
supported
the
Hudson
Yards
project,
and
the
giant,
New
York-based
developer
Tishman
Speyer
was
one
of
the
early
leaders
identified
to
possibly
manage
the
development
project.251
But
opinion
polls
showed
that
voters
were
against
the
West
Side
Stadium.252
Between
the
opposing
choices
of
enabling
developers
or
pacifying
voters,
Christine
escalated
her
opposition
to
the
stadium
plan,
in
order
to
stay
on
voters
good
side.
Christine
navigated
her
way
through
the
two
controversial
projects
by
asserting
that
she
didnt
believe
that
the
Hudson
Yards
project
would
generate
enough
new
tax
revenue
to
finance
the
West
Side
Stadium.
She
pointed
to
the
conflict
of
interest
inherent
in
the
application
249
http://youtu.be/-bSMJK4MP-I
250
http://youtu.be/EpvoM2eQED8
251
http://travel.nytimes.com/2008/03/28/opinion/28fri4.html
252
http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/news/jets-yes-pay-hah-article-1.570765
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 121 -
process as a tactic to question the economic assumptions of the ambitious project. I am troubled by the fact that the environmental impact statement and most of the economic discussion about the stadium is based on an Ernst & Young statement, and nothing against Ernst & Young, but they were hired to do that study by the New York Jets, Christine said at a public town hall about the proposal.253 In the fight against the West Side Stadium and the Hudson Yards project, Christine used her platform in the media as the elected official representing the Hudson Yards neighborhood to authoritatively oppose the stadium deal, and she based her opposition on sound reasoning. Unlike with the crisis at Independence Plaza North and other Mitchell-Lama buildings, this time Christine was unafraid to be bold in her use of her platform with the media. But this inconsistency was a troubling development, and, more than anything else, it would foreshadow the crossing of a threshold. Many news articles documented Christines opposition to the West Side Stadium.254 255 256 The oppositional work she did helped to shore up her myth, which had been weakened by her inaction on behalf of the Mitchell-Lama tenants. But one interesting lesson Christine learned from Speaker Miller was this : he had remained silent about his final decision about the West Side Stadium plan until almost the very end, once the stadium plan looked like it would not be approved. As late as the summer of 2004, Speaker Miller had yet to announce whether he
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 122 -
supported
or
opposed
the
stadium
plan.257
Speaker
Miller
finally
announced
his
opposition
to
the
stadium
plan258
three
weeks
before
the
state
legislature
refused
to
consider
the
plan,
thereby
dealing
a
serious
setback
to
the
stadium.259
For
such
a
contentious
and
controversial
plan,
which
voters
overwhelmingly
opposed,
Speaker
Miller
refused
to
make
a
public
declaration
of
his
own
position
on
the
stadium
plan
until
it
was
almost
certain
to
fail.
Speaker
Millers
delay
tactic
was
a
lesson
that
Christine
would
adopt
and
put
into
practice
in
her
later
career.
Speaker
Miller
didnt
want
to
take
an
early
position
on
a
real
estate
issue
that
would
upset
developers,
but
Christine
was
still
too
connected
at
that
time
with
radical
activists
in
her
City
Council
district
to
be
allowed
the
kind
of
room
to
adopt
that
level
of
manipulative,
non-committal
political
stance.
Christine
had
to
make
a
commitment
to
placate
the
activists
in
her
community,
but
she
saw
how
Speaker
Miller
was
able
to
use
the
delay
tactic
without
having
paid
too
much
of
a
political
price.
Years
later,
Christine
would
take
non-committal
positions
on
controversial
issues
as
a
tactic
she
would
use
to
great
political
advantage.
Another
lesson,
which
Christine
got
out
of
her
experience
in
opposing
the
West
Side
Stadium,
was
that
final
approval
for
the
project
was
needed
from
state
officials
in
Albany.
The
whole
time
that
she
was
opposing
the
stadium,
it
turned
out
that
she
wasnt
really
on
the
hook
for
casting
a
deciding
vote
that
would
kill
the
project.
Sure,
she
had
caused
an
upset
for
developers,
but
Christine
wasnt
the
ultimate
decider.
Christine
was
just
using
her
platform
in
the
media
to
ride
the
wave
257
http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/news/speaker-mum-jets-plan-article-1.656532
258
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A03E5D6133FF93BA25752C1A9629C8B63
259
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/08/nyregion/08javits.html
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 123 -
of voter anger against the stadium plan for her own political benefit. She was only grandstanding, and she learned that when the final authority for an outcome of a controversial issue was up in Albany, it gave her license to use the situation to her advantage. Ultimately, in the summer of 2005, the West Side Stadium was formally defeated when New York State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver refused to support the plan. There was a third lesson from this process for Christine. The reason that Speaker Silver opposed the stadium project was because the construction would compete with the recovery of Ground Zero, which was in his Assembly district. 260 Speaker Silvers personal political motivations were augmented by the motivations of a powerful billionaire New York family, the Dolans, who owned Madison Square Garden. The Dolans came to view the West Side Stadium as competition to their own sports venue, and the Dolans organized to defeat the proposal.261 Christine saw that a large real estate development deal in Manhattan could be subject to many outside pressures, and even if she had initially supported the stadium plan, she would have angered voters and the powerful Dolan family. By opposing the stadium, she had appeased voters and fluffed her myth, and she had done right by the Dolans. When the time came for the final decision to be rendered on the plan, Christine was happy to see Speaker Silver take the heat. Christine came out looking pretty good with everybody, with the possible exceptions of Mayor Bloomberg and the developer Tishman Speyer. The third lesson came down to this : Christine saw that there was a way to spin a win from a divisive situation.
260
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/06/nyregion/06cnd-stadium.html
261
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/06/nyregion/06cnd-stadium.html
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 124 -
Meanwhile,
in
late
2004,
Christine
was
still
opposing
the
Hudson
Yards
part
of
the
project,
because
the
original
plan
only
called
for
approximately
2,600
affordable
housing
units
out
a
total
of
nearly
14,000
apartments.
Although
this
plan
has
taken
steps
forward
on
affordable
housing,
it
doesn't
go
far
enough,
Christine
told
The
New
York
Daily
News
at
the
time.
262
By
the
end
of
2009,
though,
she
had
changed
her
mind,
and
soon
enough
we
will
see
why
Christine
moved
so
swiftly
to
support
this
development
project.
The
final
part
of
the
Hudson
Yards
plan
that
Christine
supported
through
City
Council
passage,
was
led
by
different
developers
:
a
joint
venture
of
Related
Companies
and
Goldman
Sachs.
It
required
far
fewer
affordable
housing
units.
The
final
plan
called
for
a
set
aside
of
only
431
apartments
to
be
below
market
rents.263
To
the
new
developers,
what
mattered
most
was
that
the
requirement
for
affordable
housing
was
lowered.
If
2,600
new,
developer- provided
affordable
housing
units
were
considered
too
few
for
Christine
in
2004,
she
didnt
explain
why
431
new
units
suddenly
become
acceptable
in
2009.
The
new
deal
called
for
the
developer
to
preserve
an
additional
401
of
existing
affordable
apartments.
And
part
of
the
burden
of
creating
new
affordable
housing
was
shifted
to
taxpayers.
Christine
agreed
on
behalf
of
New
York
City
to
build
320
affordable
apartments,
and
the
city
would
try
to
acquire
an
additional
150
housing
units
in
the
form
of
single-room
occupancy
hotel
rooms.
In
Christines
new
emerging
worldview
of
tenants
rights
advocacy,
real
estate
developers
had
to
be
let
off
the
hook.264
Allowing
developers
a
way
to
manipulate
development
plans
262
http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/news/mike-takes-housing-hit-article-1.595300
263
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/22/nyregion/22hudson.html
264
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/22/nyregion/22hudson.html
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 125 -
to
provide
fewer
affordable
housing
units
was
a
form
of
a
giveaway
to
developers,
and
this
came
on
top
of
giving
Hudson
Yards
developers
tax
breaks,
in
addition
to
the
fact
that
the
Metropolitan
Subway
Authority
was
going
to
enhance
the
value
of
the
properties
in
the
development
by
extending
the
7
train
line
from
Times
Square
to
the
Far
West
Side
and
then
down
to
34th
Street.
Eventually,
revenues
from
the
Hudson
Yards
project
would
fall
short
of
expectations,265
but
the
net
value
of
wealth
that
would
be
created
and
transferred
to
the
final
developers
of
the
project
by
the
rezoning
of
land
use,
the
lower
affordable
housing
requirements,
and
the
tax
incentives
would
total
billions.
Developers
would
make
out
like
bandits,
and
Christine
was
there
to
enable
this.
Quinns
claim
to
be
a
supporter,
let
alone
a
tenant
champion,
is
as
fraudulent
as
virtually
everything
known
about
her
career,
Mr.
Fabricant
said
in
an
exclusive
interview
for
this
book.
She's
done
what
most
faux
tenant
supporters
do:
1)
pass
meaningless
bills
and
proclaim
them
as
great
achievements,
2)
call
on
other
branches
of
government
to
help
tenants
when
the
person
doing
the
calling
has
the
power
to
do
far
more,
or
3)
do
nothing.
Mr.
Fabricants
analysis
of
Christines
failures
can
be
seen
from
the
perspective
of
her
authority
and
influence.
She
had
the
power
to
extract
concessions
in
the
final
Hudson
Yards
zoning
agreement,
but
Christine
chose
to
instead
water
down
the
affordable
housing
units
being
offered
by
the
new
developers.
And
she
had
the
power
to
take
her
concerns
to
the
media
about
the
lower
affordable
housing
requirement,
to
mobilize
public
opinion
against
the
change,
but
Christine
chose
to
instead
approve
the
watered-down
requirements
265
http://www.ibo.nyc.ny.us/iboreports/hudsonyards2013.pdf
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without
making
any
public
waves.
Like
Mr.
Fabricant
had
described
in
his
recollections
of
the
fight
for
added
Mitchell-Lama
protections,
Christine
had
already
joined
the
real
estate
industrys
side.
In
2006,
Christine
was
elected
to
become
the
speaker
of
the
City
Council.
The
controversy
surrounding
her
election
will
be
examined
in
Chapter
8.
But
in
the
same
year,
over
10,000
apartments
in
the
massive
complex
of
Stuyvesant
Town
and
Peter
Cooper
Village
were
sold
to
real
estate
speculators
in
a
$5.4
billion
deal.266
Tenant
activists
feared
that
the
sale
was
contingent
on
the
new
buyers
forcing
out
rent
stabilized
tenants
in
order
to
raise
the
rents
to
free
market
levels.
The
new
buyers
were
led
by
Tishman
Speyer,
the
giant
developer
which
eventually
lost
out
on
the
Hudson
Yards
project,
and
a
real
estate
unit
of
the
large
private
equity
behemoth
BlackRock.
The
principal
Tishman
Speyer
executive,
who
put
the
massive
deal
together,
was
a
former
co-head
of
the
Partnership
For
New
York
City,
a
Chamber
of
Commerce-like
trade
group
of
top
New
York
corporate
executives.
The
Partnership
For
New
York
City
liked
to
act
behind
the
scenes
to
further
the
political
agenda
of
its
mega
corporation
members.
Its
General
Counsel
was
Brad
Hoylman,
a
close
associate
of
Christine.
MetLife,
the
large
insurance
company,
was
looking
to
unload
Stuy-Town
and
Peter
Cooper
in
an
effort
to
unlock
massive
profits
from
its
real
estate
holdings
at
the
height
of
the
speculative
real
estate
bubble.
MetLife
had
constructed
the
large
complexes
of
affordable
housing
using
government
subsidies,
and
now
it
wanted
to
cash
out.
Back
then,
Christine
gave
lip
service
to
shame
MetLife
in
one
article
in
The
266
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/18/nyregion/18stuyvesant.html
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 127 -
New
York
Times,
but
she
took
no
further
action.
At
one
time,
they
were
the
model
of
a
New
York
corporate
citizen,
Christine
told
The
New
York
Times.
The
commitment
they
once
had
to
New
York
City
is
gone.267
Christine
complained
that
she
couldnt
get
a
meeting
with
MetLife,
but
it
is
not
known
if
she
tried
getting
a
meeting
with
Mr.
Hoylman,
who
had
access
to
Tishman
Speyer
executives.
If
Christine
really
wanted
a
meeting,
there
would
have
been
a
way
to
publicly
shame
MetLife
or
Mr.
Hoylman
into
it.
By
about
this
time,
the
myth
that
Christine
was
still
an
advocate
for
tenants
rights
was
about
as
credible
as
still
believing
in
the
tooth
fairy.
One
need
only
look
back
to
see
how
uncommitted
Christine
was
in
maintaining
intact
the
affordable
housing
requirement
for
the
Hudson
Yards
developers.
Eventually,
the
Stuy-Town
and
Peter
Cooper
deal
went
bankrupt,268
but
not
before
thousands
of
apartments
were
wrongly
removed
from
rent
regulation,269
and
some
tenants
spent
years
fighting
threats
of
massive
rent
increases.270
Two
years
after
Stuy-Town
and
Peter
Cooper
were
sold
to
real
estate
speculators,
The
New
York
Times
published
a
damning
report
showing
that
the
real
estate
industry
was
donating
large
amounts
of
campaign
money
to
political
candidates
before
new
restrictions
on
the
industry
were
to
take
effect.
According
to
The
New
York
Times
report,
the
level
of
donations
being
made
by
real
estate
interests
were
between
three
to
four
times
the
levels
in
typical
election
cycles.
These
donations
were
made
with
the
obvious
intention
to
influence
the
expected
mayoral
candidates
in
the
2009
election,
when
it
was
still
thought
that
Mayor
267
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/31/business/yourmoney/31speyer.html
268
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/26/nyregion/26stuy.html
269
http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/stuyway-robbier-cry-tenants-article-1.1344287
270
http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20130618/REAL_ESTATE/130619861
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Bloomberg would be prevented from running again because of term limits. Large and wealthy developers and landlords were interested in compromising Democratic mayoral candidates to weaken their commitment to reforming the land use approval process and to show them the benefits of enabling weaker affordable housing requirements. City Hall exerts influence over legislation and regulations that determine zone-busting application approvals, tax breaks,271 and, as was seen by some Mitchell-Lama landlords, City Hall could be tricked into easily providing deals that might include low-cost loan packages to real estate investors. The examination of real estate donation records showed that, at the time, Christine was collecting the most donations from real estate interests. 272 It was now finally possible to understand why Christine could approve the Hudson Yards project with requirements for fewer affordable housing units. Christines official acts in office would by this point begin to appear to have been influenced by the large amounts of campaign contributions she was receiving from real estate developers. Indeed, in The New York Times campaign report, the two largest real estate contributors to the candidates expected to run for mayor in 2009, of which Christine was one, were the owners of Rudin Management Company, who would become entangled in a protracted real estate battle over the fate of St. Vincents Hospital, and people tied to the Related Companies, one of the final two developers selected to work on the Hudson Yards project.273
271
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/01/nyregion/01fundraising.html
272
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/01/nyregion/01fundraising.html
273
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/01/nyregion/01fundraising.html
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
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Now,
there
could
be
no
more
truth
to
Christines
myth
of
her
still
being
an
advocate
for
tenants
rights
and
affordable
housing.
More
and
more,
Christine
was
becoming
the
go-to
person
for
the
real
estate
industry,
and
it
was
clear
that
she
knew
who
was
buttering
her
bread.
The
City
Council
knew
not
to
stand
in
the
way
of
real
estate
development,
The
New
York
Times
reported.
The
former
deputy
mayor
under
Mayor
Bloomberg
was
reported
at
the
time
to
have
bragged
about
Mayor
Bloombergs
record
of
78-0
in
pushing
through
zoning
changes
through
the
City
Council.
274
Clearly,
the
real
estate
industry
got
what
it
wanted.
As
one
began
to
clearly
see
the
arc
of
Christines
work
in
City
Council
as
it
related
to
real
estate
development
issues,
it
was
easy
to
draw
the
conclusion
that
she
was
no
longer
in
public
office
to
advocate
for
tenants.
She
was
using
her
platform
and
her
official
powers
to
enable
the
real
estate
industry
to
carry
out
its
agenda,
just
as
Mr.
Fabricant
had
said.
During
the
course
of
Mayor
Bloobmergs
mayoralty,
the
billionaire
mayor
would
by
many
accounts
focus
on
the
development
of
luxury
housing
for
a
super- wealthy
segment
of
the
citys
population,
a
strategy
and
vision
that
left
no
place
for
affordable
housing.
Between
2002
and
2008,
New
York
City
lost
by
one
calculation
more
than
194,000
rental
housing
units
affordable
to
low-
income
households,
a
16.4
percent
decrease.275
The
cumulative
effect
of
the
loss
of
affordable
housing
would
take
its
toll
on
middle
and
lower-income
residents.
Like
in
her
photo
op
at
the
Independence
Plaza
North
media
event,
all
Christine
would
be
willing
to
do
is
to
lend
nominal,
yet
impotent
support
for
affordable
housing.
She
opposed
the
West
274
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/01/nyregion/01fundraising.html
275
http://coalhome.3cdn.net/4c773e13c643a610dd_lqm6bh56n.pdf
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 130 -
Side
Stadium,
but
then
she
approved
the
Hudson
Yards
project
with
substantially
fewer
affordable
housing
units.
She
wouldnt
fight
harder,
and
it
would
show
in
the
results
that
Christine
would
enable.
In
no
year
during
the
Bloomberg-Quinn
administration
would
the
city
ever
show
a
growth
in
the
number
of
affordable
housing
units.
And
when
it
came
to
those
with
the
least,
those
tenants
living
in
buildings
owned
by
the
New
York
City
Housing
Authority
(NYCHA),
they
would
get
even
less
attention
paid
to
their
needs.
The
tenants
rights
activist,
which
Christine
used
to
be,
did
not
show
up
to
advocate
for
any
tenants.
Christine
would
come
to
be
almost
universally
perceived
as
being
Mayor
Bloombergs
chief
enabler
that,
by
the
final
years
of
his
mayoralty,
many
would
come
to
brand
their
time
together
in
public
office
as
the
Bloomberg-Quinn
administration.
Their
lockstep
actions
on
real
estate
would
appear
to
favor
wealthy
landlords,
real
estate
developers,
and
real
estate
interests
over
any
real
expansion
of
affordable
housing.
Increasing
affordable
housing
never
got
put
on
the
governments
agenda,
except
for
opportunities
that
REBNY
exploited
to
find
ways
to
reward
the
real
estate
industry.
After
a
spectacular
series
of
tabloid
stories
about
the
shoddy
conditions
at
buildings
owned
by
NYCHA,
The
New
York
Daily
News
reported
that
NYCHA
was
sitting
on
almost
$1
billion
of
unspent
funds.276
Housing
advocates
decried
the
revelation
of
the
massive
unspent
resources,
because
these
resources
could
have
been
used
to
improve
or
expand
affordable
housing.
Two
more
aspects
remain
before
Christine
could
be
evaluated
on
her
progressive
record
on
affordable
housing.
Firstly,
in
2013,
officials
at
NYCHA
276
http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nycha-board-sitting-1b-fed-cash-article-1.1126326
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 131 -
concocted
a
scheme
to
lease
14
plots
of
irreplaceable
open
space
between
housing
projects
to
private
real
estate
developers
with
rights
to
construct
new
apartment
buildings.
In
these
new
buildings,
80%
of
the
new
rental
units
were
planned
to
be
rented
at
full,
free
market
rates,
and
only
20%
would
be
made
available
as
affordable
housing.
This
scheme
would
raise
only
between
$30
million
to
$50
million
in
annual
revenues
from
the
land
leases.277
NYCHA
was
emphasizing
the
need
to
raise
more
revenue
to
pay
for
improvements
to
its
existing
buildings
at
a
time
when
it
was
exposed
to
be
hoarding
$1
billion
in
unspent
reserves.
The
open
spaces
that
NYCHA
residents
would
lose
under
this
plan
would
be
playgrounds
and
parking
lots.278
For
people
with
the
least,
taking
away
what
little
open
spaces
NYCHA
tenants
had
would
make
public
housing
projects
more
dreary
and
oppressive.
It
was
impossible
to
see
how
Christine,
who
once
called
herself
a
progressive,
could
support
deteriorating
living
conditions.
Real
estate
developers
planned
to
make
money
from
this
NYCHA
scheme
by
paying
the
least
amount
in
lease
payments
to
NYCHA
in
exchange
for
collecting
the
most
amount
of
free
market
rents
from
the
tenants
in
the
newly
planned
upscale
buildings.
This
was
another
giveaway
to
real
estate
developers
on
two
levels
:
first,
the
developers
would
get
to
pay
low
land
lease
rates,
and
second
they
would
be
getting
use
of
public
land
that
belonged
to
the
taxpayers
of
New
York
City.
It
wasnt
lost
on
tenant
activists
that
NYCHAs
plan
gave
short
shrift
to
those
with
the
least,
who
have
depended
on
NYCHA
for
housing.
How
could
municipal
leaders,
like
277
http://www.nyc.gov/html/nycha/html/preserving/leasing-land-proposal.shtml
278
http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/mayoral-hopefuls-slam-nycha-luxury-high-rise-plan-article-
1.1257547
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 132 -
Mayor
Bloomberg
and
Christine,
be
so
tone
deaf
to
the
outrageous
idea
of
building
upscale
apartment
buildings
on
the
irreplaceable
open
spaces
between
NYCHAs
public
housing
projects
?
If
nothing
else,
if
there
was
room
to
build
more
residential
towers
on
NYCHA
property,
shouldnt
the
tenants
in
the
new
housing
be
made
up
of
100%
of
NYCHA
residents
?
Because
the
extreme
prices
for
housing
in
New
York
City
had
created
conditions
that
dislocated
so
many
people
with
low
incomes,
NYCHA
had
become
the
citys
largest
landlord
with
approximately
600,000
residents.
All
of
NYCHAs
problems
were
being
laid
bare
in
the
tabloid
newspapers
of
New
York.
A
scandal
about
a
severe
backlog
of
repairs
at
NYCHA
buildings
triggered
a
series
of
frontpage
headlines,279
and
all
Christine
could
muster
as
a
response
was
a
proposal
to
replace
the
computer
system
used
to
track
NYCHA
tenants.280
Christine
was
showing
herself
to
be
constitutionally
incapable
of
directly
addressing
any
major
housing
issue.
Lastly,
to
add
insult
to
injury,
the
Bloomberg
administration
began
an
effort
to
promote
the
idea
that
studio
apartments
for
single
occupants
should
be
no
more
than
300
square
foot
in
size.
Mayor
Bloomberg
and
Amanda
Burden,
his
socialite
city
planner,
gave
a
walking
tour
of
a
mock
layout
of
the
newly
cramped
space
that
they
were
recommending
New
Yorkers
to
embrace.
This
was
another
administration-driven
plan
to
help
real
estate
developers
shrink
the
size
of
apartments,
so
that
they
could
increase
the
number
of
apartments
in
new
construction
with
the
aim
to
maximize
free
market
rents.
By
decreasing
the
size
of
279
http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/10-million-report-nycha-shows-backlog-338-000-repair-orders-
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 133 -
apartments, landlords would be able to increase the number of units in a new building, all other things being equal. It was a backdoor giveaway to the real estate industry. Instantly, the press pointed out the historic ramifications of the Bloomberg plan to cut the size of future apartments. City rules mandating bigger apartments were put in place to combat cramped tenement conditions, but Bloomberg said the regulations need to roll with the times, reported The New York Daily News. These mandates stemmed from reforms enacted during the Progressive Era at the turn of the last century, when New York State passed the Tenement House Act of 1901 after tenement housing conditions reached inhumane proportions. What Mayor Bloomberg was essentially calling for was a repeal of this landmark tenants rights law. And Christine knew that it was in her own best interest to remain silent about Mayor Bloombergs plan to gut the Tenement House Act, but her strategy wouldnt be a good strategy for tenants. Over and over again, Christines strategy would be to abdicate any leadership role in advocating for progressive reforms. By this time, she alone controlled the legislative agenda in the City Council. Her deliberate decision to relinquish any role in calling for reforms in how the city financed affordable housing, public housing, or regulating the size of new housing units would have a lasting impact. Christine had become compromised by her acceptance of so much campaign contributions from special interests, especially from real estate developers. If regulatory capture theory is true, and it was possible for special interests to take control of a regulating body, then, by the very nature of developers and landlords having flooded political candidates with large campaign contributions, the real estate industry had found a
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 134 -
way to neutralize the legislative agenda of the City Council. Astute political observers would need to look at Christines political donors to recognize that it was she whom developers and landlords were chiefly targeting for legislative capture. By January 2013, executives from developers and landlords had donated over $800,000.00 to Christines political campaign for the 2013 election cycle, representing by one estimate to be 14% of the $6 million that Christine had raised as of that point for her next political campaign.281 By this time, Christine estimated that New York City had lost a total of 300,000 affordable housing units, and she blamed politicians up in Albany,282 even though as the City Council speaker, she was in a position to make a difference. But Christine failed to deliver greater protections for Mitchell-Lama residents, and she herself accepted lower affordable housing requirements at the Hudson Yards project. Near the end of Mike Bloombergs mayoralty, it was reported that the billionaire mayor had managed to rezone 37% of the land in New York City. 283 Under Christines leadership, the City Council failed to seize on this opportunity to make affordable housing a priority. And all of the small denomination contributions she had collected from activists, like those who worked for Housing Works, would prove to have been made in vain. None of those small donations ever made a difference to keep Christine true to her advocacy roots. Yet, Christine would continue to propagate her myth as a tenants rights activists in spite of her record of failure.
281
http://therealdeal.com/blog/2013/02/20/quinn-beats-mayoral-rivals-in-real-estate-donations/
282
http://www.city-journal.org/2013/eon0128ng.html
283
http://www.nytimes.com/newsgraphics/2013/08/18/reshaping-new-york/
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 135 -
And we can now finally see a more complete picture of what was happening in terms of housing and real estate during the 15 years that Christine would be in City Council, 12 years of which she served under Mayor Bloomberg. Christine had power that came from her position of influence in the media, and she could have used that influence to shape public opinion to build support for increasing the amount of available affordable housing. But Christine took inept actions, or she failed to act, and these failures caused setbacks for New Yorkers searching for or living in affordable housing. Christine also had power that came from her authority from within the City Council. As we saw, she refused to enthusiastically support the first version of proposed legislation that would have provided stiffer protections to Mitchell-Lama residents, and then later we saw how she watered down the affordable housing requirements in the massive Hudson Yards project. At each step of the way, Christine acted as an agent for the best interest of real estate developers. In the beginning of her career in public office, Christine was merely one of over 50 municipal legislators. After 2006, she alone would completely control the legislative agenda in the City Council. During this time, she would no longer really need to lean on the media to exert an influence on public opinion. If she so wanted, Christine could have unilaterally put important social, legal, and economic issues on the governments agenda. She had that much power, but she chose not to advocate for tenants, because she did not want to compromise the large stream of campaign contributions from wealthy developers and landlords. A progressive leader would have substantially limited the power of real estate interests in deciding the outcome of zone-busting development deals, and
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Christine has shown that she was unable to do this. She should have defended the landmark Tenement House Act from being threatened by Mayor Bloomberg, but Christine did nothing. Her environmental record in the area of real estate lacked regard for community concerns. When New York City planned to install two garbage facilities, one in Tribeca284 and the other in the Upper East Side,285 Christine angered both neighborhoods,286 287 because she refused to advocate on behalf of the residents. The installation in Tribeca was a large facility for garbage trucks used across three districts, and the installation in the Upper East Side was a waste transfer station. The emerging theme from community opposition to Christines approvals of these controversial projects was that she had no regard for voter input. Christine was not listening to the community, Maria Passannante Derr told The Villager.288 When Spectra Energy wanted to build a large pipeline to transport fracked gas beneath New York City, Christine refused requests to hold City Council hearings into the dangerous levels of radon in the fracked gas.289 She alone had at her discretion the power to call for hearings, but she chose not to. Any developer or oil and gas corporation wanting to exploit New York City real estate for private gain was going to get a free pass under Christines watch. Any influence, power, or progressive ethic she once had wasnt going to stop the use of real property for private gain, no matter whether the real estate was part of the Mitchell-Lama
284 http://thevillager.com/villager_351/judgedumps.html 285 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/timothy-greenfieldsanders/garbage-dump-protest_b_182646.html 286 http://thevillager.com/villager_308/starsaddglitz.html 287 http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/upper_east_siders_boo_christine_yHSejiOqtZ2zxDLuH4dDyH 288 http://thevillager.com/villager_308/starsaddglitz.html 289 http://occupythepipeline.blogspot.com/2012/10/christine-quinn-rejects-radon-gas.html
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
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program, the playgrounds at public housing projects, or, literally, beneath us. Many sources concluded that Christine was subjugating herself to Mayor Bloombergs pro- development, pro-gentrification agenda. And her official acts were a sign that she was aligning herself with the mayors extremist economic worldview.
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
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Chapter
7
In
addition
to
having
been
a
tenants
rights
activist
in
her
youth,
Christine
was
also
once
the
executive
director
of
AVP,
a
nonprofit
organization
that
tackled
the
problem
of
violence
against
LGBTs
in
New
York
City.
One
category
of
violence
that
AVP
dealt
with
was
police
procedures
:
police
brutality
against
LGBT
New
Yorkers,
discrimination
in
how
police
investigated
hate
crimes,
and
sexual
orientation
profiling
in
how
the
police
targeted
LGBT
New
Yorkers
for
extra
scrutiny
and
harassment.
Participants
in
the
1998
Matthew
Sheppard
memorial
march
through
Midtown
Manhattan
were
subjected
to
unprovoked
confrontation,
blockades,
and
mass
arrests.
As
Christine
had
witnessed
then,
the
police
had
demonstrated
blatant
disregard
for
allowing
citizens
to
peacefully
participate
in
a
political
march.
Christine
was
aware
that
police
were
reckless
in
handling
the
critical
medical
needs
of
citizens
that
police
had
falsely
arrested
and
detained
under
inhumane
conditions.
She
had
even
used
her
platform
in
the
media
at
that
time
to
exert
influence
over
public
opinion
to
show
that
police
had
wrongly
forced
detainees
to
miss
their
AIDS
medications,
a
situation
that
had
serious
health
implications.290
Yet,
no
reforms
resulted
from
her
efforts
then.
Several
lawsuits
were
filed
against
the
NYPD
over
its
use
of
excessive
force
during
the
Matthew
Shepard
memorial
march.291
292
293
Many
of
the
people,
who
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 139 -
sued,
received
settlements
from
New
York
City.294
295
But
a
lawsuit
could
achieve
only
so
much
in
terms
of
justice.
The
people,
who
were
injured
by
the
police
departments
deliberate
use
of
horses
to
assault
and
batter
the
march
participants,
were
going
to
receive
personal
justice
in
the
form
of
lawsuit
settlements,
to
the
extent
the
settlements
were
seen
as
fair.
However,
the
cultural
and
institutional
problems
at
the
NYPD
that
gave
rise
to
the
tactics
of
using
excessive
force
--
such
as
the
use
of
horse-mounted
police,
barricades,
and
false
arrests
--
were
not
being
addressed.
The
last
opportunity
at
bringing
about
institutional
reform
of
the
police
department
was
when
a
task
force
empaneled
by
Mayor
Giuliani
delivered
in
1998
a
majority
report
of
recommendations
following
the
brutal
attack
and
torture
of
Abner
Louima
by
NYPD
officers
in
a
Brooklyn
station
house.
Unfortunately,
the
final
recommendations
of
that
task
force
were
watered
down
by
members,
like
Christine,
before
Mayor
Giuliani
completely
rejected
the
task
force
all
together.296
Christine
was
aware
of
other
ways
that
the
police
were
known
to
mistreat
the
LGBT
community.
Gay
bars
were
historically
always
subjected
to
raids
by
police,
for
example.
Combined
with
these
raids,
the
constant
harassment
and
discrimination
at
the
hands
of
the
police
were
what
led
to
the
1969
Stonewall
riots.
Within
the
NYPDs
culture
of
bias,
the
many
instances
of
the
use
of
excessive
force
and
unequal
treatment
showed
that
there
was
a
pattern
that
needed
to
be
addressed.
However,
Christine
took
no
action.
In
spite
of
her
influence
and
authority,
she
would
lead
no
effort
to
launch
a
reform
of
the
police
department.
294
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/01/11/nyregion/3-trampled-by-police-horses-reach-settlement-with-
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Police
mistreatment
of
the
LGBT
community
didnt
end
with
its
response
to
LGBT
political
demonstrations
or
the
patronage
of
bars.
In
1990,
when
Matt
Foreman
was
still
the
executive
director
of
AVP,
a
gay
youngman
named
Julio
Rivera
was
murdered
in
Jackson
Heights,
Queens,
in
what
was
plainly
a
hate
crime.
Activists,
community
residents,
and
representatives
from
AVP
had
to
march
through
Mr.
Riveras
neighborhood
and
in
front
of
Gracie
Mansion
to
stir
up
the
necessary
political
pressure
on
Mayor
David
Dinkins
and
the
police
department
to
investigate
the
murder
as
a
hate
crime.297
Five
months
after
the
murder,
the
NYPD
finally
classified
Mr.
Riveras
death
as
a
hate
crime.298
It
took
activists
working
with
a
community
group
headed
by
an
executive
director
committed
to
his
cause
to
exert
sufficient
pressure
from
the
outside
for
the
NYPD
to
respond
to
the
communitys
concerns.
After
Christine
became
a
political
insider,
she
was
supposed
to
facilitate
appropriate
government
responses
to
pressing
community
needs.
Given
that
she
was
a
self-proclaimed
progressive,
she
was
portraying
herself
as
having
the
sensibilities
of
an
advocate
for
reforms
with
an
appreciation
of
the
need
for
increased
grassroots
participation.
What
would
be
the
consequences
of
her
having
done
nothing
to
reform
the
NYPD
?
When
security
experts
would
talk
about
threats
to
public
safety
in
the
post-9/11
world,
would
anybody
include
how
the
NYPD
treated
the
citizens
it
was
supposed
to
be
protecting
?
Quite
possibly
the
first
post-9/11
protest
at
which
the
NYPD
began
to
rollout
its
newer,
heavy-handed
tactics,
which
bordered
on
suppression
on
public
assembly,
took
place
over
the
first
weekend
in
February
2002,
when
the
World
297
http://www.nytimes.com/1990/11/14/nyregion/2-charged-in-slaying-of-gay-man.html
298
http://www.nytimes.com/1990/12/18/nyregion/july-killing-in-queens-park-is-ruled-bias-related.html
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- 141 -
Economic
Forum
was
taking
place
at
the
Waldorf-Astoria.
The
New
York
Times
reported
that
police
used
pens
to
contain
activists.299
Activists
were
annoyed
that
police
broke
up
the
larger
group
of
activists
into
smaller
groups
by
forcing
them
into
these
barricades.
Activists
were
cut
off
from
one
another,
reducing
their
collective
impact.300
Activists
further
complained
that
the
police
menaced
participants
of
the
demonstration
with
batons,
pepper
spray,
and
threats
of
other
physical
force.
Collectively,
the
police
tactics
were
seen
by
activists
as
clear
forms
of
intimidation.
The
NYPDs
forceful
response
to
the
protests
against
the
World
Economic
Forum
was
a
harbinger
of
things
to
come.
Freedoms
of
assembly
and
of
speech
were
in
the
process
of
being
diminished.
After
9/11,
the
Bush
administration
spent
two
years
ramping
up
diplomatic
and
military
efforts
to
invade
the
nation
of
Iraq
in
purported
retaliation
for
the
September
11
attacks.
In
the
build-up
for
war,
many
Americans
viewed
the
machinations
of
the
Bush
administration
as
a
threat
to
peace,
and
progressives,
liberals,
and
left-leaning
activists
began
organizing
demonstrations
to
express
popular
opposition
to
what
was
widely
regarded
as
the
predisposed
war
agenda
of
the
Bush
administration.
To
that
end,
several
groups
across
the
nation
were
organizing
constant
anti-war
protests.301
302
These
smaller
demonstrations
were
futile
in
exerting
political
pressure
on
the
Bush
administration
to
change
its
course,
and
umbrella
coalitions
were
formed
from
smaller
groups
in
order
to
coordinate
larger
demonstrations.
The
growing
anti-war
sentiment
was
leading
to
larger
and
299
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/02/03/us/forum-in-new-york-protests-at-least-38-are-arrested-but-rally-
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more frequent protests all around the world. One large-scale anti-war demonstration was being planned for New York City for February 15, 2003 -- a day of coordinated, worldwide protests. Organizers of the New York City demonstration were planning a march of about 100,000 people that would pass in front of the United Nations building in Manhattan, but days before the march, police denied the lead organizing group, United for Peace and Justice (UFPJ), a police permit for the march. Instead, organizers would have to accept the staging of a stationary rally a few blocks away from the UN, and police told organizers that the rally would have to be limited to 10,000 people. Organizers were rightly concerned that a large turnout of protest participants would be unable to experience the sights and sounds of the rally, if an overflow crowd were diverted several blocks away from the rallys stage. Lawyers for New York City presented evidence of two failed terror plots as evidence that the anti-war demonstration could not take the form of a march, with the implication being that somehow a march was considered more dangerous.303 Officials for New York City also put up other obstacles for protest organizers, including a police request for an estimate of the number of people, who would be participating in the march ; the use of a police scare tactic that it could not guarantee the safety of the march ; the police promise to use pens to accommodate overflow crowds in spite of the NYPDs history of abusing the use of pens ; and the last minute courtroom ambush of introducing two Bush administration federal
303
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/11/nyregion/court-bans-peace-march-in-manhattan.html
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prosecutors
into
the
legal
proceedings
to
cloud
the
march
as
a
disruption
to
the
UN,
according
a
report
published
in
The
New
York
Times.304
All
of
the
reasons
and
excuses
that
the
police
were
offering
looked
ridiculous
to
protest
organizers,
because,
to
outside
observers,
it
was
unclear
how
organizers
could
pinpoint
an
exact
estimate
of
the
turnout
for
a
large
demonstration.
So
many
factors
would
determine
the
final
number
of
participants,
such
as
weather
and
traffic
conditions
and
the
functionality
of
mass
transit.
Even
The
New
York
Times
report
estimated
the
crowd
might
be
large
--
in
the
realm
of
100,000
--
but
none
of
this
satisfied
the
police.
In
fact,
police
wanted
to
undercut
the
estimated
turnout
to
just
10%
of
that.
Protest
organizers
countered
that
the
city
routinely
provided
security
for
large
marches,
such
as
the
annual
St.
Patricks
Day
parade.
Increasingly,
protest
organizers
saw
darker
motivations
behind
the
citys
actions.
305
Once
Barbara
Jones,
the
judge
hearing
the
legal
proceeding
for
the
issuance
of
the
march
permit
application,
said
that
she
would
not
second
guess
the
police
and
denied
organizers
a
permit
to
hold
the
march,
organizers
knew
the
fix
was
in.
The
NYPD
was
routinely
being
sued
for
violations
of
civil
rights
and
civil
liberties,
and
it
is
not
known
how
Judge
Jones
was
able
to
take
the
NYPDs
promises
at
face
value.
[I]t
is
incomprehensible
that
the
finest
police
department
in
the
world
cannot
accommodate
a
traditional
peaceful
protest.
Given
the
wealth
of
precedents
for
peaceful
marches,
it
is
a
highly
disturbing
precedent,
Victor
A.
Kovner,
a
respected
First
Amendment
lawyer,
told
The
New
York
Times.
This
is
meant
to
send
a
message
beyond
New
York
City
and
it
is
going
to
have
a
chilling
effect
nationally.
I
304
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/11/nyregion/court-bans-peace-march-in-manhattan.html
305
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/11/nyregion/court-bans-peace-march-in-manhattan.html
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think
the
Bush
administration
does
not
like
political
dissent
and
has
influenced
the
Bloomberg
administration
to
stop
it,
said
Bill
Perkins,
a
councilmember
at
the
time.306
At
every
turn
in
The
New
York
Times
recounting
of
the
proceedings,
the
judge
was
trusting
the
police
at
first
blush.
The
judge
accepted
the
police
departments
reasoning
that
a
march
needed
to
be
planned
months
in
advance,
and
since
the
growing
anti-war
movement
was
reaching
critical
mass
rather
swiftly,
it
appeared
that
the
NYPD
was
going
to
use
the
excuse
of
a
long
lead
time
to
diffuse
dissent
to
the
war.
And
visibly
fighting
for
the
right
of
free
speech
and
free
assembly
was
Councilmember
Perkins,
who
was
using
his
influence
in
the
media
as
an
elected
official
to
put
political
pressure
on
the
NYPD
to
act
in
good
faith.
While
his
efforts
were
noble,
he
didnt
have
enough
support
from
other
councilmembers
like
Christine
to
counteract
the
mayors
and
the
police
commissioners
intention
to
deny
the
permit
to
hold
the
march.
On
the
day
of
the
rally,
participants
experienced
treatment
from
the
police
that
was
eerily
reminiscent
of
the
treatment
participants
received
during
the
Matthew
Shepard
memorial
march,
except
that
instead
of
5,000
participants,
many,
many
more
than
that
took
part
in
the
February
15
rally.
Reporters
from
The
New
York
Times
went
with
a
very
conservative
midpoint
estimate
of
the
number
of
people,
who
participated
in
the
New
York
demonstration.
The
police
commissioner,
Raymond
W.
Kelly,
put
the
crowd
at
about
100,000,
while
the
organizers
said
400,000
people
attended.
Given
the
sea
of
faces
extending
more
than
a
mile
up
First
Avenue
and
the
ancillary
crowds
that
were
prevented
from
joining
them,
it
seemed
306
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/11/nyregion/court-bans-peace-march-in-manhattan.html
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- 145 -
that
something
in
between
was
probable.307
Even
though
people
extended
more
than
a
mile
from
the
rallys
main
stage,
The
New
York
Times
chose
to
undercount
the
turnout.
As
with
the
Matthew
Shepard
memorial
march,
the
police
once
again
deployed
horse-mounted
police
officers,
even
though
the
NYPD
had
a
record
of
using
horses
to
threaten,
intimidate,
and
injure
protesters.
Subway
trains
stopped
running
that
day,
in
what
some
activists
said
was
an
attempt
by
the
Bloomberg
administration
to
deliberately
thwart
a
larger
turnout
for
the
rally.
Leslie
Cagan,
one
of
the
principal
organizers
with
UFPJ,
told
The
New
York
Times,
We
think
this
is
part
of
something
unfolding
nationally,
a
serious
curtailing
of
civil
liberties
throughout
this
country.308
Some
activists,
who
volunteered
to
facilitate
different
roles
at
the
rallys
stage
that
day,
looked
up
to
see
NYPD
sharpshooters
on
the
rooftops
of
nearby
buildings.
Even
though
the
activists
were
committed
to
peace,
the
police
overreacted
in
their
response
at
every
turn.
So
many
rally
participants
experienced
problems
with
the
police
that
the
NYCLU
produced
a
comprehensive
report
two
years
later
to
document
the
violations
and
to
issue
recommendations.
The
report
collected
eyewitness
accounts
of
the
excessive
use
of
force
by
the
police,
police
abuse
of
authority,
discourtesy
by
the
police,
problems
with
police
pens,
police
misconduct
in
Times
Square,
and
police
mistreatment
of
arrested
protesters.
The
NYCLU
report
documented
that
the
NYPD
used
horse-mounted
police,
batons,
and
pepper
spray
to
control
the
crowds.
The
descriptions
of
the
use
of
pepper
spray
was
described
to
be
in
violation
of
NYPD
307
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/16/nyregion/threats-and-responses-overview-from-new-york-to-
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policy, according to the NYCLU report. During the rally, police even mistreated the press. 309 The NYCLU report concluded with five recommendations. Based on its analysis of the major problems with the NYPD, New York City was urged to : recognize the role of protest marches in the citys tradition ; ensure free access to protest events ; refrain from using force on demonstrators ; revise its policy of using pens ; and revamp its processing of people arrested for minor offense at political demonstrations. These were non-binding suggestions that the NYCLU was publicly making, and their suggestions joined activists views that there was an urgent need for deeper reforms at the NYPD. According to the NYCLU, Christine joined in the effort to call for City Council hearings into the failure of the protest organizers to receive a permit to march, 310 but there was no successful effort to implement the NYCLUs report recommendations. Christine was also a sponsor of a City Council resolution opposing President Bushs seemingly unilateral decision to lead the nation into war with Iraq.311 That was all Christine would do. Half-measures was all the anti-war movement could count on from Christine. As in the Matthew Shepard memorial march, the police use of force against participants in the February 15 anti-war rally triggered lawsuits. The NYCLU filed three lawsuits against the NYPD for various violations of citizens civil rights and civil liberties, including allegations of using horses with the intent to injure
78897140B6E9&Options=ID|Text|&Search=iraq
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protesters
and
using
barricades
to
essentially
detain,
or
hold,
innocent
protesters.312
Lawyers
at
the
NYCLU
also
filed
these
lawsuits
in
anticipation
of
the
large
demonstrations
expected
to
be
mounted
against
the
next
years
Republican
National
Convention,
and
the
lawyers
were
seeking
injunctions
against
the
use
of
some
of
the
NYPDs
controversial
tactics.
After
pleadings
and
hearings,
a
judge
issued
a
ruling
in
one
of
the
cases
that
declared
unconstitutional
the
NYPDs
demonstration-access
practices,
its
use
of
restrictive
pens,
and
its
blanket
searching
of
demonstrators.
But
because
the
police
department
kept
invoking
fears
of
terrorism,
the
judge
seemed
to
give
the
NYPD
authority
to
conduct
public
searches
without
probable
cause.
313
From
here
began
a
noticeable
judicial
weakening
of
the
Fourth
Amendment.
One
of
the
NYCLUs
lawyers,
Christopher
Dunn,
testified
at
least
twice
before
the
New
York
City
Council
about
legal
concerns
leading
up
to
the
2004
RNC.314
Advocates
for
the
protection
of
civil
rights
and
civil
liberties
were
searching
for
support
to
be
able
to
maintain
a
check
on
an
out-of-control
police
force
at
the
start
of
the
convention
protests.
But
the
City
Council
did
nothing.
As
Christines
career
continued
its
ascent
under
Mayor
Bloomberg,
she
played
no
visible
role
in
the
effort
to
protect
the
freedoms
of
assembly
and
of
speech.
Bill
Dobbs,
one
of
New
York
magazines
2001
top
101
gay
and
lesbian
New
Yorkers,
used
the
influence
of
the
media
accorded
to
him
to
put
pressure
on
the
NYPD
and
on
Mayor
Bloomberg
to
resolve
the
selection
of
the
terminal
site
for
the
planned
march
against
the
2004
RNC.
Mr.
Dobbs
was
a
spokesperson
for
UFPJ,
and
he
told
The
New
York
Times,
The
312
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/11/19/nyregion/police-face-lawsuits-over-tactics-at-big-protests.html
313
http://www.law.harvard.edu/students/orgs/crcl/vol40_2/dunn.pdf
314
http://www.law.harvard.edu/students/orgs/crcl/vol40_2/dunn.pdf
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- 148 -
rally
site
is
the
centerpiece
for
solving
this,
and
it's
the
mayor
who
needs
to
take
action.315
That
which
Christine
would
not
do
fell
upon
unelected,
civic-minded
activists,
like
Mr.
Dobbs,
to
do.
Christine
was
MIA.
To
the
unease
of
some
lawyers
at
the
NYCLU,
the
NYPD
eventually
used
brute
force
against
the
2004
RNC
protesters.
Police
began
to
use
large
orange
netting
to
form
movable
barricades
against
groups
of
activists,
and
The
New
York
Times
documented
that
the
use
of
the
nets
was
intended
to
divide
and
conquer
protesters.
Other
tactics
that
police
used
included
swinging
batons,
making
mass
arrests,
and
dragging
netting
across
a
street
as
a
barricade
to
capture
protesters
for
arrest.
Reportedly,
organizers
of
the
2004
RNC
deliberately
picked
New
York
as
the
host
city,
because
of
the
NYPDs
reputation
for
cracking
down
on
activists.
316
Police
temporarily
kept
hundreds
of
arrested
activists
in
inhumane
conditions
in
a
dilapidated
pier
on
the
Hudson
River.317
"When
the
mayor
bid
for
this
convention,
part
of
his
argument,
to
bring
either
convention
here,
was
that
New
York
City
had
the
only
police
force
to
deal
with
a
modern
anarchist
threat,"
Kevin
Sheekey,
a
close
adviser
to
Mayor
Bloomberg,
told
The
New
York
Times.
"And
obviously
the
Police
Department
has
done
that
astoundingly
well,"
he
added.
318
It
was
later
revealed
that,
in
the
time
leading
up
to
the
2004
RNC,
undercover
police
were
spying
on
protesters
across
the
nation,
in
Canada,
and
as
far
away
as
Europe.
David
Cohen,
the
former
high-ranking
CIA
intelligence
and
operations
official,
who
was
appointed
by
Mayor
Bloomberg
to
the
newly
created
post
of
NYPD
315
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/29/nyregion/protest-group-and-city-at-odds-over-a-march-past-the-
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- 149 -
Deputy
Commissioner
of
Intelligence,
was
described
as
the
architect
of
this
expanded
political
surveillance.319
The
NYPDs
need
for
control
over
activists
expressing
their
rights
to
freely
assemble
and
demonstrate
led
to
a
police
obsession
with
requiring
activists
to
seek
permission
from
the
police
before
large
demonstrations
could
take
place.
To
that
end,
the
spin
that
The
New
York
Times
gave
to
the
police
response
was
peppered
with
four
references
to
activists
lack
of
permits,
a
slight
indication
that,
in
the
view
of
the
journalists
at
The
New
York
Times,
a
permit
was
necessary
for
validation.
The
relative
peace
of
the
2004
RNC
protests
compared
with
the
Seattle
World
Economic
Forum
protest
showed
that
the
NYPD
were
successful,
a
sign
that
the
NYPD
could
make
use
of
intense
planning
and
a
well-disciplined
use
of
force
to
neutralize
protests.
Notwithstanding
the
police
use
of
force
and
other
violations
against
peaceful
and
innocent
protesters,
The
New
York
Times
gave
the
NYPD
a
pass.
The
2004
RNC
demonstrations
triggered
still
yet
more
litigation
because
of
violations
committed
by
police,
costing
the
city
millions
of
dollars,
tying
up
the
courts,
frustrating
activists,
and
impacting
the
1,806
people,
whom
the
police
had
arrested,
during
the
2004
RNC.
What
began
to
definitely
emerge
from
these
series
of
large
demonstrations
in
New
York
City
was
that
the
police
would
violate
their
own
protocol,
trample
on
the
civil
rights
and
civil
liberties
of
activists,
and
then
tie
up
the
court
system
with
litigation
to
sort
it
all
out
after
the
fact.
One
group
showing
foresight
in
New
York
City
was
the
NYCLU,
but
the
impact
of
its
precautionary
measures
was
limited,
because
the
police
still
used
tactics
to
restrict
movement
and
319
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/25/nyregion/25infiltrate.html
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access by protesters, for example, by using orange nets to trap protesters, and police were caught engaged in large-scale surveillance of activists, which was in violation of the Handschu Agreement. All these tactics pointed to a new NYPD strategy : violate the rules first, then deal with the courts later. Indeed, Mayor Bloomberg told The New York Times that if the NYPD engaged in the false arrests of innocent activists, then there was a way to deal with the false arrests after the fact. You cant arrest 1,800 people without having somebody in the middle who shouldnt have been arrested, Mayor Bloomberg said. Thats what the courts are there to find out afterwards. Even though police should only have probably cause to make arrests, Mayor Bloomberg seemed to be advocating throwing out the need for probable cause. To him, this essential constitutional standard, derived from the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution, was expendable. The NYCLU put out another massive report, documenting the NYPDs violations during the 2004 RNC, making still yet more recommendations for police reform.320 In one of the Harvard law reviews, NYCLU attorney Christopher Dunn recounted the then emerging pattern of the NYPDs attack on each of freedom of assembly, freedom of speech, and probable cause, among other civil rights and civil liberties : Since September 11, the NYPD has sought to impose an unprecedented level of control over protest activity , assigning huge numbers of officers to events and imposing substantial physical constraints on demonstrators, pervasive videotaping of protesters and blanket fingerprinting of those arrested and charged with the most minor of offenses, ... the need for advocacy has become more pressing.
320
http://www.nyclu.org/pdfs/rnc_report_083005.pdf
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The
attorneys
at
the
NYCLU
were
fulfilling
their
public
role
as
staff
of
a
robust
advocacy
group.
The
executive
branch
of
the
local
government,
inclusive
of
the
mayor
and
the
NYPD,
and
the
legislative
branch,
meaning
the
New
York
City
Council,
were
unresponsive
to
community
needs
for
urgent
action
to
protect
the
civil
rights
and
civil
liberties
of
activists.
The
only
branch
of
government
left
was
the
court
system,
and
the
NYCLU
had
a
lot
of
expertise
in
litigating
for
court
orders
and
rulings
for
these
legal
protections.
Of
course,
the
NYCLU
had
no
authority
on
its
own
--
it
relied
on
courts
to
issue
binding
orders
or
rulings.
But
what
happens
when
the
NYPD
openly
violates
the
third
branch
of
government
?
The
NYCLU
tried
exercising
its
goodwill
and
influence
in
other
ways,
especially
with
the
media
--
a
model
of
influence
that
we
all
saw
Christine
master
in
the
form
of
her
constant
media
placements.
When
it
was
revealed
that
the
NYPD
were
interrogating
activists
about
their
past
political
activities
and
recording
this
information
in
a
database,
the
NYCLU
turned
to
the
media
to
put
pressure
on
the
police
to
end
this
interrogation
practice.321
322
What
the
NYCLU
might
have
lacked
as
direct
authority
in
the
government,
it
made
up
by
having
great
influence,
especially
in
the
eyes
of
the
media.
The
use
of
the
media
to
help
shape
public
opinion
to
make
demands
for
reform
in
the
police
department
was
something
Christine
did
not
take
up,
not
like
she
once
did,
not
anymore.
One
could
understand
why
the
executive
branch
of
the
New
York
City
government
would
enable
the
police
to
continue
violating
the
civil
rights
and
civil
liberties
of
protesters.
Mayor
Bloomberg
was
doing
the
bidding
of
President
Bush.
321
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/04/10/nyregion/police-stop-collecting-data-on-protesters-politics.html
322
http://www.law.harvard.edu/students/orgs/crcl/vol40_2/dunn.pdf
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Although
Mayor
Bloomberg
had
formerly
been
a
self-described
Democrat
before
his
run
for
the
mayors
office
in
2001,
after
he
came
into
office,
it
became
clear
that
his
policies
were
to
the
right
of
the
progressive
sensibilities
in
New
York
City.
But
what
would
explain
the
response
of
the
City
Council,
and
of
Christine
herself
?
Remember,
the
City
Council
always
comprised
a
super-majority
of
Democrats.
And
what
role
would
Christine,
as
just
one
member
of
the
City
Council,
have
?
Why
would
progressives
pick
her
out
of
the
entire
council
for
special
scrutiny
?
During
her
time
at
AVP,
Christine
had
expressed
a
sensibility
and
an
empathy
for
victims
of
violent
attack.
Her
whole
career
could
be
traced
back
to
the
myth
that
she
was
an
advocate
for
justice.
How
many
times
would
the
NYPD
engage
in
well-documented
behavior
that
treated
innocent
activists
with
violence,
brutality,
and
infringement
of
their
rights
before
Christine
would
speak
up
to
advocate
for
justice
?
On
the
issue
of
police
brutality,
Christines
myth
was
finally
exposed
to
be
a
sham.
Her
silence
on
police
brutality
would
leave
her
vulnerable
to
criticism,
and
this
issue
would
come
back
to
haunt
her
career
again
and
again.
After
the
February
15
anti-war
rally,
progressives,
including
supporters
of
the
NYCLUs
efforts
to
keep
the
police
in
check,
pushed
the
City
Council
to
pass
two
resolutions.
These
resolutions
came
about
because
of
the
lingering
sting
of
the
anti- war
rallys
failure
to
receive
a
march
permit.
That
other
demonstrations
were
subsequently
denied
permits,
or
were
subjected
to
police
actions
to
subvert
demonstrations,
added
fuel
to
the
fire.323
The
first
resolution,
which
was
adopted
on
February
4,
2004,
called
upon
federal,
state,
and
local
officials,
including
city
323
http://www.scribd.com/doc/153745915/New-York-City-Council-2004-06-16-2004-RNC-Permit-
Committee-Report
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- 153 -
agencies such as the NYPD, to affirm and uphold the civil rights and civil liberties of citizens wishing to hold political demonstrations in New York City. Christine was one of its sponsors.324 The second resolution, passed on June 28, 2004, called on all government officials to uphold the First Amendment rights to freedom of speech, association, and assembly. Again, Christine was one of its sponsors.325 These nonbinding resolutions were all that the City Council could muster. There was no more that New York City residents, be they activists or not, could expect in terms of oversight and accountability with regards to the NYPDs record of violating the First and Fourth Amendments. While it is true that a resolution does lend the authority and influence of the City Councils support to the cause of protecting civil rights and civil liberties, the City Council was capable of doing more, and it didnt. In the hearings leading up to the adoption of the first resolution, it was clear that the NYPD was engaging in serious violations. A special report from the City Council Committee on Governmental Operations showed that, In the aftermath of the numerous confrontations between demonstrators and police at the February 15th rally the Civilian Complaint Review Board (CCRB) investigated 54 complaints containing 114 allegations of misconduct by police officers.326 Among the NYPD violations the report found was that the police departments Technical Assistance Response Unit provided to CCRB heavily edited videos in a deliberate effort to disguise the police officers who committed violations. Thus, many complaints were
324 http://legistar.council.nyc.gov/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=441286&GUID=8EC0E66A-5C51-4537-A8B2-
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dropped
where
the
officers
went
unidentified.
327
This
is
how
the
NYPD
operated
when
it
knew
its
actions
were
not
going
to
be
supervised
or
subject
to
any
accountability.
How
were
the
City
Council
resolutions
going
to
address
the
underlying
and
ongoing
violations
of
the
NYPD
?
But
Christines
career
was
on
a
rising
arc.
In
2006,
Christine
was
elected
as
the
new
speaker
of
the
City
Council.
Her
new
position
would
change
the
balance
of
power
within
the
City
Council,
and
she
would
reach
a
new
height
in
government
almost
diametrically
opposite
Mayor
Bloomberg.
Suddenly,
Christine
would
move
front
and
center
in
the
publics
efforts
to
rein
in
the
NYPD.
Her
role
in
watering
down
the
recommendations
of
the
Giuliani
police
brutality
commission
were
going
to
come
full
circle
now
that
she
would
assume
the
second-most
powerful
office
in
city
government,
with
unrivaled
opportunities
to
use
her
authority
and
influence
for
improving
oversight
and
accountability
at
the
NYPD.
In
her
first
year
as
speaker,
Christine
rapidly
became
the
public
face
of
City
Council
efforts
to
negotiate
with
the
NYPD
new
rules
regarding
the
permit
application
requirements
for
activists
wishing
to
hold
public
demonstrations
in
New
York
City.
The
NYPDs
proposed
rules
for
applying
for
protest
permits
were
initially
being
shaped
in
connection
with
meetings
among
the
police,
Bloomberg
administration
officials,
and
members
of
the
City
Council.
Those
meetings
led
to
easing
what
were
initially
harsh
restrictions
that
the
police
were
seeking.
Christine
was
quoted
in
The
New
York
Times
as
taking
issue
with
the
restrictions
being
sought
by
the
NYPD,
and
she
laid
out
an
expectation
that
the
City
Council
would
be
part
of
327
http://www.scribd.com/doc/153745915/New-York-City-Council-2004-06-16-2004-RNC-Permit-
Committee-Report
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the
solution.
We
look
forward
to
working
with
the
administration
to
develop
guidelines
that
address
the
need
for
the
permitting
of
large
groups,
while
also
respecting
New
Yorkers
right
to
gather
freely,
she
said.
A
few
months
later,
however,
the
NYPD
unilaterally
imposed
a
new
requirement
that
activists
seeking
to
demonstrate
in
New
York
City
would
need
to
apply
for
a
protest
permit
if
the
number
of
protesters
exceeded
50
people.
Advocates
for
protecting
civil
rights
and
civil
liberties
were
outraged
that
the
City
Council
played
no
role
in
promulgating
the
new
protest
permit
requirement.328
Two
years
before,
the
City
Council
had
passed
two
resolutions
calling
for
respecting
the
First
and
Fourth
Amendments,
but
the
City
Council
would
have
no
say
in
the
promulgation
of
the
NYPDs
new
protest
permit
requirement.
As
speaker
of
the
City
Council,
Christine
allowed
this
abdication
of
responsibility
to
occur.
Christine
had
willingly
subjugated
her
progressive
ideals
in
exchange
for
receiving
greater
political
power.
She
thought
that
appeasing
the
mayor
was
the
price
a
politician
paid
in
order
to
move
up
within
the
broken
political
system.
It
no
longer
mattered
to
Christine
that
police
used
outright
violence
against
activists.
She
cared
not
that
police
violated
court
orders
and
even
their
own
protocol.
And
it
seemed
to
not
even
register
that
the
NYPD
had
now
reached
a
point
where
police
officers
could
thwart
citizens
rights
to
petition
their
own
government
for
a
redress
of
grievances.
For
years,
police
argued
that
their
use
of
brutality
was
justified
by
threats
to
public
safety
caused
by
the
endless
war
on
terror.
Little
could
the
police
see
that
they
themselves
had
become
a
threat
to
public
safety
in
their
own
right.
328
http://nysun.com/new-york/nypd-imposes-new-rules-for-gaining-parade-permits/47847/
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- 156 -
One
year
after
the
new
NYPD
rule
took
effect,
an
LGBT
activist
group
called
Radical
Homosexual
Agenda
organized
a
series
of
protests
against
Christine
for
her
enabling
of
the
NYPD
protest
permit
rules.329
Activists
from
Radical
Homosexual
Agenda
infiltrated
her
2007
Pride
Week
kick-off
event
at
the
City
Council
chambers,
where
activists
dramatically
dropped
banners
from
the
upper
balcony
to
shame
Christine.
One
of
the
banners
showed
a
raised
clenched
fist
next
to
the
wording,
Stonewall
was
an
un-permitted
action
!
Another
banner
depicted
a
similar
clenched
fist
next
to
the
wording,
Free
assembly
got
you
where
you
are!330
It
was
not
lost
on
members
from
Radical
Homosexual
Agenda
that
Christines
sensibilities
had
radically
changed
since
the
Matthew
Shepard
memorial
march.
Members
of
Radical
Homosexual
Agenda
wrote
on
their
Web
site,
Back
then,
Quinn
was
outraged
by
the
cops'
behavior.
How
could
she
have
changed
so
much
since
then
that
she
has
colluded
with
them
to
make
this
kind
of
political
action
even
more
difficult
for
all
minorities
and
marginalized
political
groups?
331
Criticism
from
the
LGBT
community
no
longer
mattered
to
Christine.
Sure
it
stung,
but
she
had
become
the
City
Council
speaker
now.
She
didnt
need
instant
approval
anymore.
She
had
made
the
deals
she
needed
to
make
to
get
to
where
she
was.
She
had
battled
against
the
system
for
years
to
work
her
way
up
as
a
political
insider.
Shed
made
sacrifices,
had
to
endure
public
pressure
from
voters,
and
had
suffered
the
expectations
people
had
of
her
maintaining
herself
true
to
progressive
values.
Shed
come
so
far,
and
she
wasnt
going
to
let
outrage
from
her
own
LGBT
power
base
upset
her
plans
for
more
329
http://www.radicalhomosexualagenda.org/parade_wout_9-07.html
330
http://www.radicalhomosexualagenda.org/quinn_zap_cityhall07.html
331
http://www.radicalhomosexualagenda.org/quinn_zap_cityhall07.html
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 157 -
power. As we look into how it came to be that Christine made the insider deals to climb her way into a leadership position over the entire City Council, we will also see that she wasnt about to go backward.
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 158 -
Chapter
8
Before
Christine
was
selected
to
be
speaker
of
the
City
Council
in
2006,
she
was
appointed
to
be
the
chair
of
the
City
Council
Health
Committee
in
2002.
She
didnt
earn
this
post.
Rather,
she
made
a
deal
with
Speaker
Miller
in
order
to
be
given
the
leadership
position.
The
raw
political
machinations
that
went
into
her
appointment
to
lead
the
Health
Committee
served
as
a
precursor
for
the
backroom
deals
that
would
lead
to
her
speakership
only
four
years
later.
The
exchanging
and
trading
of
promises
and
favors
would
have
nothing
to
do
with
serving
the
best
interest
of
voters.
Instead,
the
accords
reached
by
insiders
would
only
further
the
self-interests
of
politicians,
party
bosses,
lobbyists,
and
political
operatives.
This
would
be
when
the
broken
political
system
would
tempt
Christine
to
turn
her
back
on
what
little
remained
of
each
of
her
activist
values,
her
progressive
political
ethics,
and
her
concern
for
her
constituency,
if
she
ever
really
had
any.
One
reason
society
stops
short
of
making
progress
at
the
legal
and
economic
root-level
of
issues
is
because
the
elements
that
distort
or
corrupt
our
representative
form
of
government
pre-screen
who
gets
to
move
up
into
positions
of
leadership
in
government.
Politicians,
who
are
predisposed
to
supporting
big
business
interests,
are
the
ones
who
advance
into
positions
of
leadership.
Reviewing
the
health
issues
facing
New
York
City
before
delving
into
the
machinations
of
Christines
climb
up
the
leadership
ranks
would
lay
the
groundwork
to
understand
the
dire
municipal
health
issues
that
Christine
would
face
as
speaker,
and
it
would
serve
to
later
confirm
Christines
predisposition
to
big
business
interests.
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 159 -
In
Christines
first
year
in
public
office,
she
was
busy
settling
into
the
City
Council
when
Eliot
Spitzer,
then
the
state
attorney
general,
launched
a
very
public
fight
to
save
the
Manhattan
Eye,
Ear,
and
Throat
Hospital,
known
as
MEETH,
from
closing.
MEETH
was
described
to
be
losing
about
$2
million
a
month,
and
MEETHs
board
of
directors
was
led,
at
the
time,
by
Lindsay
Herkness,
a
Wall
Street
executive,
and
he
wanted
to
sell
MEETH
for
pennies
on
the
dollar
to
Memorial
Sloan
Kettering
in
a
deal
that
would
allow
some
land
to
be
sold
off
to
a
luxury
housing
developer.
Even
though
MEETH
was
known
for
providing
cosmetic
surgery
in
the
fancy
Upper
East
Side
neighborhood
of
Manhattan,
doctors
and
healthcare
officials
were
worried
about
the
loss
of
the
underlying
healthcare
infrastructure,
which
included
17
state- of-the-art
operating
rooms
and
its
residency
program.
332
By
trying
to
save
MEETH,
Mr.
Spitzer
was
demonstrating
that
there
was
a
role
for
public
officials
to
act
as
advocates
for
public
health
when
New
York
Citys
and
New
York
States
health
commissioners
were
caught
sleeping
on
the
job.
Hospitals
were
bulky
buildings,
sitting
on
giant
footprints,
with
attractive
grandfathered
zoning
exceptions
or
variances.
Developers
salivated
at
the
opportunity
of
getting
their
hands
on
such
properties
for
speculative
real
estate
conversions.
Admittedly,
it
was
rare
that
a
state
attorney
general
would
launch
a
public
fight
to
save
a
hospital
from
closing,333
but
Mr.
Spitzer
was
a
rare
politician,
with
an
ethic
to
fight
executives
and
boards
of
directors
to
make
things
right.
Either
to
emulate
Mr.
Spitzer
or
to
burnish
her
image,
Christine
experimented
with
her
platform
as
chair
of
the
City
Council
Health
Committee
to
332
http://observer.com/1999/10/eliot-spitzer-stops-41-million-sale-of-deluxe-hospital/
333
http://www.nytimes.com/2000/01/15/nyregion/deal-struck-to-save-upper-east-side-hospital.html
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 160 -
add to her public myth by appearing to be an advocate for public health. But because Christine was adopting favor-trading in her political approach as an elected official, her record on health issues would be unprincipled and inconsistent. In the beginning, Christine followed the pattern of using her roots as an activist to fight against healthcare cuts. In her usual tradition, Christine would organize press conferences at the steps of City Hall to denounce any proposed elimination to healthcare budgets. Christines advocacy hinged on the presence of cameras. Since moving into City Council, Christine would develop what one source described as a predictable pattern of speaking to the media about an important issue in exchange for the sound bite, only to return to her office once the press conference was over, whereupon she would then allow the issue to yield to inertia. This cycle of playing to the cameras would be the primary reason Christine wouldnt produce results for the community, because the only results Christine was seeking was the photo op itself -- and not anything beyond that. The reason she was chair of the Health Committee in the first place, was because of her close working relationship with Speaker Miller and the favor trading that took place, not because she had a resolute commitment to transforming public health. Christine was going to run the Health Committee based on her own brand of political expediency. Early in the Bloomberg administration, the mayor reacted to the damage to the city budget caused by the September 11 attacks by proposing a huge property tax increase. This tax was enacted in order to avoid some very painful budget cuts caused by increased spending and a precipitous drop in taxes resulting from the economic shocks of the attacks. Among the cuts that Mayor Bloomberg was
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 161 -
proposing
were
$1.5
million
in
possible
cuts
to
public
libraries,
$2.5
million
in
proposed
cuts
to
fund
ambulance
services,
and
an
estimated
$885,000.00
in
funds
that
would
be
cut
from
week-end
meals
for
the
elderly.
334
Only
in
a
sinister
Republican
worldview
would
it
be
O.K.
to
propose
taking
away
meals
from
senior
citizens,
but
this
was
how
Mayor
Bloomberg
began
his
budget
negotiations.
He
would
go
on
to
target
unions
and
a
host
of
core
municipal
services,
including
healthcare.
One
way
that
the
billionaire
mayor
wanted
to
save
money
in
the
years
after
9/11
was
by
proposing
to
close
approximately
a
dozen
child
health
clinics
and
two
tuberculosis
clinics
in
order
to
eliminate
their
costs
from
the
2004
budget.
In
response,
Christine
used
press
conferences
to
denounce
the
healthcare
cuts.335
336
337
While
her
efforts
seemed
to
be
one
way
to
shape
public
opinion
against
the
mayors budget cuts, in reality, the mayor, Christine, and the other councilmembers were engaged in a twisted budget negotiation game of pretense. The usual script goes like this : the mayor proposes cuts, the Council objects, and then the mayor restores some but not all of the cuts in a final deal, is how The New York Times described the budget cuts game. 338 All of the press conferences in opposition to the mayors draconian budget cuts were farcical, because it was usually expected that the mayors budget cuts would generally be reversed. The New York Times added that many councilmembers use the restoration of budget items as a campaign tool, which the councilmembers could use to demonstrate to their voters their successful
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 162 -
record of saving services.339 Municipal politicians were engaged in a charade, and the devastating impact was that community groups, activists, and voters were expending resources to respond to these deceptive budget cuts. Incumbent politicians, who were engaged in this sick and twisted budget game, were using the community as a pawn to look good in the media for the next election cycle. The impact of elected officials manipulating core human rights, such as access to healthcare, would undermine the ability of some community healthcare facilities to properly plan for their long-term budgets. The September 11 attacks opened up huge budget deficits in New York City, New York State, and the U.S. federal government. Republican control in New York City, Albany, and Washington was resulting in a uniform attack on the social safety net to finance the global war on terror plus the new Republican agenda that favored deregulation of commerce. In Washington, President Bush enacted a sweeping cut in marginal tax rates in the summer before the September 11 attacks, setting the stage for irresponsible budget deficits once the president wrongly led the nation into war.340 The 2001 federal income tax cuts would disproportionately benefit the highest income earners and led, over the next decade, to a concentration of wealth for the very rich. In Albany, the Republican governor was about to launch into a scorched earth campaign against hospitals. And in New York City, where the post- 9/11 economic collapse was most severe, Mayor Bloombergs budgets were forced to include drastic measures, in spite of his sensibility for fiscal conservatism. The
339
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/06/25/nyregion/likely-accord-on-city-budget-averts-cuts.html
340
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economic_Growth_and_Tax_Relief_Reconciliation_Act_of_2001
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 163 -
mayor
hiked
property
taxes
in
2002,
341
and
he
approved
a
slight,
temporary
surcharge
on
high
income
earners
in
2003.
342
While
Mayor
Bloombergs
actions
to
raise
taxes
was
admirable,
when
compared
to
the
irresponsible
fiscal
policies
in
Washington,
Mayor
Bloomberg
still
kept
proposing
ridiculous
cuts
to
the
social
safety
net.
And
the
heaviest
relative
tax
burden
was
borne
by
everybody
but
the
wealthy.
For
example,
the
impact
of
the
property
tax
hike
on
landlords
trickled
down
to
tenants.
To
further
protect
the
wealthiest
New
York
City
residents
from
having
to
pay
their
fair
share,
Mayor
Bloomberg
relied
on
financial
aid
from
New
York
State
and
the
federal
government
to
help
patch
the
city
budget.343
Those
with
the
most
made
little
to
no
sacrifices
for
the
many
with
the
least.
New
Yorkers
would
live
under
constant
mayoral
threats
to
close
firehouses,
to
layoff
teachers,
and
to
attack
municipal
unions
--
so
much
so
that
these
threats
became
an
annual
budgetary
game
transparent
to
the
media,
but
not
transparent
enough
to
voters
to
put
an
end
to
it.
Mayor
Bloomberg
would
engage
in
this
budgetary
game
to
distract
the
public
from
his
larger
agenda
for
mayoral
control
over
the
school
system,
his
outsourcing
of
government
technology
contracts,
and
his
plans
to
bust
through
zoning
across
New
York
City.
This
larger
agenda
would
create
large
transfers
of
wealth
from
the
public
sector
to
the
private
sector
of
the
economy.
His
plan
for
gentrification,
for
example,
would
intentionally
provide
tax
breaks
and
other
economic
incentives
to
wealth
landlords,
and
these
plans
would
accelerate
the
misplacement
of
low
income
and
middle
class
New
Yorkers
out
of
Manhattan
and
341
http://articles.nydailynews.com/2002-11-24/news/18202256_1_property-tax-tax-hike-mayor-bloomberg
342
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/06/25/nyregion/likely-accord-on-city-budget-averts-cuts.html
343
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/06/25/nyregion/likely-accord-on-city-budget-averts-cuts.html
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 164 -
other
valuable
areas
of
New
York
City.
Under
the
conditions
of
unstable
budgets
and
politically
expedient
budgetary
games,
Christine
would
serve
as
chair
of
the
City
Council
Health
Committee
for
the
first
four
years
of
the
Bloomberg
administration.
During
this
time,
Gov.
Pataki
appointed
a
Wall
Street
insider,
Stephen
Berger,
to
oversee
a
state
panel
charged
with
the
task
of
making
cuts
to
Medicaid.344
Everywhere
that
Republicans
were
in
control,
they
were
launching
efforts
to
make
cuts
to
programs
and
services
that
benefited
the
most
in
need
:
children,
the
elderly,
the
infirm,
and
the
most
frail.
Here
was
Christines
opportunity
to
do
something
about
it.
She
came
into
power
as
part
of
the
LGBT
communitys
response
to
the
AIDS
pandemic.
One
of
Christines
mandates
was
to
be
an
advocate
for
healthcare
and
to
fight
against
discrimination,
including
and
especially
to
defend
the
provision
of
healthcare
for
the
voiceless,
but
Christine
never
responded
to
the
Berger
Commissions
plans
to
make
large
cuts
to
Medicaid.
In
the
early
years
during
the
AIDS
pandemic
in
New
York
City,
the
issue
of
access
to
full-service
hospital
care
became
critical
to
the
people
with
AIDS.
At
that
time,
there
was
no
effective
treatment
for
immune
deficiency.
People
diagnosed
with
cases
of
AIDS-related
complex
faced
death.
When
people
became
gravely
ill
with
uncontrollable
opportunistic
infections,
the
only
known
form
of
treatment
was
hospitalization
or,
ultimately,
some
form
of
hospice-like
care.
But
New
York
City
had
been
shrinking
the
sizes
of
hospitals
in
the
time
leading
up
to
the
AIDS
pandemic.
Consequently,
the
hospital
infrastructure
was
woefully
inadequate
once
hundreds
of
people
with
AIDS
began
to
flood
the
hospital
system
during
the
early
1980s.
Not
344
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/19/nyregion/19hospital.html
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 165 -
until
1987
did
New
York
City
finally
begin
to
examine
how
hospitals
could
be
fully
utilized
to
treat
people
with
AIDS.
St.
Clares
Hospital
near
Midtown
Manhattan
would
be
designated
to
only
treat
AIDS
patients345
in
a
controversial
plan
that
seemed
like
healthcare
officials
were
trying
to
segregate
care.346
Placing
people
with
AIDS
into
an
isolated
facility
was
a
source
of
great
controversy
to
the
LGBT
community.
The
1980s
saw
a
rise
of
AIDS
phobia
and
discrimination,
and
putting
people
with
AIDS
into
what
seemed
like
isolation
was
construed
to
be
an
attempt
at
creating
a
leper-like
colony
for
AIDS
patients.
City
health
officials
were
compromising
the
equality
and
dignity
of
people
with
AIDS,
and
the
communitys
response
was
to
promote
politicians,
like
Christine,
to
make
sure
that
social
injustice
in
the
provision
of
healthcare
never
happened
again.
As
part
of
the
healthcare
response
to
AIDS,
city
health
officials
finally
took
action
to
expand
the
number
of
hospital
beds
to
accommodate
the
influx
people
with
of
AIDS,347
348
but
expand
was
a
relative
term,
since
what
health
officials
did
was
decrease
the
number
of
hospital
beds
that
were
being
decommissioned.
Moreover,
the
criticism
of
segregating
AIDS
patients
into
one
singular
facility
didnt
stop
Andrew
Cuomo,
who
was
son
of
Gov.
Mario
Cuomo,
from
undertaking
in
1989
an
effort
to
build
an
AIDS-only
health
center
in
the
Bronx
that
was
intended
to
provide
targeted
healthcare
services
to
AIDS
patients
rather
than
have
people
with
AIDS
take
up
space
in
full-service
hospitals.349
Again,
the
appearance
of
segregation
could
not
be
overlooked.
More
cases
of
social
injustice
took
place
in
that
time.
For
345
http://www.nytimes.com/1987/05/28/nyregion/new-york-plans-to-turn-hospital-into-aids-center.html
346
http://www.nytimes.com/1987/05/30/nyregion/st-clare-s-is-in-turmoil-over-state-s-aids-plan.html
347
http://www.nytimes.com/1987/12/18/nyregion/new-york-adds-hospital-beds-to-treat-aids.html
348
http://www.nytimes.com/1987/12/25/us/hospital-bed-shortage-tied-to-type-of-aids-cases.html
349
http://www.nytimes.com/1989/03/16/nyregion/center-for-66-aids-patients-to-be-built-in-the-bronx.html
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 166 -
example,
in
1990,
NYU
Medical
Center
was
accused
of
keeping
two
men
with
AIDS
in
the
corridors
of
the
hospital
without
finding
them
hospital
rooms
for
accommodation.350
Instances
of
discrimination
like
these
were
Sen.
Duanes
and
Christines
shared
raison
dtre.
Treating
people
differently
based
on
their
identity
rather
than
on
the
seriousness
of
their
illnesses
was
the
sort
of
discrimination
that
Christine
was
expected
to
fight.
Before
the
economic
crisis
caused
by
the
September
11
attacks,
the
last
time
New
York
City
faced
dire
budgetary
constraints
was
during
the
1970s,
when
the
city
was
facing
financial
ruin.
Back
then,
the
city
was
suffering
from
a
collapse
of
each
of
its
social
order,
its
budgetary
funding,
and
its
own
infrastructure.
In
that
economic
contraction,
the
city
closed
many
hospitals
and
reduced
the
services
of
remaining
hospitals.
Many
hospital
closings,
like
the
controversial
closing
of
Sydenham
Hospital
in
Harlem,
seemed
to
take
place
in
low-income
communities,351
and
the
austerity
cuts
being
demanded
by
the
citys
banking
and
big
business
interests
were
unfairly
targeting
communities
that
had
been
traditionally
underserved.352
Christine
became
the
chair
of
the
City
Council
Health
Committee
about
two
decades,
more
or
less,
after
the
worst
of
the
1970s
financial
crisis
and
after
the
first
reported
AIDS
cases.
When
Christine
came
into
public
office,
she
did
so
under
the
banner
of
an
advocate,
who
would
fight
on
behalf
of
those
less
fortunate.
She
was
charged
with
taking
up
the
mantle
of
advocacy
left
by
Sen.
Duane.
She
promised
350
http://www.nytimes.com/1990/12/21/nyregion/hospital-accused-of-keeping-2-aids-patients-in-
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 167 -
voters
that
she
brought
to
her
official
capacity
sensibilities
about
what
it
meant
to
be
treated
differently
based
on
her
identity
as
a
woman
and
as
a
lesbian.
As
a
result
of
these
promises,
voters
elected
Christine
into
government.
She
was
now
part
of
the
political
inside.
She
and
other
public
officials,
their
appointees,
and
government
bureaucrats
would
decide
changes
to
public
healthcare
policy.
Following
9/11,
New
York
City
and
New
York
State
once
again
faced
budget
cuts
in
billions
of
dollars,
and
given
the
predictable
pattern
of
how
past
austerity
cuts
had
targeted
people
of
color
and
those
with
lesser
financial
means,
how
would
Christine
respond
to
government
efforts
to
make
wholesale
healthcare
cuts
?
After
enough
community
resources
had
been
deployed
as
part
of
the
farcical
budget
game,
the
two
tuberculosis
clinics
that
had
been
targeted
by
Mayor
Bloomberg
for
closure
in
the
2004
city
budget
were
saved
from
elimination
nine
months
into
the
fiscal
year.
The
intention
of
closing
the
two
TB
clinics
was
to
save
$279,000.00353
out
of
a
budget
of
over
$47
billion.354
But
the
two
TB
clinics
were
saved
only
for
the
duration
of
that
fiscal
year,
and,
three
months
later,
once
the
next
fiscal
year
would
begin,
Christine
would
have
to
fight
for
those
clinics
again,
even
though
the
city
was
at
that
time
experiencing
a
TB
rate
higher
than
the
national
average.
355
But
the
conditioning
was
already
established
:
the
safety
net
underpinning
public
health
in
New
York
City
was
perpetually
facing
budget
cuts,
even
though
some
of
these
important
services
cost
such
a
small
fraction
of
the
citys
budget.
At
the
same
time
that
the
city
was
facing
an
elevated
TB
rate,
infant
353
http://articles.nydailynews.com/2004-03-26/local/18259006_1_cuts-in-other-city-budget-city-services
354
http://comptroller.nyc.gov/wp-content/uploads/documents/cafr2004.pdf
355
http://articles.nydailynews.com/2004-03-26/local/18259006_1_cuts-in-other-city-budget-city-services
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 168 -
mortality
jumped
in
the
Bronx
by
an
astonishing
rate
of
12.8%.356
Against
this
backdrop,
Gov.
Patakis
Working
Group
on
Health
Care,
headed
by
the
Wall
Street
banker
Stephen
Berger,
announced
that
the
state
would
aim
higher
in
its
quest
to
cut
healthcare
:
it
would
begin
to
close
entire
hospitals.357
To
propagandize
the
hospital
closings,
the
working
group
was
renamed
to
Health
Care
Facilities
in
the
21st
Century.358
Of
all
people,
why
was
Mr.
Berger
selected
by
Gov.
Pataki
to
lead
a
commission
charged
with
closing
New
York
hospitals
?
During
the
aftermath
of
the
1970s
fiscal
crisis
that
gripped
New
York
City,
Mr.
Berger
served
as
the
executive
director
of
the
New
York
State
Emergency
Financial
Control
Board
for
the
city.359
360
To
carry
out
the
severe
austerity
cuts
demanded
by
Wall
Street
bankers
and
big
business
interests,
Mr.
Berger,
among
other
actions,
slashed
the
subsidies
that
New
York
City
paid
to
the
Metropolitan
Transportation
Authority.
One
consequence
of
Mr.
Bergers
cuts
to
the
MTA
has
been
the
dramatic
and
relentless
increases
in
subway
and
bus
fares
endured
by
users
of
the
citys
mass
transit
system.
Mr.
Berger
wanted
to
wreck
havoc
on
healthcare
in
much
the
same
way.
A
calculating
political
insider,
Mr.
Berger
had
also
served
as
the
executive
director
of
the
Port
Authority
;
as
chairman
of
a
private
equity
firm,
Odyssey
Investment
Partners,
LLC
;
361
and
as
a
political
campaign
consultant
for
each
of
Senate
candidate
Richard
Ottinger,
Representative
Jonathan
Bingham,
and
Representative
and
one-time
Republican
birth-weight
357
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/19/nyregion/19hospital.html
358
http://www.nysun.com/new-york/hospitals-bankruptcy-filing-precedes-report/43695/
359
Carroll,
Maurice.
Control
Board
Chief;
Stephen
Berger.
The
New
York
Times
09
March
1976:
47.
Print.
360
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/05/11/nyregion/fyi-633992.html
361
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/04/01/nyregion/bloomberg-administration-port-authority-get-closer- possible-land-swap-deal.html
356 http://articles.nydailynews.com/2004-08-31/local/18271347_1_infant-mortality-rate-rate-last-year-low-
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 169 -
mayoral candidate Herman Badillo.362 363 During Mr. Bergers supervision of the citys budget during the financial crisis of the 1970s, he was accused of trying to destroy the citys Health and Hospitals Corporation, which runs the citys public hospitals. His management style was alternatively described as sarcastic, plaintive, caustic, philosophical and hortatory. 364 Since Mr. Berger had proven himself under Gov. Hugh Carey to be predisposed to be a hatchetman365 for hire, Mr. Berger could be counted on to carry out ruthless budget cuts with a sense of moral and ethical impunity. Therefore, he was a natural pick for Gov. Pataki to lead the charge to indiscriminately close hospitals. Mr. Berger was comfortable reviving the role of the bad cop to Gov. Patakis good cop in the 2000s, an arrangement he had successfully played opposite Gov. Carey during the 1970s fiscal crisis. Mr. Bergers serial roles within government were provided to him after he had proved himself reliable to political insiders because of his predisposition to carrying out wholesale budget cuts without remorse. Since Mr. Berger only served in appointed capacities, he was never directly accountable to voters, even though he would ravage the MTAs finances, and this would lead to commuters having to largely pay for the agencys costs. And politicians, who were keen to insulate themselves from unpopular budget cuts, sought Mr. Berger as a reliable hatchetman by proxy. His inclination to cut city subsidies to public transportation and public hospitals was useful to a certain political agenda that wanted to attack the social
362 Carroll, Maurice. Control Board Chief; Stephen Berger. The New York Times 09 March 1976: 47. Print. 363 http://www.nytimes.com/2001/07/27/nyregion/in-battle-for-mayor-badillo-to-enlist-guerrillas.html 364 Weisman, Steven R. Carey's Tough Blocking-Back at City Hall The New York Times 08 February 1977: 33.
Print. 365 Clines, Francis X. "About New York; Saga of Stephen Berger: Politics to Academia." The New York Times 08 October 1977: 39. Print.
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 170 -
safety net. As Mr. Berger was launching into his latest effort to destroy New York hospitals, he would test Christines myth as an advocate in the realm of public health. Mr. Bergers scorched earth campaign against hospitals would also converge with Christines impending leadership maneuvering. In the time leading up to the recommendations in the Berger Commission Report, as the hit list of hospitals that would be targeted for closure by the Berger Commission came to be known, Christine was focused on public health issues for New York City. She championed through the City Council a controversial bill proposed by Mayor Bloomberg to ban cigarette smoking.366 Christine mounted her own campaign to rid schools of junk food.367 She criticized the Health and Hospitals Corporation for not providing information to patients about a prescription drug discounts program.368 And as chair of the Health Committee, Christine was critical of the Bloomberg administrations ambitious plans to make advances in public health in the face of constant budget cuts.369 But Christine was cautious to only delve into safe issues, or issues from which she could score political points with the powerful billionaire mayor. Where before Christine had been willing to challenge the political system as an activist, now that she was an insider, she was selective about which issues to really embrace. For example, since Christine was already waging a public fight against the mayors plan for the West Side Stadium, she was unwilling to challenge the mayors divisive plan to ban cigarette smoking. Even
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 171 -
though
the
cigarette
ban
seemed
like
an
attempt
at
imposing
a
moralizing,
socially- engineered
construct
on
New
Yorkers,
Christine
still
pushed
the
mayors
plan
through
the
City
Council,
giving
the
mayor
an
important
public
victory.
But
there
were
other
serious
public
health
challenges,
including
having
to
deal
with
outbreaks
of
SARS,
the
West
Nile
virus,
and
anthrax
agents
and
other
bioterrorism
threats
in
a
post-9/11
world.370
Why
was
Christine
prioritizing
the
elimination
of
cigarette
smoking
in
restaurants
and
lounges
and
junk
food
in
schools,
but
not
protecting
hospital
infrastructure
for
possible
future
outbreaks
of
new
or
existing
diseases
?
Before
Christines
campaign
for
a
higher
leadership
post
in
the
City
Council
could
be
fully
understood,
and
before
the
Berger
Commission
would
carry
out
its
hospital
closings,
Christines
relationship
with
Speaker
Miller
needs
to
be
reviewed.
The
City
Council
speaker
for
Mayor
Bloombergs
first
term
in
office
was
Gifford
Miller.
It
was
to
his
wagon
which
Christine
had
hitched
her
career.
Speaker
Miller
had
helped
Christine
provide
taxpayer
money
to
seed
the
High
Line
park
in
her
council
district,
and
he
had
also
rewarded
Christine
with
a
leadership
position
in
exchange
for
her
help
in
his
own
speakership
campaign.
Right
after
the
2001
election,
Speaker
Miller
faced
a
dilemma
:
because
of
a
technicality
in
the
term
limits
law,
he
was
going
to
have
to
leave
public
office
after
only
a
series
of
three
partial,
consecutive
terms
in
office
that
would
not
add
up
to
eight
years.371
One
of
Speaker
Millers
major
legislative
priorities
was
to
change
the
term
limits
law
so
that
the
limit
of
consecutive
terms
for
councilmembers
would
not
be
two
terms
of
uneven
years,
but
instead
be
changed
to
two
full
terms
of
8
years.
Terms
of
uneven
years
370
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/04/30/nyregion/health-chief-is-a-doctor-comfortable-with-orders.html
371
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gifford_Miller
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 172 -
were
due
to
circumstances
that
would
sometimes
create
two-year
terms
for
some
councilmembers,
a
situation
that
Speaker
Miller
himself
was
facing,
372
or
partial
terms
caused
by
the
early
exit
of
incumbents.
The
entire
City
Council
voted
on
Speaker
Millers
measure
to
extend
term
limits
to
cure
this
inconsistency,
and
Christine
voted
to
approve
Speaker
Millers
amendment.
Mayor
Bloomberg
vetoed
the
bill,
but
his
veto
was
over-ridden
by
the
City
Council.373
With
the
exception
of
the
West
Side
Stadium,
Christine
had
more
or
less
largely
stayed
on
Mayor
Bloombergs
good
side,
the
farcical
budget
get
notwithstanding,
but
Speaker
Miller
believed
that
the
City
Council
should
serve
as
a
check
on
the
mayors
office.
One
measure
of
Speaker
Millers
willingness
to
challenge
the
mayors
powers
was
that
Speaker
Miller
led
the
City
Council
to
override
38
of
the
mayors
vetoes
during
his
speakership.374
Perhaps
because
the
mayors
powers
were
being
kept
in
check
by
Speaker
Miller,
Mayor
Bloomberg
would
not
support
Speaker
Millers
2002
efforts
to
amend
the
term
limits
law.
At
a
time
of
excessive
cynicism
about
so
many
of
our
institutions,
I
believe
that
elected
officials
should
seek
at
every
opportunity
to
maintain
and
enhance
the
trust
of
the
citizens,
Mayor
Bloomberg
wrote
in
his
official
veto
statement,
reminiscent
of
our
previous
term
limits
hero,
Councilmember
Fiala.
This
bill
would
send
an
unfortunate
message
about
the
impact
and
importance
of
their
votes
and
set
a
perilous
precedent
for
future
leaders
of
this
city,
Mayor
Bloomberg
wrote,
adding,
I
believe
it
is
simply
inappropriate
for
those
members
to
seek
to
change
those
372
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/07/25/nyregion/city-council-passes-measure-on-term-limits-
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 173 -
rules in a manner that may work to their own advantage.375 After a Brooklyn State Supreme Court judge threw out the City Council term limits amendment, Speaker Miller appealed the court ruling, and he was joined by Mayor Bloomberg, even though the mayor had vetoed the term limits amendment.376 At first blush, Mayor Bloombergs opposition to amending the term limits law seemed to rest on principle, but there was more to it than just that. Upon Mr. Millers selection as speaker, he instantly became the second most powerful elected official in New York City. This was a very visible platform from which Speaker Miller could launch a mayoral campaign in the next election cycle to challenge Mayor Bloomberg. Indeed, the Gotham Gazette portrayed Speaker Millers leadership coup as immediately transforming him into one of a handful of top tier Democratic candidates for the 2005 mayoral campaign.377 The need to amend the term limits law was crucial for Speaker Miller, if he wanted to use the powers of his office and incumbency privilege to his advantage to mount a mayoral campaign in 2005. The political realities of Speaker Millers motivations were all the more present to Mayor Bloomberg, who, in turn, was in a position to use his own incumbency to thwart Speaker Millers plans. In New York City, it was possible for politicians to survey the landscape for possible competitors for future office and to take peremptory action against them. Speaker Miller needed the two year extension to his political career that his amendment to the term limits law would give him, because it would allow
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 174 -
Speaker
Miller
to
stay
in
office
long
enough
to
put
him
in
a
powerful
position
from
which
he
could
challenge
Mayor
Bloomberg
for
the
mayoralty
in
the
2005
election.
Christine
found
herself
caught
between
the
powerful
mayor
on
one
side,
and
her
very
influential
political
ally,
Speaker
Miller,
on
the
other,
and
once
again
Christine
saw
how
term
limits
could
be
changed
not
through
referenda,
but
through
the
City
Council.
The
New
York
LGBT
media
supported
Speaker
Millers
efforts
to
amend
the
term
limits
law,
because
the
amendment
would
have
a
positive
effect
on
the
LGBT
caucus
in
City
Council,
which,
at
that
time,
included
Christine,
Philip
Reed,
and
Margarita
Lopez.378
Even
though
Christine
was
unencumbered
by
the
term
limits
law,
yet,
Ethan
Geto
a
powerful
gay
rights
activists
turn
lobbyist
underscored
Christines
ability
to
address
health
issues
and
other
pressing
social
service
issues
confronting
LGBT
persons
in
New
York
City
as
a
partial
rationale
for
advocating
for
the
term
limits
amendment.
Mr.
Geto
was
a
powerful
supporter
of
Speaker
Miller.
Mr.
Geto
was
among
the
top
101
influential
gay
and
lesbian
New
Yorkers
on
New
York
magazines
list
of
the
year
prior,
and,
given
his
platform,
it
was
Mr.
Getos
duty
to
provide
political
cover
in
the
media379
for
Christines
closest
political
ally,
Speaker
Miller,
and
the
term
limits
law
amendment.
As
a
lobbyist,
Mr.
Geto
was
also
acting
out
of
self-interest
;
if
he
could
provide
favors
to
Speaker
Miller
and
to
Christine,
Mr.
Geto
would
be
able
to
come
back
and
ask
for
favors
in
return,
in
accordance
with
Christines
political
philosophy
of
favor
trading.
Eventually,
the
City
Council
speakers
effort
to
change
term
limits
survived
litigation,380
and
Christine
378
http://204.2.109.187/gcn214/councilgay.html
379
http://observer.com/2002/06/giffs-gamble-plans-to-revoke-termlimit-law/
380
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/05/20/nyregion/court-says-council-s-speaker-and-5-others-may-run-
again.html
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 175 -
saw
how
Speaker
Miller,
her
powerful
political
ally,
succeeded
in
bending
the
system
in
his
favor.
She
saw
how
Speaker
Millers
efforts
were
only
meant
to
further
his
own
career
prospects
in
politics
for
the
2005
election
cycle.
Because
Speaker
Miller
won
the
right
to
amend
the
term
limits
law,
he
went
on
to
run
for
reelection
to
the
City
Council
in
the
2003
election
cycle,
keeping
him
in
office
as
the
speaker
for
the
2005
election
year
cycle.
In
the
2005
Gay
Pride
Parade,
Speaker
Miller
marched
alongside
Christine
in
a
public
showing
of
their
close
political
partnership.
Their
unity
was
an
effort
by
Christine
to
offer
to
Speaker
Miller
the
goodwill
of
the
LGBT
community,381
the
same
way
Christine
had
used
the
Gay
Pride
Parade
as
a
way
to
fluff
the
political
campaigns
of
Sen.
Hillary
Clinton
and
Mr.
Hevesi,
the
failed
2001
Democratic
mayoral
candidate.
Meanwhile,
Christine
maintained
her
press
appearances
leading
up
to
the
2005
election.
She
raised
almost
$275,000.00
in
campaign
donations
in
that
election
cycle.
Christine
accepted
$1,500.00
from
Gary
Barnett,
a
real
estate
developer
from
the
Intel
and
Extell
groups,
the
latter
which
would
go
on
to
sponsor
the
luxury
housing
development
known
as
One57
near
Central
Park
South.
His
second
wife,
Ayala
Barnett,
contributed
$2,750.00
to
Christines
2005
campaign
account.
Douglas
Durst,
from
the
powerful
real
estate
family,
contributed
$1,500.00.
Raizy
Haas
and
Hepzi
Schechter
each
contributed
$1,000.00
to
Christines
campaign
account.
At
the
time,
they
disclosed
that
they
worked
for
the
same
real
estate
firm
as
Mr.
Barnett.
The
Meilman
family,
which
stood
to
make
tens
of
millions
of
dollars,
if
not
more,
from
inflated
real
estate
values
tied
to
the
High
Line
park,
made
$7,000.00
in
readily
381
http://gaycitynews.com/gcn_426/millerwins.html
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
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identifiable
contributions
to
Christines
campaign
account.
Steven
Rubenstein,
the
publicist
who
works
for
his
master
PR
spin
doctor
father,
Howard
Rubenstein,
gave
$2,000.00.
The
publicist,
campaign
consultant,
and
lobbyist
George
Arzt
gave
$750.00
;
the
lobbyist
James
Capalino
gave
$1,500.00
;
Richard
Davis,
the
former
member
of
the
Watergate
Special
Prosecutor
Force,
gave
$1,000.00
;
and
Brad
Hoylman,
an
attorney
for
the
Partnership
for
New
York
City,
donated
$250.00.
Mr.
Arzt
is
a
prolific
campaign
contributor
:
over
the
course
of
many
election
cycles,
Mr.
Arzt
has
donated
over
$90,000.00
to
New
York
City
municipal
candidates
in
an
attempt
to
buy
access
for
himself
and
his
political
and
public
relations
clients.382
Various
other
lobbyists,
real
estate
developers,
big
business
insiders,
and
hospital
executives
donated
large
sums
of
money
to
Christine
in
the
time
leading
up
to
her
campaign
for
the
speakership.
At
the
same
time,
a
political
action
committee
known
as
Affordable
Housing
PAC
Ltd.
made
a
contribution
of
$500.00,
and
Charles
King,
the
chief
executive
officer
of
the
AIDS
services
organization
Housing
Works,
donated
$250.00
to
Christines
account.383
How
did
it
come
to
be
that
real
estate
contributions
would
take
such
a
central
role
in
Christines
fundraising,
especially
in
2004
and
2005,
in
the
run
up
to
her
selection
of
City
Council
speaker
to
replace
Gifford
Miller
?
She
was
only
the
chair
of
the
Health
Committee,
yet
she
was
receiving
outsized
contributions
from
real
estate
interests
and
lobbyists.
One
root
of
the
influence
of
real
estate
money
can
be
traced
back
to
2002,
when
Mr.
Miller
was
selected
to
be
speaker.
Part
of
his
brokered
deal
382
http://ny-popculture-politics.blogspot.com/2013/08/George-Arzt-The-90500-Campaign-Finance-Board-
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with the Queens party boss, Tom Manton, called for the appointment of Melinda Katz to be the chair of the City Council Land Use Committee.384 Through this appointment, Mr. Manton pushed forward a councilmember that could be counted on to support zone-busting real estate deals. The term limits amendment passed by Speaker Miller kept him in City Council until the end of 2005, at which point he ran for mayor in that election, as was widely expected. He ended up losing in the Democratic primary for, among other reasons, having been exposed for using City Council resources to further his political campaign.385 But long before Speaker Millers loss, real estate donors were trying to fund the next wave of leaders, who would be predisposed to supporting their development projects. To that end, voters saw that Ms. Katz had raised over $700,000.00 in her campaign account, much of it from real estate interests and lobbyists, with many names identical to Christines own campaign contributors.386 When the former deputy mayor under Mayor Bloomberg once bragged about Mayor Bloombergs record of 78-0 in getting zone- busting projects pushed through the City Council, it wasnt a measure of Mayor Bloombergs success but rather a reflection of how much developers had individually compromised key members in the City Council through campaign donations. As was observed with Mr. Millers speakership selection, political insiders traded favors to determine which councilmember would be chosen to be the City
384 http://www.nytimes.com/2002/01/16/nyregion/council-speaker-plans-to-cut-stipends-for-himself-and-
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Council
speaker.
These
backroom
deals
got
made
at
the
county
boss
level,
and,
since
1986,
it
appeared
that
the
Queens
and
Bronx
county
bosses
had
been
the
most
disciplined
about
acting
in
concert
to
select
the
speaker
in
exchange
for
choice
political
appointments
to
the
most
powerful
City
Council
committees.
Because
of
lockstep
actions
by
Queens
and
Bronx
county
bosses,
the
largest
borough
in
New
York
City,
Brooklyn,
has
essentially
been
locked
out
of
having
any
say
in
the
City
Council
speakerships
race
since
1986,
the
year
Speaker
Vallone
took
over
the
leadership
post
from
Brooklyn
councilmember
Thomas
Cuite,
who
had,
in
turn,
held
the
leadership
post
for
almost
two
decades.387
But
Christine
broke
the
stranglehold
by
Queens
and
County
bosses
by
turning
to
Brooklyn
political
boss
Vito
Lopez
for
help
to
secure
her
speakership.
388
These
backroom
deals
raised
serious
issues
about
the
healthy
function
of
representative
democracy
in
the
City
Council.
Political
bosses
were
deciding
the
speakership,
not
voters
actual
representatives,
namely,
the
councilmembers
themselves.
The
unmistakable
spike
in
real
estate
donations
to
Christines
political
campaign
as
early
as
the
2005
election
cycle
meant
that
real
estate
interests
and
lobbyists
were
intending
to
compromise
Christines
independence
on
real
estate
issues.
The
sizeable
donations
from
Gary
Barnett,
Douglas
Durst,
George
Arzt,
James
Capalino,
and
some
of
the
donations
from
the
Meilman
family
dated
back
to
2004,
an
early
sign
that
the
fix
may
have
already
been
in
on
the
speakership
from
a
year
prior
to
the
2005
election.
Its
not
uncommon
for
real
estate
interests
to
begin
387
http://www.nytimes.com/2000/04/25/nyregion/jostling-for-position-starts-early-in-race-for-council-
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 179 -
making heavy campaign donations over a year in advance to their approved political candidates.389 The sizeable donations to Ms. Katzs campaign account also reflected her own contention for the speakership.390 Christines campaign for the speakership began early, as measured by the flood of real estate donations, and, Christine followed Speaker Millers pattern of reaching out to the county bosses for their support. This county boss strategy was confirmed by Brooklyn councilmember Bill de Blasio, as told to New York magazine. She understood, better than I did, that a lot of this ball game revolved around the county Democratic leaders, he said, adding, She did a better job in developing those relationships, presenting a personality they were comfortable with, finding out how not to be threatening to them.391 In 2002, the Queens County Democratic boss, Tom Manton, had negotiated from Speaker Miller the City Council Land Use committee chair appointment for one of his delegations members, Melinda Katz,392 in whom the real estate industry had already invested multiple and sizeable campaign donations. In the run up to the 2005 campaign season, Mr. Manton was interested in maintaining the status quo for his own power base, as well as for real estate interests, who did not want to take a loss on the money that they had spent to finance Ms. Katzs appointment to the Land Use committee. Upon Christines assumption of the speakership, Ms. Katz kept her leadership post on Land Use, and David Weprin, another member of the Queens City Council delegation, kept his appointment as chair of the powerful Finance
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 180 -
committee.393
He,
too,
was
well-financed
by
real
estate
interests
and
lobbyists.394
The
permanent
establishment
that
spends
so
heavily
on
reelecting
approved
incumbents
does
not
like
insurgents
of
any
kind.
By
appearing
to
have
made
promises
to
keep
Mr.
Mantons
big
business- approved
delegates
in
their
positions
of
power,
Christine
was
able
to
take
the
lead
in
the
negotiations
for
the
next
speakership.
Although
Christine
swore
to
New
York
magazine
that
she
did
not
make
backroom
deals
with
the
county
political
bosses,
Mr.
Manton
was
coy
about
it.
With
politics
--
its
a
little
harsh
to
say
--
to
the
victors
belong
the
spoils,
he
told
New
York
magazine.395
Bill
Dobbs,
the
notable
LGBT
activist,
told
a
Gay
City
News
reporter
that
Christines
victory
was
a
reflection
of
politics
as
usual
for
party
bosses
and
backroom
wheeler
dealers.396
To
more
astute
observers,
like
Mr.
Dobbs,
there
was
an
inauthentic
portrayal
amongst
Christines
supporters
that
the
body
of
newly
incoming
councilmembers
had
championed
the
vote
for
the
first
woman
and
first
openly
LGBT
speaker
of
the
City
Council.
Like
a
true
insider,
Christine,
like
Speaker
Miller
before
her,
began
tolling
for
a
need
to
extend
term
limits
before
2005
would
come
to
a
close.397
Big
business
interests
and
lobbyists
were
investing
more
and
more
money
in
incumbents
in
leadership
positions,
and
the
sources
of
these
large
campaign
contributions
wanted
to
avert
the
need
to
continue
these
large
payments
with
the
more
rapid
succession
caused
by
term
limits.
In
a
report
in
The
New
York
Times,
Christines
selection
was
393
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/01/16/nyregion/council-speaker-plans-to-cut-stipends-for-himself-and-
others.html 394 http://www.nyccfb.info/searchabledb/SimpleSearchResult.aspx?election_cycle=2005&cand_id=232&cand_nam e=Weprin%2c+David+I 395 http://nymag.com/news/politics/17207/index4.html 396 http://gaycitynews.com/gcn_453/christinequinn.html 397 http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C00E1D91631F937A15752C1A9639C8B63
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
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indicated
as
a
fait
accompli
once
she
had
garnered
the
support
of
the
Bronx,
Queens,
and
Brooklyn
county
leaders.398
The
real
narrative
of
Christines
selection
had
more
to
do
with
Mr.
Manton
being
the
power
broker,
who
helped
to
negotiate
the
terms
of
Christines
speakership,399
rather
than
Christine
having
been
found
to
be
an
inspirational
choice
by
the
councilmembers.
Tom
Robbins,
a
very
wise
political
reporter,
noted
in
The
Village
Voice
that,
in
acknowledgement
for
their
role
in
bestowing
upon
Christine
the
speakership,
Christine
arranged
for
the
Bronx,
Queens,
and
Brooklyn
county
bosses
to
sit
right
up
front
during
the
preordained
City
Council
vote.400
Years
later,
when
the
publication
City
&
State
was
reviewing
a
scandalous
episode
during
Christines
speakership,
an
anonymous
City
Council
source
finally
admitted
that
Christine
wasnt
the
actual
choice
of
the
Council
for
the
speakership.401
But
Christine
had
a
myth
to
propagate,
and,
to
her
and
to
her
supporters,
it
was
important
to
further
the
fairy
tale
narrative
that
councilmembers
had
elected
the
first
woman
and
openly
LGBT
speaker
based
on
Christines
record
of
achievement
--
and
not
on
her
backroom
deals
with
the
political
machine.
For
Christine
to
make
these
giant
leaps
in
power
after
less
than
six
years
in
the
City
Council,
she
had
to
cut
deals.
The
winners
werent
going
to
be
the
voters,
who
were
still
naively
waiting
for
Christine
to
be
a
source
of
top-down
support
for
bottom-up
community
empowerment.
Instead,
the
winners
were
going
to
be
the
power
brokers,
the
insiders,
the
lobbyists,
and
the
political
operatives
on
whose
backs
Christine
climbed
to
further
her
own
position
in
government.
For
example,
in
398
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/04/nyregion/04quinn.html
399
http://www.timesnewsweekly.com/sites/www.timesnewsweekly.com/files/archives/Archives2006/Oct.-
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 182 -
the weeks leading to the formal announcement that Christine had clinched the speakership, Christine co-hosted a fundraiser for Rep. Joe Crowley, a weak supporter of reproductive freedom for women. Rep. Crowley had succeeded Mr. Manton in Congress, and Mr. Manton expected his subjects, which now included Christine, to express loyalty to the members of his political machine. Even though Christine kept brandishing her myth as an advocate for, among other things, abortion rights, Mr. Dobbs told The Village Voice that Christine was motivated to help Rep. Crowley solely to win Mantons support and the Queens delegation. It was no coincidence that the higher up the totem pole that Christine climbed, the more glaring the betrayals to her own political ethics became. The rationalizations of Christines supporters became all the more bold, as well. Michael McKee, the controversial tenants rights activist, who was called on to provide more and more political cover to Christine, expressed his support to Christine for her contradictory support of Rep. Crowley. Does it bother me ? No, he told The Village Voice. 402 Mr. Robbins, the wise political reporter, observed that on the day of the nominal councilmember vote on the speakership, a swarm of lobbyists swooped down on Christine. One of the lobbyists was Joe Strasburg, a former chief of staff of former Speaker Vallone. Mr. Strasburg had become the leader of the citys biggest landlord lobby, the Rent Stabilization Association, which advocated an end to rent control and regulation. According to Mr. Robbins, Mr. Strasburg was there to influence Christines pick for the chair of the City Council Housing & Buildings
402
http://www.villagevoice.com/2006-01-03/news/the-outsider-comes-in/
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
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committee.403
Councilmember
Erik
Dilan,
a
close
associate
of
the
Brooklyn
political
boss
Mr.
Lopez,
was
the
early
favorite
to
head
Housing
&
Buildings,404
and
eventually
he
was
picked.405
Even
The
New
York
Times
made
the
connection
that
Mr.
Lopez
was
interested
in
installing
a
Brooklyn
councilmember
in
the
housing
committee
to
help
Mr.
Lopez
consolidate
control
over
housing
issues.
In
his
position
in
the
state
assembly,
Mr.
Lopez
was
chair
of
the
Assembly
Housing
Committee,406
and
through
Councilmember
Dilan,
Mr.
Lopez
would
have
lucrative
influence
over
governmental
housing
policy.
To
developers,
Mr.
Lopez
would
become
the
new
gatekeeper
of
real
estate
issues.
Given
how
developers
influenced
policy
and
leadership
appointments
with
political
contributions,
Christine
helped
make
Mr.
Lopez
the
new
power
broker
for
the
real
estate
industry.
To
careful
observers,
there
would
be
no
more
pretense
about
how
much
Christine
had
shifted,
in
terms
of
her
commitment
to
affordable
housing
and
tenants
rights.
She
had
by
this
time
stopped
helping
Mitchell-Lama
residents
and
instead
focused
on
advancing
the
careers
of
politicians,
who
were
predisposed
to
supporting
real
estate
industry
interests.
And
as
the
first
wave
of
the
Berger
Commission
hospital
closings
loomed
on
the
horizon,
Christine
picked
Councilmember
Joel
Rivera
to
replace
her
as
chair
of
the
Health
Committee.
407
The
sole
political
consideration
for
his
selection
was
seen
to
be
as
a
reward
to
the
Bronx
political
boss,
Jose
Rivera,
for
having
supported
Christines
speakership.
Christine
was
doing
all
the
right
things
by
big
business
interests
and
political
bosses.
403
http://www.villagevoice.com/2006-01-03/news/the-outsider-comes-in/
404
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/18/nyregion/18council.html
405
http://nymag.com/news/politics/17207/index4.html
406
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/18/nyregion/18council.html
407
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/18/nyregion/18council.html
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
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Trying to ring the loud alarum bell was Mr. Dobbs, who had by then established for himself a semi-public role as an incorruptible good government watchdog with sensibilities about each of LGBT rights, civil liberties, and civil rights. Mr. Dobbs tried to debunk the identity politics that Christine was using to further her career in politics. He foresaw trappings in Christines myth that had been observed in recent past political figures. Let's not confuse a seat at the table or a fancy title with progress, Mr. Dobbs told the reporter Mr. Robbins for a report in The Village Voice. Think Clarence Thomas, or Madeleine Albright, Mr. Dobbs said, naming two remarkable examples of neoliberal traitors to progressive values, adding, There is a lot more to change than diversifying representatives.408 But the allure of Christines myth was too strong for some. At an event celebrating Christines installation as City Council speaker, Christine received wide-spread praise. Shes broken the glass ceiling, Dirk McCall, president of Stonewall Democrats, told Gay City News, noting, It says we can elect people citywide who can be out. Mr. McCall once worked for the lobbyist James Capalino, and Mr. McCall was one of Christines early critical supporters. He added that the gay agenda was far from being fulfilled in New York, citing the need for more government attention to LGBT homeless youth, seniors, and people with HIV/AIDS, all of whom were constituency groups which Quinn had expertise, Mr. McCall said.409 Time and again, Christines raison d'tre was always brought back to her roots as an advocate for LGBT issues, in spite of the fact that after six years in the City Council Christine had
408
http://www.villagevoice.com/2006-01-03/news/the-outsider-comes-in/2/
409
http://gaycitynews.com/gcn_453/christinequinn.html
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 185 -
never
proposed
any
policy
to
fully
address
the
issue
of
LGBT
homeless
youth,
for
example.
Notwithstanding
the
power
of
Christines
myth
on
her
followers,
Christine
admitted
right
out
to
The
New
York
Times
that
one
of
the
first
items
on
her
legislative
agenda
as
speaker
would
be
to
take
up
the
issue
of
term
limits.
(This
was
presumably
because
the
discussion
to
change
term
limits
before
the
end
of
2005
failed
to
lead
to
an
extension.)
The
New
York
Times
reported
that
Christine
wanted
to
revisit
the
issue
of
term
limits
for
council
members,
which
she
opposes
and
the
mayor
supports.410
Within
weeks,
Christine
fired
61
council
staff
members411
in
violation
of
the
very
early
Quinn
doctrine
to
preserve
the
expertise
of
the
Council
staff.412
The
Bloomberg
official,
who
was
in
charge
of
the
commission
tasked
with
protecting
the
civil
service
system,
was
Stanley
Schlein.
He
was
a
lobbyist
and
close
political
operative
of
Jose
Rivera,413
the
Bronx
political
boss
with
whom
Christine
negotiated
support
for
her
speakership
and
the
father
of
the
newly
incoming
Health
Committee
chair.
Mr.
Schlein
did
not
interfere
with
Christines
politically-motivated
purging
of
City
Council
staff.
Among
Christines
new
appointments
was
a
Bloomberg
administration
official,
Michael
Keogh,
who
would
now
be
in
change
of
negotiating
the
city
budget
on
behalf
of
the
City
Council
with
his
former
bosses
in
City
Hall.
Christines
subjugation
of
budget
control
began
here,
at
the
inception.414
Whereas,
two
years
before
her
ascension
into
the
speakership,
Christine
had
been
critical
of
the
Bloomberg
administrations
ambitious
plans
to
make
advances
in
public
health
410
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/04/nyregion/04quinn.html
411
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/18/nyregion/18council.html
412
http://old.gothamgazette.com/commentary/quinn.shtml
413
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/26/nyregion/metrocampaigns/26schlein.html
414
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/18/nyregion/18council.html
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 186 -
in the face of constant budget cuts, now Christine was turning over the reins of the budget process over to the very same Bloomberg administration that continued to proposed budget cuts to healthcare that Christine would take to the media to nominally protest. For Christine to be rewarding the Bloomberg administration with a prominent political appointment within the City Council budget office, one would wonder if Mayor Bloomberg had been similarly approached to support Christines speakership. Was Mr. Keogh appointment promised to Mayor Bloomberg the way Councilmember Dilans appointment to the Housing & Buildings Committee was promised to Mr. Lopez ? Years later, The New York Daily News reported that leading up to Christines successful speakership campaign, she forged alliances with Mayor Bloomberg, among others, as part of her insider strategy to win the speakership.415 Expectations from Christines constituents for progressive reforms would clash with the agenda of powers that be, who had promoted Christine into ever higher positions of leadership. No more would Christine serve as a beacon of top-down support for bottom-up community empowerment. At each step of the way, insiders thwarted decisions that should have been made in the best interests of voters. The remainder of Christines story would be just as corrupt as was her upward climb to power.
415
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/election/colliding-ambitions-fuel-quinn-de-blasio-rivalry-article-
1.1436080
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 187 -
Chapter
9
The
myth
Christine
propagated
was
that
she
ran
for
public
office
to
make
a
difference
for
people,
that
the
voters
could
count
on
her
to
do
the
right
thing.
However,
as
she
reached
higher
positions
of
leadership,
her
incumbency
became
more
about
accumulating
power
than
championing
causes
on
behalf
of
her
constituents.
The
months
immediately
following
her
speakership
selection
were
heady
times
for
Christine.
She
oversaw
the
massive
city
budget,
which
she
negotiated
with
the
mayor,
and
she
leveraged
that
process
for
even
greater
sources
of
power.
After
a
few
months
as
speaker,
Christine
was
also
deciding
how
to
distribute
annual
disbursements
of
tax
dollars
to
community
groups,
over
which
Christine
had
sole
discretion.416
This
discretionary
funding
gave
Christine
power
over
community
groups.
When
community
groups
wanted
money,
they
applied
to
their
respective
councilmembers,
who
then
had
to
go
to
Christine
for
approval
;
else,
community
groups
would
apply
directly
to
Christine
for
financial
assistance.
Either
way,
all
of
the
citys
discretionary
funding
made
available
to
community
groups
needed
Christines
permission.
Just
like
political
party
bosses
knew
to
negotiate
tit- for-tat
when
deliberating
the
selection
of
City
Council
speaker,
Christine
knew
that
being
in
a
position
of
power
provided
opportunities
to
exploit
requests
for
support
for
reciprocity.
As
it
will
be
shown,
it
appeared
that
there
was
a
give
and
take
between
community
groups
and
Christine.
There
was
no
more
mistaking
that
Christine
knew
exactly
how
to
make
things
happen,
because
she
was
in
the
sole
416
http://nymag.com/news/politics/46821/
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 188 -
position
to
determine
the
fate
of
municipal
and
non-municipal
programs
through
her
power
of
the
purse.
Over
the
public,
she
had
power
and
authority
over
municipal
employees,
government
policy,
and
legislative
functions.
She
used
that
power
to
water
down
the
public
housing
requirements
in
the
Hudson
Yards
project
and
to
dole
out
member
items,
as
the
annual
discretionary
community
group
disbursements
were
sometimes
referred.
In
private,
she
had
power
and
authority
over
political
operatives,
lobbyists,
and
party
bosses,
and
she
used
that
power
to
benefit
herself
by
becoming
the
City
Council
speaker.
To
make
this
latest
climb
into
power,
Christine
had
waged
what
The
Village
Voice
revealed
to
be
a
delicate,
behind-the- scenes
campaign
of
three
years
duration.417
This
meant
that
only
after
a
short
period
of
having
become
chair
of
the
City
Council
Health
committee,
Christine
was
already
focusing
on
her
next
move
up
in
the
ranks
of
power.
How
it
came
to
be
that
she
could
patiently
plot
and
negotiate
with
county
party
bosses
to
force
councilmembers
to
elect
her
speaker
proved
that
she
knew
how
to
strike
backroom
deals
to
get
what
she
wanted.
However,
Christine
would
never
grease
those
gears
for
the
greater
interest
of
the
public.
When
voters
demanded
government
action
on
issues,
like
a
way
to
put
a
stop
to
Stephen
Bergers
closure
of
New
York
City
hospitals,
Christine
would
pretend
that
she
was
powerless,
she
would
divert
the
medias
attention,
or
she
would
be
missing
in
action.
At
each
step
of
the
way,
she
would
also
turn
to
enablers
from
big
business
and
special
interests
to
give
her
political
cover.
417
http://blogs.villagevoice.com/runninscared/2007/11/_politicians_on.php
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 189 -
The
hospital
closings
called
for
by
the
Berger
Commission
were
formulated
at
a
time
when
only
some
hospital
patients
were
covered
by
job-based
health
insurance,
and
hospitals
were
forced
to
write
down
the
economic
costs
from
treating
underinsured
and
uninsured
patients.
The
Berger
Commission,
headed
by
a
Wall
Street
banker,
was
only
capable
of
seeing
the
provision
of
full-service
hospital
care
from
perspective
of
profits,
losses,
and
debts,
instead
of
from
the
perspective
of
providing
people
with
the
human
right
to
healthcare.
We
have
a
history
in
this
state
of
pumping
money
into
the
system
and
not
letting
hospitals
close
even
if
they
should,
Mr.
Berger
had
told
The
New
York
Times
in
2004,
adding,
You
have
to
right- size
the
system,
you
have
to
shrink
it,
that
is
No.
1.418
In
typical
Wall
Street
fashion
of
divorcing
any
moral
dilemma
from
situational
ethics,
hospital
closings
were
pushed
as
inevitable,419
and
patients
were
expected
to
have
to
deal
with
it.
This
was
about
a
decade
before
"Obamacare"
would
extend
healthcare
coverage
to
millions
of
uninsured
Americans.
Back
then,
Mr.
Berger
observed
overcapacity
among
hospitals,
which,
in
his
money-warped
worldview,
had
to
be
cut.
However,
in
the
future,
Mr.
Bergers
draconian
cuts
would
prove
to
gut
healthcare
infrastructure
leading
up
to
the
time
when
Obamacare
would
lead
to
a
large
influx
of
newly
covered
patients
into
the
healthcare
system.
But
even
without
knowing
that
healthcare
coverage
would
be
expanded
within
the
next
decade,
back
then
state
health
officials
knew
about
the
dangers
of
past
outbreaks,
pandemics,
and
unforeseen
uses
of
bioterrorism
agents,
such
as
anthrax.
There
were
reasons
why
it
was
penny
wise
and
dollar
foolish
to
make
drastic
cuts
to
full-service
hospital
418
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/19/nyregion/19hospital.html
419
http://www.gothamgazette.com/index.php/health/3004-hospitals-in-crisis
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 190 -
capacity
in
New
York
City,
and
Christine
was
gambling
that
nothing
would
happen
to
pose
a
serious
public
health
risk
on
her
watch.
Moreover,
for
patients,
who
relied
on
hospital
care
for
their
only
access
to
healthcare,
the
hospital
closings
were
not
timed
with
the
immediate
replacement
of
comparable
access
to
healthcare.
City
health
officials
never
mentioned
how
life-saving
healthcare
services
would
be
provided
in
cases
of
medical
or
trauma
emergency.
Management
at
unions
as
some
hospitals
saw
that
resistance
to
the
Berger
Commission
Report
was
futile,
and
they
accepted
hospital
closures
as
a
fait
accompli,
while
management
and
unions
at
other
hospitals
fought
back
against
the
closings.
The
first
hospital
to
close
was
St.
Vincents
Midtown
Hospital,
located
in
Hells
Kitchen
in
Manhattan.
It
was
formerly
known
as
St.
Clares
Hospital,
which
had
been
the
setting
in
the
1980s
for
segregating
HIV/AIDS
patients
in
an
isolated
facility.
It
closed
its
doors
in
August
2007
without
a
fight.420
The
second
New
York
City
hospital
to
close
was
Victory
Memorial
Hospital
in
Bay
Ridge,
Brooklyn.
It
announced
in
November
2006
its
intention
to
file
for
bankruptcy
in
anticipation
of
being
targeted
for
closure
by
the
Berger
Commission
Report,421
even
before
the
recommendations
would
take
effect,
and
it
closed
its
doors
for
good
in
June
2008.422
Two
other
hospitals
closed
in
2008.
They
were
Cabrini
Medical
Center
in
Manhattan
and
Parkway
Hospital
in
Queens.
Cabrini
closed
its
doors
in
March
2008,
only
a
few
days
after
Gov.
Spitzer
was
forced
to
resign,
and
its
official
reason
for
closing
was
that
it
was
unable
to
make
payroll,
state
health
officials
said.423
Officials
with
420
http://www.gnyha.org/4263/Default.aspx
421
http://www.nysun.com/new-york/hospitals-bankruptcy-filing-precedes-report/43695/
422
http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/31/26/31_26_victory_wins.html
423
http://www.nysun.com/new-york/cabrini-medical-center-closes-its-doors/73128/
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 191 -
Cabrini
would
not
comment
about
its
closure,
so
the
public
was
never
informed
about
how
Cabrinis
finances
had
conveniently
been
allowed
to
run
dry
to
expedite
the
Berger
Commission
closing.
In
order
to
guarantee
continuity
of
care,
supervision
of
Cabrinis
hospice
patients
were
transferred
to
nearby
St.
Vincents
Hospital
in
Greenwich
Village,424
which
was
viewed
by
many
as
a
more
important
underpinning
of
public
health,
especially
after
the
closings
of
other
nearby
Manhattan
hospitals.
In
contrast,
management
at
Parkway
Hospital,
located
in
Queens,
fought
against
the
unilateral
decision
to
be
closed
by
the
Berger
Commission.
However,
its
efforts
to
stay
open
failed
after
the
state
Department
of
Health,
which
had
the
upper
hand,
allowed
Parkways
operating
certificate
to
expire.425
Parkway
officials
were
forced
to
comply
with
the
expectation
that
the
hospital
would
be
closed,
and
to
drive
the
final
nail
in
the
hospitals
coffin,
state
health
officials
had
contacted
all
ambulance
companies
to
tell
them
that
Parkways
operating
certificate
was
invalid.426
Without
new
patients,
the
hospital
had
no
choice
but
to
be
closed.
After
St.
Vincents
Midtown
closed,
but
before
Victory
Memorial
finally
closed
its
doors,
Christine
found
herself
at
the
political
crossroads
of
her
career.
Councilembers
were
pressuring
her
to
overturn
term
limits,
in
the
never-ending
quest
by
incumbents
for
more
power
made
possible,
in
this
case,
by
extending
their
term
in
office.427
Unless
something
was
done
to
overturn
term
limits,
the
next
city- wide
election
cycle
was
going
to
lead
to
the
expulsion
of
36
councilmembers,
including
Christine.
Since
term
limits
were
going
to
force
Christine
out
of
the
City
424
http://www.nysun.com/new-york/cabrini-medical-center-closes-its-doors/73128/
425
http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20081105/FREE/811059975
426
http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20081105/FREE/811059975
427
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/won-push-extend-term-limits-christine-quinn-vows-article-
1.271344
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 192 -
Council,
it
was
widely
reported
that
her
focus
was
now
shifting
to
mount
a
run
for
the
mayors
office
in
2009.428
429
Because
she
had
set
her
sights
on
higher
office,
Christine
didnt
think
she
had
to
acquiesce
to
pressure
to
extend
term
limits
to
her
peers,
who
had
rested
their
hopes
on
maintaining
their
incumbencies
in
the
City
Council.
Her
2007
decision
not
to
extend
term
limits
represented
a
flip-flop
from
her
2005
position,
when,
in
the
latter
instance,
The
New
York
Times
reported
that
she
favored
extending
term
limits
legislatively.430
Christine
made
it
known
in
2005
that
she
supported
overturning
of
term
limits
as
an
inducement
to
win
support
for
her
campaign
for
the
speakership.
Now
that
Christine
was
preparing
to
run
for
higher
office,
she
was
ready
to
scuttle
that
promise.
She
had
gotten
the
speakership
she
wanted,
and
she
was
ready
to
move
on,
jilting
her
peers.
Christine
was
now
taking
too
many
people
for
granted.
She
was
accumulating
so
much
ill
will
from
other
councilmembers,
who
felt
betrayed
by
Christines
flip
flop.
How
long
could
Christine
string
along
her
peers
and
constituents
for
her
sole
benefit
?
In
early
2008,
the
media
portrayed
Christines
annual
community
group
disbursements
as
appearing
as
if
they
had
been
administered
like
a
political
slush
fund
of
taxpayer
money.
Christines
office
had
been
setting
aside
millions
of
dollars
each
year
for
fake
charity
groups,
and
Christine
would
allegedly
then
later
dole
out
the
disbursements
as
rewards
to
her
political
supporters.
In
the
2007
and
2008
fiscal
year
budgets,
the
nominal
size
of
this
slush
fund
totaled
almost
$5
million,
according
to
a
devastating
examination
of
Christines
use
of
discretionary
funding,
428
http://blogs.villagevoice.com/runninscared/2007/11/_politicians_on.php
429
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/19/nyregion/19quinn.html
430
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C00E1D91631F937A15752C1A9639C8B63
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 193 -
published
by
The
New
York
Post.431
Much
later,
it
was
revealed
in
a
separate
investigation
that
between
the
2009
and
2012
fiscal
year
budgets,
Christine
had
at
her
disposal
$1.8
billion
in
discretionary
capital
improvement
funding.432
In
still
yet
another
investigation
into
the
close
ties
between
Christine
and
her
close
friend,
the
lobbyist
Emily
Giske,
The
New
York
Times
noted
that
Christine
had
been
providing
discretionary
capital
funding
from
the
city
governments
budget
to
four
clients
of
Ms.
Giskes.
One
of
those
clients
was
Kingsbrook
Jewish
Medical
Center,
a
hospital
in
Brooklyn,
which
had
received
capital
funding
in
two
consecutive
budgets.433
Still
yet
another
report
by
Crains
noted
that
the
High
Line
park
had
retained
Ms.
Giske
to
lobby
Christine
against
the
Hudson
Yards
project
taking
the
remaining
parts
of
the
unused
elevated
railroad
track
wanted
by
park
supporters.434
Some
of
the
City
Council
discretionary
funds
received
by
the
park
project
were
being
used
to
pay
Christines
close
lobbyist
friend,
who
would
then
turn
around
and
lobby
Christine.
Had
the
High
Line
begun
to
function
much
like
a
quasi-pass
through
entity
for
Ms.
Giske
to
get
paid
by
city
tax
dollars
?
The
allocation
of
discretionary
funds
to
fictitious
charities
by
the
City
Council
had
led
to
an
investigation
of
Christines
supervision
of
the
funds,435
and
now
the
media
was
scrutinizing
the
charities
that
had
previously
received
these
funds.
The
2008
investigation
by
The
New
York
Daily
News
noted
that
the
City
Council
discretionary
funding
to
the
High
Line
park
project
originally
began
under
Speaker
431
http://nypost.com/2008/04/03/this-is-hers-for-the-faking/
432
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 194 -
Miller,
and
that
the
park
project
had
hired
the
lobbying
firm
of
Robert
Hammond,
Speaker
Millers
close
friend,
and
that
while
the
park
project
was
receiving
City
Council
discretionary
funds,
the
park
project
was
also
paying
Mr.
Hammonds
lobbying
firm.436
Near
or
during
this
time,
Mario
Palumbo,
an
employee
of
the
real
estate
development
company
Millennium
Partners,
and
James
Capalino,
head
of
his
own
lobbying
firm,
were
board
treasurer
and
board
member,
respectively,
of
the
park
project,
and
they
also
made
campaign
contributors
to
Christine,
according
to
the
2008
investigation.
A
later
investigation
by
The
Village
Voice
showed
that
Mr.
Palumbo
had
become
a
major
campaign
bundler
for
Christine,
soliciting
and
pooling
over
$50,000.00
in
political
donations
from
individuals
linked
to
real
estate.437
Adding
to
the
suspicion
surrounding
Christines
slush
fund
was
the
fact
that
Michael
Keogh,
who
had
been
a
former
Bloomberg
administration
official
whom
Christine
appointed
to
be
in
change
of
negotiating
the
city
budget
on
behalf
of
the
City
Council
with
his
former
bosses
in
City
Hall,
resigned
as
a
result
of
the
slush
fund
scandal.
He
landed
a
cushion
job
almost
immediately
with
Ms.
Giskes
lobbying
firm,
where
everybody
could
keep
their
eyes
on
him.438
While
state
officials
were
saying
that
there
was
no
money
to
save
hospitals
from
closing,
it
appeared
that
Christine
was
using
her
discretionary
funds
to
reward
her
political
supporters.
Even
though
she
had
billions
of
dollars
at
her
disposal,
Christine
failed
to
act
to
allocate
those
resources
to
bail
out
strategic
community
resources,
and
she
delayed
addressing
the
issue
of
hospital
closings
altogether
until
436
http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/christine-quinn-cash-west-side-project-campaign-money-article-
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 195 -
weeks
before439
the
Berger
Commission
Reports
recommendations
went
into
effect.440
Moreover,
Christine
became
speaker
after
negotiating
what
appeared
to
be
awarding
political
patronage
to
her
political
supporters,
and
now
an
appearance
of
the
same
pattern
emerged
in
how
Christine
administered
city
budget
negotiations.
In
an
investigation
published
by
The
New
York
Daily
News,
it
was
revealed
that
the
High
Line
park
project
had
received
$290,000.00
in
taxpayer
money
in
the
2005
and
2006
fiscal
years.
Around
the
time
when
Ms.
Giske
was
hired
in
2008,
the
project
received
another
$290,000.00.
Meanwhile,
officials
connected
with
the
park
project
had
donated
over
$50,000.00
in
campaign
contributions
to
Christines
political
accounts,
the
investigation
showed.441
Here,
it
appeared
the
semblance
of
a
tit-for-tat
:
the
park
project
received
discretionary
community
group
funding
from
the
City
Council,
and
Christine
received
campaign
donations.
Christine
was
allocating
millions
of
dollars
to
fictitious
charities
and
to
groups
that
appeared
to
be
making
tributes
to
Christines
political
campaign
accounts.
While
hospitals
all
across
the
city
were
under
attack
by
the
Berger
Commission
and
even
though
Christine
had
political
sensibilities
about
healthcare
given
to
her
by
virtue
of
having
been
chair
of
the
City
Council
Health
committee
for
four
years,
once
she
became
speaker,
it
appeared
that
she
chose
to
give
real
estate
interests,
especially
those
which
made
contributions
to
her
campaign
accounts,
a
higher
priority
than
saving
the
citys
community
hospitals.
The
duty
owed
to
voters
by
Christine,
now
that
she
was
in
a
leadership
position,
looked
like
it
did
not
matter
439
http://www.qgazette.com/news/2006-12-20/features/002.html
440
http://www.gnyha.org/3578/Default.aspx
441
http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/christine-quinn-cash-west-side-project-campaign-money-article-
1.278117
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 196 -
to her. Not until Victory Memorial announced its intention to file for bankruptcy did the City Council under Christines speakership release a report of its own recommendations in response to the Berger Commission Report. Instead of fighting the hospital closings, the City Council report offered political cover that would enable the hospital closings to proceed. According to the Gotham Gazette, the City Council report made 25 specific recommendations, including requiring a regular review of hospital reimbursement rates, far better HMO regulation, strong support for developing a primary care infrastructure the development of a plan for universal health insurance and significantly greater investment in healthcare information technology.442 An article in The New York Sun reported that some of the City Council report recommendations included expanding government programs such as Medicare, requiring insurance companies to give back a portion of their profits to the communities they serve, and changing the 1996 law that deregulated how much hospitals are reimbursed by insurance companies.443 Of course deregulation would play a role in the financial vice grips between which hospitals would find themselves. Deregulation of reimbursement rates by the for-profit health insurance companies helped their profits, but it decreased the financing available for hospitals. If Christines role in the citys legislative body meant anything, she should have used it to find ways to regulate healthcare from a stand point of preserving critical infrastructure and services. Instead, Christine did nothing, taking the easy way out. Upon the issuance of the City Council hospital closings report, Christine
442
http://www.qgazette.com/news/2006-12-20/features/002.html
443
http://www.nysun.com/new-york/hospitals-bankruptcy-filing-precedes-report/43695/
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 197 -
promised
perseverance.
And
if
we
dont
win
round
one,
well
keep
coming
back,444
she
said.
However,
Christine
never
came
back.
As
was
typical
of
Christines
situational
ethics,
once
the
media
blitz
surrounding
the
City
Council
report
was
over,
the
25
recommendations
were
left
to
languish.
The
social
agenda
of
the
City
Council
returned
to
business
as
usual,
meaning
that
Christine
wasnt
about
to
invest
political
capital
into
actually
carrying
out
the
reports
recommendations.
It
was
notable
that
the
City
Councils
report
called
for
universal
health
insurance,
but
given
Christines
lack
of
commitment
to
following-through
on
any
intentions,
a
recommendation
in
support
of
universal
healthcare,
no
matter
how
progressive
it
really
was,
would
never
be
seriously
pursued,
much
less
obtained.
During
Christines
first
year
as
speaker,
Mayor
Bloomberg
expressed
fears
that
Medicaid
expenses
would
drain
the
citys
budget445
just
months
before
the
City
Council
task
force
report
on
hospital
closings
would
advocate
for
universal
healthcare
as
a
solution
to
saving
and
funding
healthcare.446
Public
opinion
polls
were
taken
around
this
time,
which
showed
broad
support
for
a
universal
healthcare
system,447
but
Christine
would
not
seize
on
the
broader
public
support.
Why
would
Christine
fail
to
pursue
a
universal
healthcare
system
in
the
face
of
the
impending
wave
of
hospital
closings,
especially
if
a
single-payer
system
would
save
money
by
reducing
the
costs
of
administration,
marketing,
and
profits
?448
These
savings
could
have
been
used
to
expand
healthcare
coverage
to
all,
preserve
healthcare
infrastructure,
and
address
Mayor
Bloombergs
complaints
about
the
uncontrollable
increasing
444
http://loho10002.blogspot.com/2006/11/quinn-promises-healthcare-for-all-at.html
445
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/05/nyregion/05budget.html
446
http://loho10002.blogspot.com/2006/11/quinn-promises-healthcare-for-all-at.html
447
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/01/washington/01cnd-poll.html
448
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/01/magazine/01Healthcare.t.html
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 198 -
rate
of
healthcare
costs
?
Besides
on
LGBT
equality
issues,
there
was
no
other
public
police
area
where
Christine
should
have
been
a
thought
leader
like
in
healthcare.
However,
Christine
never
advocated
for
transformational
changes.
She
only
paid
lip
service
to
healthcare
issues.
It
was
as
if
Christine
had
spent
the
four
years
as
chair
of
the
City
Council
health
committee
engrossed
in
ambitions
other
than
preserving
or
expanding
healthcare.
She
had
failed
to
grasp
the
big
picture.
All
of
the
hospital
closings
that
took
place
in
New
York
City
as
a
result
of
the
Berger
Commission
Report
took
place
during
Christines
speakership.
If
it
was
true
that
Christine
had
no
idea
how
to
stop
the
collapse
of
public
health,
then
it
was
also
true
that
she
never
asked
for
help
from
other
government
leaders.
The
hospital
closings
would
take
place
across
several
governorships
in
Albany.
It
was
Gov.
Pataki,
who
first
ordered
Mr.
Berger
to
launch
into
his
hospital
closings
campaign.
In
2006,
Eliot
Spitzer,
the
former
attorney
general,
who
had
once
saved
MEETH
from
closure,
was
elected
to
be
the
next
governor.
He
would
only
serve
a
partial
term
in
office,
for
slightly
over
one
year,
before
an
affair
that
he
had
with
a
prostitute
brought
down
his
administration.449
With
the
resignation
of
Gov.
Spitzer,
healthcare
activists
lost
a
known
hospital
care
advocate,
and
oversight
of
the
Berger
Commission
hospital
closings
would
transfer
to
Gov.
Spitzers
successor,
David
Patterson.
Gov.
Patterson
would
serve
out
the
balance
of
former
Gov.
Spitzers
term,
and
Gov.
Patterson
would
not
run
for
reelection.
In
his
place,
Andrew
Cuomo,
who
was
responsible
for
the
construction
of
an
AIDS-only
segregated
care
center
up
in
the
Bronx,
was
elected
to
office.
Gov.
449
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/12/nyregion/12cnd-resign.html
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 199 -
Cuomo,
who
like
his
father
before
him,
had
ambitions
for
higher
office,
and
he
would
be
described
to
be
interested
in
making
drastic
cuts
to
the
state
budget
in
order
to
window
dress
Albanys
finances
to
fluff
his
credentials
in
preparation
for
a
run
for
the
presidency,
some
healthcare
activists
said.
Christine
never
stood
up
to
any
of
these
governors.
In
the
absence
of
municipal
leadership
and
against
this
tumultuous
backdrop
in
the
states
capital,
Mr.
Berger
found
no
resistance
to
his
campaign
to
close
hospitals
from
the
various
governors,
to
each
of
whom
reported
the
states
highest
healthcare
official,
the
commissioner
of
the
states
Department
of
Health.
Christine
had
been
able
to
master
by
this
time
movement
between
two
worlds
:
the
manufactured
myth
that
she
was
a
progressive
advocate450
and
the
image
of
a
political
boss
capable
of
striking
backroom
political
deals.451
Christine
was
escaping
the
first
wave
of
hospital
closings
by
the
Berger
Commission
without
anybody
holding
her
accountable
for
her
laissez-faire
response.
At
the
same
time,
Christine
was
receiving
greater
campaign
donations
from
special
interests.
Furthermore,
Christine
was
in
a
position
in
City
Council
to
determine
the
disbursement
of
taxpayer
money
to
community
groups,
a
situation
that
gave
Christine
a
sense
of
power
over
community
groups,
which
now
needed
to
turn
to
Christine
for
funding.
This
gave
Christine
an
unparalleled
amount
of
influence
over
the
citys
non-profit
agenda.
It
also
helped
her
to
politicize
the
citys
non-profit
agenda,
to
the
detriment
of
the
citys
non-profit
organizations.
Because
Christine
was
a
dealmaker,
if
non-profit
organizations
expected
funding,
they
would
have
to
negotiate
with
Christine
for
that
funding.
Furthermore,
Christine
had
also
grasped
450
http://gaycitynews.com/gcn_453/christinequinn.html
451
http://nymag.com/news/politics/17207/
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 200 -
how
she
could
never
be
held
accountable
for
irresponsible
real
estate
development,
because
she
never
took
a
public
position
on
them,
like
in
respect
of
the
Atlantic
Yards
project.452
She
kept
hoping
that
nobody
would
find
the
ball
if
she
kept
shifting
her
shells.
But
for
how
long
could
Christine
keep
this
shell
game
going
?
Above
all,
she
was
trying
to
stay
in
Mayor
Bloombergs
good
graces.
She
was
hoping
that
if
she
could
manage
her
speakership
from
a
position
of
enabling
the
mayors
political
agenda,
she
would
be
able
to
earn
praise
and
backing
from
the
mayors
powerful
big
business
supporters.
It
wasnt
just
Christine,
who
was
benefiting
from
her
powerful
association
with
Mayor
Bloomberg
;
theirs
was
a
symbiotic
relationship.
They
spent
so
much
time
working
together,
that
they
even
made
efforts
to
get
to
know
each
other,
personally.
It
was
reported
that
Mayor
Bloomberg
flew
Christine
at
least
once
aboard
his
private
jet
to
his
week-end
house
in
the
Caribbean.453
To
them,
incumbency
wasnt
about
serving
the
voters,
but
about
using
that
perch
for
their
own
personal
pleasure
--
and
to
further
their
own
ambitions.
While
Christine
was
plotting
a
mayoral
campaign,
Mayor
Bloomberg
flirted
with
the
idea
of
using
his
mayoralty
as
a
launching
pad
to
run
for
president.
To
that
end,
Mayor
Bloomberg
orchestrated
backroom
exploratory
meetings,
and
he
even
traveled
to
China
for
a
presidential-looking
photo
op
with
a
university
president.454
One
consequence
of
Christines
failure
to
translate
her
sensibilities
about
activism
into
transformational
government
policy
was
that
she
had
been
leading
to
452
http://blogs.villagevoice.com/runninscared/2007/11/_politicians_on.php
453
http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2013/08/bloomberg-still-lets-ray-kelly-use-his-jet.html
454
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/31/us/politics/31bloomberg.html
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 201 -
the demobilization of activists. Christine had basically seized the power and authority of advocates, who would normally put pressure on government for reforms, and she acted as if she would not need to be pressured into delivering results, because she already had those sensibilities. Even if had been true that Christine once had activism sensibilities, at one time, long ago, this kind of twisted reasoning was what enabled Michael McKee, the controversial tenants rights activists, to sign off on a package of low-cost loans to Mitchell-Lama landlords -- and still spin it as a win for affordable housing tenants. This was how a task force of the City Council could produce a report recommending universal healthcare but still do nothing to put a stop to hospital closures. With few exceptions, nobody dared to criticize Christine for failing to keep her word. She wielded too much power over the citys municipal and non-profit agenda for anybody to make an enemy of Christine. So long as Christine could find or create an outside force that was willing to provide her with political cover, then she would be relieved of community pressure to bring about reforms. The key to Christines laissez-faire approach was that she needed to receive outside political support for doing nothing at the same time when Christine needed to demobilize the community. In one instance, Christine found support from political operatives, who doubled as political directors at one healthcare union. This would allow the 25 recommendations in the City Councils task force report on hospital closings, for example, to yield to inertia. One healthcare union, 1199/S.E.I.U., had to scramble to deal with the fallout over job losses from the impending hospital closings. Jennifer Cunningham, who at that time worked as a spokesperson and political operative for 1199 and would
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 202 -
later
go
on
to
work
for
Christine
as
a
political
campaign
consultant,
was
more
concerned
at
the
time
about
employee
retraining455
and
not
about
the
interruption
of
patient-centered
care
caused
by
hospital
closings.
Making
job
losses,
no
matter
how
painful,
the
central
issue
undermined
the
importance
of
the
public
health.
Christine
was
chair
of
the
City
Council
Health
Committee
when
the
Berger
Commission
Report
was
being
compiled,
and
she
was
largely
absent
from
the
initial
public
conversation
in
2004
and
2005
around
Mr.
Bergers
recommendation
for
hospital
closings.
However,
in
the
final
months
of
the
Fiscal
Year
2005
budget,
it
was
revealed
that
New
York
City
was
estimating
that
it
would
net
a
fiscal
surplus
of
about
$2.5
billion,
even
though
on
the
state
level
it
was
said
that
there
was
no
money
to
fully
fund
the
healthcare
needs
of
hospital
patients.456
Near
the
end
of
the
following
fiscal
year,
the
budget
surplus
grew
to
approximately
$3.4
billion.457
Instead
of
offering
to
champion
the
use
of
some
of
these
surplus
government
resources
to
fund
public
health
in
New
York
City,
Christine
kept
mum.
When
New
York
United
Hospital
Medical
Center
in
Port
Chester,
Long
Island,
was
nearing
closure,
1199
union
officials
were
described
as
sounding
resigned
to
the
idea
that
some
hospitals
must
close,
though
concerned
about
which
ones.
Ms.
Cunningham
told
The
New
York
Times,
We
may
need
to
look
at
downsizing,
but
it's
not
being
done
in
any
planned
way.458
Although
this
was
before
the
Berger
Commissions
final
recommendations
came
to
be
known,
the
writing
had
been
on
the
wall
since
2004,
when
Mr.
Berger
had
said,
You
have
to
right-size
the
system,
455
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/19/nyregion/19hospital.html
456
http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F3071FF73B590C778CDDAA0894DD404482
457
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/05/nyregion/05budget.html
458
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/04/nyregion/04united.html
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 203 -
you
have
to
shrink
it,
that
is
No.
1.459
Mr.
Berger
had
managed
to
make
hospital
closings
all
about
cost
containment.
The
focus
on
cutting
costs
began
to
take
its
toll,
even
though
there
were
resources,
as
well
as
ideas,
at
the
city
level
to
improve
public
health.
Besides
Ms.
Cunningham,
who
would
later
go
on
to
work
for
Christines
political
campaigns,
another
political
operative,
who
worked
at
the
1199
union,
was
Kevin
Finnegan.
He
was
one
of
Christines
earliest
campaign
supporters.
Mr.
Finnegan
would
take
the
helm
of
1199s
political
activities
in
the
midst
of
a
coming
financial
crisis.
Christine
had
partners
at
a
powerful
healthcare
union,
with
whom
she
should
have
teamed
up
to
support
a
plan
to
enact
the
25
recommendations
from
the
City
Councils
task
force
report
on
hospital
closings,
but
Christine
never
pursued
solutions
with
1199.
In
the
summer
of
2008,
a
woman
went
to
the
emergency
room
at
Kings
County
Hospital
Center
in
Brooklyn.
The
hospital
was
operated
by
a
city
agency,
the
Health
and
Hospitals
Corporation,
which
oversaw
city-owned
hospitals.
Employees
of
Kings
County
did
not
attend
to
the
patient,
and
the
patient
collapsed
and
died
on
the
floor
of
the
waiting
room.460
Her
death
set
off
a
debate
about
the
conditions
at
Kings
County.
Predictably,
the
NYCLU,
as
the
citys
premiere
advocacy
group,
demanded
healthcare
reforms.
In
2008
in
New
York
City,
nobody
should
be
subjected
to
this
kind
of
treatment.
It
should
not
take
the
death
of
a
patient
to
get
the
city
to
make
changes
that
everyone
knows
are
long
overdue,
said
Donna
Lieberman,
the
NYCLUs
executive
director.
However,
the
politicians,
who
knew
that
Mr.
Bergers
hospital
closings
would
lead
to
emergency
room
overcrowding
and
459
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/19/nyregion/19hospital.html
460
http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/07/01/waiting.room.death/
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 204 -
overtaxed medical staff at the remaining hospitals, did not want to address concerns stemming from failures caused by city hospital ER wait times or other conditions. Although this death was not directly related to the Berger Commission, the incident at Kings County was a worse case scenario waiting to happen if the Berger Commission overreached in its efforts to close community hospitals. In the summer of 2008, Mayor Bloomberg and Christine put together the Fiscal Year 2009 budget with an estimated surplus of $4.6 billion.461 These surpluses were not coming about as a result of over-taxation. On the contrary, the City Council had refused to modify property tax rates and rebates that could have raised an additional $1.4 billion in resources from property owners, but because councilmembers were facing an election year, Christine refused the City Council the opportunity to raise taxes, even though there was economic room to do so. Even with these breaks taken away, owners of single-family homes would still pay taxes at a lower rate than their counterparts in surrounding communities, the editorial board of The New York Times wrote.462 In the middle of such excessive budget surpluses, The New York Times reported that Christine allowed Mayor Bloomberg to cut nearly $300 million from the budget that was meant to help those with the least and the most vulnerable, including people with HIV/AIDS. On this seminal issue, Christine was already turning her back on an important constituency on whose behalf she once championed. Rather than use the budget surplus or the possible opportunities to raise taxes on property owners for important municipal issues,
461
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/07/opinion/07mon4.html
462
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/07/opinion/07mon4.html
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- 205 -
such
as
improving
public
health,
those
monies
were
rapidly
depleted
as
a
result
of
an
emerging
Wall
Street
financial
crisis.
Before
2008
ended,
two
Wall
Street
banks,
Bear
Stearns
and
Lehman
Brothers,
collapsed
in
the
immediate
aftermath
of
a
credit
squeeze
caused
by
the
overuse
of
complex
derivatives
trading.
The
credit
squeeze
triggered
a
global
financial
crisis
and
recession.
This
crisis
was
nominally
tied
to
a
real
estate
crash
in
the
United
Stated,
but
this
domestic
financial
crisis
quickly
spread
across
the
world
through
major
banks
because
of
the
use
of
derivatives
on
mortgages,
credit,
and
other
financial
products.
The
federal
government
swiftly
cushioned
the
blow
of
the
Bear
Stearns
collapse,
and
it
bailed
out
AIG
by
honoring
100%
of
its
derivative
counterparty
obligations.
The
government
did
not
bail
out
Lehman
Brothers,
but
the
government
did
offer
a
backdoor
bailout
for
other
banks
and
derivatives
dealers
by
flooding
the
financial
system
with
easy
credit
and
by
the
direct
intervention
of
purchasing
toxic
assets.463
Confusion
and
then
public
anger
began
to
grow
in
the
face
of
the
dichotomy
between
how
homeowners
were
being
foreclosed
and
social
safety
net
institutions,
such
as
hospitals,
were
being
allowed
to
collapse.
Yet,
the
government
was
able
to
seemingly
find
trillions
of
dollars
of
resources
to
deploy
for
a
bailout
of
Wall
Street.464
At
the
peak
of
the
financial
panic,
Wall
Street
banks,
hedge
funds,
and
investment
managers
were
exposed
to
be
overleveraged
because
of
their
use
of
derivatives.
Daily
headlines
would
propagate
an
endless
loop
of
fear,
speculation,
and
desperate
efforts
to
make
back
losses
by
attempting
to
profit
from
the
short-
463
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Financial_crisis_of_200708#Government_responses
464
http://nymag.com/news/features/68991/
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 206 -
selling
of
stocks
and
bonds
in
the
precipitous
drop
in
asset
valuations.
During
the
work
week,
rumors
would
add
to
news
reports
about
worsening
balance
sheets
across
the
globe.
On
the
week-ends,
speculation
in
the
news
would
spread
that
more
and
more
financial
institutions
faced
collapse
if
they
could
not
be
bailed
out
by
Monday.
Since
New
York
was
the
financial
capital
of
the
world,
the
uncontrollable
losses
cast
a
pall
on
the
tax
revenues
of
the
city
government.
Nominally,
City
Hall
was
proximate
to
the
financial
bloodletting
on
Wall
Street,
but
City
Hall
had
no
regulatory
or
governmental
role
to
do
anything
to
stem
the
tide
of
losses.
During
the
downward
spiral
at
the
inception
of
the
2008
financial
crisis,
Christine
was
engulfed
in,
and
the
possible
target
of,
investigations
by
the
Department
of
Justice
over
her
use
of
fictitious
accounts
to
hide
the
City
Council
slush
fund.
Christine
couldnt
run
for
mayor
in
the
2009
election
while
under
active
investigation
by
federal
prosecutors.465
Meanwhile,
Mayor
Bloomberg
discovered
that
he
had
no
national
support
to
launch
a
presidential
campaign,
so
he
needed
to
find
an
alternative
to
assuage
his
own
ego.466
With
the
global
economic
system
on
the
verge
of
collapse,
Mayor
Bloomberg
and
Christine
used
the
financial
crisis
and
recession
as
a
convenient
excuse
to
extend
term
limits,
so
that
they
could
weather
out
another
four
years
in
public
office
under
the
privilege
of
incumbency.467
Because
Christine
was
facing
an
investigation
into
her
slush
fund,
she
needed
to
buy
some
time
to
put
that
scandal
behind
her,
before
she
could
mount
a
campaign
for
mayor,
which
was
now
being
pushed
off
to
the
2013
election
cycle.
And
Mayor
465
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323873904578573991495793794.html
466
http://nymag.com/news/politics/citypolitic/51820/
467
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/02/nyregion/in-quinn-reversal-on-term-limits-complex-motives-and-
lasting-effects.html
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 207 -
Bloomberg
wanted
the
benefits
of
being
in
a
high
profile
office
like
the
mayoralty
of
New
York.
If
he
couldnt
run
for
president,
then
he
still
saw
opportunities
from
hanging
on
to
City
Hall.
The
mayors
financial
services
company
would
announce
the
launch
of
a
new
service
in
late
2010
called
Bloomberg
Government,
which
promised
to
help
professionals
to
understand
the
business
implications
of
government
actions.468
Like
the
most
cunning
Wall
Street
speculators,
these
politicians
also
looked
to
profit
from
the
turmoil.
Years
later,
The
New
York
Times
reported
that,
When
the
mayor
first
spoke
with
Ms.
Quinn
about
his
designs
on
a
third
term,
during
a
phone
call
in
the
fall
of
2008,
it
was
to
tell
her
of
his
decision
to
rewrite
the
law,
not
to
seek
her
approval
beforehand,
adding
that,
her
decision
was
consistent
with
her
longstanding
personal
opposition
to
term
limits
and
her
belief
that
in
the
midst
of
the
2008
economic
crisis,
voters
should
have
the
chance
to
keep
their
elected
leaders
in
place.
Christine
added
to
this
rationalization
by
telling
The
New
York
Times
that,
We
were
in
the
worst
economic
recession
since
the
Great
Depression
and
nobody
had
any
sense
of
how
quickly
or
how
long
we
would
stay
in
the
throes
of
that.469
Both
justifications
published
by
The
New
York
Times
contradicted
the
truth
about
Christines
opposition
to
term
limits
and
the
use
of
extenuating
circumstances
to
extend
term
limits.
Christine
had
actually
opposed
term
limits
in
the
time
leading
up
to
progressive
Republican
Councilmember
Fialas
moving
speech
denouncing
the
City
Councils
legislative
efforts
to
overturn
term
limits,
and,
again
in
2007,
she
468
http://www.bloomberg.com/video/65604488-michael-riley-discusses-launch-of-bloomberg-
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 208 -
opposed
extending
term
limits
after
she
had
induced
councilmembers
to
select
her
as
speaker.
In
the
aftermath
of
9/11,
the
public
--
including
then
mayoral
candidate
Mike
Bloomberg
--
had
opposed
suspending
term
limits
to
keep
Mayor
Giuliani
in
office
to
oversee
the
recovery
from
the
terrorist
attacks.
Even
acts
of
war
here
on
New
York
City
soil
were
not
enough
to
extend
Mayor
Giulianis
term
in
office
in
2001.
How
could
a
financial
crisis
be
more
severe
than
the
deadly
destruction
of
9/11
?
In
spite
of
an
expected
voter
backlash,
Christine
strong-armed
the
City
Council
to
pass
an
extension
of
term
limits
on
October
23,
2008,
saying,
at
one
point,
The
debate
today
is
an
important
one,
but
ultimately
it
is
a
debate
about
process,
provoking
this
comment
by
Jonathan
Tessler
on
a
blog
post
on
The
New
York
Times,
If
it
is
indeed
about
process,
its
about
a
process
that
voters
will
have
limited
or
no
access
to.470
Mr.
Tesslers
comments
and
the
sentiments
of
others
were
reminiscent
of
former
Councilmember
Fialas
moving
speech
in
2001
in
which
he
denounced
the
legislative
attempt
at
that
time
to
overturn
term
limits.
Why
were
term
limits,
imposed
by
voters
through
a
process
of
voter
referenda,
being
undermined
by
the
process
of
a
City
Council
bill
coerced
into
passage
by
Christine
?
Years
later,
The
New
York
Times
revealed
that
it
had
been
alleged
that
Christine
had
used
possible
chairmanship
assignments
of
City
Council
committees
as
an
inducement
to
ensure
the
term
limits
extension.471
When
it
came
to
extending
her
power,
Christine
knew
how
to
use
force
to
pass
legislation.
But
Christines
image
470
http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/10/23/council-to-debate-term-limits-change/
471
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/02/nyregion/in-quinn-reversal-on-term-limits-complex-motives-and-
lasting-effects.html
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 209 -
took
a
hit,
because
voters
were
finally
able
to
clearly
see
how
self-interested
Christines
legislative
agenda
really
was.
Nothing
was
being
done
to
save
hospitals,
but
the
speed
with
which
the
City
Council
overturned
term
limits
was
striking.
Mayor
Bloomberg
and
Christine
had
rationalized
the
extension
of
term
limits
on
the
hypothesis
that
Mayor
Bloomberg
was
a
successful
billionaire,
who
could
shepherd
the
city
through
the
global
financial
crisis
and
recession
better
than
anybody
else.472
But
during
his
mayoralty,
Mayor
Bloomberg
had
never
shown
any
financial
acumen
that
made
the
resources
available
to
save
schools473
or
hospitals474
from
being
closed
on
his
watch.
Like
Christine,
he
was
also
absent
from
any
discussion
to
save
the
citys
community
hospitals.
If
there
was
any
financial
genius
to
Mayor
Bloombergs
own
myth,
voters
were
wondering
when
would
it
materialize.
Meanwhile,
activists,
who
had
known
Christine
since
her
time
as
former
Councilmember
Duanes
campaign
manager,
remembered
how
Christine
had
instigated
a
staff
backlash
when
she
later
took
over
AVP.
They
remembered
when
Christine
had
purged
good
agency
staff,
who
had
been
doing
first-of-a-kind
work
in
the
prevention
and
treatment
of
anti-LGBT
violence.
They
remembered
when
Christine
turned
her
back
on
racism
and
police
brutality
when
she
was
on
Mayor
Giulianis
task
force.
They
remembered
the
political
club
backlash
Christine
created
after
she
ran
for
City
Council,
and
people
accused
her
of
punishing
political
foes
with
Tammany-in-lavender
tactics.475
They
began
to
tally
all
her
betrayals
on
affordable
housing,
her
role
in
the
slush
fund
scandal,
her
abdication
of
472
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/02/nyregion/in-quinn-reversal-on-term-limits-complex-motives-and-
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 210 -
responsibility
over
hospital
closings,
the
protest
permit
requirement,
and
now
on
term
limits.
Christine
was
going
to
have
to
decide
whether
she
was
going
to
continue
being
duplicitous
with
her
constituents,
or
whether
she
was
going
to
either
fully
sell
out
to
big
business
interests,
as
was
the
growing
impression.
Veteran
activists
kept
hoping
that
Christine
would
come
home
and
renew
her
loyalty
to
her
base
of
one-time
supporters,
as
the
activist
Jim
Fouratt
once
put
it.476
Leading
up
to
the
2009
municipal
election,
The
New
York
Times
was
on
shaky
financial
ground.
Its
newspaper
business
kept
losing
money,
and
its
digital
assets
were
not
performing
well,
either.
It
had
just
moved
into
a
new
high-rise
office
building,
and,
in
the
beginning
of
that
year,
it
was
forced
to
take
out
an
emergency
loan
from
enterprises
linked
to
the
controversial
Mexican
billionaire
Carlos
Slim
to
help
it
ease
a
serious
cash
crunch.477
For
many
years,
it
was
speculated
that
The
New
York
Times
would
need
to
court
a
billionaire
angel
investor
to
finance
its
business
on
a
long-term
basis,
and
Mayor
Bloomberg,
with
his
vast
wealth,
was
often
mentioned
as
a
possible
benefactor.478
479
Activists
wondered
whether
The
New
York
Times
would
hold
back
on
criticism
of
the
Bloomberg-Quinn
administration
out
of
fear
that
it
might
anger
the
man,
who
might
one
day
own
the
Grey
Lady.
For
example,
when
the
CityTime
scandal
broke,
it
appeared
that
The
New
York
Daily
News
did
a
better
job
of
driving
coverage
of
fraud
that
was
estimated
to
exceed
over
$600
million,
and
The
New
York
Times
never
appeared
to
follow-up
on
a
story
about
hidden
city
bank
accounts
that
held
hundreds
of
millions
of
taxpayer
476
http://youtu.be/7pxiULqxusM
477
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/20/business/media/20times.html
478
http://www.politico.com/blogs/media/2012/06/will-bloomberg-buy-the-new-york-times-125175.html
479
http://www.mediabistro.com/fishbowlny/everyone-is-talking-about-the-ny-times-being-sold_b90770
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 211 -
dollars,480 even after the Comptroller Bill Thompson and his successor, John Liu, took Mayor Bloomberg to task for the unregistered bank accounts.481 That The New York Times could consider taking a soft-pedal approach to Mayor Bloombergs record was indication of the political realities caused by the influence of Mayor Bloombergs wealth, even on the venerable broadsheet. Journalism was at risk of being bent by the gravitational pull of the mayors billions. Indeed, Mayor Bloomberg was widely reported to have used his private wealth to help overturn term limits.482 Accepting the idea that a vulnerable journalism outpost desperate for an affluent white knight could slant its reportage out of motivations for self- preservation would help to understand the remainder of the patchwork storyline of Christines career, especially how the rest of the hospital closings would play-out. In January 2009, the political operative Kevin Finnegan took over as political director for 1199, after the previous political director, Patrick Gaspard, was selected to work on Barack Obamas 2008 presidential campaign.483 Mr. Gaspard would transition to become the White House political director, where he would become involved in the presidents plan to expand healthcare insurance to millions of previously uninsured patients.484 Mr. Gaspard left to Mr. Finnegan and others to confront Mr. Bergers continued onslaught to close hospitals in New York. Mr. Finnegans leadership would contrast with Mr. Gaspards, because Mr. Finnegan was an early support of Christines, while Mr. Gaspards was a supporter of one of
480 http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/12/18/more-city-agencies-hold-millions-in-hidden-accounts/ 481 http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/22/nyregion/22morgy.html 482 http://nypost.com/2013/06/23/ilence-was-golden/ 483 http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dailypolitics/2009/01/finnegan-the-new-gaspard-at-11.html 484 http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/07/09/labor-groups-to-press-obama-on-health-care-and-a-
second-stimulus-effort/
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 212 -
Christines
rivals
for
the
speakership,
Bill
de
Blasio.485
Somehow,
union
leaders
were
expected
to
serve
the
rank
and
file,
even
though
leaders
could
sometimes
have
allegiances
to
politicians
with
rival
agendas.
Such
were
the
minefields
of
community
and
union
organizing
in
New
York
City.
At
any
rate,
within
weeks
of
Mr.
Finnegans
formal
appointment,
two
Queens
hospitals,
which
had
once
been
part
of
the
St.
Vincents
hospital
system,
closed
:
Mary
Immaculate
Hospital
and
St.
Johns
Queens
Hospital.486
By
this
time,
employees
began
to
hold
demonstrations
in
protest
against
the
Berger
Commissions
push
to
close
hospitals.
But
the
very
structure
that
was
given
to
the
political
apparatus
making
the
closures
possible
--
the
executive
appointment
of
Mr.
Berger
to
a
commission
made
years
ago
by
Gov.
Pataki,
two
administrations
removed
from
Gov.
Pattersons
term
in
office
--
allowed
for
no
political
accountability
for
the
closures.
The
Berger
Commission
was
executing
a
top-down
agenda
that
had
no
bottom-up
support
from
impacted
communities.
Even
though
state
health
officials
bore
ultimate
responsibility
for
regulating
healthcare
facilities,
the
impact
on
public
health
caused
by
hospital
closures
could
also
be
deemed
a
municipal
issue,
but
neither
Mayor
Bloomberg
nor
Christine
took
city
action
to
save
these
hospitals.
Mr.
Thompson,
the
New
York
City
comptroller
at
the
time,
issued
a
policy
report
describing
the
effect
of
the
closing
of
Mary
Immaculate
and
St.
Johns
as
creating
an
emergency
room
crisis
in
Queens,487
but
Mayor
Bloomberg
and
Christine
never
opposed
these
hospital
closings.
It
worked
in
Christine's
political
favor
to
keep
485
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/bill-de-blasio-campaign-driven-seasoned-political-hands-
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 213 -
ambiguity around the hospital closings crisis, so that she would not have to use any political power or authority to challenge Mr. Berger. The nebulous nature to whom hospital employees and healthcare advocates could appeal to put a stop to the closings frustrated protesters, and it prevented activists, at least in the beginning, from being able to form a resistance movement that could coalesce around specific elected officials, against whom a long-term campaign of pressure politics could be launched. Christines slush fund scandal, the row over the extension of term limits, her apparent subjugation to Mayor Bloomberg, her betrayals on affordable housing, her unpopular support for controversial garbage facilities in Tribeca and in the Upper East Side, and her failure to confront the NYPD over a covert police policy of entrapping men at gay bookstores increased voter dissatisfaction within Christines City Council district. In the 2009 election cycle, two candidates openly challenged Christine for the Democratic primary : Yetta Kurland, a civil rights attorney, and Maria Passannante Derr, a local civic leader who opposed the Tribeca garbage truck facility. In the West Village, Chelsea, and Hells Kitchen neighborhoods of Manhattan, voters were now mobilizing against Christine. Years of violating her public duty were finally catching up to her. Besides the standard complaints, new activists were coming forward with concerns over crumbling infrastructure and the concentration of power among lobbyists and special interests, energizing the old guard of activists. Also joining the growing protest movement against Christine were digital activists and bloggers. One such digital activist was Suzannah B. Troy.
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 214 -
At
one
protest
against
Christine
in
the
time
leading
up
to
the
2009
election,
Ms.
Troy
brought
the
famed
civil
rights
attorney
Norman
Siegel,
who
once
served
with
Christine
on
Mayor
Giulianis
police
task
force.
Mr.
Siegel
was
to
serve
as
a
legal
observer
at
a
protest
outside
a
primary
debate
at
a
building
owned
by
New
York
University.
At
the
debate,
voters
arrived
to
discover
that
last
minute
tickets
were
needed
to
get
inside,
and
that
the
line
of
people
with
tickets
were
mainly
Christines
supporters,
many
of
whom
were
said
to
possibly
be
City
Council
employees.
That
summer,
The
Village
Voice
questioned
whether
Christine
was
using
City
Council
employees
to
volunteer
during
normal
work
hours,
a
violation
of
rules
set
by
the
Board
of
Elections.488
Meanwhile,
outside
the
NYU
debate,
Mr.
Siegel
witnessed
how
the
university
dispatched
its
own
private
security
force
to
keep
out
a
large
overflow
crowd.
Because
NYU
made
no
provision
for
a
standing
room
only
crowd,
the
excess
crowd
was
just
plain
locked
out.
A
man
in
a
wheelchair
was
denied
entry
in
clear
violation
of
the
Americans
with
Disabilities
Act.
Ms.
Troy
and
other
digital
activists
recorded
on
video
the
abuses
by
NYU
security
that
denied
voters
entry
into
the
debate,
and
those
videos
were
posted
on
YouTube,489
490
491
blogged
about,
and
shared.
That
Christine
would
agree
to
a
venue
for
a
debate
that
would
lock
out
voters
was
spread
across
social
media.
In
municipal
politics,
this
debate
marked
an
important
turning
point
:
social
media
activists
were
now
able
to
report
campaign
news
that
would
never
have
been
so
swiftly
documented
before,
much
less
shared
across
the
Internet.
489
http://youtu.be/OmWXpj20_-c
490
http://youtu.be/S7km0CGc0uE
491
http://youtu.be/adDEhhagQnY
488
http://blogs.villagevoice.com/runninscared/2009/08/speaker_quinn_p.php
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 215 -
Christine
was
late
for
the
debate,
and
when
she
finally
arrived,
she
had
to
walk
in
front
of
the
angry
voters,
who
had
been
locked
out
by
NYU.
As
Christine
approached
the
entrance
to
the
NYU
facility,
Ms.
Troy
was
the
fist
to
say,
Oust
Quinn,
oust
Quinn
!
Shes
corrupt
!492
Ms.
Troys
jeers
signaled
to
the
other
protesters
that
it
was
O.K.
to
boo
Christine.
Other
chants
and
denounciations
followed,
but,
once
Christine
made
her
way
inside,
she
was
insulated
from
the
voter
anger
for
the
time
being.
The
man
in
the
wheelchair
and
a
reporter
from
the
all
news
cable
channel
NY1
were
among
those,
who
were
denied
entry,
which
further
angered
the
protesters
outside.
Mr.
Siegel
took
issue
with
NYU
officials
for
having
turned
away
the
press
and
locking
out
the
protesters.
Sometimes
the
police
and
private
security
trample
on
peoples
First
Amendment
rights,
Mr.
Siegel
said
at
the
time,
adding,
This
city,
this
country
--
the
cornerstone
of
the
participatory
democracy
--
is
for
people
to
have
the
right
to
peacefully
protest.
He
added,
You
cannot
allow
anyone,
whether
its
a
mayor,
whether
its
a
police
department,
to
trample
on
peoples
First
Amendment
rights
...
or
even
the
speaker.
Now
that
activists
were
organizing
against
Christine,
she
was
trying
to
find
ways
to
disband
protests,
and
word
of
Christines
efforts
had
made
its
way
back
to
Mr.
Siegel.
Recently,
I
heard
that
the
speaker
had
some
private
security
people,
who
were
telling
people
that
they
could
not
demonstrate
on
a
public
sidewalk.
Its
absolutely
false,
and
I
will
make
sure
that
peoples
First
Amendment
rights
are
protected,
Mr.
Siegel
said
outside
the
NYU
debate.493
Eventually,
after
immense
pressure
from
protesters
and
intervention
by
Mr.
Siegel,
the
wheelchaired
man
was
492
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7km0CGc0uE
493
http://youtu.be/S7km0CGc0uE
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 216 -
allowed
entry
into
that
nights
debate.494
But
it
was
a
small
win.
NYU
and
the
sponsor
of
the
debate,
The
Villager
newspaper,
had
only
provided
five
press
passes,
meaning
that
the
NY1
reporter
was
kept
locked
out
of
the
debate,
even
though
his
cable
news
channel
was
the
primary
TV
source
for
political
news
in
New
York
City.
The
clampdown
on
media
coverage
was
designed
to
keep
a
lid
on
voter
anger
against
Christine,
some
activists
alleged.
Protesters
were
outraged
by
how
they
were
treated,
and
Mr.
Siegels
presence
outside
the
controversial
NYU
debate
served
to
underscore
his
important
role
in
New
York.
Mr.
Siegel
was
running
for
office
of
public
advocate
that
year,
and
in
the
middle
of
his
own
campaign,
he
was
taking
time
off
to
help
activists.
His
legal
brilliance
and
his
effort
to
help
activists,
though
a
source
of
hope
for
those
fighting
to
bring
about
government
reforms,
were
not
enough
to
help
him
win
his
race.
He
lost
to
Mr.
de
Blasio,
one
of
Christines
old
foes.
Since
Ms.
Kurland
was
a
vegan
and
an
animal
rights
activist,
other
animal
rights
activists
were
attracted
to
support
her
candidacy.
These
animal
rights
activists
were
also
spurred
on
by
Christines
support
for
the
horse
carriage
industry,
a
business
which
animal
rights
activists
viewed
as
exploitative
of
animals.495
To
other
activists,
Christine
had
become
reminiscent
of
Carol
Greitzer,
the
long-term,
do-nothing
incumbent
councilmember,
who
had
been
targeted
to
be
voted
out
of
office
by
a
series
of
three
different
gay
politicians,
first
Jim
Owles,
then
David
Rothenberg,
and
finally
by
Tom
Duane.
To
still
yet
other
activists,
Ms.
Derrs
appearance
on
that
years
Democratic
primary
ticket
was
meant
to
split
votes
away
from
Ms.
Kurlands
chances
at
defeating
Christine,
and
that
was
exactly
what
494
http://youtu.be/OmWXpj20_-c
495
http://thevillager.com/villager_332/quinopponents.html
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 217 -
happened : Ms. Derr acted to ruin Ms. Kurlands insurgent campaign. Christine barely won reelection : she took about 52% of the vote, Ms. Kurland won 31%, and Ms. Derr was left with 16%,496 showing that Ms. Derr was a marginal candidate, who acted as Ms. Kurlands spoiler. In her concession speech, Ms. Kurland spoke about the political pressure that opposed her candidacy, noting that she had been told by insiders, that you dont go against incumbents, that you cant question authority when it becomes dysfunctional. People were afraid to stand up to Christine Quinn, and we showed the entire district, and we showed the entire city, that the numbers show that this district is not happy with their leadership. Ms. Kurland added, Every time there is development that happens without affordable housing, theres deals that are made that succumb to big business and developers and to money, we will be here, we will be watching. We are organized, we have power -- this is just the beginning.497 For the 2009 race, Christine raised about $2 million in donations, of which she had to set aside almost $1.8 million in donations for a future race,498 so that she would not violate Campaign Finance Board rules for the spending cap under its matching funds program. Christine had raised these millions in anticipation that she would have been running for mayor that year, before the slush fund scandal and Mayor Bloombergs thwarted presidential run scuttled her plans. Besides the substantial political contributions from real estate interests, even those receiving
498
http://www.nyccfb.info/searchabledb/AdvancedContributionSearchResult.aspx?ec_id=2013&ec=2013&RecTyp =Candidates+only&RecTyp_id=Can&cand_id=204&cand=Quinn%2c+Christine+C
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 218 -
discretionary
funding
from
City
Council,499
Christine
also
received
$200.00
from
Daniel
Alter,
a
controversial
Wall
Street
banker,
whose
nomination
to
the
federal
bench
by
Sen.
Chuck
Schumer
was
rejected
by
the
Obama
administration
after
it
was
learned
that,
among
other
reasons,
Mr.
Alter
appeared
to
oppose
the
use
of
the
phrase
under
God
in
the
Pledge
of
Allegiance.500
Because
Christine
was
a
proud
Irish
Catholic,
its
not
known
why
she
kept
Mr.
Alters
donation.
Other
reliable
supporters,
like
Kenneth
Monteiro,
Laura
Morrison,
and
Richard
Socarides,
donated
to
Christines
campaign.
Michael
Cormier,
a
nurse
at
St.
Vincents,
had
donated
$25.00
to
Christines
campaign
before
the
hospital
closed.
Anne
Washburn,
Ms.
Giskes
girlfriend,
donated
$100.00
to
Christines
campaign.
Ms.
Washburn
was
head
of
a
business
group
in
the
Meatpacking
District
of
the
West
Village,
which
stood
to
benefit
from
the
High
Line
park
project.501
Meanwhile,
Mayor
Bloomberg
was
forced
to
spend
over
$109
million
of
his
own
money
in
declared
political
campaign
expenditures
for
his
re-election
effort
in
2009
to
overcome
widespread
voter
anger
over
the
overturning
of
term
limits
in
a
campaign
that
was
later
beset
by
criminal
charges502
and
a
review
of
his
campaign
finances.503
He
faced
Comptroller
Bill
Thompson
as
the
Democratic
candidate
in
that
years
general
election
race.
To
win,
many
political
insiders
noted
that
Mayor
Bloomberg
had
to
make
millions
in
undeclared
charitable
donations
from
his
499
http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/city-politicians-received-big-campaign-donations-funneled-tax-
dollars-developers-article-1.426728 500 http://perezhilton.com/2010-10-22-white-house-rejects-new-york-senator-chuck-schumers- reccomendation-that-openly-gay-daniel-alter-serve-on-the-us-district-court#sthash.S1jKZrnm.dpbs 501 http://www.nyccfb.info/searchabledb/AdvancedContributionSearchResult.aspx?ec_id=2009&ec=2009&RecTyp =Candidates+only&RecTyp_id=Can&cand_id=204&cand=Quinn%2c+Christine+C 502 http://observer.com/2010/08/the-secret-campaign-of-mayor-mike/ 503 http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/19/nyregion/campaign-finance-board-rebukes-but-does-not-punish- bloomberg.html
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 219 -
personal
fortune
to
community
groups
and
non-profits
in
order
to
demobilize
active,
civic-minded
leaders,
who
could
have
organized
against
the
mayor
on
the
term
limits
issue.
When
the
City
Council
held
hearings
on
the
term
limits
change,
mayoral
aides
asked
organizations
on
the
receiving
end
of
his
generosity
to
testify
in
favor,
reported
Tom
Robbins
in
The
New
York
Post.504
One
such
group
that
received
large
charitable
contributions
from
Mayor
Bloomberg
in
what
appeared
to
be
a
quid
pro
quo
for
support
on
extending
term
limits
was
the
Doe
Fund,
a
homeless
assistance
group.
Aside
from
charitable
donations,
the
Doe
Fund
also
received
from
the
Bloomberg
administration
city
contracts
worth
tens
of
millions
of
dollars,
The
New
York
Times
reported.505
Dozens
of
people,
who
depended
on
Doe
Fund
shelters,
were
bused
to
the
City
Council
hearing
on
overturning
term
limits
to
pack
the
room
in
support
of
Mayor
Bloomberg.506
That
Mayor
Bloomberg
was
so
desperate
for
support
from
homeless
groups
belied
the
fact
that
he
had
been
behind
a
policy
that
rounded
up
the
homeless
since
2007
and
had
them
deported
to
other
states.507
Such
were
Mayor
Bloombergs
political
reversal
of
fortune.
Mayor
Bloombergs
use
of
community
groups
that
received
taxpayer
money
was
a
powerful
way
to
triangulate
support
from
civic
leaders
for
a
politicians
agenda,
a
template
for
authority
that
we
saw
resembled
how
officials
connected
with
the
High
Line
park
project
had
donated
over
$50,000.00
in
campaign
contributions
to
Christines
political
accounts,
as
one
investigation
showed.
Meanwhile,
Ms.
Kurlands
insurgent
campaign
against
Christine
in
2009
was
a
rarity
504
http://nypost.com/2013/06/23/ilence-was-golden/
505
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/07/nyregion/07doe.html
506
http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dailypolitics/2008/10/doe-a-dear-for-bloomberg.html
507
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/29/nyregion/29oneway.html
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 220 -
in
New
York
City
politics
:
it
was
a
sign
that
Christines
abuse
of
incumbency
privileges
and
violations
of
her
public
duty
had
stirred
up
passionate
dissent
to
such
a
degree
that
a
community
organizer
would
openly
question
Christines
leadership.
Furthermore,
even
after
Christine
was
safely
reelected
to
the
City
Council,
she
briefly
faced
questions
whether
her
peers
would
select
her
again
to
serve
as
speaker,
given
the
voter
outrage
stemming
from
the
overturning
of
term
limits.508
While
Christine
was
left
scrambling
to
save
her
hold
on
power,
Mayor
Bloomberg
rewarded
his
campaign
staff
with
outsized
bonuses
and
job
offerings.509
Additionally,
Ms.
Kurlands
promise
to
be
here
if
a
zone-busting
real
estate
development
would
disrupt
the
West
Village
would
predict
an
escalation
of
community
organizing
against
Christine
and
her
political
career.
Between
the
end
of
2009
and
the
beginning
of
2010,
St.
Vincents
Hospital
in
Christines
City
Council
district
was
facing
financial
difficulty.
It
laid
off
almost
180
employees
a
few
weeks
before
Christmas
in
2009,
after
the
election,
as
a
result
of,
among
other
reasons,
a
series
of
state
budget
cuts.510
Even
though
there
had
been
budget
surpluses
at
the
municipal
level
in
recent
years,
the
state
budget
cuts
were
taking
a
toll.
St.
Vincents
Hospital
was
not
meant
to
be
closed
under
the
Berger
Commission
Report,
and
the
hospital
had
been
in
talks
with
a
real
estate
developer
to
help
shore
up
the
hospitals
finances.511
Once
Christine
had
been
safely
resworn
into
office,
Mr.
Finnegan,
the
1199
political
director,
said,
It
would
be
outrageous
for
the
state
to
even
entertain
offers
to
close
the
only
hospital
that
services
508
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/angry-voters-whittle-speaker-christine-quinn-power-base-article-
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 221 -
hundreds
of
thousands
of
New
Yorkers
who
work
or
live
on
the
West
Side
of
Manhattan
below
59th
Street.512
But
two
months
later,
a
proposed
sale
of
St.
Vincents
to
another
Manhattan
hospital,
Mount
Sinai
Medical
Center,
mysteriously
fell
through,
and
another
hospital
operator,
Continuum
Health
Partners,
had
expressed
no
interest
in
maintaining
a
full-service
hospital
on
the
site
of
St.
Vincents.513
It
had
become
apparent
that
state
health
officials
were
going
to
do
nothing
to
save
St.
Vincents.
This
vacuum
of
leadership
was
complicated
by
the
fact
that
as
Christines
constituents
looked
onto
her
to
lead
the
charge
to
save
St.
Vincents,
she
had
an
apparent
conflict
of
interest
in
the
matter.
Christine
had
accepted
almost
$30,000.00
in
campaign
contributions
by
the
wealthy
family
that
controlled
the
real
estate
developer,
Rudin
Management
Company.514
A
development
deal
struck
by
St.
Vincents
in
the
shadow
of
a
previous
bankruptcy
had
given
Rudin
an
edge
in
buying
some
of
the
buildings
comprising
the
St.
Vincents
campus,515
and
the
hospitals
second
bankruptcy,
in
2010,
acted
to
make
Rudins
prior
development
deal
into
a
more
lucrative
opportunity
for
outsized
profits.516
Since
Christine
was
conflicted,
she
would
initially
go
through
the
motions
to
put
on
an
appearance
of
trying
to
save
St.
Vincents,
but
she
could
not
realistically
follow
through
on
delivering
a
true
rescue
package
for
St.
Vincents
out
of
fear
of
angering
an
important
political
514
512
http://nypost.com/2010/01/26/code-red-looms-for-st-vinnys/
513
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/02/nyregion/02hospital.html
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 222 -
supporter
and
powerful
real
estate
developer.
Neither
nor
would
she
recuse
herself
from
the
process.
As
promised
by
Ms.
Kurlands
pledge
to
be
here
if
a
zone-busting
real
estate
development
would
disrupt
the
West
Village,
the
community
began
to
organize
anew
against
Christine.
This
was
only
mere
months
after
Christines
shaky
reelection
win
over
Ms.
Kurland.
Generally,
powerful
real
estate
developers
get
exactly
what
they
want
in
New
York
City.
Proposed
affordable
housing
regulations
either
get
watered
down
into
low-cost
loan
packages
or
the
responsibility
for
building
affordable
housing
gets
transferred
from
developers
to
city
taxpayers.
In
the
case
of
a
large
development
project
in
Brooklyn
known
as
Atlantic
Yards,
which
would
lead
to
the
construction
of
another
sports
stadium,
the
Barclays
Center,
grass
roots
activists
spent
years
fighting
the
system
to
only
lose.517
Their
loss
was
hastened
by
the
fact
that
some
community
groups
actually
sided
with
the
developer.
One
of
those
community
groups
was
ACORN,
which
was
headed
by
Bertha
Lewis
at
the
time.518
ACORN
helped
to
negotiate
an
accord
with
developers
that
would
require
developers
to
provide
affordable
housing,
job
training
and
other
benefits,
according
to
WNYC.519
Responsibility
for
enforcing
compromises
struck
between
activists
and
developers,
sometimes
known
as
community
benefits
agreements,
fell
on
politicians,
which
was
a
trap,
because
politicians
lacked
the
courage
to
challenge
developers,520
because,
as
seen,
developers
made
large
campaign
contributions
to
politicians.
Ms.
Lewis,
who
was
described
as
a
housing
advocate,
and
similar
to
the
517
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/26/nyregion/exhausted-from-an-angry-and-losing-battle-against-
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 223 -
controversial
housing
advocate
Michael
McKee,
Ms.
Lewis
provided
political
cover
to
the
lopsided
victory
enjoyed
by
the
developer,
which
in
this
case
was
Forest
City
Ratner,
one
of
Christines
campaign
donors.
Forest
City
Ratner
was
allowed
to
use
eminent
domain
to
confiscate
property
for
the
project.521
Ms.
Lewis
had
close
ties
to
the
Working
Families
Party
and
to
Mr.
de
Blasio,
the
newly-elected
public
advocate.522
Developers
had
become
shrewd
in
weakening
political
oversight
by
making
large
campaign
donations
to
compromise
the
independence
of
political
leaders.
Developers
knew
that
they
could
wear
down
activists
energy
and
morale,
and
they
knew
how
to
divide
the
community
by
finding
community
groups
that
would
sell
out
on
their
principles,
thereby
giving
developers
political
cover
to
win
approval
for
their
zone-busting
deals.
To
help
achieve
the
developers
goal,
Christine
began
to
telegraph
a
sensibility
of
resignation
to
her
constituents,
that
they
should
just
give
in,
because
the
developer
had
already
won.
For
example,
in
late
2007,
Christine
was
asked
at
a
community
meeting
what
could
be
done
to
stop
the
Atlantic
Yards
project.
She
replied,
I
think
theres
not
a
lot
thats
left
to
be
done
and
that
the
project
will
be
getting
developed.523
Christine
finally
revealed
that
she
was
no
longer
capable
of
being
a
beacon
of
top-down
support
for
bottom-up
community
empowerment.
At
long
last,
she
was
openly
disempowering
and
demobilizing
the
community.
It
was
exactly
what
developers
expected
from
Christine.
At
that
same
2007
community
meeting,
WCBS-TV
political
reporter
Andrew
Kirtzman
conducted
a
brief
interview
521
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/22/nyregion/22yards.html
522
http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/359265/radicalism-bill-de-blasio-stanley-kurtz
523
http://blogs.villagevoice.com/runninscared/2007/11/_politicians_on.php
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 224 -
with
Christine,
and
he
frankly
asked
her
to
explain
the
contradictions
between
Christines
early
years
as
an
activist
with
her
insider
status
as
City
Council
speaker.
Do
you
find
yourself
having
to
balance
where
you
come
from
with
where
you
are
now
?
Christine
replied,
You
do
think
about
things
through
bigger
prisms
when
youre
in
this
position,
skirting
any
direct
accountability
to
her
constituents
for
the
conservative
shift
in
her
policies.
524
The
public
advocate
of
New
York
City
is
a
fallback
political
office
given
to
voters
in
case
other
elected
officials
became
conflicted,
turned
out
to
be
duds,
or
were
otherwise
ineffectual
about
championing
causes
on
behalf
of
voters.
The
public
advocate
runs
for
office
in
a
city-wide
campaign
every
four
years,
and
the
officeholder
is
supposed
to
be
a
government
watchdog,
who
would
fight
against
government
failures.
Mr.
de
Blasios
predecessor,
Betsy
Gotbaum,
saw
the
budget
of
her
government
office
cut
by
40%
in
the
city
budget
for
Fiscal
Year
2010,
which
Mr.
de
Blasio
inherited,
because
Ms.
Gotbaum
opposed
the
Bloomberg-Quinn
plan
to
extend
term
limits.525
Ms.
Gotbaums
experience
with
the
political
payback
orchestrated
by
Mayor
Bloomberg
and
Christine
infuriated
her,
and
it
set
the
tone
that
nobody
could
question
the
didactic
policies
of
the
mayor
and
the
speaker,
even
when,
as
Ms.
Gotbaum
put
it,
it
amounted
to
actions
that
were
anti-democratic,
bad
government
and
politics
at
its
worst.526
Moreover,
The
New
York
Times
reported
that
the
motivation
for
the
budget
cuts
to
the
public
advocates
office
were
being
made
a
few
months
before
the
2009
municipal
election
cycle
in
order
to
deliberately
524
http://blogs.villagevoice.com/runninscared/2007/11/_politicians_on.php
525
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/20/nyregion/20advocate.html
526
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/20/nyregion/20advocate.html
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 225 -
weaken
the
next
public
advocate,
who
at
the
time
was
speculated
to
be
Mark
Green,527
but
eventually
became
Mr.
de
Blasio.
One
could
also
see
how
the
advocacy
of
the
civil
rights
attorney
Norman
Siegel
might
worry
entrenched
political
interests,
given
Mr.
Siegels
propensity
to
challenge
powerholders,
like
Christine.
The
size
and
timing
of
the
budget
cut
was
intended
to
telegraph
to
the
next
public
advocate
that
the
mayor
and
the
speaker
had
the
power
to
squash
the
independence
of
the
public
advocates
role
in
overseeing
the
city
government.
The
natural
consequence
of
the
budgetary
action
was
that
Mr.
de
Blasio
was
largely
absent
from
the
public
discourse
over
controversial
issues,
such
as
the
fight
to
save
hospitals,
particularly
St.
Vincents.
Mr.
de
Blasio
may
have
started
out
his
campaign
for
public
advocate
with
good
intentions,
but
by
the
time
he
got
into
office,
Mr.
de
Blasio
never
really
challenged
the
mayor
or
Christine
in
the
first
three
years.
No
matter
that
some
developers,
the
mayor,
and
even
Christine
had
learned
to
game
the
system,
the
fight
over
St.
Vincents
was
turning
into
something
different.
It
wasnt
the
same
as
the
previous
other
struggles
to
save
community
hospitals.
These
activists
werent
about
to
go
away
quietly,
even
if
their
public
advocate
had.
The
West
Village
and
Chelsea,
some
of
the
neighborhoods
served
by
St.
Vincents,
were
home
to
a
particular
brand
of
political
sensibility.
It
was
where
activists
and
writers,
such
as
Jane
Jacobs,
Larry
Kramer,
David
B.
Feinberg,
David
Rothenberg
and
many
others,
had
helped
to
shape
a
political
awareness
for
community
organizing
to
resist
irresponsible
over
development
and
government
failure.
Ms.
Jacobs
would
go
on
to
achieve
world-wide
acclaim
for
her
efforts
to
527
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/20/nyregion/20advocate.html
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 226 -
preserve
the
special
social
fabric
of
Lower
Manhattan
from
the
destructive
forces
of
Robert
Moses,
a
reckless
city
planner
who
bulldozed
neighborhoods
in
favor
of
building
expressways.
As
Christines
sound
bites
on
St.
Vincents
were
shown
to
be
mere
lip
service,
the
community
had
begun
to
see
through
her
pattern
of
never
following
up
on
any
of
her
promises.
At
a
town
hall
meeting
before
St.
Vincents
closed,
for
example,
Christine
said
that
St.
Vincents
deserved
a
bailout
like
the
banks
were
getting.528
She
left
out
that
she
was
the
one,
who
had
the
bailout
funds
available,
but
she
was
using
those
funds
to
reward
political
allies.
At
that
town
hall
meeting,
she
said
:
I
fail
to
accept
that,
in
all
of
New
York,
there
is
no
other
healthcare
institution
that
wants
to
merge
with
the
great
St.
Vincents.
I
simply
do
not
believe
it.
The
State
Department
of
Health
wants
us
to
believe
it,
because
they
have
created
an
equation
where
that
is
the
only
answer
that
we
would
get.
We
are
not
going
to
fall
for
that
bait-and- switch.
Were
not
going
to
fall
for
this
trick
that
Continuum
is
the
only
entity
out
there.
Were
going
to
say
tonight,
and
were
going
to
say
it
over
and
over
again
:
the
only
plan
that
should
be
considered
or
ever
approved
by
the
state
is
one
that
keeps
our
hospital
and
our
emergency
room.529
St.
Vincents
was
renowned
for
the
care
it
provided
to
the
survivors
of
the
Titanic
sinking,
the
Triangle
Shirtwaist
fire,
the
first
cases
of
HIV/AIDS,
and
the
two
attacks
on
the
World
Trade
Center.
It
was
trusted
for
its
trauma
care
almost
as
much
as
the
sentimental
value
of
knowing
that
the
hospital
had
bore
witness
to
some
of
the
darkest
episodes
in
New
York
Citys
history,
and
it
had
treated
and
saved
the
lives
of
untold
people
during
these
emergencies.
With
word
spreading
that
the
hospital
was
facing
possible
closure,
registered
nurses
with
the
union
New
York
528
http://www.downtownexpress.com/de_354/hospitaldeserves.html
529
http://youtu.be/MJFSBvyfQU8
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 227 -
State
Nurses
Association
(NYSNA),
doctors,
and
other
hospital
staff
organized
several
protests
to
mobilize
the
community.
At
a
town
hall
at
a
local
church,
several
hundred
showed
up,
including
Christine,
but
the
community
did
not
come
together
enough
to
pressure
politicians
to
own
up
to
their
public
duty
to
save
St.
Vincents.
There
was
a
lot
of
talk,
but
no
commitments.
At
the
end
of
one
protest
march
through
Chelsea
that
ended
in
front
of
the
hospital,
Christine
tried
to
speak,
but
she
was
drowned
out
by
angry
protesters,
who
accused
her
of
being
a
sellout.530
People
were
now
on
to
Christines
game
of
double-talk.
During
a
radio
interview,
Christine
was
accused
of
not
doing
enough
to
save
St.
Vincents.531
Word
on
the
street
was
that
Rudin
Management
Company,
the
real
estate
developer
with
plans
to
convert
the
St.
Vincents
campus
into
luxury
housing,
was
still
trying
to
salvage
its
condo
conversion
plan,532
outraging
St.
Vincents
employees
and
activists,
who
were
focused
instead
on
trying
to
save
the
hospital.
On
the
day
St.
Vincents
closed,
another
emergency
town
hall
was
held
at
Hudson
Guild
in
Chelsea.
Community
members
were
scorching
mad.
The
hospital
had
closed
its
doors,
and
they
knew
that
Rudin
was
only
focused
on
the
million
dollar
views
available
from
the
St.
Vincents
location.533
Assemblymember
Richard
Gottfried
and
Sen.
Duane
appeared
at
the
town
hall,
but
Mayor
Bloomberg
and
Christine
were
no-shows,
and
their
absence
from
the
town
hall
was
criticized
by
the
community.534
Assemblymember
Gottfried
mentioned
a
failed
state
effort
to
help
stop
the
wave
of
hospital
closings.
A
bill
introduced
in
the
legislature
that
would
530
http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/300-angry-protesters-march-st-vincent-hospital-article-1.165507
531
http://www.wnyc.org/story/32495-st-vincents/
532
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/16/nyregion/16vincents.html
533
http://youtu.be/2C8fIhXv6gE
534
http://youtu.be/ZFc1_VaCTP8
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 228 -
have
required
public
hearings
before
hospitals
could
be
closed
was
vetoed
by
Gov.
Patterson,
535
allowing
the
Berger
Commission
hospital
closings
to
proceed
undeterred.536
537
Both
Assemblymember
Gottfried
and
Sen.
Duane
were
chairs
of
the
respective
health
committees
of
each
house
of
the
state
legislature,
but
neither
one
of
them
used
their
power
or
influence
up
in
the
state
capitol
to
save
St.
Vincents.
Albanys
intent
became
clear,
and
everybody
asked
why
didnt
City
Hall
or
City
Council
officials
step
up
and
appropriate
the
kind
of
emergency
money
needed
to
save
St.
Vincents.
At
a
time
when
these
politicians
traded
on
their
sensibilities
about
advocating
for
fairness,
constituents
were
not
used
to
mobilizing
to
put
pressure
on
their
elected
officials.
There
was
no
organizational
structure
to
do
that.
The
nursing
union
NYSNA
led
the
communitys
response,
paying
to
broadcast
radio
advertisements
to
mobilize
the
public,
according
to
one
source.
To
form
an
independent
pressure
group
to
fight
to
restore
a
hospital
to
replace
St.
Vincents,
the
community
rallied
around
the
only
person
in
the
West
Village
and
Chelsea,
who
had
shown
she
had
the
guts
to
take
on
the
system
--
the
attorney
Yetta
Kurland,
who
had
nearly
defeated
Christine
only
a
few
months
prior
to
the
closing
of
St.
Vincents.
At
the
town
hall
at
Hudson
Guild,
Ms.
Kurland
presented
information,
which
raised
questions
about
that
integrity
of
the
management
at
St.
Vincents.
The
hospital
closing
triggered
a
fraud
investigation,
but
no
charges
were
ever
brought.538
After
the
political
and
management
failures
that
led
to
the
closing
of
St.
Vincents,
the
community
learned
that
that
state
health
officials
were
going
to
535
http://youtu.be/ZFc1_VaCTP8
536
http://www.cityandstateny.com/facing-st-vincents-closure-manhattan-pols-have-change-of-heart-on-
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 229 -
propose
an
urgent
care
center
to
replace
the
full-service
hospital
and
Level
I
trauma
center
services
that
St.
Vincents
once
provided.
Christines
previous
sound
bite
of
We
are
not
going
to
fall
for
that
bait-and-switch,
was,
in
fact,
going
to
lead
to
a
bait-and-switch.
To
some,
it
sounded
like
Christine
was
saying
that
it
was
time
to
give
up,
like
she
had
once
told
activists
opposed
to
the
Atlantic
Yards
development
in
Brooklyn.
Eileen
Dunn,
a
veteran
nurse
of
24
years,
who
had
organized
many
protests
in
the
weeks
before
St.
Vincents
closed,
said
at
the
town
hall
at
Hudson
Guild
that
the
community
needed
to
organize
and
not
accept
inferior
healthcare
facilities.
Urgent
care
is
not
emergency
care,
she
said
at
the
town
hall,
adding,
You
need
a
revolution
downtown,
urging,
You
need
to
be
out
in
the
streets.
You
need
to
stop
the
traffic.
You
need
to
let
the
politicians
know
that
it
is
just
not
good
enough.539
Nurse
Dunns
remarks
were
a
call-to-action
that
helped
the
community
scrutinize
the
political
failures
that
led
to
the
closing
of
St.
Vincents,
and
some
of
that
scrutiny
would
come
to
focus
on
Christine.
As
a
public
official,
Christine
had
a
public
duty
to
take
actions
on
behalf
of
her
constituents,
but
she
did
not,
and
her
violation
of
this
duty
would
drive
the
community
to
withdraw
their
political
support
for
Christine.
In
The
New
York
Times
article
that
prefaced
the
closing
of
St.
Vincents,
Christine
was
already
calling
for
urgent
care
to
replace
St.
Vincents.540
The
deliberate
use
of
urgent
care
was
meant
to
communicate
to
the
community
that
Christine
was
no
longer
going
to
fight
for
a
full-service
hospital
to
replace
St.
Vincents.
She
had
moved
the
goal
post.
To
some,
her
latest
statement
was
an
effort
to
corral
the
539
http://youtu.be/CR5LPVLCFLE
540
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/07/nyregion/07vincents.html
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 230 -
community
into
accepting
an
inferior
healthcare
facility
in
a
political
bait-and- switch.
Up
until
the
closing
of
St.
Vincents,
it
appeared
that
Christine
had
been
able
to
master
her
close
relationship
with
Mayor
Bloomberg
and
still
maintain
the
myth
that
she
was
the
communitys
advocate.
In
one
press
report
from
around
that
time,
Christine
talked
up
the
fact
that
New
York
City
had
the
best
hospitals,
but
she
always
stayed
clear
of
the
fact
that
there
was
an
effort
to
close
many
city
hospitals.541
However,
there
was
only
so
long
that
she
could
trick
voters
with
her
duplicity.
Dr.
David
Kaufman,
a
former
physician
at
St.
Vincents,
said
at
the
town
hall
meeting
that
he
had
growing
concerns
over
the
impact
of
hospital
closings
on
the
delivery
of
life-saving
trauma
care.
I
guarantee
you,
absolutely,
that
people
will
die,
he
said,
adding,
I
challenge
the
politicians
in
New
York
--
Quinn,
everybody,
the
governor,
the
famous
Commissioner
Daines
--
I
challenge
them
to
publicly
log
the
ambulance
times
from
the
Lower
West
Side
and
the
outcomes
from
those
runs.542
Richard
Daines
was
the
controversial
state
health
commissioner
at
the
time,
and
he
had
asserted
that
straitened
times
put
healthy
pressure
on
providers
to
tighten
their
operations.543
Dr.
Dainess
position
was
that
he
would
not
step
forward
to
save
any
hospitals.
Barely
two
months
after
the
closing
of
St.
Vincents
Hospital
in
Greenwich
Village,
North
General
Hospital,
a
potent
symbol
of
the
citys
political
and
philanthropic
commitment
to
Harlem,
announced
Monday
that
it
was
declaring
541
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 231 -
bankruptcy,
wrote
Anemona
Hartocollis
in
The
New
York
Times.544
No
matter
how
unpopular
or
dangerous
to
public
health,
the
top-down
Berger
Commission
order
to
close
hospitals
to
make
indiscriminate
cuts
to
the
Medicaid
program
proceeded,
unabated,
the
people
be
damned.
Complicating
matters
for
the
St.
Vincents
activists
was
that
they
shared
a
sentiment
that
the
special
social
fabric
of
communities
were
coming
under
attack
by
the
Berger
Commission,
and
they
believed
that
the
press
should
have
been
able
to
portray
the
closings
of
hospital
as
a
story
of
how
the
safety
net
was
being
shredded.
But
if
communities
were
expecting
sympathy
from
the
press,
they
would
rarely
receive
it.
Community
efforts
to
save
hospitals
would
never
be
fairly
portrayed
by
Ms.
Hartocollis
in
The
New
York
Times,
for
example,
because
she
had
already
developed
a
bias
against
struggling
hospitals,
believing
that
saving
hospitals
was
tantamount
to
throwing
good
money
after
bad.
545
Ms.
Hartocolliss
personal
opinion
essentially
became
the
editorial
opinion
of
The
New
York
Times.
Late
in
the
fall
of
2010,
Long
Island
College
Hospital,
also
known
as
LICH,
was
saved
from
closure
by
acts
from
Gov.
Patterson,
which
spun
off
the
Brooklyn
hospital
from
Continuum
Health
Partners,
the
hospital
operator
which
had
passed
on
acquiring
St.
Vincents.
Continuum
had
previously
managed
LICH,
and
Gov.
Patterson
decided
to
merge
LICH
with
the
State
University
of
New
York.
To
save
LICH,
Gov.
Patterson
provided
a
$40
million
state
grant
to
the
newly
formed
structure.
546
Apparently,
there
was
money
available
to
save
hospitals,
and
the
pressure
to
save
LICH
was
a
sign
that
communities
were
now
organizing
against
the
544
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/29/nyregion/29hospital.html
545
http://www.wnyc.org/story/32495-st-vincents/
546
http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/brooklyn/shutter-long-island-college-hospital-fuhgeddaboudit-
suny-article-1.189533
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 232 -
Berger Commission closings. Before that years state elections, some St. Vincents activists met with Andrew Cuomos gubernatorial campaign operatives to press the need for a hospital to replace St. Vincents, but Cuomo campaign officials told the activists, Well see you after the election.547 Within days of having been sworn into office, Gov. Cuomo formed another task force to carry out more hospital closings.548 He called the task force the Medicaid Redesign Team, shades of the propagandized name of a former task force with a similar aim, the Health Care Facilities in the 21st Century. The Medicaid Redesign Team was co-chaired by Michael Dowling, the CEO of the North Shore-LIJ hospital system.549 In spite of Gov. Cuomos renewed efforts to carry out an austerity program against Medicaid by targeting hospitals for closure, healthcare professionals and activists had managed to find a way to use pressure politics against his predecessor, former Gov. Patterson, to save LICH. The use of pressure politics mounted when four activists were arrested on February 8, 2011, after they staged a sit-in at the then shuttered St. Vincents.550 There was a growing sensibility that politicians favoring the continued closure of hospitals were on shaky ground. Against these opposing forces, it was identified that half of Brooklyn hospitals were in financial trouble,551 and the Medicaid Redesign Team formed a subgroup chaired by the same Wall Street banker Stephen Berger, who was behind the Berger Commission Report. Once again, Mr. Berger was tasked with closing
547
http://youtu.be/_c4YhPXqeVo
548
http://www.health.ny.gov/health_care/medicaid/redesign/
549
http://www.hanys.org/mrt/docs/2011_1_12_mrt_overview_slides.pdf
550
http://youtu.be/qcToWCh5VhU
551
http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20110605/FREE/306059979
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 233 -
more
hospitals,
this
time
in
Brooklyn.552
As
St.
Vincents
activists
continued
to
agitate
against
politicians,
it
was
announced
that
the
urgent
care
center,
that
would
be
forced
onto
the
former
patients
of
St.
Vincents,
would
be
operated
by
the
North
Shore-LIJ
hospital
system.
At
a
community
board
meeting
chaired
by
Brad
Hoylman,
Christines
long
time
political
supporter,
the
community
learned
that
North
Shore- LIJ
was
going
to
receive
valuable
real
estate
from
the
St.
Vincents
bankruptcy
estate
for
free
in
order
to
open
and
operate
the
inferior
urgent
care
center.553
It
appeared
to
some
activists
that
the
co-chair
of
Gov.
Cuomos
Medicaid
Redesign
Team
was
seizing
on
the
healthcare
vacuum
caused
by
the
closing
of
St.
Vincents
to
make
money.
Indeed,
North
Shore-LIJ
received
a
special
grant
of
$9.4
million
to
operate
an
urgent
care
center
near
St.
Vincents,554
but
that
urgent
care
center
eventually
closed,
because
the
community
refused
to
use
an
inferior
facility
that
could
not
provide
emergency
or
trauma
care
services.555
Mmissing
in
action
through
all
this
was
Christine,
who
was
deliberately
avoiding
the
issue
of
St.
Vincents.
While
Christine
was
saying
that
there
was
no
money
available
to
save
St.
Vincents
from
closing,
it
was
revealed
that
she
was
providing
discretionary
capital
taxpayer
money
to
Kingsbrook
Jewish
Medical
Center
for
two
years
in
a
row.
556
Kingsbrook
was
one
of
the
few
Brooklyn
hospitals
that
was
not
in
danger
of
closing,557
and
it
was
unknown
what
role
taxpayer
money
had
in
propping
up
553
http://youtu.be/_c4YhPXqeVo
554
552 http://www.health.ny.gov/health_care/medicaid/redesign/brooklyn.htm
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 234 -
Kingsbrook. (Even though Christine claimed she had reformed discretionary funding by making payments transparent online, no payments to Kingsbrook were found on the New York City government Web site.)558 Meanwhile, St. Vincents activists continued to find every which way to bring attention to the fact that communities needed the hospitals that were recklessly being closed under the influence of the old Berger Commission and now the new Medicaid Redesign Team. In particular, activists charged that the appearance of a conflict of interest caused by Christines loyalty to developers and the political shortsightedness of other elected officials increased the risks to public health. Not only was Mr. Berger the head of a Wall Street investment firm, but he was also a board member of the Partnership For New York City, the chamber of commerce-like group where one of Christines supporters, Brad Hoylman, served as general counsel. Mr. Hoylman was a campaign contributor of Christines, and he was also a link that she never used in her failed effort to negotiate with MetLife over its doomed sale of Stuy-Town and Peter Cooper. In respect of St. Vincents, Mr. Hoylman was also chair of a community board at the time when the board would decide on the Rudin zone-busting application to convert St. Vincents into a billion- dollar luxury condo and townhouse complex. In spite of his apparent conflict of interest, Mr. Hoylman never recused himself from the process. Bill Rudin, the head of the real estate development firm that bore his family name, was also a director of the Partnership For New York City. Members of the Rudin family collectively
558
http://council.nyc.gov/html/budget/database.shtml
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 235 -
contributed
about
$30,000.00
in
campaign
contributions
to
Christine,559
and
activists
claimed
that
the
entire
zoning
review
of
the
Rudin
luxury
condo
conversion
plan
was
rife
with
conflicts
of
interest.
The
Partnership
For
New
York
City
worked
to
advance
the
business
interests
of
its
members,
and
it
appeared
to
activists
that
perhaps
Christine,
Mr.
Berger,
and
Mr.
Hoylman
were
expected
to
help
support
Mr.
Rudins
business
goals
--
and
not
the
best
interests
of
the
former
patients
of
St.
Vincents.
Adding
to
the
impression
that
the
Partnership
For
New
York
City
was
taking
political
action
to
help
the
Rudin
condo
conversion
plan
was
that
Christine
was
benefiting
from
sound
bites
from
the
Partnerships
CEO,
Kathryn
Wylde.
While
constituents
had
become
emboldened
to
challenge
Christine,
Ms.
Wylde
was
now
providing
Christine
with
political
cover.
In
a
strategically
placed
article
published
by
The
New
York
Times,
it
was
announced
that
Christine
was
attempting
to
distance
herself
from
Mayor
Bloomberg,
especially
after
the
controversial
extension
of
term
limits.
In
that
article,
Ms.
Wylde
made
a
statement,
which
was
interpreted
to
be
affirming
of
Christines
efforts
to
support
the
big
business
interests
that
Mayor
Bloomberg
had
championed
during
his
mayoralty.
The
way
she
has
handled
the
speakership,
and
issues
that
are
important
to
the
business
community,
make
her
a
favored
candidate
to
succeed
the
mayor,
Ms.
Wylde
told
the
reporter
Michael
Barbaro.560
In
another
article,
placed
into
The
New
York
Post,
Ms.
Wylde
said,
Shes
direct,
smart
and
makes
decisions
based
on
facts
rather
than
politics.561
Ms.
Wylde
was
telegraphing
that
if
Christine
wanted
to
559
http://www.scribd.com/doc/166192441/2007-XX-XX-Rudin-Management-Company-Polication-Donations-
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 236 -
run for mayor in the next election cycle with the support of Mayor Bloombergs powerful big business interests, then Christine had to adopt a big business agenda. That meant that Christine could not advocate to save hospitals, and if Christine stayed this course, then she could count on the political support of big business interests. All of a sudden, the big business interests that had always supported Christine behind the scenes were willing to come forward and openly express their support for her, in order to shore up her public standing, even if this kind of support was a blatant contradiction of Christines whole raison dtre. The article in The New York Post came out and pointed out this contradiction without using the term neoliberalism : Despite her liberal background, shes also become a darling of the business community. Her votes have tended to be conservative on economic issues and liberal on social ones. Christine had been forced to postpone her 2009 run for mayor, because of her slush fund scandal and Mayor Bloombergs doomed presidential exploration. Now, she was being pressured by big business interests to fully sell out her constituents in favor of political support from the business community in anticipation for her next opportunity to run for mayor. Christine was caught between two opposing forces at a time in her career when she wanted to escape the pressures of the voter anger over her slush fund, the extension of term limits, the protest permit law, her role in the collapse of affordable housing, the budget cuts to people with HIV/AIDS, and now the closing of St. Vincents. It seemed like she couldnt win. She was trying to distance herself from Mayor Bloomberg, but, to some, her attempts were already seen as too little, too late. Even The New York
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 237 -
Times, her biggest cheerleader in the media, was warning Christine that the growing impression people had of her was Bloomberg Lite.562 How did Christine end up in this mess ? In the 1960s, the Village Independent Democrats, a Democratic political club based in Greenwich Village, successfully organized an effort to vote out of office a powerful Tammany Hall political boss, Carmine DeSapio.563 Mr. DeSapio was described as the last political boss from the corrupt Tammany Hall era. Although a large undertaking, voting Mr. DeSapio out of office was made possible because activists developed a strategy, found allies, and took sustained action. Mr. DeSapio lost his post as a district leader in Manhattan in 1961 after Democrats had finally soured on Mr. DeSapios controversial record. He had accumulated so much power that he was able to name political candidates, it was said that he tolerated corruption, and he had a pattern of hiring political hacks for city jobs. Mr. DeSapio attracted scrutiny, because people, who were allegedly engaged in corrupt rackets, approached government officials to seek protection from police raids. In an apparent exchange, it was alleged that government officials received favors from the people running alleged corrupt rackets. 564 The Village Independent Democrats, the political club that had organized for years to defeat Mr. DeSapio, was the very club Christine had offended in the time leading up to her first special election to the City Council, back in February 1999. At the time, Hal Friedman, the club president, had
hall-boss-dies-at-95.html
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 238 -
said
of
Christine,
Shes
beginning
to
act
like
a
Tammany
hack.565
There
were
warning
signs
about
Christines
commitment
to
progressive
ideals
all
the
way
back
in
1999.
Now
that
activists
had
been
prompted
to
review
Christines
record
of
betrayals
and
failures,
activists
began
to
question
Christines
political
mandate.
But
political
bossism
was
not
on
anybodys
minds
on
September
11,
2011,
when
New
Yorkers
commemorated
the
tenth
anniversary
of
the
attacks.
The
city
was
subdued,
demobilized,
and
without
a
clear
plan
for
bringing
about
progressive
reforms.
That
week,
Christine
was
trying
to
downplay
outrage
at
the
NYPDs
use
of
handcuffs
to
detain
Councilmember
Jumaane
Williams
and
a
member
of
the
public
advocates
staff,
Kirsten
John
Foy.
Their
detention
was
seen
by
some
to
be
racially
motivated,566
and
Christine
refused
to
address
a
controversial
police
policy
known
as
stop-and-frisk,
which
was
receiving
bad
press
and
had
become
the
subject
of
a
class-action
discrimination
lawsuit.567
Typical
of
Christine,
she
was
using
double- speak
by
denouncing
the
police
use
of
handcuffs
to
detain
the
city
officials
but
refusing
to
address
concerns
about
racism.
Also
happening
that
week,
activists,
who
had
fought
to
save
St.
Vincents
from
closing,
had
noticeably
shifted
their
goal
and
unified
around
an
effort
to
preserve
the
zoning
on
its
former
campus
for
a
replacement
hospital.
Some
of
the
St.
Vincents
activists
were
seeking
a
larger
strategy
to
protect
public
health
in
New
York
City.
Because
the
developer
Rudin
was
outspending
activists
and
employing
teams
of
lobbyists,
including
Melanie
Meyers
and
James
Capalino,
the
St.
Vincents
activists
were
seeking
more
daring
allies
--
565
http://observer.com/1999/06/christine-quinn-sets-it-straight-im-a-lesbian-yup-100-percent/
566
http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20110911/SUB/309119980
567
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/01/lawsuit-nypds-stopandfris_n_944718.html
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 239 -
people
with
a
sustained
vision
for
activism,
which
could
be
escalated.
At
a
community
board
meeting
held
on
September
15,
2011,
St.
Vincents
activists
heard
Ms.
Meyers
say
that
Rudin
developers
planned
to
bust
through
zoning
after
they
demolished
St.
Vincents
in
favor
of
a
massive,
billion-dollar
luxury
condominium
and
townhouse
complex.568
Activists
were
outraged
that
developers
could
ride
roughshod
over
an
important
underpinning
to
public
health,
and
right
out
in
Christines
very
own
City
Council
district.
Meanwhile,
Christine
did
not
join
activists
efforts
to
fight
for
protective
zoning
or
for
a
full-service
replacement
hospital,
in
spite
of
the
palatable
community
demand
for
Christines
help.
Would
Christine
come
to
see
that
her
constituents
had
developed
the
impression
that
a
billionaire
real
estate
empire
had
figuratively
foreclosed
on
a
501(c)(3)
public
charity
hospital
to
convert
it
into
luxury
condos
for
the
private
profit
of
developers
?
Across
New
York
City,
healthcare
and
other
activists
were
looking
for
help
to
fight
back
against
a
system
that
aimed
to
render
them
powerless.
Three
years
after
the
start
of
the
global
financial
crisis
and
recession,
Wall
Street
banks
were
still
getting
bailed
out
while
hospitals
and
schools
were
being
closed,
government
budget
cuts
kept
shredding
the
social
safety
net,
and
voters
began
to
believe
that
they
had
lost
any
say
in
their
own
government.
Even
in
times
of
budget
surpluses,
the
tax
structure
seemed
to
favor
the
rich.
Now,
in
the
lingering
aftermath
of
the
financial
crisis,
income
and
wealth
inequality
was
creating
a
city
of
haves
and
have-nots.
On
the
morning
of
Saturday,
September
17,
2011,
New
Yorkers
would
wake
up
to
brisk
temperatures
in
the
50s,
and
it
would
only
warm
up
into
the
60s
568
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G5nHHbx8EZA
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 240 -
that day. The early birds would go out for hot coffee and bagels. It was early in the autumnal season, but already a new chill had prematurely set in. A band of activists were launching that very day what would become a large and sustained protest movement targeting Wall Street privilege, income inequality, and government corruption. This time around, only the foolish were expecting just another day of business as usual.
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 241 -
Media
Inquiries
If
you
would
like
to
speak
with
the
author,
schedule
speaking
opportunities,
or
to
inquire
about
acquisition
of
rights,
please
contact
Louis
Flores
at
:
louisflores@louisflores.com
or
1
(646)
400-1168.
Roots of Betrayal : The Ethics of Christine Quinn 2013 by Louis Flores. All Rights Reserved.
- 242 -