Haber Hones In: Calls Out the Mayor and the Speaker

The irrepressible Ben Haber hones in on the Claire Shulman controversy in a letter in the latest edition of the Times Ledger:

"An investigation by state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman has determined that the City Council rubber stamped the Bloomberg administration’s Willets Point plan after it had been illegally lobbied by the Flushing-Willets Point-Corona Local Development Corp., led by former Borough President Claire Shulman."

Unlike the gaggle of feckless elected officials who routinely hide under their desks when controversy brews, Haber pulls no punches in calling for the dismemberment of the lawless crew down at EDC:

"The time has come to either get rid of or drastically alter the EDC, which, when all is said and done, has never been anything more than a patronage mill following the mayor’s dictates. Its sole function is to arrange huge taxpayer breaks, direct and indirect, and subsidize fat cat real estate moguls with political connections."

Haber then goes right after the mayor-calling on the city's chief executive to do the right thing: annul the illegally garnered 2008 approvals for Willets Point:

"Term limits are now the law, but if Bloomberg wants to redeem himself on illegal lobbying, he should insist the Council enact legislation withdrawing its approval of his Willets Point plan, which he should agree to, and the process should start anew without illegal lobbying."

Simply the right thing to do, but as we have reported the city is unwilling to make amends and the speaker of the city council has already demonstrated that proper oversight is not a significant part of her political resume. Still, Haber believes-and we agree-that this issue should be stapled to Quinn's posterior in the upcoming mayoral election:

"Should they fail to do so, this will be a campaign issue for Council Speaker Christine Quinn (D-Manhattan), who aspires to be the next mayor, since it all occurred during her Council leadership.

The public is entitled to the fresh air of competent and honest government and nothing less."