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August 4, 2010
Bloomberg staffer owns stock in company building B'klyn arena
NY Post
by Rich Calder
One of Mayor Bloomberg’s top staffers owns stock in a company whose subsidiary is getting city funding and tax breaks to build a Brooklyn arena for the NBA’s Nets — a revelation that’s raising eyebrows among opponents of the controversial project.
Former Hillary Clinton political strategist Howard Wolfson, who joined the Bloomberg administration in March as deputy mayor for governmental affairs, listed investments totaling $250,000 to $935,000 — including stock in Forest City Enterprises worth $5,000 to $39,999 – in a city financial disclosure report made public today.
"This project has never had any real oversight or accountability or full public transparency, so it shouldn’t come as a shock that a member of the Bloomberg administration has money invested in it," said Councilwoman Letitia James, whose district includes the 22-acre project footprint within Prospect Heights.
A city spokesman said Wolfson bought the stock in 2007 – three years before he took the post – and that the investment amount was "close to $5,000" and, therefore, "far below the threshold that raises potential conflict of interest issues" for city employees.
James, however, said Wolfson should sell the stock or put it in trust until he leaves City Hall.
The project is getting more than $200 million in city money for land acquisition and infrastructure repairs, plus tax exemptions and city-owned property at no cost.
Related coverage...
NY Daily News, Bloomberg administration disclosures: Ethics issues for Howard Wolfson, Raymond Kelly and others
A deputy mayor owns stock in the company building the controversial Atlantic Yards stadium - and the police commissioner takes rides on the mayor's plane.
Those are two of the eyebrow-raising disclosures in the annual ethics forms released Tuesday for top officials in Mayor Bloomberg's administration.
Deputy Mayor Howard Wolfson reported owning $5,000 to $40,000 worth of stock in Forest City Enterprises, the parent company of the firm developing a stadium and apartments over former railyards in Brooklyn with up to $205 million in city subsidies.
"He doesn't have any responsibilities that affect Forest City," Bloomberg spokesman Stu Loeser said. "He's not an economic development person."
NoLandGrab: Let's hope Wolfson is a better Deputy Mayor than he is an investor. The low for Forest City stock in 2007, when Wolfson bought it, was about $44 per share; today it trades below $13.
Posted by eric at August 4, 2010 12:45 PM