Friday, June 28, 2013

Corey Johnson: Biggest Loser

Seems that the political web site City and State is running a poll on this week's Biggest Loser. Among the candidates is our good buddy Corey Johnson:
Corey Johnson – Usually a candidate’s job is front and center on their résumé when they’re running for office, but in Johnson’s case his employment was suspiciously absent from his campaign website. That’s probably because the openly gay City Council candidate worked from 2008 to 2010 as director of government and community affairs for GFI Development, a Wall Street-based real estate firm that has made more than $30,000 in donations to candidates who oppose gay marriage. GFI was also sued by U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara for engaging in illegal lending discrimination—not exactly the best type of company to be associated with when you’re running as a progressive in Manhattan. After the blog City Council Watch exposed Johnson’s connection to GFI and The Post followed up, GFI finally popped up in Johnson’s bio this week. Unfortunately for Johnson, the news stories about his hidden past will be even harder to scrub from the Internet than his work history.
You can go to City and State and vote for Corey Johnson as this week's biggest loser.

Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Complaint: NYC Pol Corey Johnson Not Registered as a Lobbyist

The Petrelis Files
Wednesday, June 26, 2013

After rooting around the Office of the City Clerk of New York City's web page for its Lobbying Bureau and finding no email addresses or info regarding how to file a complaint requesting an investigation, I phoned 1-212-NEW-YORK and eventually was connected to a live person in the Clerk's office.

I was given the name of the Chief Investigator, Mr. Walter Carcione, and his direct dial number, and in a call he shared his addy with me and the following complaint was sent this morning.

(New Yawkers oughtta be squawking about the dearth of details for citizens looking to make complaints regarding lobbyists at their City Clerk's web site. The Clerk wants to hear from folks about the lobbyists wielding power with City government, right?)

A tip o' the hat to Adam Lombardi at the Queens Politics news site for sparking my interest to file this complaint with Carcione, with whom I'm follow up with tomorrow. Updates will appear as they happen.

Text of my complaint:

I wish to file a complaint against Mr. Corey Johnson, who served as Director of Government Affairs and Community Relations for the GFI Development Company starting in July 2008 according to Crain's New York site:

Corey Johnson, former political director for Mark Green’s 2006 attorney general campaign, began this week as government relations director for G.F.I. Development, a Wall Street-based real estate firm.

Further, reporter Seth Barron of the City Council Watch site wrote earlier this month that Johnson may have left his lobbyist position at the GFI Development Company in 2011.

At the Queens Politics news site, Adam Lombardi reported yesterday that despite being GFI Development's lobbyist for a number of years, Johnson has not registered with the City Clerk as a lobbyist.

I have searched the City Clerk's database for registered lobbyists and Corey Johnson's name isn't listed. 

For your information, please be aware that Johnson is currently a candidate for the 3rd District seat on the City Council.

In my view, Johnson was legally required to register as a lobbyist for the years in which he was employed as the Director of Government Affairs and Community Relations at the GFI Development Company, and there is no evidence at the City Clerk's site that he was properly registered.

Therefore, I request that you investigate my complaint and determine if Johnson violated City lobbying laws.

Afternoon Headline Ramble

Project Q Atlanta

Gay Democrat hid “gay foe” job. Until asked directly, openly gay New York City Council candidate Corey Johnson conveniently didn't list a two-year job for a real estate company that fought marriage equality and was cited for unfair housing. Johnson portrays himself as a trailblazer for gay rights and equal housing.

Tuesday, June 25, 2013

The Petrelis Files: Gay Johnson worked for Anti-Gay firm

The Petrelis Files
NY Post: Gay Pol Johnson Worked for Anti-Gay Marriage Firm
June 25, 2013

[]
(Corey Johnson with Lady Gaga at the National Equality March in 2009. Credit:Towleroad.)

Color me way over Democratic Party gays working their way up the political ladder and maintaining the status quo,with only lip service paid to challenging or actually changing political norms.

The NY Post's reporter M.L. Nestel shared this news on Monday:

The gay community-board chairman running for City Council this year tried to hide his past work for corporate clients that have opposed marriage equality, The Post has learned. Corey Johnson, 31, who is in the race for Council Speaker Christine Quinn's seat, proudly portrays himself as a trailblazer for gay rights [...]

But from 2008 to 2010, he served as director of government and community affairs at Wall Street-based real-estate firm GFI Development Co. -- a fact that was left off his site. GFI and some of its brass have spent more than $30,000 backing candidates who oppose gay marriage [...]

Johnson also says he's a champion of affordable housing [...] "I did work for them, but I no longer work for them currently," Johnson said about GFI.

Much, if not all, of this info seems to have originated from reporting blogger Seth Barron posted on June 13 at his City Council Watch site, reporting which included many links to source documents. Barron shed much light on this firm and their anti-tenant activities, and Johnson's work for the firm:

GFI Development buys old buildings and turns them into hotels, condominiums and the like.  Corey Johnson's job was to facilitate the political side of things, as we see in this June 2009 article detailing his advocacy on behalf of a GFI development before Community Board 2 in Brooklyn. 

In 2008, around when they hired Corey to be their front man in New York City, GFI Development bought the old Breslin Hotel, on 29th Street, which was an SRO.  Their efforts to evict or buy out the existing tenants led to a series of court battles, but eventually the Breslin gave way to the trendy Ace Hotel.  Corey Johnson had his birthday party there when it opened in 2010, and was so delighted that he even wore a tiara, according to this record of the evening.

At the time of the Ace Hotel's opening, Corey Johnson, top lobbyist and community affairs director for GFI Development, was also Vice-Chair of Community Board 4 and Co-Chair of the CB4 Land Use Committee.  Is this a conflict of interest?  Well, it is true that the Ace Hotel at 29th and Broadway is two blocks east of CB4's eastern boundary, so maybe not, technically.

I'm glad to see Barron's City Council Watch and the NY Post are keeping tabs on Johnson, and expect to see more sunshining of the candidate as the race for the District 3 City Council seat progresses to the fall primary. Oh, and the NY Post should have properly credited Seth Barron for his investigative reporting.

Is Quinn Backing A Hypocrite For Her Council Seat?

Queens Politics
June 25, 2013

Birds of a feather...

Alleged Quinn-backed candidate's record of deception and hypocrisy revealed.

Rumor has it Corey Johnson is Quinn's pick for her Council seat, and while her endorsement could be in the making, that hasn't stopped a bevy of Quinn's allies circling the wagons around Johnson's campaign for her council seat. But that's not the main issue. Eyebrows are being raised as what seems to have been overlooked in the media is Corey Johnson's record of deception, hypocrisy, and outright lies.

Luckily, the community cannot be bought off with cheap campaign rhetoric. So here's the scoop.

The word hypocrite applies to a person who pretends to be something he is not. Corey Johnson seems to fit the bill. On Corey's campaign website you'll notice an entire section glorifying his role in creating affordable housing, but this could not be further from the truth.

In fact Corey worked for a billion dollar real estate company, GFI Capital, which has made a habit of evicting poor and middle class workers and replacing SRO's with luxury hotels and condos. His former employer has even been sued by the Department Of Justice Civil Rights Division for discrimination.

According to the New York Times, "GFI, which says on its Web site that it originates more than $1 billion a year in mortgages, admitted that an analysis by the federal government showed that it charged higher rates and fees to black and Hispanic borrowers than to white borrowers."

The case inevitably led to a 3.5 million dollar settlement by the company for mortgage bias. And yet, somehow after 3 years with GFI, with the title Director of Government Affairs (by the way, not a registered lobbyist), Corey Johnson still tries to pass himself off as a champion of affordable housing.

Parties affected in this case have been ongoing since 2005. In the meantime Quinn, who has been voraciously seeking the Mayoralty, could be secretly waiting to endorse him (again, Corey's existing endorsements aren't the only clue), but before that day comes,  critical questions remain unanswered regarding the validity of Corey's claims on his campaign platform.

After all, you can't be a "champion of affordable housing" when you worked for a company that evicts poor and middle class tenants from their homes and discriminates people based on color.

Christine Quinn, you'll never be able to say you didn't know.

City Council candidate Corey Johnson worked for Anti-Gay-Marriage company

New York Post
By M.L. Nestel
June 24, 2013


The gay community-board chairman running for City Council this year tried to hide his past work for corporate clients that have opposed marriage equality, The Post has learned.

Corey Johnson, 31, who is in the race for Council Speaker Christine Quinn’s seat, proudly portrays himself as a trailblazer for gay rights.

In 2000, the future Community Board 4 chairman bravely came out as a gay while he was captain of his Massachusetts high-school football team. “Corey first came to national attention in 2000 when he became a trailblazer for LGBT youth,” his campaign Web site reads.

But from 2008 to 2010, he served as director of government and community affairs at Wall Street-based real-estate firm GFI Development Co. ­ a fact that was left off his site.

GFI and some of its brass have spent more than $30,000 backing candidates who oppose gay marriage, such as Judge Noach Dear, Assemblyman Dov Hikind, and Democratic mayoral candidate Erick Salgado.

Johnson also says he’s a champion of affordable housing. Last week, at a candidate forum, Johnson said he increased affordable housing for one of GFI’s buildings located at 470 Vanderbilt Ave. in Fort Greene.

But GFI, which develops luxury hotels, including the Ace and NoMad, was accused of being a discriminatory mortgage lender, prompting US Attorney Preet Bharara in April 2012 to file suit against it.

“I did work for them, but I no longer work for them currently,” Johnson said about GFI. His work for the firm was added to the campaign site Saturday, after The Post asked Johnson about it.

Wednesday, June 19, 2013

NYC Council Race: Yetta Kurland vs. Derivatives Man

See full post at Daily Kos

"... so no one was surprised with Corey Johnson, a hollow candidate if there ever was one, entered the race with Christine Quinn's blessing. Reading his resume you might be impressed with his public track record of activism. One thing stands out though: no mention of how he earns a living."

"To recap, not only is Kurland a fantastic candidate worthy of our support, but she's running against the recession era caricature of pure, unadulterated evil: a real estate lobbyist in Manhattan working for the leader in the 'exotic derivatives' industry. A starker choice could not be made."

Thursday, June 13, 2013

Corey Johnson's Secret Life

by City Council Watch

The race to succeed Christine Quinn in the 3rd Council District, covering the west side of Manhattan roughly from Canal Street to Central Park, is shaping up to be a battle between 2009 Council contender Yetta Kurland and Community Board 4 Chair Corey Johnson.


Yetta Kurland has a civil rights law practice and, until recently, her own radio talk show.  She incurred the undying enmity of CM Quinn in 2009 when she ran against her in the primary and, to the Speaker’s embarrassment, won more than 30% of the vote.  Coupled with Kurland’s vociferous opposition to the Quinn-approved closing of St. Vincent’s Hospital, Christine Quinn initiated a vendetta against Kurland, waging a virtual “Anybody but Yetta” campaign that has worked for the benefit of her rival, Corey Johnson, “the youngest” chair of a community board.  Quinn’s influence has won Johnson the support of the local clubs, local political endorsements and some labor backing.

Johnson boasts a long resume of accomplishment.  To wit:

Corey is also a Director on the Hudson Yards Development Corporation, a Member of the Hudson Yards Community Advisory Committee, a Member of the Moynihan Station Community Advisory Committee, a Member of the Javits Center Community Advisory Committee, a Member of the Hudson River Park Strategic Planning Task Force, a Member of the Friends of the Hudson River Park Trusts Neighborhood Improvement District Steering Committee, a Board Member of Save Chelsea, a Member of the Council of Chelsea Block Associations, a Member of the Chelsea Reform Democratic Club, a Member of the Stonewall Democratic Club of New York City, and a Member of the 100/200 West 15th Street Block Association.

What is odd about this extensive list of activities is the absence of any positions that offer remuneration, i.e. money.  Nowhere on his campaign material, nor in his interviews, nor upon repeated questioning to his campaign manager will the Corey 2013 machine explain the most primary question we all have about anyone we meet: What does he do for a living?

This is not an idle question.  Poke around on candidate websites for a little while and you will have no trouble figuring out how these people make money.  In fact, the subject is usually foregrounded, because in New York City politics it is important to have some kind of explanation for how you pay the rent, before other people reach their own conclusions.

So the wall of community service cited above becomes a screen: an act of misdirection that we are demanded to accept.  The guy is hiding something.

What it turns out he is covering up and scrubbing from his Internet presence is his work as Director of Governmental Relations and Community Affairs for GFI Development Company, beginning in July 2008.  GFI Development is the real estate development branch of GFI Group, which according to the company website “has been at the forefront of credit derivative brokerage services, leadership that we are now leveraging to help establish an active, liquid Exotic Credit Derivative market.”

Exotic credit derivatives, for those among us with short memories, are those quaint financial instruments that enable banks to make massive bets on the failure of loans, without having to actually own any of the underlying debt.  Credit derivatives caused a minor kerfuffle in the markets in late 2008.  GFI Group “handled as much as 40 percent of the credit-derivatives trades between the world's banks in 2007,” according to Bloomberg.

Well, Corey Johnson had nothing to do with any of that, of course…he worked for the real estate development arm of GFI.   And real estate development firms are wholesome, salubrious entities.  Which must be why after I asked Johnson’s campaign manger about his work there, his speaker bio at the Gay Center website was scrubbed.  (Compare here andhere.)  And his LinkedIn profile was closed.

GFI Development buys old buildings and turns them into hotels, condominiums and the like.  Corey Johnson’s job was to facilitate the political side of things, as we see in this June 2009 article detailing his advocacy on behalf of a GFI development before Community Board 2 in Brooklyn.

In 2008, around when they hired Corey to be their front man in New York City, GFI Development bought the old Breslin Hotel, on 29th Street, which was an SRO.  Their efforts to evict or buy out the existing tenants led to a series of court battles, but eventually the Breslin gave way to the trendy Ace Hotel.  Corey Johnson had his birthday party there when it opened in 2010, and was so delighted that he even wore a tiara, according to this record of the evening.

At the time of the Ace Hotel’s opening, Corey Johnson, top lobbyist and community affairs director for GFI Development, was also Vice-Chair of Community Board 4 and Co-Chair of the CB4 Land Use Committee.  Is this a conflict of interest?  Well, it is true that the Ace Hotel at 29th and Broadway is two blocks east of CB4’s eastern boundary, so maybe not, technically.  But it clearly isn’t something Corey Johnson is proud of, or else he would mention it at least once, wouldn’t he?

Nor, it is fair to say, is Corey proud of his “community affairs” role in the cleansing of the tenants of the Breslin hotel.  Charges of mismanagement of the hotel once GFI bought it abound.  Water turned off, heat turned off, neglect of upkeep: all the usual things that happen when a developer wants to gut a property and redo it for a better class of tenant.  We know he isn’t proud of it because he doesn’t talk about it.  Nor will he specify when he left the company, which seems to have happened in 2011 at some point.

It is easy to let politicians say whatever pretty things they want to about themselves and their good works.  Corey Johnson cleans up well, but that doesn't mean he isn't dirty.