Crains New York - April 8, 2013 - (Page 10)

OPINION Lessons from the scandals L ast week’s corruption scandals produced the usual calls for reforms. Obviously, it’s time for change. But while some proposed reforms would have deterred the conspiracies that federal authorities exposed, others are examples of advocates seizing an opportunity to promote longheld agendas irrelevant to the cases at hand. Prosecutors allege that Democratic state Sen. Malcolm Smith offered payoffs to Republican Party officials to allow his entry into the GOP mayoral primary. He needed three of the city’s five Republican county chairmen to say yes, thanks to an old state law that grants that power to these obscure officials. Clearly, that statute is an invitation to abuse and should be stricken—or rendered moot by allowing candidates to run in primaries regardless of their party affiliation. That’s not enough, however. Federal complaints laid out five other corrupt schemes pervasive in New York politics: ⅷ To approve a Rockland County development, town officials allegedly demanded a piece of the action. ⅷ Councilman Daniel Halloran, R-Queens, allegedly accepted donations from “straw donors” via an undercover FBI agent who had reimbursed the donors. ⅷ Mr. Smith dangled state funding for a road project important to a builder,who in return was to bribe party leaders to support Mr. Smith’s mayoral candidacy, prosecutors charged. ⅷ Mr. Halloran allegedly sought kickbacks for providing public funds, known as member items. He was also charged CRAIN’S ONLINE POLL with being a conduit for Mr. Smith’s bribes. ⅷ Bronx Assemblyman Eric Stevenson was charged with accepting cash-filled envelopes to advance legislation. Another indicted assemblyman helped the feds to avoid jail himself. The question is how to prevent these timeworn schemes. Some suggest public financing of campaigns and stricter limits on contributions. But those practices can actually encourage corruption. Two associates of City Comptroller John Liu face trial for using straw donors to evade contribution limits. Former Councilman Sheldon Leffler was convicted after a big donor funneled smaller amounts through fake donors to generate public matching funds. Investigators cannot tap the phones of our 213 state legislators, 51 City Council members and countless municipal officials. Reforms must instead focus on limiting the opportunities and temptations to cheat. That means getting rid of member items and other funding pools that individual lawmakers largely control. Ballot access—notably for special elections for the Assembly and Senate—should not be essentially decided by party bosses, lest they “sell” seats. Zoning should be geared to encourage as-of-right development, so projects cannot be held hostage by town officials or council members with their hands out. Finally, advocates for public financing and donor limits should stop portraying these reforms as anticorruption measures. Mr. Halloran is a publicly financed city councilman, after all, and Mr. Smith allegedly was trying to bribe his way into a publicly financed mayoral race. COMMENTS Ode to the 212 code IT’S NOT JUST ABOUT BRAGGING RIGHTS SHOULD CONGRESS OFFER UNDOCUMENTED IMMIGRANTS A CHANCE TO BECOME CITIZENS? Yes. The nation has long served as a beacon of hope for immigrants seeking a better life and has thrived on their energy and entrepreneurialism. No. Immigrants who enter the country without documents should not be rewarded for breaking the law, especially when they take jobs from U.S. citizens. Date of poll: April 1 689 votes 37% Yes 63% No FOR THIS WEEK’S QUESTIONS: Go to www.crainsnewyork.com/poll to have your say. 10 | Crain’s New York Business | April 8, 2013 Your April 2 online poll asked, “Should the coveted 212 area code be sold outside of Manhattan and even out of state?” Remember: 212 once belonged to the whole city. It’s no longer a question of just Manhattan anymore; rather, if area codes are widely distributed, we lose a way of knowing where most calls originate. I can see greater opportunities for fraud—just imagine what overseas boiler-room operators will be scamming up next with their 212 area codes! —aaron biller ONE OF THE REASONS for keeping area code and geography linked is that you can identify a caller by the area code. When I get marketing calls, I see on my caller ID that the call is from Omaha or Dallas, and I know to let the machine pick it up. Also, it allows businesses to identify the calling area. If area codes were to have no geographic link, it would hurt businesses, and not just in New York. —paula JOBLESS BILL WILL BACKFIRE The New York City Council’s recent enactment of a law to allow rejected job applicants to sue for alleged discrimination based on employment status (“Lawsuits feared from new unemployment law,” March 14) will do more harm than good. In aiming to protect the jobless, this new law will actually make it more difficult to find a job. Faced with the threat of litigation, many companies will simply hire fewer people or seek to fill positions internally. For small businesses on a tight budget, the threat of litigation will have a significant impact on hiring and will compromise their ability to grow. And for companies already considering leaving New York for greener (and less litigious) pastures, this new law will undoubtedly be a major consideration. This new class of unemployment lawsuits will lead to widespread nuisance litigation—benefiting neither job-seekers nor employers. Perhaps the only silver lining is that lawmakers will soon have ample evidence that such a proposal should not be adopted statewide. —thomas b. stebbins Executive director Lawsuit Reform Alliance of New York A SEXIST POLL? Re “Will City Council Speaker Christine Quinn’s bad temper trip up her mayoral bid?” (poll, April 1): How dare you offend 51% of the population with that sexist question! Would you have asked that about a man (as though Michael Bloomberg and Rudy Giuliani don’t have tempers)? I think not. Shame on you, Crain’s. —susan meshberg CRAIN’S WELCOMES SUBMISSIONS to its opinion pages. Send letters to letters@crainsnewyork.com. Send columns of 475 words or fewer to opinion@crainsnewyork.com. Please include the writer’s name, company, address and telephone number. CRAIN’S NEW YORK BUSINESS editor in chief Rance Crain publisher, vp Jill R. 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All rights reserved. ®CityBusiness is a registered trademark of MCP Inc., used under license agreement. CRAIN COMMUNICATIONS INC. BOARD OF DIRECTORS chairman Keith E. Crain president Rance Crain treasurer Mary Kay Crain Cindi Crain executive vp, operations William Morrow senior vp, group publisher Gloria Scoby vp/production, manufacturing David Kamis chief information officer Paul Dalpiaz founder G.D. Crain Jr. (1885-1973) chairman Mrs. G.D. Crain Jr. (1911-1996) secretary Merrilee Crain (1942-2012) http://www.crainsnewyork.com/subscribe http://www.crainsnewyork.com/advertise http://www.crainsnewyork.com/events http://www.crainsnewyork.com/poll

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Crains New York - April 8, 2013

IN THE BOROUGHS
IN THE MARKETS
THE INSIDER
BUSINESS PEOPLE
SMALL BUSINESS
OPINION
GREG DAVID
REPORT: BANKING
THE LISTS
FOR THE RECORD
CLASSIFIEDS
REAL ESTATE DEALS
NEW YORK, NEW YORK
SOURCE LUNCH
OUT AND ABOUT
SNAPS

Crains New York - April 8, 2013