Four more years of Mayor Zweben?!?

Photo Credit: Kingston Times

If it seems like the city is pursuing a policy of full employment for lawyers unless they are retained to advise the Common Council, you might be correct.  The Kingston Corporation Counsel and Mayor Gallo are involved in yet another "showdown" destined for further legal challenges, this time with a home for the disabled.  Recently I drove by and my passenger commented about the West Chestnut parcel, "Is that Chiz's old place?  It looks great! " Zweben, a West Chestnut Street resident seems to be taking the lead.  The home's owner is not going to win any humanitarian prizes, but helping to foster decent quality housing for the disabled is a necessity under the City's Fair Housing Plan, if not a moral imperative given the lack of decent accessible units in the city.  The state supreme court has issued a restraining order against the city after Junior Mayor Zweben deemed the property "uninhabitable" and sent the police to "inform residents" they were living at an illegal property; kind of intimidating, no?  A separate court case will determine if the home can continue to operate as a boarding house, as it has for the past 70 years.

The Corporation Counsel's role is solely to represent the interests of the City, not aligned to department or political party.  In my opinion, many actions of the office contradict that purpose.  Probably the most glaring example was the termination of Jeremy Blaber. Many people came away "shocked" at the potty language and angry tirade of Mayor Gallo.  Around city hall, and for anybody who knows the mayor, we just called that Tuesday.  Here is what we should be concerned about.  Corporation Counsel sat through the meeting and allowed the residents to be exposed to potential litigation.  Say what you will about Mr. Blaber's behavior, all well earned by a drug addled (former by all current accounts) existence.  It is illegal to threaten violence and an abuse of power to suggest the police perform on command.  In my opinion, as the City's attorney Andrew Zweben has a strict ethical code that was not adhered to.

But wait, there is more...  For the sake of brevity I will bullet for now and reserve the right to revisit: 

• Parks Equipment.  After the school consolidations, excess playground equipment was considered to supplement much needed upgrades at city parks, especially Hasbrouck adjacent to JFK Elementary.  It was decided that we could not expose the city to potential liability so new equipment was ordered after parents raised private funds and demanded improvements.  According to the Daily Freeman, Saugerties will be the beneficiary of Sophie Finn's playground equipment.  I'm sure the PTO members are thrilled.     

• Public Use conflict followed by fundraiser for private non-profit at City Hall.  This is so weird and convoluted it is hard to even coherently write about this.  Kingston Parks Movies Under the Stars - an all volunteer team was disbanded and replaced by the City because we were successfully presenting movies to hundreds of people each week and promoting the parks at no cost to the taxpayer (to quote, we lacked "capacity").  Primary reason?  The witch-hunt against the program was rooted in the premise that because we used city resources, it was impossible to show preference to one non-profit when others are left out.  And some of these non-profits could be religious and there is the whole separation of church and state...  No non-profit activity that utilizes city resources. Several weeks later a fundraiser was hosted at City Hall for the Deep Listening Institute.     

• BMX Park Contract.  The BMX Park was created by yet another all volunteer team looking to enhance recreational opportunities for kids in our city.  After the park was cleaned up by the BMX Parents Association and provided for years one of the cleanest well-managed recreation facilities in the city, it was discovered (Queue the ominous music - think Imperial March) operated without a valid contract.  The fact that numerous other non-profits and even a few for-profits were in similar or grossly undervalued situations utilizing public space/resources, i.e. the Knothole League at Barman Park, the Kingston Volunteer Fireman's Association, Mariner's Harbor sidewalk eatery, and most tellingly the Bank of America private parking lot granted to SAFCO for $1/year negotiated during the same time-frame, did not cause Mayor Zweben to pause and take a holistic approach to contract management.  In the end, the BMX group was required to leap through numerous hoops and a fee of $500/year.   No word yet on the status of the 2015 season.     

• Pike Plan.  Nobody can say there isn't problems with drainage at the Pike Plan.  In fact a study and anybody standing under the canopies during moderate rain already has.  So why not fund another $42,000 "visual inspection" study to identify problems with the canopies to provide further ammunition for a lawsuit on a project that has already been signed off as complete.  How about they take the $42,000 and fix the drainage? 

• Chief Saltzman/Chris Rea.  These cases are very sad because both individuals are well respected and had their reputations damaged.  The pageantry around their separation from employment was absurd, coinciding with a scathing analysis from the NYS Comptroller.  Saltzman retired, but Chris Rea has fought the charges vehemently.  Cleared by the State Supreme Court, a Civil Service Hearing officer, and the Ulster County District Attorney, Rea is looking at a substantial claim of back pay, but a ruined reputation doesn't have a price tag.

• Catskill Mountain Railroad.  Who needs to be reminded of the dump truck placed across the tracks?  Again with the all-volunteers.... 

• NYC Lawsuit to pay for Sinkhole.  Well millions have been dumped down the hole so far, why not spend $15,000 on an attorney's opinion?  One quick reference question - didn't they balk at $10,000 to obtain a second opinion on the multimillion dollar project requirements when conflicting information came out of the engineering reports, but were eager to spend $15,000 to see if they could potentially sue NYC to recover damages?  Of course we can sue!  Anybody can sue anyone at any time for any reason, that's the beauty of our legal system.  Should we sue is the pertinent question when the city has significantly altered the original tunnels built by NYC.  

So if you disagree with the administration in this city, even with an off-hand Facebook quip about a certain mayor vacationing in Aruba during a significant Kingston emergency, be prepared for Junior Mayor Zweben to find some code or rule that has been violated and soon you too can have your story splashed across the front page of the Daily Freeman; at the very least your library card will be revoked.  And get a lawyer; it is the only language this administration speaks.