GIVE ME THE SLIMY RECORDS
STRINGER SUBPOENAS INFO ON HOMELESS DEAL
City Controller Scott Stringer slapped the de Blasio administration with a subpoena Friday demanding it turn over all appraisals conducted as part of a controversial real estate deal with shady landlords.
Stringer had the subpoena delivered in the morning, according to a source in the controller’s office.
The move comes a day after the city announced it finalized a deal with the Podolsky brothers to buy 17 buildings in the Bronx and Brooklyn for $173 million, a purchase first reported by the Daily News.
“I have repeatedly expressed concern regarding the $173 million price tag that, to date, has lacked any trace of transparency,” Stringer said in a written statement. “My office has made multiple requests to see the appraisals and documents that support this seemingly inflated price, and the explanations provided by the city so far have raised more questions than answers.”
Stringer said later in a phone interview that he “rarely issues subpoenas,” but that he “didn’t have confidence that we’d get the documents we need to do our due diligence.”
Mayor de Blasio spokeswoman Jaclyn Rothenberg disputed that notion.
“We told the controller before the subpoena that we are happy to provide him with appraisal documentation,” she said. “While Controller Stringer focuses on cheap political stunts, the mayor’s providing 2,000 people with improved, permanent, affordable housing with this agreement.”
Stringer first requested the appraisals last month after The News revealed the $173 million purchase price and two widely divergent appraisals generated by the city, one from the city Department of Housing Preservation and Development for $49 million and another from an outside contractor commissioned by the Law Department for $143 million.
“The city has refused to provide my office with all of the documents and information it relied on to make their decisions,” Stringer went on. “The time for excuses is over, and I am therefore issuing a subpoena for any and all appraisals and any other information supporting this deal.”
To further complicate matters, the Podolskys’ lawyer and a chief architect of the deal is Frank Carone, a longtime de Blasio ally who donated $5,000 to his Fairness PAC.
De Blasio’s press office did not respond to a request for comment about the subpoena.
On Thursday, de Blasio press spokesman Eric Phillips defended the deal.
“This deal is about improving and securing affordable homes for 2,000 people,” Phillips said. “The personal political activity of one of the many lawyers involved never entered into the equation. They’ve never spoken about any details of the deal, and hiring Mr. Carone didn’t have any affect on the deal whatsoever.”
The Podolsky brothers, Jay and Stuart, are notorious for how they manage their properties.
Former Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morganthau indicted them in the 1980s for more than two dozen felonies, with each brother eventually pleading guilty and getting hit with five years probation and 250 hours of community service.