There was no DOI ‘cover-up’

Manhattan: In response to your editorial, “A shanda” (May 13): The DOI’s investigation into the DOE’s inquiry at Hasidic yeshivas was not a “cover-up,” nor did the referenced emails include meaningful new information. Both assertions are divorced from the facts and do a grave disservice to the career investigators who meticulously and thoroughly examined this matter.

Our joint public statement, issued in Dec. 2019 with the Special Commissioner of Investigation and available for anyone to read on our website, never said, “there was nothing to see here.” Rather, it laid out the facts: There were no violations of law, but there was an offer to delay an interim DOE report to secure support for extending mayoral control of the schools, the mayor was (at a minimum) aware of that offer, and then personally participated in conversations with a state senator and Orthodox leaders aimed at securing a renewal of mayoral control.

Your assertion that DOI failed to lay responsibility on the mayor for these events is false, and is belied by your own reporting at the time of our public statement. We also found that this “horse-trading” had little to no impact on the ultimate substance of that report, which reflected DOE’s generally accommodating approach to the inquiry. The DOI does not sensationalize: It finds the facts and applies the law to them, without fear or favor, and without political considerations on any side. That is a high standard that I will not compromise no matter the criticism. Margaret Garnett, commissioner

New York City Department of Investigation