Stringer: Crisis order on pacts should end

The city’s fiscal watchdog is demanding Mayor de Blasio roll back an order that loosens city contract requirements — an emergency measure City Hall took during the height of the pandemic when it was scrambling to buy ventilators and protective gear.

Since de Blasio issued the executive order in March, the city has failed to comply with its terms while demand for emergency contracts related to COVID-19 has dropped significantly, according to Comptroller Scott Stringer, who sent the administration a letter requesting the change Tuesday.

“As we emerge from the darkest days of the pandemic and build our city back, it’s time to restore full oversight and accountability to city contracting,” Stringer (inset) said in a written statement. “With billions of dollars at stake amid an economic crisis that has hit vulnerable New Yorkers the hardest, every penny counts.”

Under normal circumstances, the comptroller’s office signs off on most city procurement contracts. De Blasio’s order temporarily suspended that action.

As part of Stringer’s call for a return to normal city contracting standards, he’s also requesting that City Hall turn over documents and information about the emergency contracts “without delay.” The city has paid out more than $1 billion on the contracts so far.

In his letter, Stringer wrote that while the number of COVID-related emergency contracts has decreased, the mayor’s office continues to register contracts under the order’s terms, defying its intent.

“For example, in April 2020, contracts for [personal protective equipment] comprised 19% of registered COVID-19 emergency contracts, whereas in June 2020, PPE comprised only 3% of all contracts,” he wrote.

The city has also registered contracts that have “unclear direct relevance to the fight against COVID-19,” Stringer added.

De Blasio said Tuesday he hadn’t yet seen the specifics of what Stringer is demanding, but questioned the general thrust of it. “This crisis isn’t over,” he said. “We are far from out of this crisis, and I think we need all the tools and all the flexibility we can to make sure we have what we need when we need it.”