Show how to fork pork – pol

A DAY AFTER the City Council released details on how members are doling out nearly $50 million in pork, one Council member said they should put out even more information about the process.

City Councilman Daniel Garodnick (D-Manhattan) is posting copies of all the letters pleading for cash he received and all the meetings his office had with lobbyists and advocates seeking a share of City Council discretionary funds.

“It’s a logical next step in opening up the budget process,” said Garodnick, a candidate for city controller. “I think this will shed some light on the process. . . . It’s a useful precedent for other [Council members].”

All 51 Council members get a pot of funds to distribute to nonprofits in the city.

The east side councilman got letters from 91 organizations, including youth choruses, senior centers and the Big Apple Circus. Some asked for a few thousand dollars, others for hundreds of thousands.

Garodnick or staffers met with 69 cash-seeking groups, several accompanied by big-time lobbyists.

“We cannot fund anywhere near that number of groups, but people who ask us for a meeting get one,” said Garodnick, who doled out $464,464 for the coming fiscal year.

Mayor Bloomberg and the City Council agreed to a $68.5 billion budget Tuesday and are expected to pass it Thursday. It includes $49.7 million in grants to favored nonprofits.