Sal Albanese looks at exploitation of LICH closure through political lens of post-Bloomberg New York

LICH Leftovers : Mayor de Blasio has been very quiet about the closure of Long Island College Hospital on his watch, outraging the community allies he exploited to use LICH as a campaign prop to get elected.

RELATED LICH Leftovers (The Huffington Post)

"The powers that be back down from a public fight only to pull the plug in a backroom deal days later," wrote former New York City Councilmember Sal Albanese about the bitter fight to save Long Island College Hospital. Mr. Albanese's essay, published on The Huffington Post, is his second installment on the post-election political realities playing out in New York City. His first essay in this series was published earlier this month. The allusion to backroom deals is a damning indictment of how Mayor Bill de Blasio has abdicated his public health policy responsibility to voters with LICH closing on his watch. "But LICH already served its purpose as de Blasio's campaign prop," Mr. Albanese concluded, informing voters about how duplicitous Mr. de Blasio was in last year's mayoral campaign. Let's hope more voters read Mr. Albanese's writings and follow him on Twitter. Mr. Albanese's political analysis offers voters an unvarnished truth about how politics plays out in New York City -- sadly, often to the detriment of voters' demands for reforms.

Sal Albanese Begins Examination Of Last Year's NYC Mayoral Race

Sal Albanese : "My opponents represented the who's who of political hacks, ineffective city officials, and faux progressives."

RELATED Sal Albanese : "Can a campaign of substance prevail ?" (Sal Albanese : "Swinging for the Fences : How and Why I Decided to Run for Mayor" * The Huffington Post)

In a suspensful introductory examination of last year's mayoral race in New York City, former Councilmember Sal Albanese hurtles a proverbial cannon shot across the political bows of the permanent government insiders. "... Can a campaign of substance prevail ? In posts to follow, I'll discuss why that question went unanswered and why the issues debated and the people debating them are so relevant to the future of the five boroughs." Read the whole thing for a promising overview of the need to overhaul the broken political system in New York City.

NYC Mayoral Candidates Accept Corrupt Real Estate Campaign Donations

From Crain's : Longshot Dem blasts rivals' real estate cash

Sal Albanese, a former City Councilman and longshot candidate for mayor, is calling on his fellow Democrats to return campaign contributions they've received from real estate firms being examined by a state anti-corruption panel.

The Moreland Commission, a group created by Gov. Andrew Cuomo to investigate corruption in state government, recently issued subpoenas to five top developers in New York : Extell Development, Thor Equities, Silverstein Properties, Fisher Brothers and Friedman Management. The five firms have collectively donated tens of thousands of dollars to each of the top four candidates for mayor, Mr. Albanese notes.

"When you've sold your integrity to the highest bidder, how can we trust you to follow through on building affordable housing or holding developers accountable?" Mr. Albanese asked in a statement. "The simple truth is: we can't. That is why I have not accepted a single cent from developers or lobbyists."

But it is not clear if any developers or lobbyists have even offered to donate money to Mr. Albanese's campaign, which is barely registering in public polls. The former Bay Ridge councilman was out of public life for 15 years before launching his mayoral bid, and only 1% of likely Democratic primary voters polled by Quinnipiac in the last few days said they would vote for him.

Council Speaker Christine Quinn has accepted a total of $79,125 from employees of the five real estate firms subpoenaed by the Moreland Commission. Public Advocate Bill de Blasio has received $42,100, former Comptroller Bill Thompson $30,660 and ex-Rep. Anthony Weiner $37,550, according to Mr. Albanese. None of the firms has been accused by authorities of doing anything wrong, and the amounts they donated represent 0.8% of the $22.2 million raised by the four leading Democratic candidates.

News of the subpoenas hit the papers in early August. The commission plans to investigate whether the five developers building luxury housing projects opened their wallets to curry favor among state legislators to secure millions in tax breaks. An explicit exchange of a donation for a tax break would be illegal. The Real Estate Board of New York, an industry association, did not comment Tuesday afternoon on Mr. Albanese's call.

None of Mr. Albanese's rivals responded to his call to return the campaign contributions. A debate scheduled for Tuesday night, hosted by WABC, the Daily News and the League of Women Voters, will exclude Mr. Albanese based on his low fundraising numbers. The New York Times editorial page has called for him to be included.