Communities United for Police Reform replaces BerlinRosen as public relations firm as CPR ramps up NYPD criticism of de Blasio

BerlinRosen is closely linked to the de Blasio administration. It's lobbyists regularly counsel Mayor de Blasio. BerlinRosen even represents Mayor de Blasio's own lobbying outfit, the Campaign for One New York.

BerlinRosen's close ties to de Blasio meant that CPR couldn't make aggressive demands for NYPD reform, because BerlinRosen wouldn't allow Mayor de Blasio to be outflanked or embarrassed by police reform activists. In a move that may spell political trouble for Mayor Bill de Blasio (D-New York City), the police reform group, Communities United for Police Reform (CPR), has hired a new public relations firm, Progressive Cities, to replace BerlinRosen. Dan Morris at Progressive Cities will replace Daniel Levitan at BerlinRosen as CPR's spokesperson. When BerlinRosen was supervising CPR's external communications, City Hall was in a better position to keep CPR in check. For example, CPR effectively sided with Mayor de Blasio's regressive appointment of William Bratton as commissioner of the New York Police Department (NYPD). Mr. Bratton is known for his support of policing tactics that unfairly target Blacks and Latinos ; nevertheless, many Latino elected officials issued statements of support to the press in a campaign some government reform activists said echoed the hallmarks of lobbyist-generated synchronicity for the convenient packaging of Latino elected officials' approvals. Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito (D-Harlem) and Senator José Peralta (D-Queens) were joined by U.S. Representative Nydia Velázquez (D-Brooklyn), Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr. (D-The Bronx), Assemblymember Luis Sepulveda (D-The Bronx), and Councilmember Ydanis Rodriguez (D-Manhattan) in supporting the Bratton appointment, even though grassroots police reform activists were protesting the appointment out of concern for Commissioner Bratton's reliance on a racial policing theory known as "Broken Windows." Yesterday, the online news publication Progress Queens sent an e-mail request to Mr. Levitan, asking if BerlinRosen worked on pre-swearing in public relations work for Mayor de Blasio, and, if so, asking how BerlinRosen was being paid. However, Mr. Levitan did not answer the request. A few hours later, news broke that BerlinRosen was being replaced by Progressive Cities as CPR's public relations firm. In the time since Mayor de Blasio was sworn into office, BerlinRosen has regularly courted controversy. BerlinRosen has advised City Hall's non-profit, lobbying arm, the Campaign for One New York, which relies on funding from the mayor's political supporters. Through the Campaign for One New York, Mayor de Blasio is actively engaged in a non-stop campaign of lobbying other government officials using private monies, subverting government work into the hands of public relations officials, lobbyists, and private donors. BerlinRosen was also the mastermind behind a controversial "dark money" mailer that sought to quell voter anger in the time leading up to the closure of Long Island College Hospital (LICH) in Brooklyn. (The thin-skinned mayor and his political operatives were trying to deflect voter anger at Mayor de Blasio's betrayal on the LICH closure.) In an exposé published by The New York Post, it was revealed that Mayor de Blasio seeks counsel from lobbyists, including those at BerlinRosen, comprising the integrity of government work at City Hall. BerlinRosen also positioned itself itself in the middle of a $1.5 billion, zone-busting real estate development deal for the old Domino Sugar refinery in Brooklyn, that may have duplicitous implications for impropriety, since BerlinRosen led discussions between the real estate developer and the same de Blasio administration its firm regularly counsels. Eventually, City Hall approved the waterfront development deal. Mr. Morris, the Progressive Cities chief, formerly worked at the campaign consulting firm Red Horse, before founding Progressive Cities, according to a report in The New York Observer. Red Horse is closely associated with Mayor de Blasio and Council Speaker Mark-Viverito. Police reform activists were hoping that the change in the public relations firm advising CPR would lead to aggressive demands for police reforms. However, the close political ties to City Hall and City Council may make Mr. Morris another administration flack, perhaps less than Mr. Levitan. Whilst it is known that CPR plans to publicly challenge Commissioner Bratton's "Broken Windows" theory of policing, which the mayor and the First Lady have supported, it is not known if CPR will call for Commissioner Bratton's resignation, as have grassroots police reform activists.

RELATED Liberals growing frustrated with Bill de Blasio (The New York Times) Leading police reform group pushing NYPD for major changes (The New York Daily News) Mayor de Blasio has failed to end racial policing in New York City (Progress Queens) Mayor Criticized for Not Moving Faster on Marijuana Policy (The Wall Street Journal) Amid reports of friction, de Blasio and Bratton assail the media (Capital New York) Michael Hayes, LMT, has practiced massage for more than 20 years as a licensed massage therapist in New York City.

Speaker Mark-Viverito's campaign paid a lobbying firm, which also lobbied back at her on behalf of clients

How much corruption has to happen, before progressive activists protest against City Council, demanding reforms to end the corruptive role of money and lobbyists in New York politics ?

How many Mark-Viverito-lobbyist exposés in The New York Daily News will it take before the Mark-Viverito administration and all of her teams of lobbyists come under federal investigation ? On the heels of yesterday's blog post about campaign finance questions pertaining to New York City Councilmember Melissa Mark-Viverito's successful Council speakership campaign, an article in today's The New York Daily News revisits on-going questions over the role of lobbyists in the Speaker Mark-Viverito's administration of the City Council. In the first few months of this year, Speaker Mark-Viverito has been paying approximately $28,000 to the lobbying firm of Pitta Bishop Del Giorno & Giblin -- at the same time when Pitta Bishop was lobbying Speaker Mark-Viverito on behalf of the lobbying firm's clients. The lobbying firm of Pitta Bishop essentially rescued Councilmember Mark-Viverito's speakership campaign last year when it appeared that Pitta Bishop took control over Councilmember Mark-Viverito's sagging speakership campaign after she became engulfed in a series of mainstream media exposés in connection with the lobbying firm, The Advance Group, which had been managing her lobbying campaign for the Council speakership. Various political campaigns managed by The Advance Group have since become the subject of a series of recent punitive findings and fines assessed by the city's Campaign Finance Board. Nevertheless, The Advance Group remained involved in Councilmember Mark-Viverito's speakership campaign at the time until she won her lobbying campaign. Since Speaker Mark-Viverito became indebted to her lobbyists, government reform activists question how could municipal ethics and campaign finance regulatory authorities condone her close relationship with these lobbyists. Not only can lobbyists close to the new Council speaker leverage her political indebtedness, but some of these same lobbying firms have also played a role in determining secondary and tertiary City Council leadership assignments, extending the control that lobbyists exert over the municipal legislative body. If you look the media, the City Hall press corps keeps looking the other way when it comes to concerns about illegality. "Simultaneously paying and being lobbied by the same firm is legal, but the practice has been criticized by good-government groups worried that such a cozy relationship can give lobbyists special access to a politician," reported The New York Daily News. For years, government reform activists have complained that the culture of corruption in government is allowed to get worse under the enabling eyes of do-nothing regulators, do-less good government groups, and non-plussed mainstream media reporters, who claim that some forms of government and campaign corruption are "perfectly legal." The situational ethics of political hacks acting in regulatory capacities is what undermines the public's confidence in government and in elected officials, but yet for every scandalous conflict of interest between elected officials, like Council Speaker Mark-Viverito, and lobbyists, like those at the firm of Pitta Bishop, is that good government groups and government reform activists rarely propose reforms that effectively render illegal the corruptive role of money and lobbyists in government. In the time leading up to the City Council vote to determine the next Council speaker, some political bloggers suggested a suite of proposed reforms to overhaul the role of lobbyists in determining leadership posts in the City Council. Some of those reforms, first published on November 24, 2013, in a YouTube video, included : reform the do-nothing Campaign Finance Board ; pressure progressives to enforce transparency ; improve Speakership electioneering reporting ; end subcontractor loopholes ; and end the provision of free campaign services, including for the Speakership. These recommendations, in addition to revoking the cloaking rule that allows lobbyists to avoid disclosure when they lobby the City Council for leadership or administrative appointments and banning campaign consultants who receive payments from the Campaign Finance Board's matching dollar program from acting as municipal lobbyists, can strengthen voter confidence in the integrity of government and in elected officials. Other reforms can be suggested by voters, government reform activists, and by good government groups. But the media neither invites voters to make recommendations for reforms, nor does the media launch government reform campaigns to support the recommendations of government reform activists working to overhaul this broken political system.

RELATED City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito paid $28G to lobbying firm for consulting, while they lobbied her on behalf of clients (The New York Daily News) Media reports show that Melissa Mark-Viverito evaded campaign finance caps by opening second account to fund Council speaker race (NYC : News & Analysis) More questions about Melissa Mark-Viverito's campaign finances and her lobbyists (NYC : News & Analysis)

At the Board of Elections, Council speaker's political machinations threaten to undermine ballot petitioning

Ousting the president of the city's Board of Elections was supposed to give City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito "power and control of a host of patronage jobs," but the succession process has been turned ndsıpǝ poʍu

"It's in the Council's hands." New York City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito was all set to expand her power, influence, and control over patronage jobs that govern the corrupt ballot counting for New York City elections. Except that the president of the Board of Elections, whom she had threatened to replace, got up and quit on her. Last Friday, Board of Elections President Gregory Soumas resigned his post. With President Soumas' sudden departure, Speaker Mark-Viverito may lose the upperhand she had been coveting in choosing his replacement. Since Manhattan Democratic Chairman Keith Wright had failed to reappoint Mr. Soumas for another term as president of the Board of Elections, the City Council, headed by Speaker Mark-Viverito, was salivating at the opportunity to seize control of the appointment process. But President Soumas' resignation may allow the Manhattan Democratic chair to appoint a replacement. Speaker Mark-Viverito's power grab over the Board of Elections is reminiscent of Gov. Andrew Cuomo's egocentric reasoning for disbanding the Moreland Commission : “It’s my commission. My subpoena power, my Moreland Commission. I can appoint it, I can disband it. I appoint you, I can un-appoint you tomorrow. So, interference? It’s my commission. I can’t 'interfere' with it, because it is mine. It is controlled by me.” Generally, appointments of the commissioner, who serves as president of the Board of Elections, comes with corrupt spoils and privileges. A commissioner on the Board of Elections, especially the Board's president, can establish election policy and make politically-motivated hires for the scores of patronage jobs controlled by commissioners. Often, those politically-motivated hires are made in concert with the politicians or political operatives, who appointed the commissioners, The New York Daily News reported. While the Council speaker and the Manhattan Democratic chair fight over control over President Soumas' successor, the broken political system is ignoring the threat of confusion that now threatens to spread to the ballot petitioning being undertaken now by political candidates running for office this year. The Board of Elections reviews balloting petitions for accuracy and completeness, and on top of the mixed-motivations that govern who gets appointed as commissioners of the Board of Elections, those political machinations are compounded by the way some political operatives scheme to challenge balloting petitions, a process ultimately overseen by the Board of Elections' commissioners -- and its president.

RELATED Melissa Mark-Viverito may replace Board of Elections head with her own pick (The New York Daily News) Melissa Mark-Viverito on elections board prez's future: "It's in the Council's hands." (The New York Daily News) NYC Board of Elections President Gregory Soumas quits ahead of possible ouster in City Council Speaker power play (The New York Daily News)

More questions about Melissa Mark-Viverito's campaign finances and her lobbyists

Undeclared campaign finance expenses tied to a fundraising trip to Chicago and the growing role of Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito's campaign consultants increases concerns that Speaker Mark-Viverito may be further flouting campaign finance regulations and ethics rules.

Five months into her Council speakership, Councilmember Melissa Mark-Viverito continues to be dogged by questions about her campaign finances and her compliance with city ethics rules.

The latest campaign finance issue centers around a fundraising trip Speaker Mark-Viverito made to Chicago in the time leading up to last year's municipal elections. Although the trip included fundraising activities, Speaker Mark-Viverito's campaign committee neither incurred nor declared any expenses for that trip. If her campaign committee benefited from in-kind contributions from others, those contributions must be declared, according to campaign finance regulations. In a press report in The Wall Street Journal about this latest campaign finance question, it was shown that Speaker Mark-Viverito's trip was paid for by the Participatory Budgeting Project. But a review of her contribution records available online with the city's campaign finance regulatory authority, the names of Speaker Mark-Viverito's contributors do not include the Participatory Budgeting Project, not even in an in-kind capacity.

The campaign consulting firm, Pitta Bishiop Del Giorno, which managed Speaker Mark-Viverito's City Council reelection and speakership campaigns last year, has seen its influence increase in city government since last year's municipal elections. Pitta Bishop Del Giorno has even begun to lobby Speaker Mark-Viverito, a worrisome sign to good government reform activists, who fret about the growing corruptive role of money and lobbyists in the conduct of government business.

The on-going questions about how Speaker Mark-Viverito and her lobbyists managed her campaign finances, and the growing role of those lobbyists in the conduct of the city's business, raise concerns as to whether her management style leans toward a predisposition of flouting compliance with campaign finance and ethics rules. Last year, Speaker Mark-Viverito accepted unpaid and undeclared campaign consulting services from a controversial lobbying firm that has since become the subject of possible federal and municipal corruption investigations, according to several press reports. In respect of those free campaign consultant services, provided by The Advance Group, Speaker Mark-Viverito's campaign committee never declared the fair market value of the intensive lobbying efforts involved in the heated speakership campaign as in-kind contributions, either.

Public servants are prohibited from accepting valuable gifts from firms that intend to do business with the city, and lobbyists, in turn, are prohibited from giving those gifts, according to an analysis of city ethics rules by The New York Daily News.

• RELATED : New York City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito held a fundraiser last year in Chicago on a trip paid for by a nonprofit organization, city records show, raising questions from government watchdogs about whether her re-election campaign skirted campaign-finance laws. (New York City Council Speaker's Trip for Fundraiser Is Questioned * The Wall Street Journal)
• RELATED : During her Council speakership race, Melissa Mark-Viverito may have violated city ethics rules by accepting unpaid and undeclared assistance from a controversial lobbying firm, The Advance Group, working to further her speakership selection. (City Council Speaker candidate Melissa Mark-Viverito may have violated city ethics rules * The New York Daily News)
• RELATED : Pitta Bishiop Del Giorno, the firm that helped Mark-Viverito win her races for City Council and Council speaker, has now lobbied her on behalf of several clients. (Pitta Bishop, the consulting firm that aided Melissa Mark-Viverito's campaigns, now lobbies to her * The New York Daily News)
• RELATED : New revelations show that Mayor Bill de Blasio has had official meetings to discuss city business with the top lobbyist Vincent Pitta, who was also a campaign supporter and a paid consultant for Melissa Mark-Viverito. (Pitta Bishop and other lobbyists, who backed Bill de Blasio for mayor, have access * The New York Post)

But Speaker Mark-Viverito is not alone in stirring controversy with her close alliance with the lobbying firm of Pitta Bishop Del Giorno.

Mayor Bill de Blasio's office has released records of his meetings with lobbyists during the first three months of his term in office, and those records show that he met with Vincent Pitta, a name partner in the lobbying firm of Pitta Bishop Del Giorno that is closely allied with the mayor and with Council Speaker Mark-Viverito.

A press report about Mayor de Blasio's early meetings with lobbyists make no mention of lobbying meetings with James Capalino, a shady real estate lobbyist, who supported the mayor's successful political campaign last year. Mr. Capalino was one of the top lobbyists, who orchestrated a corrupting million-dollar, lobbyist-fuled fundraiser for the mayor's campaign last year at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. Mr. Capalino also worked as a real estate lobbyist on the controversial conversion of St. Vincent's Hospital into a billion-dollar luxury condo and townhouse complex in the West Village. Activists shilling for Mayor de Blasio claimed that he was going to offer the voters a clean break from the lobbyist-enabler that was his main rival in last year's mayoral race, former Council Speaker Christine Quinn. Former Speaker Quinn had a reputation for working closely with lobbyists and campaign donors, including having meetings with former donors to discuss legislative proposals. But judging by how both the mayor and his new Council speaker have incorporated their lobbyists into the conduct of city business, there may be no detectable difference at all in the way Mayor de Blasio runs the city from how former Council Speaker Quinn would have administered the city.

Another controversial, politically-connected firm that was left out of early disclosures of the mayor's meetings with lobbyists was Berlin Rosen. Berlin Rosen was installed by Mayor de Blasio to run his outside lobbying effort to campaign for a universal pre-kinder program in New York City. Berlin Rosen was also placed in charge with assisting with the media communication of the controversial coalition of police reform groups known as Communities United for Police Reform, or CPR. Ever since Mayor de Blasio appointed William Bratton as police commissioner, the mayor has needed to have loyalists control the messaging for police reform groups, in order to demobilize calls for radical reforms to city's law enforcement agencies. It's unclear why the mayor failed to classify his administration's meeting with Berlin Rosen as not rising to the level of lobbying, when that's exactly Berlin Rosen's role.

Separately, The Wall Street Journal's report included an update from the city's campaign finance regulatory authority, namely, that the Campaign Finance Board had not yet completed its campaign audit for former Council Speaker Quinn's unsuccessful mayoral campaign.

Mayor de Blasio with Bill Rudin (twice) ; Remembering St. Vincent's Hospital and Dr. Brickner

• RELATED : Bill de Blasio and Bill Rudin Community Betrayal ? (NYC : News & Analysis)

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

From the Demand A Hospital listserv :

Dear All :

A news round-up, plus photographs of Mayor de Blasio kissing up to Bill Rudin and embracing Rudin lobbyist, James Capalino.

1. Remembering Dr. Brickner. Dr. Philip Brickner, who was chairman of St. Vincent's community medicine department, made house calls and set up a “free clinic” for people in need. He passed away on March 24 at his home in the Riverdale section of the Bronx. He was 85. (Remembering Dr. Philip Brickner, who made house calls to the vulnerable, dies at 85 * The New York Times)

2. Remembering St. Vincent's Hospital. Some say that Rudin Management, the builder of the new billion-dollar luxury condominium complex at St. Vincent’s footprint, was coincidentally former City Council Speaker Christine Quinn’s largest campaign contributor, and she didn’t do all she could do to save the hospital. Sadly, this article unfairly blames St. Vincent's for the economic consequences of making good on its own charity mission. Healthcare has taken a beating in Greenwich Village and Chelsea, and, citywide, the assault continues. (Remembering St. Vincent's Hospital * The Indypendent)

3. Bill Rudin breakfast. Mayor Bill de Blasio makes a "surprise" appearance last Wednesday morning at Bill Rudin's Association for a Better New York power breakfast. (Mayor de Blasio makes surprise stop at ABNY insider breakfast * The New York Observer)

4. Bill Rudin gala. Mayor de Blasio expresses support Thursday night for police crackdown as a way to jack up real estate values at Bill Rudin's Waldorf-Astoria charity benefit in this desperate Bloomberg public relations puff piece meant to help rehabilitate the Rudin family's tarnished image. See photo. (Mayor de Blasio kisses up to Bill Rudin at Waldorf-Astoria gala * Bloomberg)

5. James Capalino connection. Reminder that last year, then mayoral candidate Bill de Blasio literally and figuratively embraced campaigning with Rudin's corrupt ULURP condo conversion lobbyist, James Capalino. See photo. (James Capalino, a former Rudin lobbyist volunteers for de Blasio * Capital New York)

Thank you for all that you do.

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Tell Gov. Andrew Cuomo to stop closing our hospitals : 1 (518) 474-8390

You can also tweet your concerns to Gov. Cuomo at : @NYGovCuomo