NEW YORK CITY — A group of tenant and labor groups wants Mayor Bill de Blasio to stop using outside nonprofit groups to raise unlimited amounts of money to push his agenda.
The call comes after good government group Common Cause New York requested that the Campaign Finance Board and the Conflicts of Interest Board investigate the mayor's use of the Campaign for One New York and United for Affordable NYC to raise money to advocate for universal pre-K and his plan to create and preserve 200,000 units of affordable housing.
The two nonprofits can accept unlimited amount of money from groups and individuals with business before the city and are not required to disclose how the money is used.
So far, real estate firms, waste management firms and others with business before the city have each donated anywhere from $10,000 to $250,000.
The formation of Affordable NYC, which has received funds from Campaign for One New York, comes as the mayor's affordable housing plan has faced considerable opposition from some community groups around the city.
"It’s unconscionable that your political operation is using real-estate money to wage a campaign against low-income people who are raising fair and legitimate questions about whether your plan would actually deliver real affordable housing and good jobs," the groups wrote in a letter Wednesday to de Blasio.
"We call on you today to shut down United for Affordable NYC immediately rather than continue to leverage dirty developer money to fight against the real affordable housing needs of low-income communities. It’s hypocritical and wrong for a Mayor who ran for office championing low-income communities to side with wealthy developers over struggling tenants who are concerned about displacement and gentrification," the letter continued.
Members of the group include UA Plumbers Local 1, The Metropolitan Council on Housing, Community Voices Heard, Iron Workers District Council of New York, and Tenants and Neighbors.
Common Cause New York executive director Susan Lerner said de Blasio's use of the nonprofits "has spawned a shadow government that raises serious questions about who has influence and access to the policymaking process."
On Monday, de Blasio defended his use of the groups, saying that they do disclose their contributors and that it's not abnormal for coalitions to form to reach certain policy goals.
"What we've said from the beginning is anything supporting this administration's goals or anything I'm involved in must be fully disclosed. I've felt like that is the crucial question in anything. Is it disclosed or not?" de Blasio said.
The mayor also drew a moral distinction between the issues his nonprofits are raising money for and the use of Political Action Committees funded by the likes of the conservative Koch brothers.
"The aspirations were to undermine, in many cases, the democratic process and work against the needs and interest of the people. The issues at hand here are campaigns fighting for more affordable housing, campaigns that fight for pre-K for all, this is an entirely different construct," de Blasio said.
But the tenant and labor groups made no such distinction.
"As it stands, your current housing and rezoning plan will greatly enrich the real estate industry– which is why many developers have embraced it with open arms," the groups wrote in the letter. "We expected more from a mayoral administration elected on the premise of reducing income inequality and making our city fairer and better for the most vulnerable."
