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De Blasio Fires Official Who Lifted Deed Restriction on Rivington House

By Allegra Hobbs | February 27, 2017 12:22pm
 Rivington House shuttered in February 2015 after decades of providing long-term care for HIV/AIDS patients.
Rivington House shuttered in February 2015 after decades of providing long-term care for HIV/AIDS patients.
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DNAinfo/Allegra Hobbs

MANHATTAN — Mayor Bill de Blasio fired the city official who scrapped the deed restriction on Rivington House, the Lower East Side nursing home, allowing the property to be flipped for a luxury condo conversion.

Deputy Commissioner Ricardo Morales of the Department of Citywide Administrative Services, was terminated on Friday evening, the department confirmed.

Morales in July 2015 OK'd lifting of a deed restriction that had mandated the building remain a healthcare facility, documents released by the city Department of Investigation revealed, paving the way for the property's sale to a developer for a condo conversion.

The Friday ousting coincided with a meeting between Mayor de Blasio and U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara as part of an ongoing investigation into City Hall favors exchanged for donations.

City officials have confirmed the U.S. Attorney is also probing the Rivington House deed flip.

A DCAS spokeswoman denied Morales' termination had anything to do with the investigation.

“Our agency is moving forward with several leadership changes and some restructuring designed to improve our efficiency and performance," said DCAS spokeswoman Cathy Hanson.

"Among those changes is the departure of Mr. Morales. These changes have been in the works for some time and have nothing to do with the Mayor's or City Hall's cooperation with the US Attorney.” 

But Morales's lawyer, Guy Oksenhendler, told the Daily News he finds the timing of his client's firing "extremely suspicious" since it came on the heels of the Mayor's meeting with the U.S. Attorney.

"Around the time that meeting would have concluded, my client was terminated," Oksenhendler told the Daily News.

Oksenhendler was not immediately available to comment further.

When reached for comment, the Mayor's office directed DNAinfo New York to the Department of Citywide Administrative Services.

The firing was first reported by the Wall Street Journal.