"When Mr. Bloomberg learned of the $16 million project during his first term as mayor, he offered to make a large enough donation to name the building, which will be the Patricia E. Harris Center for Business, Government and Public Policy. "

--New York Times, "A Mayor Prizing Loyalty Pays Costly Tribute to His Top Aide" by Michael Barbaro, September 2. 2009.

Patricia Harris?

THE Patricia Harris?

Ask any New Yorker who you know. Does anyone know who Patricia Harris is? Can anyone tell you one thing that she's done? They're naming a school after her?

What will the school teach--how to stay loyal to the richest person in New York?

If you must honor a deputy mayor, why not Herman Badillo?

"In interviews, several historians and experts on good government said the gift violated no government ethics rules, but they raised the possibility, that Ms. Harris’s loyalties would be to Mr. Bloomberg rather than to taxpayers."

No kidding!

That's why there are laws regarding city employees and their supervisors. The Conflicts of Interest Board must approve any private monetary relationship between the two. But what's a million dollars? And what is the COIB, when the mayor makes most of the appointments, anyway?

Can an Ed Skyler school be next?

LINKS:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/02/nyregion/02harris.html

A Mayor Prizing Loyalty Pays Costly Tribute to His Top Aide