The fix is in: Sheldon Silver allegedly blocked FiDi methadone clinic for Glenwood

Disgraced State Assembly speaker is charged with taking bribes from developer

From left: Leonard Litwin, Preet Bharara and Sheldon Silver
From left: Leonard Litwin, Preet Bharara and Sheldon Silver

When it comes to methadone clinics, Leonard Litwin is a NIMBY. And he doesn’t just talk about it. 

In 2011, the Glenwood Management CEO got his ally, then-Assembly speaker Sheldon Silver, to kill a proposal to relocate a Gramercy Park methadone clinic to 90 Maiden Lane in the Financial District, a few blocks from Glenwood’s Liberty Plaza at 10 Liberty Street, according to court documents filed by U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara.

Silver responded by “intervening with the relevant state agency and further advocating against” the clinic’s opening, the New York times reported.

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“I made it clear to everyone involved that this does not seem to be an appropriate location for this facility,” wrote Silver, in a statement at the time.

Glenwood sent a letter to Liberty Plaza residents after the proposal died in the face of opposition both from Silver and from much of the wider community. It praised Silver’s “outstanding efforts,” and stated, “Assemblyman Silver sprung into action as soon as it was revealed that this application was pending.”

Silver was forced to step down as Assembly speaker after he was arrested in January on corruption charged stemming from his connections to Glenwood. The developer has since significantly reduced its political contributions. [NYT]Ariel Stulberg