From top to bottom: Comptroller John Liu, developer Shimmie Horn. At right: 400 McGuiness Blvd.

Comptroller John Liu and City Council members are looking into the
Department of Homeless Services’ dealings with developer Shimmie Horn
and his plans to convert several buildings in Brooklyn into homeless
shelters, the New York Post and the Brooklyn Eagle reported.

A previous Post investigation had found that Horn could earn millions
of dollars with such projects in East New York and Brownsville
One of the most controversial sites for these plans is at 400
McGuiness Boulevard in Greenpoint, where the community has been protesting
plans for a homeless shelter for the past year.
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An audit by City Comptroller John Liu’s office has found deficiencies in the city’s window-guard enforcement program, which prevents children falling through open windows, in New York City public housing. Nearly half of the violations examined by the Department of Housing Preservation and Developement in fiscal years 2008 and 2009 were closed despite the department’s failure to verify with tenants that guards had been installed. Some violations were also improperly closed due to data-entry errors.

By law, landlords of buildings with three or more apartments must install window-guards in units housing children younger than 11. Complaints are received and investigated by the Department of Health and violations and forwarded to HPD. … [more]

The Downtown Brooklyn Partnership, the semi-public development organization formed by the Bloomberg administration in 2006, is coming under fire from City Comptroller John Liu just in time to potentially derail its bid to take over the Metro Tech Business Improvement District. According to the Post, Liu’s office released an audit of the Partnership yesterday detailing its failure to keep accurate payroll and donation records and to abide by competitive bidding laws. Meanwhile, it is nonetheless seeking an already controversial $216,000-a-year contract to run the $2.6 million budget of the Metro Tech BID. The developer-friendly group that supports the takeover, which includes backers of both Forest City Ratner and Mayor Bloomberg, have scheduled an emergency meeting for today to try to get the plan approved. … [more]

New York City Comptroller John Liu is set to release a report today that accuses the Bloomberg administration of allowing a city construction contract to balloon to 10 times the intended amount, according to the New York Times. According to the comptroller’s audit, the New York City Economic Development Corporation approved 21 changes to a contract with Turner Construction Company between July 2008 and January 2010, allowing the contract to jump in value to $73.5 million from its original amount, $7.5 million. Turner, which provided management on construction sites including the Brooklyn Army Terminal and Essex Street Market, among others, also received $3.3 million in “inappropriate and questionable payments” from the city…. [more]

New York City Comptroller John Liu announced yesterday a record settlement of $2.35 million on behalf of 24 construction workers who were cheated out of wages and benefits for work at city sites. An investigation into Paramount Rental Equities revealed that the vendor withheld payments for overtime, night
shift differentials and weekend pay for 24 workers. The comptroller’s office negotiated a settlement with
Paramount in which Paramount paid $2.35 million in restitution to
the workers and $117,674 to the city’s general fund as a civil penalty.
In addition, the company was put on notice that any future violations
would result in Paramount being barred from bidding on city projects. TRD… [more]

After receiving a critical audit from city Comptroller John Liu, the
New York City Economic Development Corporation has agreed to hand over
more than $120 million in rental payments to the city by 2014,
according to the New York Times. The funds, which the agency gleans
from Times Square lease payments, are among the $125 million that the
group allegedly improperly hoarded, Liu charged in his audit. The EDC,
which oversees economic growth projects across the five boroughs, will
hand over over $20 millioin per year, budget documents show. While some
say the EDC’s move is a nod to the mounting criticism in the audit’s
wake, agency spokesperson David Lombino described the move as
“optimal.” [NYT]

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New York City Comptroller John Liu and six large unions plan to begin a
campaign today to press the biggest banks — including Citigroup,
JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Wells Fargo — to do more to
prevent foreclosures in New York, the New York Times reported. Liu said
the group would send a letter criticizing them for dragging their feet
on modifying mortgages that are underwater or delinquent, and urging
them to do “everything possible” to avert foreclosures. The letter also
asks the banks to immediately name a high-level official to handle
appeals of borrowers who are denied mortgage loan
modification. Depending on the response, Liu and his coalition might
move pension funds and bank deposits to other institutions, according
to union officials. “The federal programs in place just aren’t having a
desired effect,” Liu told the Times. “People are losing their homes. It
continues to be a drag on our regional economy.” [NYT]

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Footballer Emmitt Smith’s proposed $80 million Harlem hotel, which received the city’s backing last month, is drawing criticism from some local politicians and activists over whether the project will benefit the community. Smith, of the Dallas Cowboys and television competition “Dancing with the Stars,” wants $19.8 million in tax-exempt financing for the 200-room hotel and retail facility at 125th Street and Lenox Avenue, which is slated to have a Whole Foods on the ground floor, as well as a YMCA and a cultural center on the third and fourth floors. According to the Wall Street Journal, City Comptroller John Liu said Smith’s proposal was vague and that he will vote against granting the project tax-exempt financing. The New York City Capital Resource Corp., which is controlled by Mayor Bloomberg’s office, is slated to hold a hearing tomorrow to discuss the plans; a vote is scheduled for Tuesday.  [WSJ] 

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Tenants from foreclosed Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village met with city Comptroller John Liu this week to discuss using part of the city’s $37.5 billion retirement fund to buy their beleaguered 110-building apartment complex. Liu agreed to consider the plan, which would utilize funds from the New York City Employees’ Retirement System, otherwise known as “NYCERS,” according to City Council member Dan Garodnick, a longtime Stuyvesant Town resident. In February, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said tenants looking to buy the property were on their own and shouldn’t count on the city for financial help. “That’s not what we’re here to do,” he said at the time. In addition to NYCERS, the tenants group has reached out to between 40 and 50 potential backers in drawing up plans to buy the 80-acre property, Garodnick said. One such backer is the California Public Employees’ Retirement System, which lost $500 million as an investor in the Tishman Speyer-led deal to buy Stuyvesant Town for $5.4 billion in 2006. CalPers hasn’t responded yet to the tenants’ request. [Post]

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Mayor Bloomberg is actively seeking to take over Battery Park City from the state, city Comptroller John Liu told the Downtown Express yesterday. The city has long had the option to acquire Battery Park City for $1, but after recently gobbling up Governors Island and Brooklyn Bridge Park, Bloomberg has begun to seriously consider pulling a similar coup at the Downtown landfill. Liu said it remains to be seen whether the acquisition would make financial sense for the city. While the city would have to assume the community’s $1 billion in debt, it would benefit from ground rent and property taxes on the land. “No decision is imminent,” Liu said. [Downtown Express]