City finance commissioner also holds real estate position

The city allowed Finance Commissioner Martha Stark to also work at a real estate company, even though rules forbid city department heads to take outside employment, the New York Post reported. Stark works at Tarragon Corporation, which builds apartment complexes in the tristate area and other states. Stark, who earns $189,700 in her city position, received $90,316 from Tarragon in 2007 and $44,126 in 2006, according to company filings. The mayor’s office said it did not know about Stark’s work with Tarragon until hearing about it from the Post, but the finance office released an April 2005 letter from Steven Rosenfeld, chair of the city’s Conflicts of Interest Board, saying that Stark’s relationship with Tarragon would not violate city rules.