Whats Rudy Hiding? Queens Residents Wonder

Who was the first person Rudy Giuliani phoned on Sept. 11, in the hours after the debris from the World Trade Center collapse nearly trapped him inside City Hall?
What memos did the former Mayor write to police officials after learning that Bronx cops had shot an unarmed man 41 times?
What did Rudy have to say about his never-to-be Senatorial opponent Hillary Rodham Clinton?
If Queens residents and other New Yorkers are interested in learning the answers to these questions about one of the most colorful administrations in the Citys history, theyll have to get the former mayor to answer this question first: Why has he stashed more than 2,000 boxes of files, photos and phone records in a secluded Long Island City facility called the Fortress?
"What does Rudy have to hide?" LIC residents and others wondered in interviews with The Queens Courier last week outside the windowless warehouse in Long Island City. Maybe nothing.
But thats for the citizenry to decide, many in the hybrid industrial and residential neighborhood said.
"The people have a right to know everything the Mayor did," said Omar Kiziltug, who lives up the street from the warehouse.
Like all those interviewed, Kiziltug said that he was unaware that the former mayor is storing the huge cache of records in their neighborhood. "What is he so scared of?" asked Kizitug. "My daughter and I are going to go into the warehouse early tomorrow morning to see the mayors papers and they better let us in."
Robert Guarnaschelli, who works in the area, said he, too, would be interested in reading the memos and listening to the telephone recordings from the Mayors eight years in office.
"Its my right as a taxpayer to know what went on when Mayor Giuliani was in office," said Guarnaschelli. "Its an important part of history."
The Citys former chief executive trucked the records including 6,000 files of photographs and negatives, audio tapes of meetings, telephone logs, and hard copies of e-mails from City Hall to Long Island City last month.
The Fortress, which has other storage facilities in Boston and Miami, calls itself "the leading Museum Quality Storage and Service Company in the world." The Queens facility, at 49-20 Fifth St., is believed to house portions of several valuable art collections, including treasures from the Museum of Modern Art.
While Giuliani spokesmen insist that the former mayor is footing the bill for storing the archives, Allen Hansen, manager of the LIC Fortress said he wasnt sure who is paying his company.
"You know, thats a good question," Hansen told Courier reporters who visited the warehouse last week. Hansen said that Giulianis archives are taking up about 1,500 square feet of space at a cost of $3.50 per square foot, or $5,250 per month. He refused to grant a tour of the warehouse citing the security of clients. And when asked whether representatives of the former mayor have made frequent visits to his lockers, the manager said only, "Normally we dont see any kind of activity at all."
The agreement to allow the former Mayor to remove the records, signed by George Rios, City records commissioner during the final days of administration, has created a storm among historians and official archivists, who say that the move is unprecedented.
The agreement says that the City "retains ownership" and "ultimate control" over the archives. But it grants Giuliani the right to withhold any item he considers of "personal interest."
"Its something that shouldnt have been done," John Manbeck, chairman of the City Archives Advisory Board said in a published report. "We have eight years of documents that are not available." The Board is scheduled to meet on Feb. 13 to decide on its official recommendations about the archives.
Pressure is mounting on Mayor Michael Bloomberg to nullify the contract his predecessor signed with the City. But thats unlikely, as Bloomberg has called the agreement "perfectly legal."
But that doesnt cut it with at least one neighbor of the Fortress.
"This is more proof that there is no more accountability in government," said Ann McCoy. "Giuliani is right up there with Bush when it comes to secrecy. Its appalling."