In an article in the July 8 New York Post Queens Weekly section, headlined “Shulman gets slap for illegal Willets lobby,” Claire Shulman, the former borough president, once again got away with illegal shenanigans.
Shulman started the Fort Totten Redevelopment Authority when President Bill Clinton sold the 168 waterfront acres to the city for $1. One of the honest members of the authority sent a list to me of the people Shulman appointed to represent the community. Many were developers while others were receiving monies for their nonprofit organizations from Shulman.
She named her group an authority in order to keep the community it was representing out of the meetings. This is also done by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. There are no open meetings and authorities are not under the Sunshine Law.
We the people living around the fort had to protest to just listen to what was being discussed for our community. When we arrived to go into the meeting, Shulman called in eight policemen in riot gear to stop us from walking down the hallway. We paid taxes to listen to what the group was planning for us.
Eventually, we won. We did not give up and she had to eventually allow the community in. Why was there such a strong protest by Shulman to keep the community out of the meetings?
Can it be the same reason she received a slap on the wrist for illegally lobbying city officials to “win approval for their favored projects”? Shulman has received too many slaps on the wrist. As a taxpayer, why? Other taxpayers should ask why she gets away with her backroom deals.
In fact, we should demand she resign from the $3 billion project and an investigation ensue, including her bank statements. Enough is enough! A slap on the wrist will allow her to continue her underhanded activities, for she appears to think she is above the law and morality.
It is time state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman stop playing politics and dig deeper into Shulman and the city Economic Development Corp. and local development corporation run by her.
Joyce Shepard
Bayside
