The Public Advocate:
Tilting At Windmills
Or Toppling Giants?

I like Betsy Gotbaum.

Last year, in a wonderfully contested six-way Democratic Primary, the people selected Betsy over an incredibly impressive field of talented, qualified and concerned people to be their candidate for Public Advocate. Not that any of the other candidates — and we really like them all — would have been a bad choice, but Betsy was a marvelous one.

I’m not here to applaud her first four months in office. I can’t possibly evaluate her performance yet. I am here to declare that here is a wonderful person, driven to help the people and the city and her heart is in the right place.

With Betsy, what you see and hear is what you get. There are no ulterior motives. Betsy is not running for Mayor in eight years. She’s not building a personal political powerbase for the future, she’s not laying the groundwork for a future lucrative career in the private sector. Her commitment to our City is not clouded by all those terrible distractions that take well-meaning elected officials and negatively impact their performance.

PRESS/Trib Publisher Michael Schenkler and Betsy Gotbaum late last year.

Betsy Gotbaum is pure. Now she didn’t get to where she is by being pure — you can’t make it in politics or New York by purity alone. But on the measurement of politicos, Betsy is a rare individual motivated only by doing her job right — the best way she can.

Now lots of elected officials say that. With Betsy, I believe it.

And if I was a man of prayer, I would go home at night and pray for more single-minded public servants like her and then give a bigger prayer — assuming they have size — that a system so corrupted with power and money not impact on her purity of purpose.

Betsy Gotbaum can make a difference.

The Public Advocate is empowered by section 24 of the City Charter to, among other things: cut through government red tape; serve as an ombudsperson, answer complaints about people’s problems with City government, investigate ineffective agencies and programs; propose solutions that make government more efficient, and help communities gain better access to government; and be responsible for reporting the failure of any City agency or official to comply with the New York City Charter.

Betsy came to the office last week for early morning bagels and . . . She came with Stewart Desmond, her press hoohah, and new press staffer Anat Jacobson, who has worked previously for my friends Carol Gresser and Brian Pu-Folkes. (As an aside, watch Anat . . . she’ll be around molding the city decision makers long after the present ones are gone.)

Betsy and crew stopped by because a Trib article was responsible for their present crusade. Now Betsy would deny she’s on a “crusade” — and current world political correctness would dictate that we avoid that word. But without saying it, the Public Advocate has set her sights on the School Construction Authority.

And rightfully so!

The article, written by Trib reporter Angela Montefinise in the issue of March 28, 2002, “P.S. 214 Repairs Approved, But Still Waiting,” reports that the Board of Education approved and funded the replacement of P.S. 214’s “out-dated and non-functioning windows.”

However, it explained: “Even though some of the windows are stuck open four to six inches and others are nailed shut, it will still take between eight months and a year to open up the bid process, choose a construction company, measure all of the windows, make new ones, and install them.”

The efforts to replace the 50-year-old windows have been going on for three years. According to the Trib March account, the school principal said, “that the windows were not only a hazard, but in the summer, classrooms are stifling because teachers cannot open the windows.”

The School Construction Authority (SCA), which reported the windows were a “critical repair” is in charge of the process.

Gotbaum read the article, called the principal, visited the school and began her crusade. She is determined to get the windows fixed without delay — this summer. From our office, she placed a follow-up call to the executive director of the SCA — he wasn’t in.

Gotbaum, after our meeting headed to District 29 to visit some school construction sites and expand her knowledge base. Although she wasn’t declaring war yet, it seemed pretty clear that our new Public Advocate has set her sight on the SCA. She is gathering information and we can’t wait for the next shoe to drop.

In the past, all of our encounters with the SCA have been negative. You remember the Chancellor’s announcement last year of  $2.8 billion of cost overruns — yes billions — of projects under School Construction Authority supervision. And friends, these guys are still in business handling our money and our schools.

Betsy, don’t be gentle.

We looked up the SCA on their website. Their mission statement read: The NYC School Construction Authority (SCA) will construct the best educational facilities possible for the children of the city of New York by consistently maintaining the highest standards of safety, quality and performance of each SCA employee, consultant, contractor and sub-contractor. We will design and construct durable, functional and attractive new school buildings and additions to existing school facilities safely, on schedule, and within budget. We will modernize and repair existing school facilities with equal commitment. The SCA will strive to become the premier public construction agency in the nation.

Their fairly large web site further explains their mission to encourage the participation of minority, women-owned and locally based enterprises.

We couldn’t find the web page or section that addressed cost effectiveness or speed of construction. Perhaps they are not high on the SCA’s list.

Although Betsy and I didn’t review her entire agenda, we did share thoughts about the SCA, the Board of Ed. and the failures of our system of City government. She is acutely aware and committed to finding solutions.

School Construction Authority

The 1990 Charter revision established the Independent Budget Office (IBO) to provide non-partisan budgetary, economic, and policy analysis for the residents of New York City and their elected officials, and to increase New Yorkers’ understanding of and participation in the budget process.

In February of this year, the IBO issued a report titled: “School Construction Costs Soar More Than 70 Percent Since 1999.”

The staggering report presented numbers revealing the utter incompetence of the SCA. It compared the New School Project Cost of New York City to the cost in New York State (including the City) and New Jersey. Although NYC schools are generally larger and therefore should produce economies of scale bringing down  costs, the numbers were staggering.

The billions in cost overruns and these cost numbers alone are, to this writer, enough for total indictment of the SCA.

Throw the bums out!

Perhaps, the present watch is not entirely responsible, but when we have such complete and utter failure, it is time to throw out the entire system.

Allow the Mayor, Chancellor or me to appoint someone to replace the SCA until a new and more accountable system is assured.

The SCA, by the way, according to Gottbaum, has not cut a single person from their staff in spite of the severe budgetary cutbacks it has received from the City. If it has substantially fewer bucks to spend on school construction and repair, why does it need the same size staff and doesn’t that leave fewer bucks for the schools?

But if that’s not enough, a report last month of a commission appointed by Chancellor Harold Levy found that the city could save 25 percent to 35 percent by scrapping outdated guidelines and spending money more carefully. It found that it costs $425 to $450 per square foot to build a new school — far more than the $300 to $325 per square foot it takes to put up office towers, luxury condos and hospitals. It pointed the finger at both the Board of Education and the School Construction Authority.  The city could build schools at those lower rates, in part, by making bureaucrats more accountable for reining-in spending, the report said.

I’ve shared with you, my readers and friends, nothing new. I’ve uncovered no great news scoop. The saddest commentary about the whole situation is that everyone knows that the present system of school construction has failed. The Chancellor, the Board of Education and mostly the SCA have failed our City and kids.

Everyone knows that our schools are way overcrowded — and Queens bears the brunt of the seat shortage and yet incompetence rules the day.

The SCA’s track record is one of complete and total failure. This writer needs no more information.

It’s time for change. No, it was time for change years ago. Perhaps Gotbaum will be able to move the system to fix one or maybe several school problems. But it will take more than our crusading Public Advocate to change the system. And sadly around here, change comes slowly . . .very slowly.

The Public Advocate is out to fix the system, the Chancellor has his commission’s report, the Mayor wants to control the schools, the IBO report shouts failure, the State legislature is negotiating governance change. But sadly, P.S. 214’s windows are nailed shut and it’s going to get awfully hot while the politicians continue to play.

Good News - Bad News
My Mother-In-Law Is Back From Florida

Okay, it’s not just another mother-in-law joke. It’s a story about Queens’ residual reaction to the terrorism of September 11.

Let me explain.

My mother-in-law, a Queens resident for the past half century, now spends half her time in her Florida condo and half in North Shore towers. Her schedule is typical of many Queens snowbirds seeking refuge from the New York cold. But when New York turns warm, they’re baaaack!

And so it was this weekend past. Phyllis returned from early bird specials to spend weekends eating out with us. Now, I wouldn’t even dream of implying that it is some kind of hardship for me. My mother-in-law is wonderful . . . and my wife and mother-in-law both read the paper.

Well, she returned Saturday and Lil and Allison picked her up at LaGuardia. Her car comes several days later so she can torture me extra until it arrives. So, Saturday evening, I drive over to North Shore Towers to pick Lil, Allison and Phyllis up for dinner. . . and lo and behold they are checking car trunks at the gate.

I remember following September 11, when North Shore Towers started checking car trunks to make their residents feel better. Maybe it was the word Towers, maybe it was a budget surplus, but they immediately — post 9-11 — began a trunk security inspection for every visiting vehicle.

Well, it still goes on. Eight months after the terrorist attacks, the folks at North Shore Towers are keeping their three lovely buildings safe from terrorist attacks.

And if Phyllis didn’t come back from Florida, I never would have had these 275 words to fill the column.

Every cloud has a silver lining.

Welcome home, Phyllis.

Column contributor: Angela Montefinise

Not4Publication.com by Dom Nunziato

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Michael Schenkler can be reached at: MSchenkler@queenspress.com