Are NYC Parks Employee Spending Work Time Lobbying Bike Groups!

  This came in from a reliable source.

 

Below is an email sent from Van Cortlandt Park Administrator Margot Perron to independent Bicycle Organizations and other NYC Parks employees asking them to lobby at a Community Board meeting for a proposed Parks project which will pave the Putnam Nature Trail and remove 400 trees.

Margot Perron sent this email during work hours and it is a clear conflict of interest that a Parks employee is lobbying with outside organizations to promote the Parks Dept.’s political agenda.

Margot Perron who is the Administrator of Van Cortlandt Park and who also acts as the President of Van Cortlandt Park Conservancy should legally be spending their taxpayer funded work time managing the affairs of Van Cortlandt Park not lobbying for a future capital project.

Bike New York who NYC Parks is now proven to be collaborating with is an entity which based on their non-profit IRS status is specifically prohibited from lobbying yet Bike New York blatantly continues to lobby for paving the Putnam Nature Trail. Bike New York also just last week sued the City of New York for $900,000 because NYC wants Bike New York to pay for NYPD fees associated with Bike New York’s 5 Boro Bike Tour. Bike New York wants taxpayers to pay for $900,000 in fees for its own private event!

NYC Parks and Bike New York continue to collude, take part in prohibited lobbying and are using taxpayer dollars to do so!

Demand an investigation by NYC Public Advocate Bill de Blasio.  This is clearly a conflict of interest and a case of illegal lobbying. Contact Bill de Blasio’s Chief of Staff, Dominick Williams at   dwilliams@pubadvocate.nyc.gov

Save taxpayer money, Save the environment, Save the Putnam Trail!

Save the Putnam Trail Campaign
www.savetheputnamtrail.com

www.facebook.com/saveputnamtrailnow

Below is the email sent by Van Cortlandt Parks Administrator Margot Perron to Bike New York and other Parks employees asking them to lobby at a community board meeting for Parks proposed paving of the Putnam Nature Trail in Van Cortlandt Park. If the community supported Park’s project there would be no need for the Parks Dept. to lobby! Why can’t the Park’s Dept. simply do what the community wants and keep the Putnam Trail natural? There is a great new story here if you would like to dig a little deeper!

From: Perron, Margot [mailto:Margot...@parks.nyc.gov]
Sent: Monday, April 08, 2013 1:04 PM
To: biketh...@gmail.com; Rich Conroy; da...@gellman.name; Sherida Paulsen; Mattera, John
Cc: Cassino, Anthony P.; Nina Spencer
Subject: Connect/Save the Putnam Trail

My staff found flyers on the Putnam Trail this weekend encouraging folks to attend the CB7 full board meeting tomorrow night to complain about the “highway” that Parks is putting in. It’d be nice to have the other side of the argument also represented. Come if you can and arrive at least a half hour early to sign up or call CB8 during the day to sign up to speak.  The April 9^th     CB8 Board Meeting is at 7:30 PM at Ft. Independence Comm. Ctr. 3350 Bailey Avenue (between West 233^rd & 234^th Streets)  (parking is difficult). The CB8 office phone is 718-884-3959.

Please let anyone you think is interested in this issue to please attend.

Thank you for your support.

Margot

Margot Perron

Administrator/President

Van Cortlandt Park Conservancy

1 Bronx River Parkway

Bronx, NY 10462

718-430-1890

vcpark.org

 

 

Van Cortlandt Park Ice Skating Rink Ribbon Cutting

   NYC Parks Commissioner Veronica M. White welcomed those assembled to the ribbon cutting of the new Van  Cortlandt Park Ice Skating Rink. Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr.  said that he was glad to be on hand for the ribbon cutting here, and that he would like to have a permanent Ice Skating rink and arena for the future stars of the Bronx. Diaz naming former New York Ranger great Mark Messier and  Olympic gold medal winner Sarah Hughes, both who are pushing a proposed plan for up to nine professional ice skating rinks in the Kingsbridge Armory. Councilman G. Oliver Koppell, and Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz also spoke of their hopes that the Kingsbridge Armory would be transformed into what is being called an Ice Skating Palace at the armory that they and other elected officials support. 

   Also on hand were members of the Van Cortlandt Park Conservancy, Community Board # 8, and others that were involved in the process that made the Van Cortlandt Park Ice Skating Rink possible including the Project Manager Mr. Ron Kraut of Eckstein Development the operator of the rink.

    The Ice Theater of New York housed at the Chelsea Piers Sky Rink performed several different skating routine (as you will see in the photos below). Currently the Chelsea Piers are closed due to damage from Hurricane Sandy. The director of the Ice Theater said that it was great that the Van Cortlandt Park Ice Skating Rink opened up as the Chelsea Piers will not reopen for a few weeks.  

 The "Ribbon Cutting" ceremony by the elected officials. It was even colder on the ice  on this crisp fall day, as you can see.

 

           

In both photos is Gold medal skater 11 year old Jenny Birlin. She is wearing her Ice Theater of N.Y. warm up jacket as she is testing out the ice.

Left - Is another skater from Ice Theater checking out the ice. 

Right - You see Jenny and the other skater together on the ice.

Left - Another pair of skaters on the ice. 

Right- Since the rink is curbside, that is a real truck on Broadway in the background of the skaters.

Left and Right - A skating routine from "Buggy Woggy Bugle Boy".

Left - Some of the over 800 pairs of ice skates available for rental.

Right - The price list 

You can click on any photo to enlarge it.