Brooklyn, NY – A city councilman running for public advocate took campaign contributions from billboard companies just days after publicly demanding looser regulations on the industry, The Post has learned.
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Councilman Bill de Blasio (D-Brooklyn), one of six public-advocate candidates this year, took in $8,000 from billboard companies a few days after he called [reported by VIN News here] on the city to ease the reins at a City Hall press conference, campaign records show.
During the January conference, de Blasio criticized the city for what he called an “unreasonable crackdown” on outdoor-advertising companies.
At the time, he said the Department of Buildings “overzealously targets outdoor advertisers and grossly overpenalizes them for nonharmful violations, while serving comparatively smaller fines for numerous potentially life-threatening violations.”
“I am proud to support local businesses,” de Blasio said yesterday through spokeswoman Gwen Rocco.
isnt this waht polticis is all about
pay to play
I fail to see anything wrong here. It is only natural that people would support politicians who advance a cause they beleive in. Its like saying “Religious People are Big Donors to Pro Life Candidates”. So what?
Besides the fact, everyone knows that the Dept of Buildings is out of control and are contributing to the real estate bust. The sign industry has been in their cross-hairs the last few years and has made their lives miserable.
GO BILL GO!! You are the real public advocate and NOT afraid to stand up against Bloomberg who buys off every one.
Gimme a break!
There’s a reason why the billboard division of every advertising/marketing company in NY brings in the most money – because they’ve been exploiting the lack of enforcement in NYC for many years, which has in turn created a very profitable niche. But there’s no question that there’s a valid need for billboard restrictions – some states around the US have already outlawed billboards entirely.
Here in NYC, of course things work differently. After many years of looking the other way while billboard companies have earned billions (yes, Billions) of dollars from illegal billboards in the city, with new billboards increasingly being erected illegally everywhere that a buck could be made, the City finally put their foot down. Then the billboard companies teamed up and sued the city, spending millions of dollars to stop the city from enforcing the rules that have been on the books for many years. While that’s still in court, of course they are paying any influential politician they can find in the city to support their cause.
Say what you want about politics, but this all really stinks, and stands for the worst of politics and lobbying – where a few companies with a lot of money can use their money to stop the city from enforcing rules enacted for aesthetic preservation of the city and the benefit of all residents and visitors to the city, just so that those few companies can make even more $$$$.
Does anyone really believe the issues is about “supporting local businesses”?