Borough President's Excessive Spending

Today, The Daily News came out with a piece on how Borough Presidents are currently spending ridiculous sums of money and floating under the radar. When hypothesizing about the reason behind this spend, the author writes: "The answer is that they occupy offices of such powerless irrelevance that they pass their days largely unscrutinized. The public's money is there for the taking, so they take it."

The Borough President's role is currently seen as a position filled with ribbon-cutting, proclamation signing, and, of course, a chauffeur that escorts the BP around like royalty. Now, the Borough President has purchased some new furniture for her office-- $103,000 dollars worth, to be exact. And, of the 60 million allocated towards capital projects in our borough, 20 million had been placed towards a glass atrium for Borough Hall-- although, according to the Daily News, is now suddenly on hold due to the "budget crunch".

The Borough President's spending is more than just fiscally irresponsible, it is insulting to Queens taxpayers. Thousands of residents in our borough have lost or are in danger of losing their jobs and Helen Marshall is spending $4985 on drapes for her office. How can the Borough President justify spending $5,000 to refurbish her desk and cabinet when Queens has one of the highest foreclosure rates in the country?

This is precisely why I formed an exploratory committee to run for the Office of Queens Borough President. Through prudent spending, and real action plans to help prepare small businesses in Queens to deal with our current economic condition, the role of Borough President can be revitalized, creating a "Better Queens" for all of us.

To read about my platform for a potential Borough President campaign, please visit davekerpen.com