MAYOR PREFERS "PUFFERY OVER HONESTY"

Got this press release over the weekend:

THOMPSON QUESTIONS STIMULUS STATISTICS

New York City Comptroller William C. Thompson, Jr., in a letter to New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, expressed his concerns over the current administration's exaggeration of jobs produced in reference to the first stimulus funded infrastructure contract being registered earlier last week.

"I note your administration's troubling willingness to exaggerate its accomplishments as evidenced by the inflated number of jobs, i.e. 4,865, that it claims will be created or retained by this project," Thompson said. "Embellishments such as this convey an inappropriate illusion of accuracy and reflect a disturbing preference for puffery over honesty."

In the letter available at www.comptroller.nyc , Thompson referred to the construction project underway that would help restore ramps at a ferry terminal in Staten Island which had fallen into disrepair.

"This $174.4 million construction project to rehabilitate the ramps at the St. George Ferry Terminal in Staten Island will no doubt create a significant number of construction and back office jobs for the four year length of the project, but they will no way approximate the exaggerated number of jobs claimed by your administration," Thompson said. "It is a disservice to the public to publish such an inflated statistic and then claim it as an accomplishment."

Thompson noted that although the administration has been unable to spend the stimulus funds granted to New York City, it has persistently ignored federal guidelines by estimating the impact of federal dollars on the local economy and inflating by 2 ½ times those very same federal projections as they apply to New York City.

"For example, a construction contract for $5 million that results in the hiring of 30 people should be reflected as 30 jobs in your spending, and not 140 jobs, which is what your current approach would produce," Thompson said. "It would arguably appear that your public pronouncements regarding job creation derive not from an interest in accurately tracking stimulus funds but rather to perpetuate an illusion of government transparency and accomplishment."

Thompson closed the letter by further stressing the need for accurate information as New Yorkers continue to face an unprecedented economic crisis.

"The current spotlight on stimulus funds and the opportunity to use this money should be accompanied by a legitimate effort to bolster our city's struggling residents, not as an opportunity to mislead the public about the administration's alleged accomplishments."

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