from GVBA News Winter 2005

During the last months of the Giuliani administration and soon after Aubrey Lees — who currently chairs the CB2 Parks Committee — was elected chair of Community Board 2, the Greenwich Village Block Associations (GVBA) discussed Ms. Lees’ appointments for the chairs of two important sub-committees: the Business Committee and the Sidewalks Committee. Bob Rinaolo, owner of Garage Restaurant and Senor Swanky, became Business Committee chair, which oversees liquor license applications and makes recommendations concerning them to the State Liquor Authority. It seems inappropriate for a liquor license holder to chair a committee that oversees applications by people who may be competition. If this were not a conflict of interest, what is?

Lisa LaFrieda of the LaFrieda Meatpacking family got the top spot on the Sidewalks Committee, which oversees sidewalk cafe applications. Some of the applicants appearing before this committee may be her customers which may give the appearance of impropriety. (Regrettably, Ms LaFrieda passed away last year) Since common sense is not necessarily consistent with “what is legal,” the GVBA referred the question to the NYC Conflict of Interest Board (COIB) and awaited a ruling to see if our “instincts were correct.”

In May 2003 — 2 years later — the GVBA received a ruling concerning only Mr. Rinaolo. The COIB determined that his appointment was, indeed, a conflict of interest. The GVBA assumed that the COIB had sent this decision to newly elected CB2 Chair Jim Smith and to the Manhattan Borough President’s Office. To ensure that Mr. Smith was aware of the ruling, it was sent to him by registered mail along with a congratulatory letter on his election.

We hoped for positive changes at Board 2: transparency in procedure and increased community inclusion. We also sent the ruling to Mr. Rinaolo because it did, after all, concern him. To quote Mr. Smith’s email of July 22, 2003,

I did read the advisory of the Conflict of Interests Board you sent and the cover letter. I’m amazed that you would have been inquiring regarding Ms. LaFrieda whose business in no way involves a liquor license. As for Mr. Rinaolo, he is one of several licensees who chair liquor license committees in Manhattan. I know you agree with me that he is a superb chair and one I would not part with willingly. The civility, intelligence, even-handedness and savvy he brings, in short, his sophistication as a veteran Manhattan restaurateur make him ideal for the portfolio he tends as Chair of our Business Committee.

Fortunately, as I read it the COIB’s opinion is merely advisory. Inquiries have been made of the Borough Presidents’s office for guidance and if it should be deemed in any way applicable to CB#2’s situation, then we will seek advice on how to appeal. Bob’s is one to keep, don’t you agree?

Mr. Smith failed to grasp the concept of “conflict of interest” — it’s not just about liquor licenses — and intended to ignore the advice. Still not wishing to cause embarrassment and remaining focused on the problem, the GVBA trusted that Mr. Smith would discover he was wrong. Mr. Rinaolo might make a face-saving maneuver and step down. He did not.

This was baffling and disappointing. COIB rulings are controlling, not advisory. If the GVBA knew it, why didn’t the officers of CB2? Ironically, the chair of a community board — which is, indeed, an advisory body — was opting to ignore the advice of what he erroneously assumed was another advisory body. Shouldn’t this be rudimentary knowledge for a community board chair?

In October 2003, a registered letter was sent to Denise Outram who is the legal counsel in the office of Manhattan BP C. Virginia Fields. The GVBA asked Ms. Outram to offer the necessary counsel to Mr. Smith. We heard nothing from the Manhattan BP’s office. And Mr. Rinaolo stayed on as chair.

In the summer of 2004, we informed Wayne Hawley of the COIB what had transpired — more accurately, what had not transpired. Mr. Hawley assured us that the matter would be resolved, but again months passed. It seemed nothing was ever going to happen.

Eventually, the intrepid folks at The Villager got wind of the ruling — not from the GVBA — and reported on it. That did the trick. After some confusion, conflicting statements and denials, Mr. Rinaolo stepped down. But a few months from now, if the Village scuttlebutt is accurate, he will be elected Chair of Community Board 2.
There still remain questions including some of the “who knew what, when and why didn’t they act on it” variety. And what should they have known if they didn’t? Why did the COIB take so long to respond to a simple legal query with citywide ramifications?

The GVBA is reviewing our own judgment, too. We may have been too circumspect and too patient. A four-year long “conflict of interest” is a circumvention of propriety and obviates a regulation essential to the credibility of any public body. Our community boards are advisory. Their influence depends solely on how wisely, honestly and efficiently they serve the community. If their advice can be ignored with impunity, it says as much about the Board as it does about those on the receiving end of the advice.