The wife of New York Mayor Bill de Blasio "can't account for" $850 million in missing taxpayer money that was granted to her mental health project, according to reports. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Essential to the first familys hopes of continued taxpayer support after term limits forces the mayor out of office, maybe. But this is 2019, and the general feeling at least in the deBlasio administration is that if theres not a lot of dough attached to the spousal sinecure, it doesnt really matter enough. With the aid of the citys First Lady, Mayor de Blasio launched a massive overhaul of the citys mental-health system in 2015. Nothing had been measured in the past, so what are we measuring for? Why do we get this kind of criticism? says McCray. On January 27, 2013, as her husband, Bill de Blasio, announced his candidacy for Mayor of New York City, Chirlane McCray took up a new role, accompanying him on his campaign. A company representative, David Lombino, said Ms. McCray did not solicit the donation, which went to an internship program known as Ladders for Leaders. The Thrive program, which had its budget raised to $250 million per year in 2019, has produced some underwhelming numbers in terms of how many people it impacts. [4] She is of Barbadian and St. Lucian descent, but traces her grandmother's last name (Quashie) to Ghana. The nonprofit was created in 1994 by Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani to raise private-sector money to finance some of his pet projects, including a children's book featuring his dog. How can she sleep at night hiring these hacks knowing so many other city workers are facing layoffs this fall? One exception was Marilyn Simons, a philanthropist married to the hedge fund billionaire James Simons. Fast-forward to Wednesday, when the City Council was startled to discover that McCray and Team Thrive are closing in on having spent an eye-popping $900 million since the programs inception and nobody seems to have a clue on what. When asked whether she plans to continue working with the national coalition once she leaves Gracie Mansion, McCray says she is too focused on the present needs of the Office of Community Mental Health to say what will happen once her husband leaves his post. Ms. McCray with San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz during a humanitarian mental-health initiative after Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico in March. They also mocked her, often contorting their mouths to make their lips look big. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, Economic growth has slowed, but inflation remains persistent in key areas, raising concerns that the Feds balance-sheet size could force the Fed to take rates even higher. The new forecast gives Republicans and Democrats a matter of weeks to reach an agreement on raising the nation's roughly $31.4 trillion borrowing limit. But it was quickly turned into rejection when a classmate found her in an intimate embrace with another woman. City Hall later provided a list of 44 people contacted by Ms. McCray in 2015 and 2016. Two Trees Management, a real estate developer that in 2015 donated $100,000 to the Campaign for One New York, gave $11,750 to the fund in April 2016, just weeks after Mr. de Blasio said he would shut down the Campaign for One New York. This news comes as the mayor is consideringlaying off up to 22,000 municipal workers in the falldue to budget constraints related to COVID-19. And while it sounds good to spend heavily on a mental health initiative, it appears that nobody has noticed any real benefits from that investment. And just as surely, jobs are the point both municipal positions and employment with the numberless, anonymous, unaccountable and usually politically connected not-for-profit agencies that live off city dollars. Refined through trial and error and a global pandemic, the mental-health effort is now focused on 30 services and has been rebranded as the Mayors Office of Community Mental Health. They got married in 1994. But the fund itself has become a much larger operation, adding employees and salaries. There's no money for regular trash pickups or to maintain city parks, but Mayor Bill de Blasio's wife enjoys a 14-member staff including a $70,000 videographer that captured her bakin First lady Chirlane McCray's ThriveNYC unveiled a splashy new website Monday purporting to show the $1.25 billion plan has "dramatically improved the landscape of. While the goals of ThriveNYC are lofty and are arguably needed, throughout its creation and expansion, many have questioned the inherent nepotism of the mayor placing his wife in charge of such a major overhaul. Ron DeSantis. In 2004, she left Thompsons service to join Maimonides Medical Center, where she served possibly till 2009, trying to promote a culturally sensitive environment and make it attractive to a wider clientele. We have statistics from the very beginning. Fellow contender, City Councilman Antonio Reynoso (D-Brooklyn), slammed the spending. McCray says the citys mental health hotline, NYC Well, logged 33,000 texts, chats and calls this January up from 18,000 the year before, an 83% increase in use. OP1670 Exposes New Fed Power to Seize Control of U.S. Bank Accounts. And the chairwoman of the nonprofit, Chirlane McCray, has largely been missing in action: She has attended less than half of the funds board meetings, and her outreach to donors has been sporadic. But another pattern is revealed by the calls: almost half of those contacted by Ms. McCray were contributors to her husbands mayoral campaigns (the Simonses each gave the maximum donation to Mr. de Blasios re-election campaign last year). Our Spectrum News app is the most convenient way to get the stories that matter to you. This principally is on the co-mayors, of course, but it is also on Stringer who wants to be mayor, but who shrinks from demonstrating that he deserves the job. It was reorganized and given its current name by Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg after he took office in 2002, when the city was reeling from the Sept. 11 terror attacks. We know as little about the program after the hearing as we knew before the hearing, said Councilman Ritchie Torres (D-Bronx). Instagram: @chirlane document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Thanks for contacting us. The organization spent $753,000 on management and fund-raising in the fiscal year that ended in June 2017, 50 percent more than two years earlier. From the fiscal year that began in July 2014 the first year the fund was under full control of Mr. de Blasio and Ms. McCray through June 2017, the fund raised an average of $22 million a year. Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit www.djreprints.com. After The Times reviewed its findings with staff at the Mayors Fund, officials on May 18 announced the addition of 19 members, including Ms. Simons, to its advisory board, a largely ceremonial position chiefly aimed at fund-raising. If theres a program thats been found to be effective, we should continue it.. [37], "Chirlane McCray in sling after birthday injuries", "De Blasio gripes about rules barring spouses from paid gigs in government", "Chirlane McCray, de Blasio's Wife, Is Questioned Over His 'Revolutionary' $1 Billion Mental Health Plan", "NYC'S New First Lady Makes Barbadians Proud - Caribbean and Latin America Daily News", "Chirlane McCray: From Gay Trailblazer to Politician's Wife", "Once Alienated, and Now a Force in Her Husband's Bid for Mayor: Chirlane McCray Plays Key Role in de Blasio Campaign", "Ancient History: The Lesbian Past of Bill de Blasio's Wife", "Bill de Blasio's wife, Chirlane McCray, on the "fluidity of love" and the political spotlight", "Pioneering Black Feminist Makes History Again", "The Family Bible Is a Guest for the Oath, but Not a Participant", "Bill de Blasio's wife, Chirlane McCray, opens up on her role as the mayoral race's most visible spouse", "At City Hall, Backstage Player Is Cast in Main Stage Uproar", "Rachel Noerdlinger, former Chirlane McCray aide, kept ex-con boyfriend updated through controversy", "De Blasio Appoints Chirlane McCray, His Wife, to Lead Nonprofit Group", "Once-Thriving City Nonprofit Sputters Under Mayor's Wife, Chirlane McCray", "NYC First Lady Chirlane McCray Weighs in on Federal Mental Health Reform", "ThriveNYC: A Mental Health Roadmap for All", "Chirlane McCray and the Limits of First-Ladyship", "With opaque budget and elusive metrics, $850M ThriveNYC program attempts a reset", "There's too much money in Chirlane McCray's hands", "First Lady Chirlane McCray considering run for office in 2021", "Chirlane McCray's latest hires hint at run for public office", "Family in the Spotlight: De Blasio's Wife, Children Provide Multiracial Backdrop to Likely Mayoral Bid", "Bill de Blasio's wife recalls him first learning that she was a lesbian", "When Bill de Blasio's Wife Was a Lesbian", "De Blasio Finally Settles Down at Gracie Mansion", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Chirlane_McCray&oldid=1144515944, This page was last edited on 14 March 2023, at 04:47. So, ipso presto, co-Mayor Bill coughed up enough cash to break a pack mules back and sent it off to co-Mayor Chirlane who then went forth to cure Gothams mental-illness problems. One can only imagine what a mad scramble those meetings are. Chirlane Irene McCray (1954-11-29) November 29, 1954(age 68) Springfield, Massachusetts, U.S. This story has been shared 132,852 times. McCray says she believes history will judge her mental health programs more fairly, and counters that much of the opposition to the dollars spent on Thrive programming is rooted in ignorance and bigotry. Ms. McCrays schedules show that last year she made three calls to Ms. Simons, in July, September and December. Bill De Blasio's Wife and The Case of the Missing $850 - RedState How much taxpayer money will the mayors wife pilfer before leaving office? And Mayor Bill de Blasios excuse for it is beyond laughable. In 2013, Chiara suffered from depression and drug use, which has since been addressed. [6][8], After graduating from college, McCray moved to New York City to work for Redbook. She was born eldest of her parents three children; she has two younger sisters named Cynthia and Cheryl. The nonprofit was created in 1994 by Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani to raise private-sector money to finance some of his pet projects, including a childrens book featuring his dog. The mayors most recent budget deal includes another $115 million in mental-health spending, an effort McCray says to respond to the mounting mental health care needs of city residents after months of uncertainty and trauma brought on by the pandemic. First Lady Chirlane McCray reflects on legacy of ThriveNYC There were 85 programs at last count, according to Ms. Olson. There was little help from her parents, who had their own battles to fight. But also mayoral spouse Chirlane McCray, who has just been revealed as a world-class boondoggler in her own right. Eventually, she started an organization called Black Women in Publishing. Bill de Blasio attempts to defend his wife's $1.1M salary for staff From her mothers previous marriage, she also has a half brother called Reginald Jackson. Hey, the family that preys together stays together, right? Despite its ranks and generous salaries, the team hasnt posted an update to McCrays public schedule since last year. He said that a better measure of the funds success was the number of programs that it finances a number that has also fallen. The chairwoman of the Mayors Fund to Advance the City of New York, Chirlane McCray, has largely been missing in action: She has attended less than half of the funds board meetings, and her outreach to donors has been sporadic. While studying there, she became a member of a black feminist organization known as the Combahee River Collective. Entitled, I Am a Lesbian, it tried to dispel the myth that there was no gay in Black community and also to assure Black lesbians that they were not alone. All rights reserved. Well, he didnt actually say rathole, and the price tag has doubtless been lowballed but he also had no credible explanation for the debacle, nor did he apologize for it. The performance of the Mayors Fund Ms. McCrays only official role among her many unofficial responsibilities, including overseeing the citys mental health initiatives provides a window into her leadership style at a time when she is contemplating a run for office of her own. [14], In 2004, McCray left Thompson's office to work in the private sector. Ms. Baierlein was hired last year as director of development. Chirlane McCray's ThriveNYC has come under scrutiny following its creation in 2015. New York Mayor's Wife 'Loses' $850 Million in Taxpayer Money Fast-forward to Wednesday, when the City Council was startled to discover that McCray and Team Thrive are closing in on having spent an eye-popping $900 million since the programs inception and nobody seems to have a clue on what. In 1974, she became a member of The Combahee River Collective, a Black feminist organization that looked into the issues relating specifically to the Black lesbians. Save up to $15 with TurboTax coupon May 2023, Epic Bundle - 3x Expert Stock Recommendations, 15% Off DIY Online Tax Filing Services | H&R Block Coupon Code, 10% TopResume Discount Code for expert resume-writing services, Exclusive Groupon Promo Code - 30% OFF Local Experiences. Make some of my familys favorite cookies with me: Ginger snaps! In January, Ms. McCray announced that the program would become its own office, which now has 21 employees with a $2 million office budget, according to Susan Herman, appointed to lead the office. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); document.getElementById( "ak_js_2" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Thanks for contacting us. In interviews with more than a dozen donors and others who had contact with the fund, none said that they had substantive conversations with Ms. McCray. Hey, the family that preys together stays together, right? Almost every single one of our programs continued throughout the pandemic.. Oh, and her staff is twice the size it was in 2018, further evidence that the mayor is using city resources to set his wife up to win next years race for Brooklyn borough president. Such as, how did it happen that Thrive burned through more $565 million over four-plus years to no appreciable good effect with nobody noticing? Other members of the shadow staff who participated in a Team Lunch in The Bronx in January 2019, according to McCrays public schedule, are a $143,000-a-year public relations director, also from the Department of Health, and a special assistant from the mayors office who makes $115,000. The 1984 ruling, known as the Chevron deference, directs courts to defer to a federal agencys legal approach when Congress has left the statutory language ambiguous, which some conservatives have come to oppose. Early in her youth, Chirlane McCray identified herself as a lesbian and continued to do so till 1991 when she met her future husband, Bill de Blasio, at that time working as an aide to David Dinkins. Seven mayors attended a 2017 national mental health conference in New York City. [17] Later in 2014, Noerdlinger resigned her post following a series of controversies surrounding her behavior and that of persons close to her. The ThriveNYC initiative, now three years old, is the signature effort of Chirlane McCray, the wife of New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio. This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/chirlane-mccray-50935.php. 2023 NYP Holdings, Inc. 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After a brief rise, the number declined again. She added, This is 2018; work can get done in all kinds of ways.. There is no limit to the size of donations to the fund, as there is for campaign contributions, and as a nonprofit controlled by the mayors office, the fund has routinely and legally raised money from donors who gave to Mr. de Blasios campaigns and his political causes. De Blasio and 'co-mayor' wife have wasted $1.8B of taxpayer money 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. Bob McManus is a contributing editor of City Journal. I know what goes on, Ms. McCray said, adding that she was justified in skipping board meetings. Trump threatens to send federal agents to New York City if Bill de Blasio can't stop the violence, Oklahoma governor makes performing 'irreversible gender transition surgeries' on children a felony, Texas Gov. Chirlane McCray - Wikipedia News Corp is a global, diversified media and information services company focused on creating and distributing authoritative and engaging content and other products and services. We did not say everything would be perfect, burbled the co-mayor as if anybody outside his immediate orbit expected an outcome even close to competent. Chirlane McCray enjoys $2M staff of 14 as NYC lets trash pile up A spokeswoman said that they had pledged an additional $250,000, which will be paid this year. [35] The family lived in Park Slope, Brooklyn,[6][12] until their 2014 move into Gracie Mansion,[36] the official residence of the Mayor of New York City. The First Lady has also been working with local leaders from municipalities across the country, part of the Cities Thrive Coalition. In 1964, the family moved to Longmeadow, near Springfield. If youre civic-minded, youre probably involved in campaign support as well as philanthropy and the rest of it, so its hard to. We are measuring.. It was . But lets be clear: If your boondogglery sets the New York City Council back on its heels, you truly are soaring with the eagles. Does anybody know how well more likely, how poorly the co-mayors hugely expensive pre-K program is working, especially that portion consigned to the citys notoriously problematic not-for-profit sector? That is, reversing Bloomberg administration plans to shut down 100 miserably malfunctioning schools, thus saving the jobs of barely competent teachers and administrators and shutting up small bands of noisy parents who loved the schools despite their failings. The City Council discovered this shocking amount of potential waste during a meeting Wednesday. Mr. Walker recalled that he would often get calls from Patricia E. Harris, who served as the previous fund chairwoman while she was the first deputy mayor to Mr. Bloomberg, to invite him to meetings to talk about donating to programs, like Mr. Bloombergs initiative to plant one million trees. Another sign of corruption: The mayor imposed a hiring freeze early this year but McCray still got to bring on a new $150,000-a-year senior adviser in April, who somehow got classified as an essential worker. They met while they both were working for Mayor Dinkins' administration and t married in 1994. Familiar figures in Mr. de Blasios orbit who gave to the fund include James F. Capalino, a top lobbyist and campaign contributor to the mayor who also made donations, later ruled improper, to the Campaign for One New York, a political nonprofit started by Mr. de Blasio that the mayor was forced to shut down amid ethics questions and the investigations into his fund-raising. With over 22,000 layoffs of city workers looming, the mayor cant seriously expect to keep funding full-time, highly paid speechwriters and professional videographers for his wifes political ambitions. With a quarter of a billion dollars (!!) Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more Fox News politics content. Born into a middleclass African-American family and raised primarily in an all-white locality, she suffered racial abuse both in and outside school. How about the Hurricane Sandy recovery effort six years, uncountable delays and billions of dollars later? [19] Since then, the Fund has focused on mental health, immigration, and youth workforce projects. We've received your submission. The couple donated $260,000, earmarked for Ms. McCrays mental health initiative, in 2015 and 2016. However, according to current and former employees in the Mayors office -- and public records --McCrays staff makes closer to $2 million. On November 23, 2015, McCray launched ThriveNYC, a $1.2 billion dollar initiative, with the aim of improving the citys mental health and substance abuse services. In January 1, 2014, de Blasio was sworn in as the Mayor and with that McCray became the First Lady of New York City. McCrays office provided The CIty with names of eight full-time employees whose salaries added up to about $1.1 million. But there are other mysteries out there, too. Chirlane McCray had possible 'pay-to-play' scheme with nonprofit Its wrong, and it needs to stop, Reynoso said. That two such scandals should bubble to the surface unannounced is bad enough. If theres a program thats been found to be ineffective, we should pull the plug, he said Wednesday. But there are other mysteries out there, too. Activist, writer, loving partner of @BilldeBlasio. This story has been shared 132,852 times. That is, reversing Bloomberg administration plans to shut down 100 miserably malfunctioning schools, thus saving the jobs of barely competent teachers and administrators and shutting up small bands of noisy parents who loved the schools despite their failings. That is, nobody appears to have kept receipts; the subways and street corners are still overrun with crazy people, and nobody in charge knows whats to happen next. However, of the 25 one-on-one calls identified on the schedules, in only three cases did the person or the organization they were associated with follow up with a donation, according to a list of contributions provided by the fund. [6][12] At the time, de Blasio was an aide to a deputy mayor and McCray was a speechwriter. But very soon, she realized that publishing was not her cup of tea. Thereafter from 1994, she served Carl McCall, the New York State Comptroller, as his speech writer. The Untold Truth Of Bill de Blasio's Wife, Chirlane McCray (Her spokeswoman, Kate Bernyk, estimated she spends 10 percent of her time on fund business.). I think it's safe to say that Bill DeBlasio's presidential prospects are dead in the water before they even started. That the co-mayors could fly under the radar to burn through $1.6 billion to no obvious good effect is an embarrassment but understandable in the abstract. Several people on the list, when asked about the call, either did not remember the interaction or did not recall discussing donations. #thriveNYC. Don't we want people to have a good quality of life? Right up there with co-Mayor Bill, who started the week on his own sour note announcing that his signature Renewal school program was closing up shop after pounding $773 million down a rathole. Insight from Dr. Oscar Odom, former NYPD detective. Bob McManus is a contributing editor of City Journal. In February, 2014, she was named as the chairperson of the Mayors Fund to Advance New York City. Does anybody know how well more likely, how poorly the co-mayors hugely expensive pre-K program is working, especially that portion consigned to the citys notoriously problematic not-for-profit sector? Ms. McCray declined a request for a follow-up interview to discuss the funds activities in more detail. The first lady of New York City Chirlane McCray is married to an American politician Bill de Blasio. [21], In November 2015, McCray led the launch of ThriveNYC, a plan to overhaul the city's mental health and substance abuse services. Well, he didnt actually say rathole, and the price tag has doubtless been lowballed but he also had no credible explanation for the debacle, nor did he apologize for it. Sign up for our free email newsletter, and we'll make sure to keep you in the loop. She discovered Black writers like Toni Morrison, which convinced her that she too had a story to tell. Chirlane Irene McCray (born November 29, 1954)[1] is an American writer, editor, and activist. But lets be clear: If your boondogglery sets the New York City Council back on its heels, you truly are soaring with the eagles. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. This story has been shared 119,457 times. Bill de Blasio's wife can't account for $850m given to mental health [8] McCray cites her early experience with racism and bullying as part of the reason she began to write, using her poetry as an outlet for her anger. Its about being an active chair, Ms. McCray said in a recent interview. In the first 10 months of the current fiscal year, the fund raised $14 million, according to a spokeswoman, Cynthia Olson, putting the fund on pace for its lowest annual revenues in more than a decade. For, clearly, the objective cant be services. Download it here. How many other big-bucks initiatives are in similar straits is unknowable mostly because bureaucrats never blow the whistle on themselves and also because Gothams formal watchdog, city Comptroller Scott Stringer, is among the most incurious individuals ever to hold the office.

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