Dear New York Focus readers,
Our Albany Bureau Chief Chris Bragg frequently writes stories dissecting government ethics. This week, he did just that — digging into the ethics of rezoning and recusals within Harrison, a Westchester County town of about 30,000 people roughly 30 minutes northeast of the Bronx.
Harrison Mayor Richard Dionisio helped to advance a rezoning law that increased the value of his own land — and he made a substantial profit from it. Dionisio bought the 15,000-square-foot property for $500,000 in 2012 and sold it to a developer for $2.9 million in January. The town code requires its board members to disclose financial conflicts of interest related to matters under its consideration, but Dionisio didn’t say anything when he recused himself from a single vote as the town board decided on rezoning the land.
Also this week, criminal justice reporter Chris Gelardi wrote about an all-day hearing in Albany where legislators grilled the head of the prison system — Daniel Martuscello III — about measures he’s implementing to curb abuse following a chaotic period of correction officer strikes and the killing of Robert Brooks, an incarcerated man at Marcy Correctional Facility. At the hearing, Martuscello touted an aggressive recruitment campaign to fill 4,500 guard positions, and a new state policy that lowered the age requirement for corrections officers from 21 to 18.
His plans aren’t enough for reformers, who want to expand prison oversight and officer accountability. But for people whose lives have been harmed by the prison system, there wasn’t much hope at the hearing.
“I come here feeling like I’m getting ready to fight the wind,” said Robert Ricks, Brooks’s father.
