City Council candidate Josh Skaller submitted a FOIL request to the Bloomberg administration to find out why the city funded a nonprofit group founded by former City Councilman Steve DiBrienza right after he left office.
DiBrienza says he wanted to keep money going to the programs he helped fund as a council member. However, the fact that he, his wife and several former staffers have been employed by the group at various times doesn't sit well with everyone.
In a letter dated March 13, Skaller said he is requesting “copies of all contracts, audits, program evaluations and correspondence” between the group–the Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of Brooklyn–and the city agency that handed out the money–the Department of Youth and Community Development.
The issue apparently has DiBrienza considering abandoning his campaign for his old Council seat, which he's now able to run for again because of the extension of term limits.
It also prompted more scrutiny of the city’s budget process less than a year after the slush-fund scandal that exposed years-old flaws in the way millions of dollars was given out to local community groups connected to city lawmakers.
This is not the first time Skaller has made noise about the Council's budget process.
