New York City – Council Speaker Rewards Her Political Buddies With Funding For Extra Staff

New York City – City Council Speaker Christine Quinn has quietly been rewarding her political allies by allowing a handful of loyal lawmakers to bolster their legislative staffs with funding from her own budget, The Post has learned.

The preferential treatment has infuriated a group of council members who aren’t getting extra resources from Quinn.

“It’s rewarding political loyalty, by and large,” said one member who does not get the perk and requested anonymity. “It’s something I think should be out in the open. It’s not the right way to do things.”

Every member of the council has an equal budget of $277,300 a year, with committee chairs getting an additional $40,000, to pay staff and manage an office.

But since she became speaker in 2006, Quinn has given 18 additional staffers to 14 council members including one to her own district office – from the central budget, for reasons her staff would not explain to The Post.

Some of those members also got the perk under previous Speaker Gifford Miller.

Members who receive only the minimum allotment argue the practice is based on favoritism.

“It’s pretty clear, if you have any extra staff members it’s a huge advantage,” fumed one council member.

Quinn’s spokeswoman, Maria Alvarado, said, “Ultimately, all staff members work for the institution of the City Council, as directed by the speaker. At times, central staff has been assigned to work with certain council members or on a legislative committee.”

Councilman Simcha Felder (D-Brooklyn), who generally sides with Quinn, gets two additional legislative assistants, who are paid $45,000 and $48,601 – one for constituent services and another to work on the Government Operations Committee, which Felder chairs.

“Simcha’s proud to have extra staff members, and he has a large concentration of Holocaust survivors and immigrants. A lot of these people go to this council office for help and wouldn’t go to a government office for help,” said spokesman Eric Kuo.

Councilman Vincent Ignizio (R-Staten Island) gets an additional employee who earns $50,000 a year and works for the three-member GOP minority caucus.

“It’s been a longstanding practice for members of the minority,” Ignizio said