Repeated Delays of Public Records Prevents Those Responsible for $47M eProcurement Flimflam from Being Held Accountable
In December, the New York City Mayor’s Office of Contract Supervision (MOCS) continued its pattern of evasion by not addressing questions we’ve been raising about an indefensible $47M eProcurement contract. In his recent Gotham Gazette op-ed, NYC Chief Procurement Officer and MOCS Director Dan Symon sidesteps accountability for a tech system that may one day cost New York City taxpayers more than $1 million per city agency.
Our First Amendment attorney, Dave Schulz, has repeatedly tried to contact MOCS Assistant General Counsel and Records Officer Janet Kim, but has not even gotten the courtesy of a reply. Schulz has represented clients including the New York Times, Associated Press and is Co-Director of the Media Freedom and Information Access Clinic at Yale. After several attempts of my own to contact Ms. Kim, we were left with no choice but to retain legal counsel to help Checks & Balances Project obtain records about how the lucrative contract award first came to be.
If you missed it, you can read our letter to the editor of the Gotham Gazette here.
C&BP appreciates tips sent by our readers. Do you have information to share? Send us a note through our confidential tip line.
Scott Peterson is executive director of Checks and Balances Project, an investigative watchdog blog holding government officials, lobbyists and corporate management accountable to the public. Funding for C&BP is provided by Renew American Prosperity and individual donors.
You May Also Want to Read:
Which NYC Official Failed to Collect Ivalua’s $25M Bond for Non-Performance — and Why?
C&BP Analysis: NYC Pays 340x More Per Agency for an e-Procurement System than Dallas
Recent Comments