The controversial lifting of a deed restriction on the Lower East Side has dogged the de Blasio adminstration for months. Now, one investigation has found massive miscommunication at City Hall. NY1's Courtney Gross filed the following report.
In response to a blistering report from the Department of Investigation that explained what went wrong at Rivington House on the Lower East Side, Mayor Bill de Blasio said, "It was a mistake. It should not have happened."
Rivington House was an AIDS hospice center under a deed restriction. Under that restriction, it had to remain a nonprofit.
But over the course of two years of lobbying and meetings, the property owner received approval from the city to lift that restriction. It paid the city $16 million. The property was sold, and it's now being converted to condos.
The issue has dogged the administration for months.
The report found there was a "complete lack of accountability within city government regarding deed restriction removals and significant communication failures between and within City Hall" and the agency that oversees these issues.
The report reveals the first deputy mayor didn't even read some of the memos about Rivington. At one point, he said he didn't think it was important.
On Thursday night before a town hall, the mayor said no one was getting fired.
"People make errors in judgement. There is no question that happens in life and it happens in government," de Blasio said.
The mayor himself said he never was aware of the situation, even though he did receive an email from the deputy mayor in which Rivington was one of the subjects.
"I was never presented with the issue, with a proposed decision, the why of it, all that," he said.
He says the city has now reformed the process. He is signing off on any future deed modifications personally.
"I think what's clear is, the left hand and the right hand were not coordinated," de Blasio said. "There wasn't a good flow of information, and people were adhering to an old mistaken policy."
These findings may overshadow some good news for the mayor. His re-election campaign released new fundraising figures. He raised $1.1 million in the last six months.