chirlane mccray money

We are measuring.. That two such scandals should bubble to the surface unannounced is bad enough. The first lady was a similarly infrequent presence at board meetings, attending just five of 12 since being appointed, according to the meeting minutes. But very soon, she realized that publishing was not her cup of tea. Then theres the $130,000 executive program specialist from the Dept. Another sign of corruption: The mayor imposed a hiring freeze early this year but McCray still got to bring on a new $150,000-a-year senior adviser in April, who somehow got classified as an essential worker. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. The ThriveNYC initiative, now three years old, is the signature effort of Chirlane McCray, the wife of New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio. She added, This is 2018; work can get done in all kinds of ways.. Four years later, no one seems to know what that money was actually used for, according to the New York Post. Instead, McCray called herself the programs most important advisor, saying, I don't run day-to-day programs, but I do oversee the development of the office, and make sure that we're keeping the direction, focusing on communities.. Chirlane McCray can't explain where the $850m in funding has gone after it was given to the organization she runs, ThriveNYC. "I like the fact that money is going toward mental health, but when they say we're seeing a benefit in all areas, I take exception to that, because I don't see it everywhere," Queens Councilman Robert Holden told The Post. [6][32] Asked about her sexuality, McCray has stated that she hates "labels". And Mayor Bill de Blasios excuse for it is beyond laughable. Read our full Disclosure. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio attempted to defend first lady Chirlane McCray against backlash on Wednesday after it was discovered she had private staff that's getting paid millions in. He also made maximum contributions to Mr. de Blasios inaugural fund in 2013 and to his 2017 re-election campaign. Sometime in late 1960s, she wrote a column in the school publication, in which she called out on her classmates for the cruelty they had inflicted on her. We want to make sure that the mental health services are embedded and all of our city agencies wherever it's appropriate so that people have the services, where they live, where they work, where they go to school, McCray says. I bet you're never seen this story reported on the nightly newsbut don't worry, we'll show it to you! It was honorable work, it didnt cost very much and it filled up the spouses free time. However, from her maternal grandmothers surname, Quashie, she believes that part of her family had originally come from Ghana. The only friend that she had was her Spanish teacher, Michael McCarthy. But in the end, McCray insisted Tuesday, all the spending is to the benefit of every New Yorker. Despite its ranks and generous salaries, the team hasnt posted an update to McCrays public schedule since last year. But he said that he had no in-depth conversations with her about fund business. But another pattern is revealed by the calls: almost half of those contacted by Ms. McCray were contributors to her husbands mayoral campaigns (the Simonses each gave the maximum donation to Mr. de Blasios re-election campaign last year). The council redeemed itself only slightly Tuesday, asking McCray too politely for the circumstances to explain herself, and then settling for a non-answer answer for the ages: ThriveNYC was my idea, she said. The other two are immigration and youth work force. Office of Community Mental Health we are bringing mental health to the communities.. This story has been shared 110,413 times. A spokesman for Mr. Fetner, Sam Spokony, said there was no link between the donations and the development project. The couple has two children, a son called Dante and daughter called Chiara. Anyone can read what you share. The administration has said their approach to mental health has never been done before at this level anywhere in the country. Mayor Bill de Blasio likes to say that there's plenty of money in New York City, but that it's in the wrong hands. Insight from Dr. Oscar Odom, former NYPD detective. Why do we get this kind of criticism? says McCray. Ms. McCrays schedules show that last year she made three calls to Ms. Simons, in July, September and December. Hey, the family that preys together stays together, right? New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio attempted to defend first lady Chirlane McCray against backlash on Wednesday after it was discovered she had private staff that's getting paid millions in taxpayer money. In 2013, Chiara suffered from depression and drug use, which has since been addressed. She/her. Not one to take all these humiliations lying down, she began to pour her anger into poems. This story has been shared 119,457 times. What is the relationship of Chirlane McCray? "[2] She chaired the Mayor's Fund to Advance New York City and was appointed by her husband to lead a billion-dollar initiative called ThriveNYC. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. When asked whether she plans to continue working with the national coalition once she leaves Gracie Mansion, McCray says she is too focused on the present needs of the Office of Community Mental Health to say what will happen once her husband leaves his post. Theres no money for regular trash pickups or to maintain city parks, but Mayor Bill de Blasios wife enjoys a 14-member staff including a $70,000 videographer who captured her baking cookies during the pandemic. Don't we want people to be healthy? The mayors most recent budget deal includes another $115 million in mental-health spending, an effort McCray says to respond to the mounting mental health care needs of city residents after months of uncertainty and trauma brought on by the pandemic. Distribution and use of this material are governed by From her mothers previous marriage, she also has a half brother called Reginald Jackson. They're homeless for other reasons.. [33] In 2012, when asked about her 1979 essay, she commented: "In the 1970s, I identified as a lesbian and wrote about it. Thereafter, she worked briefly for the public relation department of the City Group, but could not fit in. She also received books as Christmas gift. He said that a better measure of the funds success was the number of programs that it finances a number that has also fallen. This story has been shared 119,457 times. Social PROOF Trump Indictment Will Likely Win Him 2024! The programs at issue ostensibly are meant to assist particularly challenged people the helpless, often homeless, mentally ill and small children whose futures are forfeited because they landed in shamefully nonfunctional schools, an experience from which they will never recover. 2023, Charter Communications, all rights reserved. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); document.getElementById( "ak_js_2" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Thanks for contacting us. Its wrong, and it needs to stop, Reynoso said. Anyway, for details the mayoral missus deferred to one Susan Herman, who does the day-to-day management and makes the decisions., Turns out that ThriveNYC director Herman had no more firm a grasp on detail than did McCray telling the hearing that her agency employs 400 benchmarks to measure effectiveness but that all of those metrics are being refined.. Its wrong, and it needs to stop, Reynoso said. Executives are focused on repairing the damage from the 18-month effort to split the firms auditing and consulting operations. [22][23] ThriveNYC promotes a shift from a traditionally more reactive model, which can strain police, prisons, hospitals, and schools,[24] to an integrated public health approach focusing on awareness and early identification. [7] The purpose of the essay was to "dispel the myth that there are no gay black people". It is not, in the end, just about money. Four years later, no one seems to know what that money was actually used for, according to the New York Post. Chirlane McCray's, perhaps? However, according to current and former employees in the Mayors office -- and public records --McCrays staff makes closer to $2 million. If theres a program thats been found to be effective, we should continue it.. But that doesn't mean a hospital. Copyright 2023 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Oh, and her staff is twice the size it was in 2018, further evidence that the mayor is using city resources to set his wife up to win next years race for Brooklyn borough president. [21], In November 2015, McCray led the launch of ThriveNYC, a plan to overhaul the city's mental health and substance abuse services. [13] She also worked as a speechwriter for the New York State Comptroller Carl McCall and for New York City Comptroller Bill Thompson. McCray argues that Thrives impact could not be easily measured early on because there was no data to compare it to a problem she says the program has worked to rectify. Ms. Baierlein was hired last year as director of development. There's no money for regular trash pickups or to maintain city parks, but Mayor Bill de Blasio's wife enjoys a 14-member staff including a $70,000 videographer that captured her bakin Immediately, she began to work mainly on three issues, the chief among them being mental health. One can only imagine what a mad scramble those meetings are. McCray and de Blasio were married in 1994 in Prospect Park, Brooklyn. Living in a hospital, that model of institutionalizing people is kind of outmoded.. Chirlane McCray Wants to Get You Paid. In January, Ms. McCray announced that the program would become its own office, which now has 21 employees with a $2 million office budget, according to Susan Herman, appointed to lead the office. A company representative, David Lombino, said Ms. McCray did not solicit the donation, which went to an internship program known as Ladders for Leaders. [10] Some of her poetry is included in Home Girls: A Black Feminist Anthology. Nothing had been measured in the past, so what are we measuring for? Once a white construction worker spit on her while she was riding a bike. Same for her $65,000 associate director of advance.. And its only (your) money even if it is quite a lot of it. We've received your submission. There is no evidence its working.. From the fiscal year that began in July 2014 the first year the fund was under full control of Mr. de Blasio and Ms. McCray through June 2017, the fund raised an average of $22 million a year. On Wednesday, councilmembers were huffing that de Blasio has been showering his wife with tax dollars with embarrassing results. Fourteen city workers assisting McCray cost taxpayers $2 million a year most of it buried in the payrolls of various city agencies until former Post reporter Yoav Gonen pulled together the details for online paper The City. In 1972, she entered Wellesley College, where she found social acceptance for the first time. Entitled, I Am a Lesbian, it tried to dispel the myth that there was no gay in Black community and also to assure Black lesbians that they were not alone. This story has been shared 375,122 times. The inquiries were closed in 2016 without charges being filed. Both City Hall and IBO suspect the Office of Management and Budget included fewer. Spouse Bill de Blasio (m. 1994) Children 2 Education Wellesley College(BA) Chirlane Irene McCray(born November 29, 1954)[1]is an American writer, editor, and activist. During the tenure of President Clinton, she worked for the New York Foreign Press Center as a public affairs specialist. That is, nobody appears to have kept receipts; the subways and street corners are still overrun with crazy people, and nobody in charge knows whats to happen next. But this is 2019, and the general feeling at least in the deBlasio administration is that if theres not a lot of dough attached to the spousal sinecure, it doesnt really matter enough. In 1979, she wrote a 5000-word article in Essence, a monthly lifestyle magazine with African-American women as its target. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio's wife, Chirlane McCray, was given $900 million to start a mental health initiative focusing on helping the homeless in the city. Chirlane McCray's ThriveNYC has come under scrutiny following its creation in 2015. The Times further reported that according to McCray's public schedule, she had spent 19.5 hours in 2017 on work for the Mayor's Fund; however, her spokeswoman estimated that McCray spent 10% of her work schedule on Mayor's Fund business. Get hyperlocal forecasts, radar and weather alerts. De Blasio's wife can't account for $850m given to mental health scheme https://t.co/gTEJcrCeob via @MailOnline, NYC Mayor De Blasio's wife spent $900 million in taxpayer moneywith no record of how it was used https://t.co/UGe8liu6L0, De Blasio and co-mayor wife have wasted $1.8B of taxpayer moneyFrankly Im surprised its not much more considering these two incompetent lazy stoners are at the helm. [16] She also worked for Citigroup in its public relations department for six months before deciding it was "not a good fit". It is not, in the end, just about money. The First Arrest To Shock The World Revealed? Theres a $117,000-a-year speechwriter, even though McCray held that same position under former Mayor David Dinkins, and a $150,000-a-year senior adviser who was recruited in April after de Blasio announced a hiring freeze to help close a $7 billion deficit caused by the coronavirus. Whatever happened to the money from ThriveNYC? asked City Councilman Eric Ulrich (R-Queens). Ms. McCray last stopped by in May 2017, Ms. Olson said. Mr. Bloomberg, a billionaire whose charitable efforts are well known, conceived the fund as a way for philanthropists, corporations and others to help subsidize city initiatives. In at least two cases, a person made a campaign donation to Mr. de Blasio within days of one of Ms. McCrays calls on behalf of the fund. [4] She is of Barbadian and St. Lucian descent, but traces her grandmother's last name (Quashie) to Ghana. Bob McManus is a contributing editor of City Journal. In several cases, donations to the fund coincided with city action on a particular project, though donors dispute any effort to curry favor with the administration. Ms. Harris missed only one board meeting in the last four years she served as chairwoman, the period for which records were available. [8] During her husband's campaign for mayor of New York City in the 2013 election, she edited his speeches and helped interview candidates for staff positions. Eventually, she started an organization called Black Women in Publishing. Mr. Walker recalled that he would often get calls from Patricia E. Harris, who served as the previous fund chairwoman while she was the first deputy mayor to Mr. Bloomberg, to invite him to meetings to talk about donating to programs, like Mr. Bloombergs initiative to plant one million trees. Fellow contender for the Brooklyn borough presidency,City Councilman Antonio Reynoso (D-Brooklyn), slammed the spending, according to The New York Post. And just as surely, jobs are the point both municipal positions and employment with the numberless, anonymous, unaccountable and usually politically connected not-for-profit agencies that live off city dollars. There were 85 programs at last count, according to Ms. Olson. He said that she does not typically make direct requests for money, which is a task that he or another staffer will do in follow-up calls. Schedules and emails detail meetings in the years after he was a convicted sex offender. They need supportive housing, for example, where there are services available where they live, to be able to function. This story has been shared 132,852 times. In 1974, she became a member of The Combahee River Collective, a Black feminist organization that looked into the issues relating specifically to the Black lesbians. [11], In 1991, McCray entered politics. ThriveNYC, a Mental Health Initiative, Comes Under Scrutiny. Legal Statement. There are people who need supportive care. #thriveNYC. Several people on the list, when asked about the call, either did not remember the interaction or did not recall discussing donations. McCray says the citys mental health hotline, NYC Well, logged 33,000 texts, chats and calls this January up from 18,000 the year before, an 83% increase in use. This is a disgrace! Ulrich fumed. Early in her youth, Chirlane McCray identified herself as a lesbian and continued to do so till 1991 when she met her future husband, Bill de Blasio, at that time working as an aide to David Dinkins. I think theres added benefit. The first lady of New York City Chirlane McCray is married to an American politician Bill de Blasio. Some of these were later published in 'Home Girls: A Black Feminist Anthology' (1983). Ms. McCray with Richard Buery, a former deputy mayor, discussing ThriveNYC, a mental health initiative, before a City Councils committee in 2016. Why start from scratch when other people are already out there doing work that has not up until now been championed by the federal government.. That the co-mayors could fly under the radar to burn through $1.6 billion to no obvious good effect is an embarrassment but understandable in the abstract. In January 1, 2014, de Blasio was sworn in as the Mayor and with that McCray became the First Lady of New York City. That is, once upon a time, first spouses were content to pretend to be in charge of prettifying highways and things. https://twitter.com/davej08/status/1101441406667771904, https://twitter.com/WNYGeek81/status/1101500859299627008, harshly assessed the program's effectiveness. She says the Cities Thrive initiative was started in response to a lack of guidance coming from the Trump Administration, but she is hopeful there will soon be more mental health support for cities under the Biden Administration. Sign up for our free email newsletter, and we'll make sure to keep you in the loop. TRUE All Along? And its only (your) money even if it is quite a lot of it. Bill de Blasio, Chirlane McCray, Chiara de Blasio and Dante de Blasio Chirlane is the loving mom of Chiara de Blasio and Dante de Blasio. Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more Fox News politics content. The nonprofit was created in 1994 by Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani to raise private-sector money to finance some of his pet projects, including a children's book featuring his dog. Other members of the shadow staff who participated in a Team Lunch in The Bronx in January 2019, according to McCrays public schedule, are a $143,000-a-year public relations director, also from the Department of Health, and a special assistant from the mayors office who makes $115,000. ", Sometimes you look at a headline like this and think: "that can't possibly be true.". 2023 NYP Holdings, Inc. All Rights Reserved, De Blasio and McCray's pathetic NYPD meddling, The suite life: Debt-ridden de Blasio spending thousands to live large at Brooklyn hotel, Taken for a ride: De Blasio still gets NYPD security, despite misuse pay refusal, Not thriving: Rebranded mental health agency needs leader, says critics. Inside there is a small desk with a computer; a bookshelf is adorned with bibelots and certificates of appreciation with her name in fancy script. But also mayoral spouse Chirlane McCray, who has just been revealed as a world-class boondoggler in her own right. [25][26] In February 2019, Politico criticized ThriveNYC for having an "opaque budget" and "elusive metrics". The chairwoman of the Mayors Fund to Advance the City of New York, Chirlane McCray, has largely been missing in action: She has attended less than half of the funds board meetings, and her outreach to donors has been sporadic. Chirlane Irene McCray (1954-11-29) November 29, 1954(age 68) Springfield, Massachusetts, U.S. News Corp is a global, diversified media and information services company focused on creating and distributing authoritative and engaging content and other products and services. How much taxpayer money will the mayors wife pilfer before leaving office? In December, the Simonses made another donation, of $250,000. We have statistics from the very beginning. Uncovering The Satanic Panic: South Dakota. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. All rights reserved. Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit www.djreprints.com. With over 22,000 layoffs of city workers looming, the mayor cant seriously expect to keep funding full-time, highly paid speechwriters and professional videographers for his wifes political ambitions. It was honorable work, it didnt cost very much and it filled up the spouses free time. Certainly not the City Council, a legislative body comprising 50 stuffed cabbages and a speaker who wants to be mayor a fellow who stood by incuriously as the citys streets and subways slowly filled with insane people, many of them threatening and dangerous. Fast-forward to Wednesday, when the City Council was startled to discover that McCray and Team Thrive are closing in on having spent an eye-popping $900 million since the programs inception and nobody seems to have a clue on what. Activist, writer, loving partner of @BilldeBlasio.

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