A developer paid an ethically tarred City Hall lobbyist — and the law firm that defended Mayor Bill de Blasio against pay-to-play allegations — to press the administration for permission to expand a 10-story office tower in the East Village, The Post has learned.
The Landmarks Preservation Commission, whose 11 members are all mayoral appointees, approved plans by Real Estate Equities Corp. to enlarge a building at 3 St. Marks Place that’s 20% larger than limits allowed by the area’s current zoning laws.
The plan was approved in June — although the $200,000 the developer paid to de Blasio lobbyist James Capalino and the law firm Kramer Levin Naftalis and Frankel LLP — were not reported in the press.
Capalino paid a $40,000 settlement to a state ethics watchdog in 2018 for improper contributions to de Blasio’s since-shuttered Campaign for One New York. Meanwhile, the mayor still owes Kramer Levin $300,000 for defending him against pay-to-play allegations.
The project began the city’s lengthy land review process known as ULURP last month. The plan was voted down at its first review point, the local community board, which said it would “not be harmonious with the character of the neighborhood.” It’s still awaiting a public hearing and vote by the City Planning Commission, a specific target of the lobbyists according to city records.
“This administration makes decisions based on the facts and nothing else,” said City Hall spokeswoman Jane Meyer.
Andrew Berman, director of the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation, was skeptical of Meyer’s claim.
“Anyone who thinks this administration makes these decisions purely on the merits is simply burying their head in the sand,” Berman said.
“When lobbyists to whom the mayor is personally indebted and from whom he has received thousands in contributions are behind a project, you know you’re in trouble. This plan to increase the size of an office building on St. Marks Place by 20% is wrong from every angle,” Berman said.
Local resident Carolyn Ratcliffe called the process “very suspect.”
“I think that if de Blasio owes the law firm $300,000 that it’s sort of like a very smelly mackerel. You know most people would say that’s a conflict of interest,” Ratcliffe said.
The project’s fate depends local councilwoman Carlina Rivera, who has reservations about the building’s scale.
“I continue to share the same concerns that many in our community have brought up, including Community Board 3, regarding this project and its impact on the surrounding area, and I have not seen anything new presented that would make me consider it favorably as it proceeds through ULURP,” Rivera told The Post.
Capalino attorney Kenneth Fisher dismissed any conflicts of interest questions as “smoke and mirrors to cover the fact that the opponent doesn’t have good arguments on the merits.”
Reps for Kramer Levin and Real Estate Equities Corp. did not return messages.