A celebrity-studded campaign to turn a rusting elevated rail line into a glitzy West Side park has received hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars through Council Speaker Christine Quinn.
And she's gotten a little something in return.
Officials with Friends of the High Line - the top recipient of Quinn-controlled City Council pork - have given more than $50,000 to her campaigns since 1999, records show.
More than half of the 19 board members of Friends of the High Line made contributions to Quinn and to her predecessor, Gifford Miller, who as Council speaker steered millions to the nonprofit founded by an old college chum. Employees of board members' firms kicked in, too.
Miller got even more than Quinn - about $60,000 in contributions from board members and business associates between 2002 and 2007, including $1,000 from actor/board member Ed Norton in 2005.
In fiscal year 2008, Quinn co-sponsored $290,000 in Council "discretionary funds" for the nonprofit. Quinn is under investigation for parking millions of dollars in discretionary funds in fictitious nonprofits for later distribution to real nonprofits.
City records show Friends of the High Line got $290,000 from the Council for "borough needs" in 2005 and 2006. It's not known if Quinn was the sponsor because until this year, sponsors weren't publicly listed.
Quinn and Miller have been out front pushing for transformation of the High Line - usually with help from city taxpayers - since 2002. The first section of the park is to open late this year.
"It seems to reinforce the idea that there's too much of a pay-to-play atmosphere at City Hall," said Susan Lerner, executive director of the government watchdog group New York Common Cause.
Friends of the High Line, with help from celebrities like Norton, Glenn Close and Kevin Bacon, has grown exponentially since 2002.
The organization had $55,000 and no paid employees in 2002. By 2006, it had amassed $11.5 million and was paying founder Robert Hammond - Miller's good friend at Princeton University - more than $90,000.
Friends of the High Line also hired Hammond's lobbying firm, 215 Argyle, which in turn paid Hammond $108,272 for services performed for the nonprofit, 2006 tax filings show.
It's not known how much Argyle received from the group, but the nonprofit has spent more than $2 million on consulting fees since 2002.
But there is no way to determine who was paid for the work because nonprofits are not required to detail professional fees.
Since 2002, Hammond has given nearly $6,000 to Miller.
The city has committed to providing $86.5 million - or nearly half - of the $176 million project's cost.
Hammond said board members make political contributions "as individuals and not as representatives of [Friends of the High Line]."
He said the group applied for the last round of City Council funds "through the standard Council application procedure" and is subject to audit. He said the city estimates the project will generate $898 million in "public economic benefit."
Four board members listed real estate developer Millennium Partners as their employer. They and other Millennium employees gave $31,000 to Miller in 2003 and 2004 and about $20,000 to Quinn in 2007.
Millennium's founder, Philip Aarons, is the High Line board's chairman. He and his wife, psychiatrist Shelley Fox Aarons, gave nearly $12,000 to Miller's 2005 mayoral campaign and $8,000 to Quinn's 2009 campaign.
Mario Palumbo, board treasurer in 2006, gave Miller $7,375 between 2003 and 2005 and $5,950 to Quinn after she took over as speaker. Palumbo has worked for Millennium Partners.
Founding High Line board member James Capalino gave just under $5,000 to Miller and $1,500 to Quinn between 2003 and 2007. He also gave $10,000 to Quinn's co-sponsor of High Line funds, Councilman David Weprin (D-Queens), during that time.
Capalino, who does government consulting with Capalino & Co., said he and his employees received no compensation from the nonprofit.
"I don't think there is any ethical violation with members of a nonprofit board making political contributions," he said. "Citizens of our country are entitled to make contributions to people running for public office."
Board member Alan Stillman gave $5,000 to Miller between 2002 and 2003, while board member Elizabeth Gilmore has given $4,600 to Gifford and $4,000 to Quinn since 1999.
Quinn spokesman Andrew Doba said the speaker has supported the renovation of the High Line since becoming a Council member in 1999. "The High Line will be a new and innovative park that will be a one-of-a-kind open space for all New Yorkers," he said.
Weprin and Miller did not return calls for comment.
A review of Friends of the High Line's tax filings revealed at least one board member has been paid for services.
The nonprofit paid Bronson van Wyck, an event planner, $53,401 in 2006 for "event decor," tax records show. He gave Miller about $1,000 for the 2005 election cycle and Quinn $500 in 2007.
Former board member Michael O'Brien, a lawyer, gave $10,950 to Miller and more than $6,000 to Quinn. Other lawyers with O'Brien's then-firm, King & Spalding, added another $4,000 to Miller's campaign funds. O'Brien said his old firm did some work for the Friends but was not paid for legal work.
With Celeste Katz
