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April 11, 1974 PHOENIX Page 13\Censure for LocalCouncilman VoteOn Reform BillsThis material is an article inthe January-February 1974edition of %u201cAcross from CityHall\Citizens Union.FOUR FOR REFORMFour Council members deserve special commendation for their votes on reform measures. Each voted on the floor of the Council for all five amdendments to the proposed rules dealing with the issues described above. Had these Council members more company, these amendments (each of which also received the votes of other Council members) might have been adopted and together would haverepresented real change in the way the Council operates.The %u201c Fighting Four\Manhattan, were: MiriamFriedlander, Henry J. Stern, Robert F. Wagner, Jr., and Theodore S. Weiss.On the other hand, residents of Manhattan's East Side, Greenwich Village, and Brooklyn Heights, might well wonder what happened to their Council members: Carter Burden, Carol Greitzer and Frederick W. Richmond.Although each has spoken of the need for reform in the past, each joined with Council regulars in opposing every one of the five reform amendments%u2014against fully open sessions, against regularlyscheduled meetings, against written transcripts, and against revised committee discharge procedures. Of course, Mr. Burden and Ms. Greitzer were each awarded new committee chairmanships at the end of the meeting!Mr. Richmond Replies toCitizens Union PositionMr. Gary H. Sperling Executive Director Citizens UnionThank you for your recent memo indicating Citizens Union%u2019s priorities for this year. In response to your note, we are together on almost all of your suggestions.As you know, I am a co-sponsor along with Councilman Burden and others, of several measures to require financial disclosure and campaign financing reforms for all municipal elections and City officials.I am also a co-sponsor of Intro #2 and have supported this long overdue civil rights legislation on the floor on several occasions. I also support Council President O%u2019Dwyer%u2019s bill to crfeate an Ombudsman office.Provision should be made in any such legislation to establish an independent budget for the office so that the Ombudsman is not reliant on either the Council or the Mayor in order to operate effectively. This failure to provide independent funding is one of the reasons for the Council%u2019s failure to use its broad investigatory powers effectivelyWe have the power to appoint an investigatory committee, but any funding for staff attorneys or accountants must be approved by the Board of Estimate, usually controlled by the Mayor. As a result the Council is, in reality, limited to investigations which require no additional staff and which do not relate to complicated subjects.A council investigation into the operations of Con Edison or the practices of real estate developers, is just not possible under the current set-up. I fear that the Ombudsman%u2019s office will face a similar problem.I also agree with Citizens Union on its general stand regarding super-agencies. Severe caution should bp taken before the highly professional management of many superagencies is dismantled andreplaced by career civil servants who are many times too wary of new ideas and too cautious to properly administer their agencies.The prohibition of discrimination against women in credit ratings and other bank- and insurance-related transactions is another area on which we agree and in which 1 would like to be helpful. If you know of any legislation which is about to be introduced on this subject, 1 would appreciate it if you would let me know.This brings up another area which relates to the manner in which the Council disseminates information. Only one listing of Council introductions is made by subject, and that is done only at the end of each year. As a result, it is nearly impossible for me to really know what bills have been introduced without wading through the session agenda which sometimes runs to over 100 pages.Your rules suggestions are, in several instances, good ones, although I disagree with Citizens Union%u2019s general contention that the Council has not done very much in terms of reforming its rules. We made some very meaningful improvements earlier this year and I hope we will make some more changes during this session.While I did not vote in favor of additional rules changes at last consideration because I felt the leadership had made a decent beginning in the right direction, I am open on the subject, and would definitely support open and regularly scheduled Committee sessions.a ---------- 1------- -J S / U I l l i U %u00bb%u00bb ,vebatim transcripts involves a great expenditure of money, although I agree that the public has an absolute right to know what the members of the Council are doing. I would appreciate your views on this one, especially what method of publishing you consider the cheapest and fastest.Yours sincerely, Fred Richmond, CouncilmanHoyt St. AssociationEyes Church Lot forBY LYNNE GRIFOPocketSit-ParkLet UsHear AboutLocal^ParkProblems L '%u2022 AHow can a vacant, unused lot in Boerum Hill be transformed into a %u201c pleasant meeting place and resting spot for the surrounding community? The members of the Hoyt Street Association have an idea, and are willing to apply the elbow grease that will be necessary to make it a reality.The Association would like to turn the lot at the corner of Hoyt Street and Atlantic Avenue into a vest-pocket sitting park. The property is owned by the Presbyterian Iglesia del Cristo Vivo, which is located next door.The plan consists of eliminating the present fences, covering the ground with slate and a brick walkway, painting a mural on the church wall on the south side of the lot, and installing trees and shrubs in wooden planters. Ivy would be grown on the cyclone fence now on the west side, and benches made of brick and cement will form permanent sitting areas.The Hoyt Street Association hopes to gain the support and enthusiasm of the church members, and has stressed that if need be, the park could be completed at no expense to the church. Funds for the materials for the park will be raised by the Association at a planner summer Circus festival. According to a spokesman, foundation funds as well as financial assistance from local businesses such as Abraham & Straus are also available.Construction would be completed by volunteers from the group and the rest of the neighborhood. The Brick Layers Union has offices nearby, and they have been approached for their support and advice on the brick-laying aspects of the project.Church members have been hesitant about giving their permission for the endeavor because they do not have a permanent minister, and they feel such a decision should be made only after one has been found.The Hoyt Street Association notes, however, that the position has been unfilled for quite some time and it may be a year before a new minister is chosen. To alleviate the church%u2019s fears on the issue, the Association has agreed to remove the park if the new leader so desires, but it would like to see the park giving pleasure to the congregation and the neighborhood in the meantime.The church has also been promised that the mural design would be appropriate. Designs will be submitted to the parish leaders until a suitable one is agreed upon.The park proposal, which was drawn up by Margaret Cusack. president of the Hoyt StreetAssociation, and her husband Frank, states that %u201c through the design and choice of materials, the park will be as vandal-proof as possible. The corner will no longer be a trap for litter and with minimum maintenance it will always be attractive.%u2019%u2019The proposal goes on to state %u2018 %u2018With the current popularity of the Atlantic Avenue shops, more and more weekend antiquers and shoppers are attracted to the area, th e park will provide them with a place to rest and meet their friends.\/