“Never let a crisis go to waste,” says Rahm Emanuel. Bill de Blasio agrees. The official New York City Mayor’s office is apparently fundraising for pet mayoral projects under the guise of assisting the East Harlem explosion victims.
This morning, the official New York City Mayor’s office account tweeted the following, which it subsequently deleted:
Hey @NYCMayorsOffice .. Oops. @nypost pic.twitter.com/7iO1s9IgB7
— S.M (@redsteeze) March 19, 2014
@redsteeze on Twitter took Bill de Blasio and the NYC Mayor’s Office to task:
Curious why @NYCMayorsOffice deleted this tweet about donating to Mayor’s gov website for #EastHarlemExplosion? https://t.co/wSHJfTTzG5
— S.M (@redsteeze) March 19, 2014
@NYCMayorsOffice asks for #EastHarlemExplosion donations for this website –> http://t.co/qJBJxfOR6J Deletes tweet.. Why is that?
— S.M (@redsteeze) March 19, 2014
Shameless fundraising.. Here’s the donation page.. Harlem explosian listed with mayor’s pet cuases https://t.co/6AtDHhOwnh @nypost
— S.M (@redsteeze) March 19, 2014
I’d like an explanation for @BilldeBlasio using #EastHarlemExplosion to fundraise pet causes. @nypost @NYDailyNews pic.twitter.com/3bIB7KwruB
— S.M (@redsteeze) March 19, 2014
I mean it’s not like @NYCMayorsOffice is deleting tweets asking people to donate to @BilldeBlasio..Oh wait https://t.co/1JDLbbd5QE
— S.M (@redsteeze) March 19, 2014
People are dead and @BilldeBlasio is standing on their bodies asking for money to adavance his own agenda https://t.co/6AtDHhOwnh
— S.M (@redsteeze) March 19, 2014
The Mayor’s Fund for New York City includes pet projects such as free wifi, Family Justice Center, work at Gracie Mansion, and other causes not directly related to assistance to the victims of the East Harlem explosion last week. Further, it should be noted that the Mayor’s Fund for New York City is not a city agency, but a separate 501(c)(3) organization. You’re not donating to the City, an agency, or directly to the victims if you contribute to the Mayor’s Fund.
The New York City Mayor’s office Facebook page states that funds donated to the Mayor’s Fund to Advance New York City will go to victims’ assistance, but also to “case management and counseling services” and “community-based outreach focused on immigrant communities.” The latter two causes certainly don’t sound like direct victim assistance to me.
Your best bet if you want to help the victims? Donate to groups like the Salvation Army and earmark the funds directly to the East Harlem recovery.
The tweet has since been deleted, but we are waiting to see what Mayor de Blasio’s comment on this is. Stay tuned…
UPDATE: The Mayor’s Office still has its original tweet here (from March 18) after deleting the one identified above (from March 19):
Looking for ways to help those affected by #EastHarlemexplosion? Donate here and RT to spread the word: http://t.co/fmwAZUgOUl.
— NYC Mayor’s Office (@NYCMayorsOffice) March 18, 2014