Might as well take the remaining bits and pieces of City Comptroller John Liu’s office to the chop shop — it’s broken down, abandoned and the wheels have already come off, as The Post’s David Seifman made clear last week.
One of Liu’s top deputies, Simcha Felder, just announced that he’s running for a state Senate seat in Brooklyn — but that he’s keeping his $194,087-a-year job anyway, taking advantage of a loophole that lets sitting city officials run for statewide office.
It’s beyond farce that Felder, who’s supposed to oversee taxpayer dollars, will keep gobbling up a taxpayer salary while neglecting his appointed duties.
But that’s par for the course in Liu-Liu-land.
Liu himself is under federal investigation for a series of financial crimes allegedly committed by his campaign staff — so his attention has been elsewhere for months.
And his credibility is nonexistent.
Meanwhile, Liu’s top deputy, Eric Eve, quit in February and his communications director quit last November — both escaping the swirling scandal that has overtaken his office.
So the comptroller — who’s supposed to keep an eagle eye on the city’s $70 billion budget and $120 billion pension funds — has been giving out free money to staffers in a transparent attempt to buy their loyalty.
First, he slathered raises on 126 staffers, costing the city another $338,000 a year in the middle of a fiscal crisis.
And last month he tried to bribe his top deputies with serious pay hikes.
Felder got the biggest bump — $15,000 — but even that apparently wasn’t enough to keep him committed to his comptroller’s office job.
This simply can’t continue.
Liu is doubly hindered by his own campaigning and by pressure from the feds, who’ve arrested his former treasurer and are looking for more comrades to cuff.
It would be one thing if his staff were at the ready.
But they’re abandoning ship or moonlighting on their own political runs.
It’s time to clean house in the comptroller’s office.
The city simply can’t afford another minute of John Liu.