The New York City Council meets Wednesday to choose a new speaker at a time when our new mayor, Bill de Blasio, has set out an ambitious agenda aimed at eliminating income inequality and “the two New Yorks.”
How appropriate then that his preferred choice for the position, Melissa Mark-Viverito, is a woman who embodies many of the attributes we associate with the privileged “1 percent.” These include:
Inherited wealth: Mark-Viverito’s father was co-founder of Hospital San Pablo in Puerto Rico. Following his death, the hospital was sold in 1998 to Universal Health Services for $187 million. Mark-Viverito, her siblings and mother acknowledged they were beneficiaries of the co-founder’s shares. Today, Mark-Viverito is worth at least $1.5 million, including ownership in several Puerto Rican properties.
Union-busting: A local Puerto Rican union filed a National Labor Relations Board grievance against Hospital San Pablo, accusing it of engaging in union suppression. The NLRB upheld the grievance — as did the First Circuit Court of Appeals. How ironic that SEIU 1199, which represents health-care workers, has for years supported a woman who’s profited from union-busting.
Sweetheart deals: The likely speaker has yet to repay a $70,000 no-interest home loan she received in 1998. She was working as a researcher for SEIU 1199 and met the income requirements for the loan — even though she had to know she would soon benefit financially from the hospital sale.
Not paying her fair share: Mark-Viverito admitted Monday she hadn’t included on financial-disclosure forms income from renting out the above-mentioned East Harlem home.
This isn’t just a simple reporting issue. Was the income disclosed to the IRS? If not, the $112,500-a-year councilwoman likely underpaid her taxes.
On Tuesday even Mayor de Blasio — echoing calls on Mitt Romney during the 2012 campaign — suggested the woman he wants to lead the City Council in a common quest to take on the 1 percent come clean about her own tax returns.
Now, that’s rich.