A Liza Minnelli concert, a doo-wop show, hours of “private” time, and a fancy reception at Cipriani.
It’s all a week in the life of the city’s $160,000-a-year borough presidents.
The Post obtained schedules for all five beeps for Monday, Aug. 4, through Saturday, Aug. 9, and found them stuffed with lightweight fare such as dinner gatherings, photo ops, “coffees” and concerts, as well as various political palm-pressing soirées.
Sometimes, it’s not clear what they’re doing. Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrión spent 2 1/2 hours having “private” time on Monday and an hour of the same on Thursday. A spokeswoman declined to specify.
That day also included a meeting with Rep. Jerrold Nadler’s wife over coffee in Manhattan in the morning and three hours in his campaign office in the afternoon making calls for his upcoming campaign for city comptroller.
“He can be known to disappear,” said a source close to Carrión. “Especially in the summer, he keeps a light schedule.”
Other highlights of his week included a party for Hillary Rodham Clinton at Cipriani in Manhattan on Wednesday and “office time” on Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Queens Borough President Helen Marshall also had lots of time missing from her schedule. She had a total of eight events listed over five days and no more than three on any one day. On Aug. 5, she attended Gov. Paterson’s signing of a bill about home foreclosures at 10:30 a.m., then went to a National Night Out Against Crime event at 6 p.m. Nothing was listed in between.
“She could definitely do more with that position,” said a Queens democratic insider.
Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz had 39 items on his schedule for the week, including four evening events on Friday – a day he took for vacation.
But the busy calendar included a Liza Minnelli concert in Brighton Beach, fireworks at Coney Island, a concert honoring Erykah Badu, and the Aqua Science Cabaret at the New York Aquarium.
He also handed out four proclamations during the week – which at least helped justify the taxpayer-paid $45,000 annual salary of his proclamation writer.
Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer spent almost an entire day interviewing potential staffers and another day fielding media interviews in response to a Post report. He also took time to have coffee with Deputy Mayor Kevin Sheekey, attend an event for Nadler at the Boat Basin Café, and go to an event for Rep. Charles Rangel at Tavern on the Green.
Staten Island Borough President James Molinaro held several press conferences throughout the week, a town-hall meeting, and a staff meeting on replacing a disabled constituent’s stolen motorized scooter. He also attended a doo-wop concert and fireworks that he sponsored in the evening.
His work, he said, is crucial – including time spent in the office.
“I get hundreds of phone calls a month from constituents. I read every piece of mail that comes into Borough Hall,” Molinaro said. “I’m not exaggerating. And I call many of these people. Who else is going to do that? You think some bureaucrat is doing this?”
Stringer said that he works extremely hard to “make a real difference,” and that he is “very proud” of the work he and his office have accomplished. He said he paid back the city for any expenses related to political events he attended.
A source in Carrión’s Bronx office defended him, saying his work as president of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials took him out of town, as did frequent campaigning for Sens. Clinton and Barack Obama. “He’s been pretty busy all summer,” the source said.
Queens beep spokesman Dan Andrews said internal meetings were not listed on Marshall’s schedule and pointed out that the beep had two days off that week. “She was out until 10:30 at least, during National Night Out.”
Markowitz said this of his itinerary: “I enjoy making the role of borough president relevant by attending and hosting many events and having a presence in the lives of fellow Brooklynites.”
But critics wonder if the whirlwind of ribbon-cutting and cheerleading is worth the tens of millions of taxpayer dollars allotted to the five pols for supplies, chauffeurs, dozens of vaguely described staff slots, and discretionary money. Some hope the upcoming Charter Revision Commission retools their roles or does away with them altogether.
The beeps lost their most significant power, appointing members to the since-disbanded city Board of Estimate, in 1989.
“There ain’t that much going on, and it’s pretty good pay, and it sometimes is a steppingstone to other things,” said Doug Muzzio, a Baruch College political science professor.