MARKOWITZ: What’s his job again?
It’s a “ruff” life for a bor ough president.
They get chauffeured to the office, hobnob at community barbe cues, attend ribbon cuttings and con certs, and — in the case of Brooklyn Beep Marty Markowitz yes terday — attend canine wed dings.
Markowitz was actually supposed to officiate the nuptials of Jack, a puggle mix, and Penny, a minia ture poodle, at a bene fit for the Brooklyn Ani mal Foster Network in Prospect Park. But when he sniffed the media was around and might mock yet another of his pointless public appearances, he fled like a frightened poodle.
“Knowing some elements of the third [sic] estate . . . I thought it would be imprudent for me to officiate,” he yipped.
Such silliness has a price. The city’s five borough presidents soak up the following in taxpayer money:
* $23 million for staff and to operate their offices.
* $63 million in capital cash the beeps dole out to their pet programs.
* $160,000 in annual beep salary.
Markowitz’s office employs 66 people, including three chauffeurs, the most of any borough president.
He also gets discretionary funds. Markowitz used last year’s $350,000 allocation to fund concerts, block parties, a book festival and other Brooklyn boosterism activities.
Yesterday’s mutt marriage capped off a busy week for Markowitz. He was slapped with a $20,000 fine by the city Conflicts of Interest Board, hosted a seaside concert and presided over the ceremonial opening of a deli where a turkey sandwich was named in his honor.
Markowitz was fined for bringing his wife, Jamie, on freebie trips to the Netherlands and Turkey. He argued that his wife was the “first lady of Brooklyn” and that when “you go to Europe, other countries, being Brooklyn borough president is a big thing there.”
But it’s not such a big thing anymore in New York City.
The borough presidents were powerhouses until a 1989 revision of the city charter eliminated the Board of Estimate — as voting members of the board, they could approve or kill virtually any big city project. They were further weakened in 2002 when the Board of Education, to which they appointed members, was disbanded.
Now, the role of a borough president includes appointing community board members, making budget recommendations, issuing advisory opinions on land-use matters and producing official maps.
“I look at some of the things that the borough presidents do and say, ‘What the hell are they doing?’ ” said Baruch College political-science professor Doug Muzzio. “This isn’t government.”
Additional reporting by Josh Saul