A former Bronx, N.Y., borough president, who currently is the New York and New Jersey regional director for the Department of Urban Housing and Development, admitted in a disposition that he violated the city's conflict of interest law that prohibits elected officials from using their position to obtain financial or personal incentives.
Adolfo Carrion Jr., who served as Bronx president from January 2002 to March 2009, said he hired an architect to do work on his City Island home even though this man was participating in a construction project that needed government approval through the city's Uniform Land Use Review Procedure process.
Carrion agreed to pay a fine of $10,000 this month to the New York City Conflicts of Interest Board for violating a city charter that states, “A public servant who has an interest in a firm shall not take any action as a public servant particularly affecting that interest…in the case of an elected official, such action shall be prohibited, but the elected official shall disclose the interest to the conflicts of interest board.”
In 2006, Hugo Subotovsky was hired by Carrion to design a porch and balcony for his property despite the architect's involvement in the development of an apartment complex called Boricua Village that still needed the president's consent in order to start building at the site.
Carrion said in the disposition that he was not aware of the architect's involvement in the Boricua Village project at the time of the hire, but knew of his association in similar projects that came before the president's office seeking city approval.
“As a city official, I was chargeable with exercising reasonable care in ascertaining the relevant facts that could create a conflict of interest with my official duties,” Carrion said in the disposition. “Consequently, I should have ascertained at the time I engaged Subotovsky as an architect that he was involved in a project that would come before my office in the ULURP process.”
Carrion approved the Boricua Village project in March 2007 to the city planning commission. Coincidentally, this was the same month Subotovsky finished the initial construction at the president's house.
Carrion admitted in the disposition that Subotvosky's work would not be completed until after the city's Department of Buildings approved a final survey of the fully constructed porch and closed out the permit for the project. This inspection happened in 2009, causing a two-year delay in Carrion being billed for the architect's overall work.
The builders were paid approximately $30,000 for their work by March 2009, consisting of $26,000 after the initial construction and more than $4,000 for repairs that were needed after an inspection was conducted.
“Although I was not aware of it at the time, I now acknowledge that, by asking Subotovsky to provide me with architectural services for my residence while he was part of a team seeking the City's approval for the Boricua Village project through the ULURP process…I violated the City of New York's conflicts of interest law,” Carrion said in the disposition.
