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Skakedown of Cable Company by NYC HA Executives?
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NYC
Jul 13, 2000, 3:00:00 AM7/13/00
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SUBJECT: Cable TV Bribery Shakedowns?
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Are NYC HA Execs Trying to Shake Down Cable Provider?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A mystery is evolving regarding Cable TV at Queensbridge Houses (located
on the Queens side of the Queensboro Bridge), the largest housing
project in North America with over three thousand apartments.
Fed up with escalating cable fees, Queensbridge Tenant Association
President, Nina Adams contacted Ray Normandeau who publishes the
Queensbridge Enquirer, the newspaper for Queensbridge Houses. She asked
Normandeau what could be done to keep cable costs skyrocketing so.
Normandeau told Adams about RCN, who offer cable, telephone and internet
connections. Adams asked Normandeau to look into RCN and see what could
be learned.
Normandeau contacted RCN and with Adams' go-ahead arranged for RCN to
explain their service to Queensbridge Houses tenants. Normandeau warned
RCN about endemic problems re bribery and the New York City Housing
Authority and that tenant interest should be developed before RCN asked
NYC HA for permission to provide service to tenants. That interest,
hopefully would prevent NYC HA execs from claiming that tenants were not
really interested in any other cable service and thereby creating a
reason for why bribes would need to be paid.
In May, RCN was invited to make a presentation at the Queensbridge
Tenant Association meeting.
On Saturday June 24, outdoors at Queensbridge Houses, Rita and Ray
Normandeau were getting signatures from tenants saying that they wanted
the opportunity to be offered competitive cable TV service. By chance
(tenants had told neither NYCHA nor the media about the petition)
Newsday Staff Writer Elizabeth Gudrais came across the petition table
and wrote a July 3 Newsday story "Weary of Cable Monopoly Game /
Residents seek alternative to Time Warner".
Unusual at first were apparently contradictory statements in the Newsday
story:
RCN spokeswoman Nancy Bavec "said the company has met with the Housing
Authority about providing service to Queensbridge".
and
`New York City Housing Authority spokesman Howard Marder said his
office was unaware of the petition, and that RCN had not yet
approached the agency with a proposal. If approached, he said, the
Housing Authority would consider the change, "just as we would any
vendor".'
The contradictions gave Normandeau a jolt. On July 5, 2000 he started
Emailing and phoning his contacts at RCN and has not gotten a straight
answer yet. He is afraid that RCN has been asked for bribes but they
don't want to talk about it. After all with NYCHA "just as we would any
vendor" often means bribes!
For further information on NYC HA bribery go to
http://www.deja.com/~queensbridge and see link for "NYC HA SPOTLIGHT".
- - 3 0 - -
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Are NYC HA Execs Trying to Shake Down Cable Provider?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A mystery is evolving regarding Cable TV at Queensbridge Houses (located
on the Queens side of the Queensboro Bridge), the largest housing
project in North America with over three thousand apartments.
Fed up with escalating cable fees, Queensbridge Tenant Association
President, Nina Adams contacted Ray Normandeau who publishes the
Queensbridge Enquirer, the newspaper for Queensbridge Houses. She asked
Normandeau what could be done to keep cable costs skyrocketing so.
Normandeau told Adams about RCN, who offer cable, telephone and internet
connections. Adams asked Normandeau to look into RCN and see what could
be learned.
Normandeau contacted RCN and with Adams' go-ahead arranged for RCN to
explain their service to Queensbridge Houses tenants. Normandeau warned
RCN about endemic problems re bribery and the New York City Housing
Authority and that tenant interest should be developed before RCN asked
NYC HA for permission to provide service to tenants. That interest,
hopefully would prevent NYC HA execs from claiming that tenants were not
really interested in any other cable service and thereby creating a
reason for why bribes would need to be paid.
In May, RCN was invited to make a presentation at the Queensbridge
Tenant Association meeting.
On Saturday June 24, outdoors at Queensbridge Houses, Rita and Ray
Normandeau were getting signatures from tenants saying that they wanted
the opportunity to be offered competitive cable TV service. By chance
(tenants had told neither NYCHA nor the media about the petition)
Newsday Staff Writer Elizabeth Gudrais came across the petition table
and wrote a July 3 Newsday story "Weary of Cable Monopoly Game /
Residents seek alternative to Time Warner".
Unusual at first were apparently contradictory statements in the Newsday
story:
RCN spokeswoman Nancy Bavec "said the company has met with the Housing
Authority about providing service to Queensbridge".
and
`New York City Housing Authority spokesman Howard Marder said his
office was unaware of the petition, and that RCN had not yet
approached the agency with a proposal. If approached, he said, the
Housing Authority would consider the change, "just as we would any
vendor".'
The contradictions gave Normandeau a jolt. On July 5, 2000 he started
Emailing and phoning his contacts at RCN and has not gotten a straight
answer yet. He is afraid that RCN has been asked for bribes but they
don't want to talk about it. After all with NYCHA "just as we would any
vendor" often means bribes!
For further information on NYC HA bribery go to
http://www.deja.com/~queensbridge and see link for "NYC HA SPOTLIGHT".
- - 3 0 - -
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