Elected leaders have failed to publicly denounce the actions of Speaker Sheldon Silver in the Vito Lopez hush-money sex scandal. That task is now left to civic leaders in a “call for action” asking that Silver be removed as Speaker of the Assembly.
WHEREAS: CIVIC ASSOCIATIONS AND COMMUNITY GROUPS SEEK TO IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF LIFE OF THEIR NEIGHBORHOODS AND REGULARLY BEG FOR LIBRARY FUNDS, SIDEWALK REPAIR FUNDS AND OTHER COMMUNITY FUNDING NEEDS; AND
WHEREAS: ASSEMBLY SPEAKER SHELDON SILVER HAS EGREGIOUSLY AND UNETHICALLY MISAPPROPRIATED TAXPAYER FUNDS IN THE VITO LOPEZ HUSH-MONEY SEX SCANDAL; AND
WHEREAS: OUR ELECTED LEADERS HAVE FAILED TO PUBLICLY DENOUNCE THOSE ACTIONS.
RESOLVED: THE TASK OF CALLING FOR THE ASSEMBLY SPEAKERS REMOVAL IS NOW LEFT TO THE CIVICASSOCIATIONS WHO ASK THAT IMMEDIATE ACTION BE TAKEN BY THE QUEENS-NYC ASSEMBLY DELEGATION TO
REMOVE SHELDON SILVER AS ASSEMBLY SPEAKER.
As Civic Leaders representing tens of thousands of neighborhood residents, we stand united to unequivocally condemn in the strongest possible terms the unethical actions of Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver in the Vito Lopez
hush-money scandal. Assembly Speaker Silver authorized the use of taxpayer-funded hush money to silence the voices of the female victims of Assemblyman Vito Lopez’s harassing sexual advances and unfortunately, elected
leaders have thus far failed to publicly denounce those actions. That task is now left to the Civic Associations who demand immediate action to address this egregiously inappropriate abuse and misappropriation of taxpayer funds.
While civic and community groups beg for library funds, sidewalk repairs, desperately needed curbs and other community resources, Assembly Speaker Silver secretly spends more than $100,000 of tax dollars to help political
pal Lopez keep this sordid affair under wraps and out of the public eye. We are outraged by these actions.
Speaker Silver’s gambit has been exposed by the media and he now belatedly admits that his actions were improper and now calls for Assemblyman Lopez to resign his seat. There must be no lesser penalty for Silver, who covertly
used taxpayer funds to silence the female victims of Assemblyman Lopez. The attempt to save face at taxpayer expense by keeping these sordid incidents hidden from media and public scrutiny is repulsive and contemptuous of
civic leaders who battle daily for community funding. Further, we deem this misappropriation of public funds to bean egregious abuse of the public trust and offensive to all those who struggle to maintain a good quality of life for
our communities with limited resources.
We urge Assembly Speaker Silver to do the right thing and step down from his post. If he refuses to do so, we demand that he be removed as Speaker by the Democratic Assembly delegation. Elected officials should not have to be reminded that their allegiance is to their constituents — not the Assembly Speaker. We call upon our elected officials to take immediate action.
QUEENS CIVIC LEADERS THAT HAVE SIGNED THIS LETTER
BOB FRIEDRICH President, Glen Oaks Village
ROBERT HOLDEN President, Juniper Park Civic Association
JERRY WIND President, Bellerose Hillside Civic Association
FRANK TONER President, Rocky Hill Civic Association
LOURDES HARTRICK President, Bellerose Commonwealth Civic Association
ANGELA AUGUGLIARO President, Queens Colony Civic Association
