In a critique issued in May of the city's similar environmental review process, Hope Cohen of the Manhattan Institute wrote:
The revolving door between powerful government and highly paid private-sector CEQR jobs means that no one wants to go on record blowing the whistle. As one developer explained, “Ninety percent of EASs are done by a small circle of firms where you’re buying the ability to influence the bureaucrats—whom they hire. A guy works for the city, then goes to work for AKRF [a leading consulting firm for environmental review], and you can’t get out of the circle.”
Does it ever seem that our governmental public planning people seem out of touch? They may seem to ignore the realities of the 21st century, but they are very much in touch with who will hire them next.
