The purchase of a $26,000 Toyota SUV by the executive committee of Brooklyn Community Board 1 resulted in multiple community members speaking out at Tuesday’s public meeting against the board’s largest expense outside of payroll, the NY Post reports.
Approximately a dozen people spoke out on Tuesday against the purchase of the SUV which is used by CB1 manager of more than 40 years Gerald Esposito, who lives a few blocks from the SUV’s city designated parking spot, the NY Post reports: Continue reading →
The manager of a community board under fire for buying a $26,000 SUV with public funds defended the purchase Wednesday night — insisting the vehicle was needed to get around Brooklyn for business.
“I’m not going to parties,” Gerald Esposito, Community Board 1’s district manager told THE CITY.
He broke his silence days after THE CITY reported the Williamsburg and Greenpoint board bought the 2018 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid with part of a one-time $42,500 budget-booster the City Council gave to all 59 community boards last year.
Mayor Bill de Blasio called for an investigation Friday as the City Council promised to examine community board spending citywide and other public officials questioned the purchase.
The issue came up at an at times contentious CB1 session Wednesday night, where Dealice Fuller, the board chair, tried to clamp down on questions. When one member of the public asked about the SUV, Fuller slammed her hand on the table in front of her and said, “I don’t have to talk to you.”
Tempers frayed as the meeting wore on. “To have my name ruined over $26,000 is ludicrous,” Fuller said.
Esposito complained of getting “calls from random people asking me to use the car. It’s personal!”
‘I Don’t Need This Car’
Earlier, Esposito, the head of a local Democratic club and the board’s manager for four decades, told THE CITY the vehicle was needed to shuttle Fuller, CB1’s volunteer chair.
Brooklyn Community Board 1 District Manager Gerald Esposito said during a public meeting he felt unfairly blamed for the purchase of a vehicle for the board, May 29, 2019. Photo: Ben Fractenberg/THE CITY
