Mayor Bill de Blasio has not filled up his administration yet, but Twenty-four of the 32 people who worked for him as Public Advocate got a free entry to the Mayor’s office, according to payroll records released Friday.
The records show that a total of 60 people have been hired and placed on the payroll in Mayor de Blasio’s office since he was inaugurated. 20 of them are already drawing paychecks, yet listed with positions that include the words “Final Assignment TBD.”
“Our transition staff is at work each day helping to carry out duties for the transition and assisting the administration while simultaneously being considered for jobs inside of the administration,” Mayor de Blasio spokeswoman Marti Adams told the Daily News.
Avi Fink, Mr. de Blasio’s senior Jewish advisor was appointed to one of the most high ranking positions in the administration, working for the Mayor as deputy director of Intergovernmental Affairs under Emma Wolfe, with a yearly paycheck of $93.6K.
Fink, who Mayor de Blasio counts as one of his most trusted advisors, was chief of staff to State Senator Toby Ann Stavisky; he served as director in Anthony Weiner’s district office, handled the campaign of Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley for Congress and most recently was deputy chief of staff in the public Advocate’s office and a senior adviser to Mr. de Blasio’s mayoral campaign.
Pinny Ringel, who served as a community Liaison for Mr. de Blasio as Public Advocate, is also employed at the Mayor’s office for a yearly paycheck of $65K, yet with a position yet to be determined. Ringel, who’s the first Hasidic staffer in the Mayor’s office, is expected to serve as a Jewish Liaison in the Community Affair Unit under Commissioner Marco A. Carrion, sources tell YWN.
Ringel had worked in Former Councilman and now State Senator Simcha Felder’s office from 2002 to 2010. He then joined the office of the Public Advocate. In 2012, Ringel served for a short time as Community liaison and chief of staff to former Senator David Storobin, before returning to the public Advocate’s office just in time of Mr. de Blasio’s announcement that he’s running for Mayor.
According to Ami Magazine, before embarking in the mayoral campaign, Pinny received a bracha from the Belzer Rebbe, Shlit’’a: “You should be Nosei Chein (find grace) in people and may your chassidish levush (Hasidic attire) serve you well!”
(Jacob Kornbluh – YWN)