DOI Report Exposes NYCHA’s Failure to Maintain Fire Safety Devices

The Department of Investigation’s Report found that NYCHA maintenance workers were negligent in their duties to ensure smoke and CO detectors were functioning. On October 4, 2016, the Department of Investigation issued a Report finding that New York City Housing Authority maintenance workers frequently ignored their obligation to perform safety checks and often falsified documents to cover up their negligence. DOI Commissioner Mark G. Peters stated in the Report that, “DOI has now found that … <Read More>


DOI Report Exposes City’s Failure to Preserve Property Restrictions on the Rivington House

The Department of Investigation’s Report found that the City’s deed-modification procedure lacks safeguards required to ensure the removal of restrictions on formerly City-owned property is in the City’s best interest. On July 14, 2016, the Department of Investigation issued a Report finding that the actions and inactions of City officials, specifically within the Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS), the Mayor’s Office of Contract Services (MOCS), the Law Department, and Mayor’s Office, facilitated the sale … <Read More>


Mayor De Blasio Addresses Annual Ethics Conference

On Tuesday, May 20, 2014, the Center for New York City Law, at New York Law School hosted the Twentieth Annual Seminar on Ethics in New York City Government.  The seminar was co-sponsored by the Conflicts of Interest Board and financially supported by the Department of Investigation.   The five hour seminar was attended by over 400 participants, including many City government employees who were able to attend for free.


IPSIG Agreements: A Vehicle to Rehabilitate Vendors

IPSIG_final_(small)Under ordinary circumstances the City may not enter into a contract with a vendor when the City finds that the vendor is not responsible because of tax, criminal, financial, ethical or performance reasons. It may not always be in the City’s interests, however, to refuse to deal with the vendor. One option available to the City that allows the City to continue to do business with such a vendor is an Independent Private Sector Inspector … <Read More>


Historic Tenure: NYC Department of Investigation Commissioner Rose Gill Hearn

For anyone considering sticking their hand in the colossal cookie jar that is New York City’s government, Rose Gill Hearn has a message for you: “we are watching.” With her usual stern glance, Department of Investigation Commissioner Rose Gill Hearn tells me she demands a “standard of excellence.” In her 12 years at DOI, Gill Hearn has met that standard, amassing arrests and recovering taxpayer dollars in record numbers. When she assumed her office, the … <Read More>