The Kessel NYPA Watch, January 18, 2010 – By George J. Marlin
Kessel Asides
Having satisfied upstate burghers and pols that he is focused on upstate, Richie Kessel has returned to bestowing love and money on his Long Island home. A few examples:
NYPA held what may be its first ever board meeting in mid-December on Long Island which accounts for fully 2-3% of NYPA load.
NYPA hiring of Long Islanders continues apace. Refugees from the late Suozzi Administration have washed ashore in White Plains. More appear to seek the shelter Kessel’s NYPA can provide for at least the next several months. It appears that Cablevision is not willing to carry the defeated county executive’s tired team in Suozzi’s new girls basketball high school sports gig at MSG Varsity. So, Kessel to the rescue.
Kessel launched yet another press release of love towards Long Island, this latest one several days ago with $750,000 for planning and operations in Suffolk County.
On January 11, Kessel met at Concerned Citizens for the Environment’s office in Farmingdale to discuss “critical issues throughout New York” including according to the agenda, “Future of National Grid Power Plants on Long Island”, “New Timelines & Progress for LI Offshore Wind” and “Hydro-power LI? Hudson Cable”. Senator George Maziarz, please ask Kessel what he’s up to here and what he is telling LI enviros and other activists about his plans for Long Island.
NYPA plans to sell NYC power plants and redeploy that capital into National Grid’s plants continues. Either Upstate ratepayers will subsidize higher income Long Islanders (thanks for the gift, Buffalo!) or if the deal stands on its own and there is no upstate subsidy it is hard to see any advantage to Long Island given LIPA’s decision to pass on the opportunity after running the numbers. Those who have followed Kessel’s career know that he doesn’t know financials or what they mean and doesn’t care about numbers. More to come on this.
How will the on-going dispute play out between Kessel’s NYPA and the Pine Barrens Society for a $25,000 sponsorship promised by Kessel for the October 21 Pine Barrens event two months ago at Long Island’s Oheka Castle at which Kessel and David Paterson were honored? According to sources, Paterson’s office properly vetoed this sponsorship since it’s illegal and will only attract the attention of the Attorney General. The Pine Barrens wants the money it was promised. More to come on this, too.
The calls, letters and emails we receive indicate that morale at NYPA continues to plunge. Please keep your comments coming.
streetcornerconservative.com 
February 4, 2010 at 11:29 pm
I wonder if we could get the old chief risk guy to come back. at least he cared about the place and was honest. of course he stood up early and squaked and he was one of the first thrown under the bus. my time is close to being done and I’m sure glad for that as i don’t want to be around when the likes of Richie and Gil kill the place with their conceit and hipocracy.
January 25, 2010 at 9:06 am
Let’s see:
HR VP – $180,000
Emergency Management VP – $174,000
Chief of Staff – $200,000
CEO – $240,000
Chief Sustainability Exec – $130,000
Another Chief of Staff (how many do we need?) – $150,000
New CFO (um, what was wrong with the one we had?) – $175,000
Somebody to run this place who actually has a clue:
$priceless
Why don’t we hand the whole shootin’ match over to the Chief Engineer. At least he knows how this place SHOULD be run, but is being completely hampered by morons.
Did you know they can’t even put jobs on the board without Evans giving it the go ahead? Likely they want to fill all the vacancies with LIPA losers.
Note to self: get out, now.
And remember NYPA staff – DO NOT POST ON THIS SITE IF YOU ARE AT WORK. THE IT GUYS ARE GOOD AT WHAT THEY DO. HAPPILY, THEY ARE ACTUALLY RUN BY SOMEONE WHO HAS A SET. BUT BETTER SAFE THAN SORRY.
January 23, 2010 at 1:56 pm
It’s beginning to look like another year will go by without a measly cost of living adjustment. I guess it’s about time for Kessel to schedule one of his pathetic “look at me” all-hands meetings to feed us more b.s. News flash to Kessel…you’re an idiot and you’re not fooling anybody at NYPA. The exorbitant salaries you continue to dole out to your overpaid and unqualified lackeys could more than pay for the salary adjustments for the long-time non-politically connected employees that actually make the company run.
Somebody please show this clown and his whole traveling circus the door and also give the boot to Quiniones and his similarly overpaid and unqualified cronies.
January 18, 2010 at 8:53 pm
Morale is at an all time low. Kessel has hired more Long Island pols and this once great state authority has been reduced to a laughingstock. Kessel seems uncaring about the damage he does and spends much of his time on the Island. To some of us in WPO he seems to be running for office in Nassau. Watch out.