It seemed an uncomplicated issue. Open the Impound Contracts for the City of Yonkers beyond the three authorized towing firms, that is, to County Towing, Transit Towing, and DonGlo. Since 2006, each of the initially approved firms have offered the City of Yonkers (COY) a bid of $25.00 per impounded car. Standards set for meeting minimum requirements for consideration as a possible winning bidder, demanded the towing firm(s) possess a valid “dismantler” license. But things are not as uncomplicated as they seem.
The issue came to light when the Service Station Dealers of Greater New York (SSDGNY) received a complaint from one of its member firms asserting that they were being precluded from bidding for an Impound Contract for the COY by regulations that precluded any firm without a valid “dismantler” license to bid for a contract. In 2006, then Police Commissioner Robert Taggart advised Peter Kischak, president of SSDGNY, that the Yonkers Police Department (YPD) determined the requirements presently in place and the regulations require a “dismantler’s” license. A firm holding a “dismantler’s” license requires a towing firm to have a junk yard. The Catch 22 is that there is a moratoriam on junk yards in Yonkers which thereby does not permit new “dismantler’s” licenses to be granted. Every New York State municipality other than the City of Yonkers do not require a “dismantler’s" license.
Exacerbating the Catch 22 dilemma is YPD’s recalcitrance over the issue. Initially YPD advised the rationale for a “dismantler’s" license was so that abandoned cars could be transported and compressed outside their facilities whereas the most recent rationale changed to the YPD suggesting those with a “dismantler’s" license were required because those firms could and would allow YPD 24 hours access to the junk yards; thereby making it easier to retrieve evidence.
Striving to find accommodation among the disparate power brokers, SSDGNY made note that a “dismantler’s license is not required to transport vehicles as per regulations that govern all towing companies required to possess an “itinerant” license in lieu of a “dismantler’s license to transport vehicles to a junk yard. By rejecting to standardize regulations around the “itinerant” license protocol, YPD continues to maintain a “closed” process that diminishes the possibility for expanded competition among potential bidders despite the fact that the purpose for reviewing and expanding the number of authorized firms is to increase revenues in favor of COY four-fold, from $25.00 per impounded car to $100.00.
Six companies bid on the contract; County Towing, Transit Towing, DonGlo, APOW, A & J towing, and Danny’s Towing. By expanding the approved contract holders from three to six, City Hall required approval from the Yonkers City Council.
Yonkers City Council President Chuck Lesnick has been construed by some “acid-tongued” bloggers for not being as forthcoming as some should expect for a few reasons. The first issue is that when campaigning for reelection to Yonkers City Council President, Transit Towing drove one of its trucks throughout the city with a sign positioned on the truck bed promoting Mr Lesnick’s candidacy; the truck was affectionately known as the “Chuck Truck.” While this is not an issue by itself, the fact that Mr Lesnick did not disclose his relationship with Transit Towing in discussion of the issue at the Yonkers City Council Committee meeting conducted under the aegis of Chairman John Larkin, and also did not reveal this information before the entire Yonkers City Council on the evening of the vote, has insinuated the prospect for “inappropriate conduct” on the minds of some. The issue most often heard is, “Why did he not recuse himself?” If not a recusal by Mr Lesnick, voices have anonymously advised Yonkers Tribune that they would have expected Mr Lesnick to at least abstain when the votes were cast.
Mr Lesnick believes a credible rationale for expanding the competition beyond the original three to six did not become evident in arguments made by the Board of Contracts and Services (BOCS).
Adding spice to the sublime issue are rumors that a driver with Transit Towing is having an “affair” with a staff member of the Office of the Yonkers City Council President.
Transit Towing was initially considered for being one of the winning bidders but eventually lost when the Yonkers City Council voted four to three against expanding the authorized towing firms from three to six. Councilman Larkin, Minority Leader John Murtagh, and Councilman Dennis Shepherd voted to expand. Council President Lesnick, Councilwoman Joan Gronowski, Councilman Wilson Terrero, and Majority Leader Patricia McDow voted against expanding the group. The vote was cast along party lines, three Republicans for expansion, four Democrats for the status quo.
Besmirching Mr Lesnick’s credibility has been former Lesnick campaign employee Delfim Heusler, whose editorial on the blog, The Yonkers Insider, is regarded by some as a crass “smear campaign effort” without substantiation, demeaning of Mayor Phil Amicone, APOW, Peter Kischak, the Yonkers Industrial Development Agency (YIDA), and the SSDGNY.
Further still, Transit Auto Towing, Inc. has become a petitioner in a lawsuit against the City of Yonkers, et al, incorporating the firm of Smith, Buss & Jacobs LLP, as legal counsel. Mr Lesnick, who years ago maintained offices at their 733 Yonkers Avenue location, is not associated with Smith, Buss, & Jacobs. Most importantly, Mr Lesnick maintains there is no “conflict of interest” by his conduct in any venue.
