City Board Permits Doctoroff A Role in Development Projects

The city's Conflicts of Interest Board is allowing a former deputy mayor and current president of Bloomberg LP, Daniel Doctoroff, to have a role in certain city development projects that he participated in as a public servant.

The decision permits Mr. Doctoroff to maintain his seat on the boards of the Hudson River Park Trust and the Governors Island Preservation and Education Corporation. He also will be allowed to serve as an unpaid consultant on several city projects, including the mayor's environmental program, PlaNYC 2030; a waterfront development in Hunters Point, Queens West, and a plan to build a new train terminal, Moynihan Station, at 34th Street, that may be paired with a new Madison Square Garden arena.

In a letter to Deputy Mayor Patricia Harris, the chairman of the Conflicts of Interest Board, Steven Rosenfeld, said that given Mayor Bloomberg's private ties to Mr. Doctoroff, who works for the mayor's financial information company, a waiver allowing Mr. Doctoroff to continue to serve the city "is not lightly granted."

Mr. Rosenfeld said Mr. Doctoroff merited an exception because his continued involvement in the projects in question is in the city's best interest. In order to prevent potential conflicts of interest, Mr. Doctoroff is required to recuse himself temporarily from any business negotiations involving Vornado Realty Trust, a company with ties both to Bloomberg LP and the Hudson River Park Trust.

Mr. Doctoroff served as deputy mayor of economic development for six years under Mr. Bloomberg, spearheading a number of large-scale development projects and leading an unsuccessful bid by the mayor to build an Olympic stadium on Manhattan's West Side.

In January, he resigned to become president of Bloomberg LP.