City criticized for taking high demolition bid

    

By Reginald Johnson

     BRIDGEPORT REPORT

      BRIDGEPORT --- Questions are being raised about why the city is paying a contractor more than $8 million to demolish buildings in the South End when another qualified contractor would have done the same job for $3 million less.

   The AAIS Company of West Haven is tearing down three dorms at the University of Bridgeport to prepare a site for the new Bassick High School, part of an overall $115 million project.

  AAIS won the bid for the work last Sept. 30,  after a vote by the School Building Committee. The company’s bid of $8.769 million won out over the $5.445 million offer by the Bestech company of Ellington, according to a report in the Connecticut Post.

 The contract award was not reviewed or voted on by the City Council, and demolition has been on-going since early this year.

  Since both firms are on a state list of pre-approved contractors to do the demolition and hazardous waste clean-up work for school construction projects, some people are wondering why the much less expensive offer by Bestech was rejected.

   “That’s concerning....they did another behind the scenes deal,” said Council Member Jorge Cruz, who represents the South End district where the new high school is being built.

 “It doesn’t make any logical sense on why they would take a bid that was $3 million higher,” Cruz said.

       

Bodine Hall at the University of Bridgeport was torn down to make way for a new Bassick High School.

  Council Member Maria Pereira, a frequent critic of the administration of Mayor Joseph P. Ganim, called the decision to take a bid that was $3 million higher than another qualified firm “unheard of.”

   “It’s outrageous,” she said.

  Justifying the selection, city officials apparently believe that AAIS would do a higher quality job than Bestech.

  “The opinion is that AAIS would provide a better, more completed job even though the initial price is higher overall,” wrote Michele Otero, a school construction manager for the city, in the minutes of the school building committee, according to the Post report.

   Criticism of the city’s selection for the UB demolition job is the latest controversy plaguing the Bassick High School project.

  Last year, both current and former members of the City Council claimed that the city’s payment of $6 million to the University of Bridgeport for the construction site was illegal, since it was never approved by the council.

  The School Building Committee --- a hybrid committee composed of administration officials, council members and school board officials that has special powers under state law--- approved that payment on its own.

  But Pereira charged that since the original bonding approved by the council for the Bassick project did not cover land acquisition, the committee could not unilaterally authorize the UB payment. The council had to approve it.

  Pereira further claimed that the FBI was looking into the transaction, although bureau officials would not confirm this.

  While she disagrees with the choice of the contractor, Pereira said in the case of the demolition work for the high school, the School Building Committee acted properly in awarding the bid without council review. She said that once bonding has been approved by the council for construction and related costs, the committee can act on its own to let contracts related to that phase, according to state statute.

    Cruz said he was going to be contacting other council members and discuss his concern about the city’s decision to select the much more expensive contractor for the UB demolition work.

  “This Bassick high project has been a damn headache,” he said.

 

  

 

   

 

 

 

 

 

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FBI probing Bridgeport?

 

 By Reginald Johnson

         

            BRIDGEPORT REPORT

     BRIDGEPORT --- The FBI has investigated this city in the past, with spectacular results.

   Now it's possible federal officials are looking at Bridgeport again.

  The FBI has reportedly issued a subpoena to the city for information concerning the construction of the new ampitheater in the South End, according to Maria Pereira, a member of the Bridgeport City Council.

  Pereira, who represents part of the East Side, said she learned through a reliable source that the federal agency issued the subpoena concerning the ampitheater, which was built in 2020 with $9 million of city money.

  The facility, called The Hartford Health Care Ampitheater, opened last year in July and has hosted a number of concerts.

  A  request for comment was made to the City Attorney’s office, but a secretary said any statement would have to come from the city’s spokesperson, Rowena White.

   White said “I have never heard of that before. But then again, there’s always rumors out in the community.”

  When asked about the subpoena, a Bridgeport FBI spokesman referred this reporter to the agency’s New Haven office. No one from that office has thus far returned a call for comment.

    

The ampitheater in Bridgeport. The FBI may be investigating the construction of this facility.

  The ampitheater --- which is viewed as a key part of the city’s redevelopment efforts --- was built amid some controversy. Developer Howard Saffan initially promised local officials that the city had to invest no more than $7.5 million for the project, which was pegged to cost $15 million in total. But in 2020 Saffan came back to the City Council asking for another $4.5 million --- on top of $4.5 million the city already had put out --- saying that the construction work had run into unforeseen infrastructure problems.

  Some members of the council, including Pereira, objected and questioned the viability of the new facility. Pereira said the ampitheater would in the long run cost the city a lot more money than what was forecast.

  “The amphitheater is not an economic development project,” she said. “It is nothing more than a taxpayer-funded handout to a developer closely aligned with Mayor (Joseph) Ganim who is also a generous donor to Ganim’s political campaigns,” wrote Pereira in an opinion piece in the Connecticut Post.

  But a majority of council members approved the request for additional money with several commenting that the amphitheater would provide a major boost for the downtown area and bring the city additional revenue.

   “The ampitheater will be a big draw and reinvigorate the downtown,” said City Council President Aidee Nieves.

  The amphitheater was constructed on the site of the old Bridgeport Bluefish baseball field. The city decided in 2017 to not renew the lease for the Bluefish and head in a different direction.

 The amphitheater retains the seating from the old stadium.

 Pereira, who has been a vocal critic of the Ganim administration, also claimed last year that the FBI was investigating a $6 million payment made by the city to the University of Bridgeport for property to be used for the new Bassick High School.

 Pereira and other members of the community had claimed that the $6 million payment was illegal because it was never approved by the City Council.

  An FBI official at that time would not confirm or deny an investigation on that matter.

  The Bassick project is now underway, with the demolition of several dorms at UB.

  The City of Bridgeport is no stranger to FBI investigations. Some 22 years ago, federal officials conducted a major investigation of corruption in the city, and wound up indicting a number of officials including Mayor Ganim. Those officials were later convicted and Ganim served seven years in prison.

  Ganim resurrected his political career when he got out and was able to win back the mayoralty in 2015.

  In the late 1970s, the FBI also netted a number of officials for corruption in Bridgeport, during the administration of Mayor John C. Mandanici.

 

     

UB property buy violates city charter, leaders say

 

BRIDGEPORT REPORT

 

   By Reginald Johnson

 

  BRIDGEPORT ----- The administration of Mayor Joseph P. Ganim violated the city charter by failing to secure City Council approval for spending $6 million to purchase property from the University of Bridgeport to build the new Bassick High School.

 That’s the view of several current and former City Council members, who commented on the decision of the school building committee last year to pay the University of Bridgeport $6 million in order to acquire a parcel off Broad Street to build the new $115 million facility.

  The officials said that the committee, which is a subcommittee of the City Council composed of both administration officials and Board of Education officials, did not have the authority on its own to spend the money.

  Councilwoman Maria Pereira, D-138, said the charter is clear on this issue.

 “It is land acquisition. If you look at the city charter there is only one entity that could purchase municipal land or sell municipal land and that’s the City Council. I don’t care whether they want to sell a $40,000 a lot, or whatever, it has to go through the City Council that’s the law.” she said.

 Pereira said that originally in 2017 the City Council authorized a $27.5 million bond for construction of a new Bassick and it didn’t include anything for land acquisition, as there was consideration for building a new high school at the existing city-owned site on Fairfield Avenue. She said that later in early 2020 finance officials asked for an additional $5 million for the project, citing increased costs, but nothing was mentioned about land acquisition.

 “We weren’t informed --- it was never brought up,” Pereira said. “And clearly they already knew in February that they were going to pursue purchasing that land (at UB) for $5 million, okay, and they were hiding it. So this is all secretive.”

  Pereira continued, “until they have a press conference on July 6 last year with UB acknowledging that they were going to move Bassick there, I as an elected official had absolutely no idea this was going on. None.”

 Former councilmember and state representative Chris Caruso also said that the City Council should have reviewed the expenditure before it was approved since councilmembers “have budgetary responsibility for all the expenditures of the Corporation, in this case the city.”

  “And a committee of the Council cannot waive that responsibility,” Caruso said.  

 Some councilmembers and other individuals are reportedly in the process of filing a lawsuit to have the purchase reversed and an order be given that the Council review any land acquisition payment before it is made. However, it could not be confirmed that any court filing has actually taken place so far.

 Councilwoman Aidee Nieves, D-137, president of the City Council and also chairman of the school building committee, could not be reached for comment on the Bassick-UB issue.

 The purchase of the property at UB and payment to the university comes at a time when the University of Bridgeport --- which has been in financial trouble in recent years --- is about to be taken over by Goodwin University of East Hartford.

  Goodwin is partnering with Paier College of Hamden to buy UB, pending the granting of all needed accreditations.

The University of Bridgeport

 There has been significant criticism from leaders in the community about the Goodwin merger, with concerns being raised about whether Goodwin is strong enough academically to take over the University of Bridgeport. Officials of the NAACP and minority members on the city Council are also worried that the minority community will not be served by the new university.

  There is also some suspicion about Goodwin’s intentions in buying UB, with leaders such as the Rev. D. Stanley Lord, the president of the Bridgeport NAACP, saying that the upstate college is interested in acquiring valuable waterfront real estate and then profiting from selling properties later on.

 Goodwin officials have vehemently denied that claim and said they are only interested in building a strong academic institution in Bridgeport.

  Goodwin is intending to spend $52 million to acquire UB and is obtaining financing from Citizens Bank. Citizens Bank in turn has agreed to write off $30 million of UB debt.

  The property deed that was filed with the Town Clerk’s office regarding the property transaction for the new high school has raised some eyebrows. The deed in question says that the university was giving the land to the City of Bridgeport for one dollar, not $6 million.

  John Weldon, the chairman of the Bridgeport Board of Education and a member of the school building committee, said he did not know why the deed was written the way it was. “I can’t speak to what the rationale would be for that.  It’s just more like a legalese question. I’m sure there’s a rationale. I just don’t know what it is.” he said.

   Meanwhile, community leaders and city councilmembers are criticizing Mayor Ganim and Robert Berchem, head of the UB Board of Trustees, for being in a conflict over the Bassick situation and UB.

  “I think what we have here is the chair of UB is Bob Berchem with Berchem and Moses law firm. They are the law firm for the Board of Education that Joe Ganim got in there for them and they get millions from the city on an annual basis,” said Pereira. “So he’s chairman of the board of UB, he co-chaired a major fundraiser for Joe Ganim at Brewport when Joe Ganim was running for mayor in 2019 and Joe Ganim is serving as an adjunct professor at UB and serving on their board. So this is rife with conflict, right?”  

  Berchem could not be reached for comment about the Bassick property acquisition by the city and the claims about a conflict of interest.

 Ganim, as well, has not been available for comment.

  Caruso said that if the charter was violated with the Bassick property acquisition,  it isn’t the first time. “Time and time again you’ve seen it.  You saw it with the selection of a police chief, with the mayor just ignoring the charter. You see it with the civil service system and acting positions are created rather than permanent positions, again in violation of the charter.

 “And the list goes on and on,” Caruso said. “As long as this frankly lawlessness exists then you can’t expect too much, you can’t get too upset. Because frankly the people that are responsible to be the loyal opposition, to be that oversight, are MIA, they are missing in action.”

 In other developments at UB, Councilman Jorge Cruz, D-131, was unsuccessful recently in trying to get the Council to approve setting up a task force to study the idea of the city taking over the University of Bridgeport.

 Cruz, who has been one of the most outspoken opponents of the Goodwin merger, proposed a resolution to set up a task force in the council’s education and social services committee “to review and recommend specific strategies to acquire the charter and assets of the University of Bridgeport…”

  However, Cruz withdrew his resolution when the city attorney advised that such a task force would not be appropriate. Other councilmembers also were not receptive to the idea of a public takeover, Cruz said.

 The city attorney did say however that it would be possible to set up an informational session in which there could be a discussion of ways that the city might assist the University of Bridgeport achieve better management.

The South End councilman said he is disappointed that the mayor and other members of the council are not more receptive to the idea of a public takeover, which he thinks would be doable.

“It would be like CUNY,” said Cruz, referring to the publicly owned City University of New York.

 

 

 

 

 

City School Funding in Crisis

By Reginald Johnson

      

BRIDGEPORT REPORT

 

  BRIDGEPORT ---  The city’s 21,000 school kids are getting shortchanged again.

  Despite a court ruling last fall that found that school systems in Connecticut’s poorer cities like Bridgeport are being inadequately funded,  city schools this year are due to receive even less money from the state than last year.

  According to Bridgeport Board of Education member Maria Pereira, Bridgeport schools will get $4.6 million less from the state this year, when you figure in the changes in funding formulas for different programs.

  “This is what we get after nine years of a lawsuit,” said Pereira at the Feb. 27 school board meeting.

   Since the financially-strapped city government in Bridgeport is unlikely to make up the gap in state funding, it looks like the board will have to make a number of painful cuts in services. Shortening school bus routes, cutting social workers and guidance counselors, ending the program to deter drop-outs and truancy, and closing the Parents Center, are all being considered, Pereira said.

  A number of people came out to the meeting to blast the board for considering the idea of shortening bus routes, saying children will be put in danger by having to walk longer distances on city streets.

   “These streets are dangerous even for adults,” said one speaker. “People are driving while they’re on their cell phones or they’re texting.”

 Under a state budget plan recently unveiled by Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, Bridgeport at first blush would seem to be doing better than last year. ECS and special education funding are both being raised. But with the state now insisting that local municipalities pick up one-third of the cost of teacher pensions, together with cuts in other programs, the increases are wiped out and Bridgeport is actually coming out behind, explained Pereira.

  “It’s outrageous. We’re the most underfunded district in the state,” she said.

   Pereira and other board members like chairman Joe Larcheveque urged the public to lobby their state legislators to increase state funding.

    “Please let them know our funding is in dire straits and they need to make sure the funding is equitable,” said Larcheveque.  

    Pereira doesn't buy the idea that Connecticut --- one of the wealthiest states in the country --- "can't afford" to be more generous with school funding.

    She noted that last year Gov. Malloy saw fit to steer $22 million in "aid" to Bridgewater Associates --- one the world's largest and most successful hedge funds --- to help them keep their headquarters in Connecticut.