5 Queens Council Members Fined For Campaign Finance Violations

QUEENS — At least five City Council members in Queens violated the city's campaign finance laws during their 2017 campaigns, the NYC Campaign Finance Board has ruled.

City Council Members Adrienne Adams, Barry Grodenchik, Rory Lancman, Donovan Richards and Jimmy Van Bramer have been ordered to pay thousands of dollars in penalties for not complying with reporting requirements and accepting over-the-limit campaign contributions, among other violations.

Auditors from the Campaign Finance Board discovered the violations during its routine, post-election reviews of all campaigns for public office in New York City. The board is just over halfway done with its audits of 2017 campaigns, a spokesperson said Friday.

The board fined Lancman $8,490, the highest penalty so far of any City Council member in Queens for the 2017 election cycle.

His violations included failing to report $44,300 worth of transactions that appeared on bank statements — like a $15,000 payment to lobbying and campaign management firm The Parkside Group — and untimely refunds of donations that were over the limits, records show.

The fines "felt excessive given that there was never any question of impropriety and we didn't seek or receive public matching funds," Lancman wrote in an emailed statement to Patch. "But it wasn't worth the time or expense of fighting too hard over it."

Van Bramer was fined $7,682, Richards was fined $7,300, Grodenchik was fined $1,797 and Adams was fined $1,250, records show.

Spokespeople for Grodenchik and Van Bramer, who is running for Queens borough president, did not respond to requests for comment.

Richards, who has also announced a run for Queens borough president, said through a spokesperson that the departure of his campaign's then-treasurer "made the retrieval of some necessary documentation difficult."

"Going forward, this campaign will continue to work to meet all CFB requirements," the spokesperson, Thomas Musich, added.

Adams said of her campaign's violations: "Unfortunately, there were common oversights due to human error as with many new campaigns."

In 2013, which was a slightly larger election cycle than in 2017, about half of candidates had to pay penalties for campaign finance violations. Most of those candidates paid penalties under $5,000, according to a Campaign Finance Board report.