Council Member Shekar Krishnan, Chair of the Metropolis Council’s Committee on Parks and Recreation, has led the decision for NYC Parks to chop ties with Griffin’s Landscaping, following the corporate proprietor’s conviction.
Picture Credit score: Gerardo Romo / NYC Council Media Unit.
A coalition of elected officers and labor leaders is asking on the New York Metropolis Division of Parks and Recreation to instantly terminate all contracts with Griffin’s Landscaping, a metropolis contractor whose proprietor, Glenn Griffin, was not too long ago sentenced to 2 years in federal jail for bribery and unlawful dumping as a part of a $2.4 million environmental crime scheme.
Regardless of Griffin’s conviction and ongoing scrutiny, his Westchester-based firm continues to carry two lively contracts with the Parks Division price a mixed $15 million and has been awarded three upcoming contracts totaling an extra $25 million.
The sentencing has sparked widespread outrage amongst metropolis officers and union leaders, who say the town should uphold increased moral requirements when awarding public contracts.
“Glenn Griffin’s indictment is just another example in a long list of corruption that Griffins and his Westchester landscaping company are involved in,” stated Jackson Heights Council Member Shekar Krishnan, chair of the Metropolis Council’s Committee on Parks and Recreation. “In light of his two-year prison sentence, NYC Parks must end all contracts with Griffins. It is unacceptable that someone indicted in a $2.4 million environmental crime scheme and accused of not paying their workers owed overtime wages has been granted control of millions of city dollars.”
Griffin was indicted in 2022 and later pleaded responsible to conspiracy to commit bribery and wire fraud in a case introduced by federal prosecutors in New Jersey. Based on courtroom filings, the scheme concerned unlawful dumping of development particles and bribing a municipal official to facilitate it. His sentencing in Could 2024 adopted a prolonged investigation that additionally revealed prior labor violations.
Griffin’s Landscaping has beforehand been accused of violating the Honest Labor Requirements Act and New York Labor Legislation, together with failing to pay employees time beyond regulation wages. On account of these points, the corporate has been positioned underneath a monitorship by the New York Metropolis Division of Investigation (DOI), but it continues to obtain taxpayer-funded contracts.
File Picture by Daniel Avila/NYC Parks
A complete of 33 elected officers have joined Krishnan in demanding that the contracts be revoked instantly, together with 31 members of the New York Metropolis Council and two borough presidents. The signatories span all 5 boroughs, with the strongest exhibiting from Queens, the place ten council members and Queens Borough President Donovan Richards joined the decision. Brooklyn was represented by 9 council members, adopted by the Bronx with 5 council members and Borough President Vanessa Gibson. Six Manhattan council members and one from Staten Island additionally added their assist.
“Our city must consistently prioritize integrity in hiring and contracting to ensure accountability for the public and fairness for all who seek to partner with local government agencies,” Richards stated. “I believe adherence to these principles would dictate that the contracts recently awarded to Griffin’s Landscaping be terminated and awarded to one or more other qualified bidders.”
Gibson added, “We have a responsibility to uphold integrity, protect workers, and ensure public dollars are spent with accountability and transparency.”
Labor leaders additionally weighed in. “What message does this send to honest, qualified contractors when someone who violated labor law still gets to profit off city work?” requested Victor Rizzo, director of Laborers’ Native 1010 LECET. “The Parks Department must act swiftly—not just to cancel these contracts, but to ensure that every vendor doing business with the city operates with integrity.”
Vincent Alvarez, president of the New York Metropolis Central Labor Council, AFL-CIO, stated the problem is about defending employee rights and the general public belief: “It’s time to send a clear message: if you cheat workers and pollute our city, you will not be rewarded with public dollars.”
The Parks Division didn’t instantly reply to a request for touch upon whether or not it plans to rethink its contractual relationship with Griffin’s Landscaping.
Griffin’s Landscaping, based in 1991, has held a number of municipal contracts throughout Westchester and New York Metropolis, specializing in park upkeep, tree removing and panorama design. Nevertheless, this isn’t the corporate’s first brush with controversy. Along with the federal legal case, Griffin and affiliated entities have been topic to state labor investigations and personal wage theft lawsuits.
“This is a disgrace,” stated Lowell Barton, vp of Laborers’ Native 1010. “Griffin exploited the public, polluted communities, and cheated workers. There should be zero tolerance for corruption in city contracts, especially from someone who’s already been sentenced to prison.”
Krishnan stated the Council will proceed to push for oversight hearings and doable legislative motion to make sure the town strengthens its vetting and enforcement of vendor eligibility requirements.
“The people of New York City deserve better,” Krishnan stated. “We will not stand by while public money lines the pockets of those who undermine our values, our workers and our laws.”
