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Allegations Of Mismanagement Prompt City Audit At Marine Drive

By:  Brian Meyer
News Staff Reporter

City auditors will scrutinize operations at a downtown public housing complex that has been the focus of controversies, City Comptroller Andrew A. SanFilippo says.

In response to a request by the Common Council, SanFilippo said auditors will probe allegations of mismanagement at the Marine Drive Apartments on the waterfront.

But the comptroller stressed that his fiscal team has no intention of joining a political tug of war that has pitted some Council members and commissioners at the Buffalo Municipal Housing Authority against Mayor Byron W. Brown's administration.

"We're not going to have our office dragged into the political bickering that's occurring between the Council and the administration," SanFilippo told The Buffalo News. "Our office will not be used to advance political agendas."

City lawmakers adopted a resolution last week sponsored by Council President David A. Franczyk calling on the comptroller to take the rare -- if not unprecedented -- step of auditing a specific public housing complex. Darryl McPherson, the city's chief auditor, said fiscal reviews have been performed in the past that focused on certain aspects of the authority. But McPherson said he was unaware of any city audit that was performed at a specific housing complex.

Franczyk, whose Fillmore District includes Marine Drive, said he believes that the complex has been plagued by management woes ever since the city opted not to renew a 40-year lease with a tenant cooperative six years ago. "Marine Drive has been a true mismanagement CQmishmosh," he said.

The Council president said his concerns intensified this spring when a scandal forced Marine Drive's property manager to resign. Henry M. Littles, a longtime friend of the mayor, quit following allegations of an improper relationship with a tenant who initially said she received preferential treatment. The woman later recanted her assertion that she received favored treatment during her affair with Littles.

Housing Authority officials said preliminary reviews of the controversy showed that nothing financially inappropriate occurred. SanFilippo noted that the authority has already hired an auditor to perform a forensic review that would unearth any fraud. While the scope of the city audit has yet to be determined, SanFilippo said, experts will likely evaluate internal controls and management efficiencies at the 616-unit complex.

A timeline for the audit has not been determined, said McPherson, who emphasized that city officials want to review the results of the outside forensic audit before proceeding.

Michael A. Seaman, chairman of the authority board of commissioners, said the comptroller is "more than welcome" to audit Marine Drive.

"We have nothing to hide," Seaman said. "It's well-run."

The Council's request for the audit came after the attorney for the Marine Drive Apartments Resident Council and Resident Association urged lawmakers to implore the city comptroller to get involved. Joseph Makowski noted that the management company that has been running the complex since 2007 will see its contract expire at the end of August. Erie Regional Housing Development Corp. took over operations after Hutchens-Kissling was ousted for alleged mismanagement.

Meanwhile, Assemblyman Sam Hoyt, D-Buffalo, is asking state housing officials to audit operations at Marine Drive, contending that there is "gross mismanagement" at the facility. Hoyt also wants the state to play a role in negotiating future management options.

In another matter related to public housing, the Common Council is asking the state to give city lawmakers new powers at the Housing Authority. The Council wants to have control of two appointments on the authority's seven-member board of commissioners. The change would reduce the number of appointments made by the mayor from five to three. Two other commissioners are elected by tenants.

The bill, also sponsored by Franczyk, is expected to be discussed at a future committee meeting.