Developers’ donations stir debate

The head of the Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Council (JPNC) has complained about campaign contributions made to elected officials this year by developers of two controversial luxury housing developments on S. Huntington Avenue. City Councilor Mike Ross received and returned $2,000, while other elected officials said it’s “offensive” to accuse them of corruption.

Mayor Thomas Menino; state Rep. Jeffrey Sánchez; and City Councilors Mike Ross, Matt O’Malley, John Connolly and Felix Arroyo received donations from developers Curtis Kemeny and Anthony Nader and staffers, lawyers and consultants working for them. According to his staff, Ross returned the donation last week.

“Obviously, there’s no problem in giving to candidates. It’s having these donations go through while their applications are still pending that’s the problem,” JPNC Chair Benjamin Day told the Gazette last week. “A lot of people think we’re accusing the candidates of corruption, which is not true. We have no evidence that the money has influenced the process. But the fact that the money is there really paints the process.”

“The insinuation is insulting and offensive,” Arroyo told the Gazette. “My constituents should rest assured that when I make a decision on this matter or any other matter, donations don’t play a role.”

“To focus on Mr. Kemeny’s $500 contribution to the mayor this year, after years of support, tries to twist the story and ignore how critical this development is to the Home for Little Wanderers, which was trying to be respectful of the neighborhood in choosing an experienced, committed residential developer rather than selling it off to local institutions hungry for expansion,” Kemeny spokesperson Janey Bishoff told the Gazette.

Kemeny’s Boston Residential Group plans to create 196 units of luxury apartments, mostly one-bedrooms, on the current site of the Home for Little Wanderers at 161 S. Huntington Ave. Nader’s Cedar Valley Development is seeking to develop 195 luxury units on a vacant lot next to the North American Indian Center of Boston (NAICOB) at 105A S. Huntington Ave., a development called “The Serenity.”

According to reports from the state Office of Campaign and Political Finance (OCPF), the developers of each project made initial rounds of donations to city councilors and state representatives in whose districts the developments would take place. Later, the developers’ attorneys and consultants made large bundled campaign donations to Menino’s campaign committee. At the time the donations were being made, the community was engaged in lively debate over the merits of both projects.

Menino would be the only official who received contributions with any direct review authority over the outcome of either project, through influence at the Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA).

While Day focused on the timing of the recent donations, both developers also have regularly contributed to local candidates in the past.

According to the OCPF website, Kemeny has made donations to Menino almost every year since 2005. Nader has made frequent campaign contributions to various candidates since 2004. Employees of Nixon Peabody and Goulston & Storrs, attorneys for the two developments, have made contributions to Menino and other candidates since 2004.

Day last month supplied various news outlets with campaign donation data and a press release.

Day did the original research himself through OCPF’s website and shared it as a private citizen, not as JPNC’s chair, he told the Gazette. One of the contacts listed on the press release is Jamaica Plain resident Kevin Moloney, a member of the BRA-created Impact Advisory Groups for both projects.

The JPNC has not taken a vote on the projects. A JPNC Zoning Committee vote last month went against Kemeny’s project.

This year, Day made a campaign contribution of his own to Jass Stewart, a candidate for Brockton City Council. Previously, he contributed to Boston City Councilor Ayanna Pressley, mayoral candidate Sam Yoon and Gov. Deval Patrick, among others.

Ross’s campaign treasurer Susanne Lavoie told the Gazette that the refund check for the $2,000 donated to the campaign from Nader and his family was sent last week, at Ross’s request.

“Our policy is that we do not accept campaign contributions from individuals who are currently actively going through the permitting process,” she said. “We [Ross’s campaign office] accepted those donations without any knowledge of the permitting process.”

“[Councilor Ross] asked me to return the donations, which I did,” she added.

Sánchez said that he is “saddened that the leadership of the neighborhood council has chosen to imply what they’re implying.”

“No donation that is made to me is made from anything else except as an indication of support. I’ve dedicated my life in supporting affordable housing and I stand by my record,” he said. “I’m saddened that the leadership of the council has chosen to handle itself in this way.”

“I haven’t even gone on the record [stating a position] about either of these development projects,” he added. “Why isn’t the neighborhood council talking about the 35 shootings we had in one day in Bromley-Heath recently?”

Bromley-Heath is a large public housing development between Heath and Centre streets.

Arroyo and O’Malley both told the Gazette that the suggestion of inappropriate behavior was “offensive.”

“I received $150 from [Kemeny attorney] Larry DiCara, whom I’ve known since I was a junior at Boston Latin School. He is a resident of Jamaica Plain, a neighbor and a friend,” O’Malley told the Gazette this week. “It’s offensive and completely wrong to suggest that there’s anything shady going on.”

DiCara works at Nixon Peabody, Kemeny’s law firm.

O’Malley added that the two proposed projects are in fact located in Ross’s district, not his own, but that he is invested in the outcome as “it will affect all of Jamaica Plain.”

“As a firm, we are allowed to be politically active,” said Brian Moynihan, a spokesperson for Nixon Peabody, the attorneys for Kemeny’s development.

Menino’s campaign, Connolly, Nader and DiCara all were not immediately available for comment.

Kemeny’s project has been the target of intense local opposition. Community feedback for “The Serenity” at 105A S. Huntington Ave. has been more favorable, though not unanimous.

1 comment for “Developers’ donations stir debate

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.