Keep Public Informed
To The Editor:

City Hall seems to have decided to deal with the pesky problem of franchises and concessions, which exist mostly in parks and other public spaces, by eliminating the public from the public review process.

In the middle of summer, with only a few days' notice instead of the legally required 30 days' notice, the Franchise and Concessions Review Committee- an executive agency whose votes are controlled by the mayor- announced that it would vote on August 16 to limit requirements that the Committee inform elected officials, affected agencies such as community boards and the public of new or renewed concessions. This move, described as a way to enhance government efficiency, effectively eliminates the opportunity for meaningful review and comment.

The bedrock of democratic governance is public disclosure. That requires timely information about the things that really matter in this city- like who controls our public spaces and how concessions placed in them are chosen. To meet that goal, the Queens Civic Congress, the city's only neighborhood based, borough-wide coalition, opposes any attempt to reduce public discussion and supports meaningful changes in the rules for concessions to trigger public review of many concessions that today escape public scrutiny.

Mayor [Michael Bloomberg's] PlaNYC2030 calls for momentous changes in how government will treat our parks. Now is not the time to keep the public in the dark about how our parks will be managed. Now is the time for more open discussion, evaluation and determination. Patricia Dolan Executive Vice President Queens Civic Congress Flushing