State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli has rejected the sale of state-owned land on Staten Island to a buyer that’s caught up in federal and state probes of Mayor de Blasio’s fundraising.
Broadway Stages won a bid in February 2014 to buy the former Arthur Kill Correctional Facility for $7 million from the state’s Empire Development Corp. and convert it into a 69-acre TV and film studio.
But the firm’s plans — whig included $20 million in promised capital investments — are stalled because co-owner Gina Argento has been a prominent donor to de Blasio fundraising efforts that are currently under investigation.
“Broadway Stages and its owner and president, Gina Argento, appear to be involved parties in State and Federal investigations into campaign contributions to New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio,”
DiNapoli’s office wrote to state officials on Dec. 21, according to a letter obtained by The Post that was first reported by the Staten Island Advance.
The letter criticizes the state’s Office of General Services – which owns the land – for including contradictory information about the involvement of Broadway Stages in the probes as part of its application to sell the site.
In one part of the application, Broadway Stages says it hasn’t been contacted by the US Attorney or any government agency.
But a Nov. 21, 2016 letter included in the packet says Argento was asked to “provide copies of donation checks to the US Attorney’s Office,” according to DiNapoli’s office.
The Comptroller’s office also questioned the $7 million sale price, given that two state appraisals had put the value much higher.
ESD officials said the higher appraisals were done when the site was still under consideration to remain a jail.
“ESD and OGS are reviewing OSC’s decision and remain committed to creating jobs and economic opportunity on Staten Island,“ said ESD spokeswoman Amy Varghese.
Argento’s husband, John Ciafone, said Broadway Stages was being wrongly dragged through the mud solely because it had made contributions to help community causes like universal pre-K.
“They were solicited for money, like other people this mayor solicited, and they donated,” Ciafone said.
“They never got a penny from this mayor,” he added. “Whatever the state and feds wanna do with de Blasio, that’s their business. It has nothing to do with Broadway Stages.”
Argento and her associates have for years been prolific donors to politicians on both sides of the aisle.
She rounded up $111,805 for de Blasio’s 2013 mayoral campaign and, with Broadway Stages, gave $60,000 to the mayor’s shuttering non-profit — the Campaign for One New York.
An affiliated LLC – Kingsland 339 – gave $60,000 to the Working Families State Party and Puntam County Democratic Committee in late 2014 as part of de Blasio’s 2014 senate push.
Federal officials are probing donations to the mayor’s causes, while the Manhattan District Attorney is probing the mayor’s fundraising push for the 2014 state senate Democrats.
Argento has also given more than $115,000 to Cuomo’s 2018 re-election campaign, and made small contributions to DiNapoli’s campaign committee.
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