How to Spend $3 Million of Taxpayer Money on Nothing

Jen Chung

Published Nov 5, 2007

Modified Mar 7, 2008

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Jen Chung

Published Nov 5, 2007

Modified Mar 7, 2008

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It's the not the first time the government has wasted lots of money and it won't be the last, but the Daily News special investigation into former Governor Pataki's never-built Museum of Women is great proof of how bureaucracy sucks.

Originally conceived to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Women's Rights Convention in Seneca, the museum would have been at the south end of Battery Park City. Various grants were directed to the commission (chaired by Pataki's wife Libby), totaling $2.2 million, but the commission never managed to attract corporate sponsors - and spent $121,000 in fund-raising to raise $22,650 in private funds. The museum would have needed to raise $150 million for its building.

The News points out that only one potential museum object was purchased, a consultant was paid for a website that was never seen, and fund-raisers who were paid five figures never raised much, if anything at all. And with Pataki leaving office, many of the commission members quit.

The community was never thrilled about the planned museum, as there were fund-raising hurdles and even suggesting that a school would be a better use of resources. Lynn Rollins, Pataki adviser who headed the museum, had been saying, "This museum is going to get built," up until last year, but this past fall, the museum filed papers to dissolve. And guess what's going into the lot? A new public school.

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