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Hear Quinn's Irate Answering Machine Messages From 2002
By
John Del Signore
Published Mar 27, 2013
Modified Mar 27, 2013
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Chrisine Quinn's Facbook
By
John Del Signore
Published Mar 27, 2013
Modified Mar 27, 2013
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In the wake of the New York Time's story about City Council Speaker (and Mayoral frontrunner) Christine Quinn's hot temper and vindictive streak comes an audio recording of two answering machine messages from way back in 2002. The angry messages from Quinn were left on the answering machine of a Hell's Kitchen resident opposed to west side development projects such as Hudson Yards and the now-defunct West Side Stadium.
The messages were left by Quinn and her former aide Peter Rider after Quinn was criticized for not attending a press conference against the development on December 17th, 2002. (43 community groups had organized the press conference to blast the scale of the development and its impact on local businesses.) After hearing complaints that she was not at the press conference, Quinn left these irate messages accusing the activist of sexism:
John, the Hell's Kitchen resident on the receiving end of the messages—who would only speak on condition of anonymity—tells us, "Someone in our group was complaining that she was waffling on the stadium [opposition]. But it's not a question of who's right and wrong [about the project] it's a question of temperament. She always does this; that's her first line of attack, that anyone who disagrees with her is sexist. This is not the first or the last time I experience this from Quinn, this is just the first time I got it on tape."
The "Tom and Dick" Quinn refers to in the recordings are State Senator Tom Duane and Assemblyman Dick Gottfried, who are also allied with the community groups. Quinn's point was that they were not criticized for being absent from the press conference, but she was singled out because she's a woman. "But the state legislature was in session, and Duane and Gottfried were in Albany," the activist, who runs this anti-Quinn website, argues.
Suffice it to say, Quinn's not going to get his vote. "She has no moral character, no moral center, and this carries down into her staff," says the longtime activist. "We supported her the first time in 1999 and we found that she was misusing our names without permission on a lot of different things. It's the way they operate—dirty club politics. I think Quinn is the absolute wrong person."'
Quinn did not respond to a request for comment.
Tagged
christine quinn
hudson yards
sexism
west side stadium
original
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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