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Former Community Board Member Fined Over Free SoHo House Membership
By
Lauren Evans
Published Nov 24, 2014
Modified Nov 24, 2014
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By
Lauren Evans
Published Nov 24, 2014
Modified Nov 24, 2014
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A former member of Manhattan's Community Board 2 is in some hot water for accepting a decade's worth of free membership to the ultra-luxe SoHo House, which falls within the board's jurisdiction and has thus been determined to be a conflict of interest in the eyes of the city. The new dance cabana may be 20 feet taller than officially permitted, but who cares about Mrs. Manstey's view of some shitty trees when there's a conga line in need of bodies?*
According to a disposition, Jo Hamilton served on the board for several years between 1999 and June 2014, contributing her opinion to such typical community issues as appeals for zoning variances and liquor license permitting. She was also a continuous member of SoHo House since its opening in 2003, and given her friendship with some of its employees, failed to see how accepting free membership might be problematic.
"I never asked for or sought a complimentary membership in SoHo House," she wrote in the disposition. "I understood their offer to be predicated upon our personal friendship, not my status as a member of CB2." Sorry, Hamilton. The only people obligated to like you for who you are are Jesus and your camp counsellor—everyone else is using you for something. For the record, SoHo House reps appeared before the board five times during Hamilton's tenure to discuss liquor licensing matters. Hmm.
But Hamilton now understands the error of her ways, and has agreed to pay $8,160 in back-dues—which were a goddamn bargain at $816 annual for founding members—in addition to a $2,500 penalty. She's still coming out on the winning side, though. Remember what Samantha had to go through?
*The author of this article has clearly never stepped foot in SoHo House, in case you couldn't tell.
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community board 2
jo hamilton
soho house
Lauren Evans
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