KitJ, SkyPilot, both of you have done some very deep and fascinating bunny diving on the NXIVM issue. You have inspired me to dive into a side hole from your combined digs.
*texokie herds the two diggers, KitJ and SkyPilot, out of Qanteen and grabs the hose and hoses herself, KitJ, and SkyPilot off. They go inside and get into clean clothes- new Q t-shirts! - for a fresh cup of covfefe and seat themselves in the bean bag chairs around the covfefe table. Swordy comes out of his office dedicated to the LexiQon operations. Other FReeQs join them, others wander in and out on their own quests*
I was fascinated, SkyPilot, so see that drop #388 from Dec. 19 2017. I fastened on the name “Iris Weinshall.” I had not noticed that name before.
Swordy, I checked the LexiQon first before diving, and was not able to find a reference to her.
It turns out, as I am sure MANY of you already knew, that Iris is Chuck Schumer’s wife.
The Wikipedia listing has this:
“Iris Weinshall (born September 5, 1953) is the Chief Operating Officer of The New York Public Library,[1] former vice chancellor at the City University of New York and a former commissioner of the New York City Department of Transportation.[2] Weinshall was appointed Chief Operating Officer by the Library in July 2014, and she began her tenure on September 1, 2014.[1] She is the wife of U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer....”
She was appointed to the NYC DOT by Giuliani in 2000, and remained under Bloomberg until 2007. Her tenure as the DOT Factotem included her efforts to increase bike lanes and bike riding, improve the Queens Boulevard, which had 27,000 deaths from 1950-2000. She was also involved in the East River Bridge improvements. Her time with the DOT was marred by the Staten Island Ferry crash, which killed 11 people.
While the Wiki article covers that factoid, it does seem to make an effort to point out her exemplary steps to hire people to oversee the repairing of the damage to the department.
“...Since 2003, DOT has made significant progress to enhance safety on the Staten Island Ferry. In April 2004, Weinshall appointed Captain James C. DeSimone, a 30-year maritime industry veteran to serve as Chief Operating Officer for the Staten Island Ferry and shortly thereafter appointed Margaret Gordon a maritime safety and security expert to serve as Executive Director of Safety and Security at the ferry.
In October 2005, after a year long effort to develop and implement a comprehensive safety management system for the Staten Island Ferry, the American Bureau of Shipping presented the Department of Transportation with a “Voluntary Document of Compliance Certificate” for the DOT Staten Island Ferry Division and “Voluntary Safety Management Certificates” for all operational ferryboats. The New York City Department of Transportation is now the first ferry operator in the United States to voluntarily comply with this internationally accepted safety regime...”
So as far as Wikipedia is concerned, it seems her tenure there was exemplary and all roses. And maybe it was.... except that Q is pointing to her, after saying we should define the term “Corruption.”
I found this link:
https://heavy.com/news/2016/11/iris-weinshall-chuck-schumer-wife-who-is-married-to-senate-democrat-new-york-public-library-family-kids-bio-age/
This article touts “5 Fast Things You Need to Know” about Iris Weinshall.
1. As previously mentioned, SHE WAS APPOINTED BY RUDY G. IN 2000, AND CONTINUED UNDER BLOOMBERG.
What’s interesting under this point is that apparently she appointed a “Bike Tsar,”a man named Vesselinovitch, who told the New York Sun at the time “that Weinshall shot down half of the proposals his team made and she gave community boards the power to veto lanes.”
So.... was she really ALL that interested in the bike situation? I get the impression from the article that this guy was a fire breathing Bike Believer, and was frustrated by her inaction, and to my eyes, his implication that she was ham stringing his efforts to get the bike lanes implemented. Is this a manhole cover for a future dig to see if we can bear out Q’s suggestion we should look at her closely?
2. Again, as previously mentioned:
WEINSHALL’S DEPARTMENT WAS CRITICIZED BY THE NTSB AFTER A STATEN ISLAND FERRY CRASH KILLED 11 PEOPLE
The article addresses this tragedy:
“...In November 2003, there was an investigation of Coast Guard safety records of Staten Island ferries, which found that most were caused by human error, The New York Times reported.
Despite the crash and the NTSB’s criticism, Weinshall remained at the DOT until 2007.”
3. AFTER LEAVING THE DOT, WEINSHALL BECAME VICE CHANCELLOR OF THE CITY UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK. (Also previously mentioned)
“Weinshall left the DOT in January 2007 so she could take a role at the City University of New York. Her role there was in Facilities Planning, Construction and Management. The job includes overseeing the planning, building and maintenance of physical structures for the university.
The New York Post reported in 2010 that the job earned her $233,730 a year. In 2014, The New York Daily News reported that Schumer’s net worth was $702,000 at the time, and the couple live in the Park Slope neighborhood. They bought their home for $157,000 in 1982.”
I include this data in this report, because Q has also suggested we look at the homes some of the bad actors live in... and how is it possible? Is it possible this could be another manhole cover?
4. WEINSHALL & SCHUMER’S DAUGHTERS ARE BOTH HARVARD GRADUATES (NOT previously mentioned....and seems to be the most interesting of all.)
While this is not directly in alignment with Q’s mandate (implied) to search out a history of corruption in Iris’s life, it does say a bit about Family Values.
“Weinshall and Schumer have two daughters, both of whom attended Harvard University, which their father also attended. Weinshall has a Maters in Public Administration from New York University and a B.A. from Brooklyn College.”
“Alison Schumer works in the tech industry. She interned for YouTube in 2010, and was hired by Facebook as a policy and communications associate in 2011. She was associate manager in policy and communications at Instagram from 2013 to 2015. She currently works as a public affairs manager at Airbnb.”
OK...youtube....Facebook...now Airbnb.
I had not heard of “Airbnb.” So I suited up and dove:
https://www.airbnb.com
“Book unique homes and experiences all over the world.” It seems to be a vacation rental outfit.
UH OH.... spidey senses tingling.... If you go to the link, note that there is a strange paper clip triangular shape in top left of the opening page. It seems similar to some of the symbols we’ve been seeing, but I cannot come right out and say that it is so. Does anyone know what that is?
Also I found this article about Airbnb:
(Air bed n breakfast? - couldn’t find out what their name means)
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/capitalbusiness/dc-lawmaker-to-introduce-new-restrictions-on-airbnb-other-short-term-rentals/2017/01/30/8110cd9e-e318-11e6-a453-19ec4b3d09ba_story.html?utm_term=.67890c6b4e53
“... District lawmakers will soon introduce legislation that would further restrict how property owners can use home-sharing sites such as Airbnb and VRBO...”
It seems companies like this tie up affordable housing and makes it less available to people who want to live there full time.
“When you look at the affordable housing crisis here in the District of Columbia, taking those types of units off the market really puts pressure on our housing market,” McDuffie (D-Ward 5) said.“Demand is much higher than supply, and when you turn an apartment building into a de facto hotel, it has a deleterious ripple effect on the District housing stock.”
Airbnb was founded in San Francisco in 2008.
OK, now for child number two:
“Jessica Schumer also attended Yale, where she earned a law degree. She is chief of staff at The Robin Hood Foundation. In April 2016, she married Michael Shapiro, who worked as an economic policy adviser in Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign.”
UH OH.... a FOUNDATION! and..... “ROBIN HOOD?????”
Wiki article:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robin_Hood_Foundation
“The Robin Hood Foundation is a charitable organization which attempts to alleviate problems caused by poverty in New York City, United States. The organization also administers a relief fund for disasters in the New York City area.”
Such high minded people, right? Noble.
Who are the people who put this together?
“Founded in 1988, Robin Hood was conceived by hedge fund manager Paul Tudor Jones. Peter Borish was also a founding board member of the organization.
The foundation combines investment principles and philanthropy to assist programs that target poverty in New York City.
IN 2006, THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS INCLUDED SUCH NAMES AS JEFFREY IMMELT, DIANE SAWYER, HARVEY WEINSTEIN, MARIE-JOSEE KRAVIS, LLOYD BLANKFEIN, OF GOLDMAN SACHS, RICHARD S. FULD, JR., FORMERLY OF LEHMAN BROTHERS, GLENN DUBIN, OF HIGHBRIDGE CAPITAL, MARIAN WRIGHT EDELMAN AND ACTRESS GWYNETH PALTROW.”
[Caps are texokie’s.]
My my my.... it seems we have found the mother lode of a gathering of old friends.
Draw your own conclusions. Start with noting that Harvey Weinstein is in the mix.
ANNNNNNNND....
Child number two is also married to a Clintonista, Michael Shapiro.
Refresher on Michael Shapiro:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/08/02/how-hillary-clinton-thinks-about-policy-behind-the-scenes/?utm_term=.13cd93de967a
“... The campaign team [Hillary’s] is led by policy director Jake Sullivan, a longtime Clinton aide, and also includes a trio of policy hands: Michael Schmidt, Michael Shapiro and Jacob Leibenluft, who recently left a job on Obama’s National Economic Council....”
OK - now what is the 5th essential thing I need to know about Iris?
Oh yeah... previously mentioned:
5. Weinshall Has Been the Chief Operating Officer at the New York Public Library Since July 2014
“Iris is a proven leader whose distinguished and successful career in public service will help us make the Library even stronger,” NYPL President Tony Marx said in a statement.
“I am incredibly excited to join the team at The New York Public Library,” Weinshall added. “I have always respected and valued the mission of the NYPL and all it does for the people of the City of New York and beyond. I am looking forward to making an impact and to help steer this important institution.”
The COO oversees the operations at the NYPL, its budgets and $1 billion endowment.”
Sounds like a lot of money to be tempting someone who might have a whiff of corruption. I’m classifying this as a possible manhole cover for future operations.
For those who are interested, there are some interesting pictures at the heavy.com link.
The one in particular which caught my eye was the one of Iris Weinshall and Michelle Obama during President Barack Obama’s second inauguration. They are striding together, presumably exiting the White House.
*texokie collects the empty covfefe mugs and thanks her FRiends and fellow FReeQs for listening to her report - despite the Q flurry. After straightening up the Qanteen, she retreats to the comfy pillows under the piano, where a FReeQ is playing some lovely Bach Well Tempered Clavier pieces*
