14 The Courier sun • september 18, 2014 for breaking news visit www.couriersun.com BOARD SUSPENDS QUEENS LIBRARY PRESIDENT TOM GALANTE BY QUEENS COURIER STAF editorial@queenscourier.com The Queens Library has shelved its president. The library’s board of trustees voted on Sept. 11 to suspend embattled library boss Tom Galante. Galante will continue to collect his $392,000 annual salary while on administrative leave, library officials said. His duties will be carried out by Bridget Quinn-Carey, the library’s executive vice president Queens could be home to new MLS stadium: report BY SALVATORE LICATA slicata@queenscourier.com/@sal_licata1 A new soccer stadium is trying to kick its way near Aqueduct Racetrack. After plans to build the New York City Football Club’s new stadium in the South Bronx fell through, developers are now looking at land near the Aqueduct Racetrack, according to a published report. The owners of the club, Manchester City Football Club and the New York Yankees, are looking to develop the stadium near the racetrack because there is “an abundance of land primed for development,” according to Capital New York. This plan for an MLS stadium would be the second one proposed in Queens. Plans fell through for a soccer venture in Flushing Meadows Corona Park. The club is working with city administrators to find a proper fit for the stadium. “The administration is committed to working with the City Council and the NYCFB club to identify an appropriate site in New York City to host a world class soccer stadium and facility,” Phil Walzak, a spokesman for the de Blasio administration, told Capital New York. But the possibility for a new stadium in south Queens was met with skepticism from local politicians. “Currently, I am extremely hesitant to welcome a soccer stadium to the Aqueduct site,” state Sen. Joe Addabbo said. “Exact location and size of the stadium, traffic patterns, public safety and the certain impact on the surrounding neighborhood quality of life are just some of the issues that I would need answers to in examining this proposal. My constituents need as many facts as possible now, as we start to have discussions on this issue.” and chief operating officer. “Queens Library has a critical mission to provide information and education. It has long been a model of excellence,” Quinn-Carey said in a statement. “I look forward to working with the board of trustees, our elected officials and colleagues at all levels of the organization, including our union, to build on the library’s outstanding work. There are 2.3 million people depending on it.” Galante declined to comment. The board also voted to open its books for the city comptroller, Scott Stringer, to perform an audit on all financial data from the library, which receives 85 percent of its funding from taxpayer money. Galante and the board, which has seen 10 trustees removed or resigned, had refused to surrender the information, relying on a decades-old agreement with the city that allowed the comptroller to audit only that portion of the budget that came from public funds. That dispute, as well as a revelation in the Daily News that Galante was earning a hefty wage moonlighting for the Elmont school district, sent lawmakers into action, granting the borough president and mayor the power to remove board members for cause. Galante has also been under fire after the renovation of his office, which included a $27,000 outdoor deck, was revealed. In July, Borough President Melinda Katz fired six trustees and Mayor Bill de Blasio canned two. Two others resigned. Four new trustees have since been appointed. Six of the ousted trustees filed a lawsuit in August demanding to be reinstated. They were unsuccessful in getting an injunction to prevent their permanent removal, which became official after Katz rejected their appeals. The suit, which also demands monetary damages from Katz, is pending in Brooklyn Federal Court. Katz lauded the board’s decision, saying that it would allow them to “take immediate steps to improve the Queens Library’s governance and increase the transparency of its operations.” THE COURIER/File photo The library’s board of trustees voted on Sept. 11 to suspend embattled library boss Tom Galante.
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