New York City Spends Millions on Empty Offices

The New York Sun reports:

The city's Department of Transportation is paying millions of dollars in rent for six floors of premium office space that are sitting empty.

The department's move into the space will be delayed by at least one year, by the agency's estimation, and will cost the city a minimum of $11.8 million — the annual rent for the 368,147 square feet of office space at 55 Water St. in Lower Manhattan that the department will someday call its headquarters.

The stalled move and the city's payments for empty office space are raising objections from City Council members, who say it is disappointing that taxpayers are footing the bill for one year's worth of rent and getting nothing in return, especially at a moment when the city is facing a budget gap.

"No one would ever put up with this in their own life, paying for an office they don't use or a house they don't live in, but for some reason government gets away with this without any accountability or blame," a City Council member of Queens, Eric Gioia, said. "At a time when the city and state are in dire financial straits, it's very hard to ask people to tighten their belts or to pay more in taxes when government is paying for empty offices."

As you can see there's no real accountability in government.Do you think New York City is ready to run health care?