NYC Council's $1.2M Black Box: A Study in Financial Opacity

A Study in Strategic Opacity

Despite today’s expectations of government transparency, the New York City Council under Speaker Adrienne Adams has mastered financial opacity. This persists even with oversight from City Comptroller Brad Lander and Council Finance Chair Justin Brannan – both wielding significant fiscal authority yet remaining silent on how council funds vanish into a maze of undisclosed purposes.

The first method might be called “Name but Don’t Explain” – they’ll tell you who got paid but mark every purpose as “N/A.” It’s like getting a credit card statement where every transaction shows the vendor but lists the purchase as “things were bought.” Total spent this way: $179,459.

The second method is their masterpiece: the Complete Information Blackout. Both vendor and purpose vanish behind the cryptic designation “N/A (Privacy/Security).” Imagine a bank statement where both the merchant and purchase read “classified.” Total hidden this way: $1,008,991.

The City Council has managed to spend nearly $1.2 million while telling taxpayers either partial information or no information at all. Perhaps they believe office supply vendors need witness protection, or that revealing the destination of a business trip could compromise national security. After all, who knows what secrets those paper clips might tell?

The Complete Information Blackout: When Transparency Goes Into Witness Protection

In what might be the Council’s masterpiece of opacity, they’ve perfected the art of complete information denial. Let’s examine how $1 million in taxpayer money vanishes into the void of “N/A (Privacy/Security)”:

2022: $328,410 of Pure Mystery

Rentals – Land, Buildings, and Structures: $189,808 (anonymous landlords in a city where property ownership is public record)
Other Services and Charges: $70,279 (services so “other” they transcend description)
Professional Services: $34,619 (professionals who prefer to remain professional about their privacy)
Cleaning Services: $19,505 (the invisible cleaning crew who must do excellent work, since no one’s seen them)
Overnight Travel: $10,130 (to somewhere, for something, by someone)
Non-Overnight Travel: $1,955 (because even day trips need security clearance)
Remaining Balance: $2,114 (too mysterious even for the other mystery categories)

2023: $369,961 in Advanced Opacity

Rentals – Land, Buildings, and Structures: $132,110 (landlords whose identities must be protected, despite property records being as public as pigeons in Times Square)
Other Services and Charges: $114,310 (services that apparently define themselves by what they’re not)
Professional Services: $50,450 (unnamed professionals doing unspecified things professionally)
Cleaning Services: $18,675 (invisible cleaning, though presumably someone must be doing it)
Overnight Travel: $33,110 (journeys so mysterious even the travelers might not know where they went)
Non-Overnight Travel: $5,782 (day trips to undisclosed locations, naturally)
Supplies and Materials – General: $5,565 (items that may or may not exist)
Books – Other: $4,400 (reading material about… something?)
Economic Development: $1,062 (developing what? That’s classified)
Remaining Balance: $4,496 (because sometimes “other” is too specific)

2024 YTD: $310,620 and Counting

Rentals – Land, Buildings, and Structures: $82,610 (the landlords who shall not be named)
Other Services and Charges: $110,733 (services beyond description)
Professional Services: $81,400 (the most discreet professionals in New York)
Overnight Travel: $12,965 (destinations unknown)
Non-Overnight Travel: $4,685 (at least they’re saving money on mysterious day trips)
Office Furniture: $6,355 (furniture that might be anywhere)
Supplies and Materials – General: $6,383 (things and stuff, definitely probably)
Printing Supplies: $2,252 (printing something, somewhere)
Economic Development: $1,027 (developing something, somehow)
Remaining Balance: $2,211 (because why stop being vague now?)

Name But Don’t Explain: $179,459 of Partial Transparency

In what might charitably be called a nod to partial transparency, these transactions at least tell us who got paid – though the purpose for every payment is listed as “N/A.”

The Credit Card Chronicles: A Tale of Three Banks ($172,753)

Let’s follow the money through the Council’s preferred financial institutions, each with their own special role in this transparency theater:

Citibank: The Council’s Favorite Mystery Shopper ($102,347)

2022’s Champion of Unclear Charges ($71,252)

Rentals – Land, Buildings, and Structures: $23,709 (payments to known landlords for unknown purposes)
Books – Other: $17,779 (teaching government opacity perhaps?)
Non-Overnight Travel: $13,540 (mysterious journeys to nowhere)
Supplies and Materials – General: $4,789 (classified staplers and covert paper clips)
Economic Development: $3,696 (developing what? That’s classified)
Telecommunications, Equipment, Maintenance, and Telephone: $2,925 (calls to who-knows-where)
Professional Services: $1,466 (for undefined expertise)
Other Services and Charges: $1,341 (because sometimes even “other” needs more mystery)
Remaining Balance: $2,007 (miscellaneous mysteries)

2023’s Master of the Mundane ($31,094)

Rentals – Land, Buildings, and Structures: $11,205 (rent payments seeking purpose)
Books – Other: $6,966 (knowledge is power, but knowing why is too powerful)
Supplies and Materials – General: $6,464 (the most secretive staplers in New York)
Non-Overnight Travel: $4,430 (destinations redacted for your protection)
Library Books: $504 (reading material about [redacted])
Equipment General: $391 (equipment that does… something)
Remaining Balance: $1,134 (various undisclosed items)

2024: The Vanishing Act ($0)

Apparently even Citibank got tired of the mysteries

JP Morgan Chase: The Rising Star of Redaction ($43,252)

2022: The Quiet Beginning ($0)

Still learning the art of opacity

2023: Growing Influence ($12,588)

Books – Other: $7,443 (knowledge gathering intensifies)
Non-Overnight Travel: $4,010 (branching out into mysterious movements)
Library Books: $538 (books about something)
Supplies and Materials – General: $288 (practicing the art of supply secrecy)
Telephone and Other Communications: $250 (calls to somewhere important, presumably)
Economic Development: $59 (developing very little, apparently)

2024 YTD: The New Opacity Champion ($30,664)

Books – Other: $10,281 (a library of secrets)
Non-Overnight Travel: $9,260 (mastering the art of undisclosed destinations)
Economic Development: $4,602 (developing something, somewhere, somehow)
Office Furniture: $2,647 (furniture that could be anywhere)
Supplies and Materials – General: $2,405 (following in Citibank’s mysterious footsteps)
Library Books: $1,346 (more classified reading material)
Balance: $123 (rounding out the mysteries)

American Express: The Boutique Mystery Merchant ($27,155)

2022: Zero Presence

Apparently still learning the art of opacity

2023: Dramatic Entrance ($23,797)

Books – Other: $6,697 (exclusive knowledge, purpose unknown)
Supplies and Materials – General: $5,646 (premium-grade secrets)
Economic Development: $4,988 (developing what? Don’t ask)
Non-Overnight Travel: $3,514 (first-class mysteries)
Rentals – Land Buildings & Structures: $2,178 (luxury space for unknown purposes)
Other Services and Charges: $297 (premium mystery services)
Library Books: $281 (very expensive unknown reading)
Professional Services: $196 (high-end expertise in something)

2024 YTD: Selective Involvement ($3,358)

Books – Other: $3,295 (learning in style, subject classified)
Supplies and Materials – General: $63 (premium mystery supplies)

Beyond the Credit Cards: Direct Vendor Payments with Mystery Purposes ($6,705)

While credit cards account for much of the Council’s artfully opaque spending, let’s examine those brave vendors willing to have their names in public records while keeping their purposes mysteriously vague:

Transit Authority Chronicles ($1,375)

2022: $275 (Non-Overnight Travel to somewhere in the five boroughs)
2023: $1,100 (Other Services on the subway to nowhere)
2024: $0 (perhaps the subway got too transparent)

The Mysterious Adjustments (-$350)

A Plus TR Cleaning Service Inc: -$133 (uncleaning something?)
Nuanced Interpretation LLC: -$108.50 (un-interpreting something?)
Top Notch Locksmith and Security LLC: -$80.50 (unlocking mysteries?)
The ADT Security Corp: -$17.50 (unsecuring something?)
Adorama Education and Public Sector: -$10.50 (un-educating someone?)

Automotive Mystery ($25.03)

Faisal Khan: $25.03 (automotive supplies for… something)

Patterns in the Fog: A Study in Strategic Confusion

The Credit Card Shell Game

2022: Citibank dominance ($71,252)
2023: Three-way split strategy
- Citibank retreats to $31,094
- JP Morgan Chase emerges with $12,588
- American Express debuts with $23,797
2024: Complete provider flip
- Citibank vanishes ($0)
- JP Morgan Chase dominates ($30,664)
- American Express selective ($3,358)

The Travel Mystery Tour: Following Tax Dollars to Unknown Destinations

A Deep Dive into the NYC Council’s Opaque Travel Expenses

The New York City Council’s travel expenses are a perplexing aspect of their overall spending. A closer look reveals a pattern of obscurity, with a significant portion of both overnight and non-overnight travel costs hidden behind the vague designation of “N/A (Privacy/Security).”

Overnight Travel Expenses: Undisclosed Purposes and Destinations

From 2022 to 2024 (year-to-date), the Council spent a total of $56,205 on overnight travel. However, the payee for all of these expenses is listed as “N/A (Privacy/Security),” with no information provided about the purpose or destination of these trips.

In 2022, $10,130 was spent on overnight travel, followed by a substantial increase to $33,110 in 2023. The trend continues in 2024, with $12,965 already spent on these undisclosed overnight journeys.

Non-Overnight Travel: Day Trips with Missing Details

The Council’s non-overnight travel expenses, totaling $47,546 from 2022 to 2024 (year-to-date), follow a similar pattern of obscurity.

In 2022, $15,770 was spent on day trips, with $13,540 charged to Citibank and $275 paid to the NYC Transit Authority for travel within the five boroughs. An additional $1,955 was hidden behind the payee “N/A (Privacy/Security),” with no purpose or destination disclosed.

In 2023, the total for non-overnight travel increased to $17,830. Citibank’s share decreased to $4,430, while JP Morgan Chase emerged as a significant player with $4,010 in charges. American Express also contributed $3,514 for these day trips. Once again, a substantial portion ($5,782) was concealed behind the “N/A (Privacy/Security)” designation, without any details about the purpose or destination.

The 2024 year-to-date total for non-overnight travel stands at $13,945, with JP Morgan Chase accounting for $9,260 of these expenses. The remaining $4,685 is attributed to the opaque “N/A (Privacy/Security)” payee, continuing the trend of undisclosed purposes and destinations.

Travel Spending Patterns: A Landscape of Secrecy

An analysis of the Council’s travel spending patterns reveals a staggering lack of transparency. The entire $56,205 spent on overnight travel is hidden behind the “N/A (Privacy/Security)” designation, with no purposes, destinations, or providers identified.

Similarly, of the $47,546 spent on non-overnight travel, $35,124 is attributed to named providers but lacks any disclosure of destinations or purposes. The remaining $12,422 is completely hidden behind the “N/A (Privacy/Security)” label, reflecting a concerning trend towards credit card concentration.

In total, the combined travel mystery amounts to $103,751. An alarming 66.1% of this sum is completely hidden, while 33.9% is only partially disclosed. Perhaps most troubling is the fact that not a single purpose or destination is revealed throughout the entire travel expense record.

The systematic concealment of travel details – from basic trip purposes to destinations – undermines public oversight of these tax-funded expenditures.

Questions That Demand Answers: A Study in Contradiction

The New York City Council’s spending practices contradict the city’s commitment to open government, raising questions about accountability and transparency. Despite the city’s meticulous property records, the Council has spent $404,528 on rent to anonymous landlords. In a city with extensive transportation transparency, $56,205 in overnight travel and $42,991 in day trips have disappeared without disclosed purposes or destinations. The Council has transformed routine expenses like office supplies into classified information, using three credit cards to obscure purchases. Professional services and economic development expenses lack the transparency required for other city projects. These contradictions reveal a legislative body prioritizing concealment over clarity, making financial disclosure an exercise in obfuscation. The question is not just where the money went, but why basic financial transparency has become a threat to Council operations.

The Bottom Line: When Transparency Goes Dark

The New York City Council has made $1.2 million in public money vanish through non-disclosure, hiding behind “N/A” and “Privacy/Security” designations. Over $1 million disappears behind “N/A (Privacy/Security),” while $179,458 has named vendors but hidden purposes. Nearly $1.2 million has been spent without a single disclosed purpose or destination. This opacity contrasts with the transparency required for street vendors, restaurants, property records, and campaign contributions. As the City Comptroller and Council Finance Chair remain silent on this issue, the question remains: if you can track a $15 pizza delivery, shouldn’t you be able to follow your tax dollars just as easily?

All data is sourced from Checkbook NYC.