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Posted by Mark Smith on May 14, 1999 at 01:13:30:

In Reply to: The Complete Newsday Story posted by Mark Smith on May 14, 1999 at 01:06:39:

Goldstein countered he has acted fairly on the board and insisted there are no laws that preclude him from serving. He has no landlord clients in Nassau County, he said, although some are represented by his firm, Borah, Goldstein, Altschuler and Schwartz of Manhattan.
"What their problem is, is that I am knowledgeable about these issues and they know that," said Goldstein, who pointed to the fact that he was a tenant representative on the same board in the mid-1970s as proof that he is objective. "I don't believe most people have any problem with me. It's just a few vested interests."
Those interests are ratcheting up the heat. Altmann's letter comes a day after the rent board met for the first of six public hearings in which they will set the new rent rules for the coming year.
It also comes after repeated letters to the county legislature's Presiding Officer Bruce Blakeman (R-Woodmere) asking for Goldstein's removal. Blakeman did not return calls for comment yesterday.
Altmann said an attorney general's opinion from 1984 found an attorney for a landlord organization can't be a public member of a rent board.
Board Chairman Philip LaGreca defended Goldstein, noting he asked the state's Division of Housing and Community Renewal last year to review whether the attorney had a conflict of interest. The agency, which reviewed Goldstein's background in 1997, found no problem, LaGreca said.

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: Goldstein countered he has acted fairly on the board and insisted there are no laws that preclude him from serving. He has no landlord clients in Nassau County, he said, although some are represented by his firm, Borah, Goldstein, Altschuler and Schwartz of Manhattan. 
:     "What their problem is, is that I am knowledgeable about these issues and they know that," said Goldstein, who pointed to the fact that he was a tenant representative on the same board in the mid-1970s as proof that he is objective.  "I don't believe most people have any problem with me. It's just a few vested interests." 
:     Those interests are ratcheting up the heat. Altmann's letter comes a day after the rent board met for the first of six public hearings in which they will set the new rent rules for the coming year. 
:     It also comes after repeated letters to the county legislature's Presiding Officer Bruce Blakeman (R-Woodmere) asking for Goldstein's removal. Blakeman did not return calls for comment yesterday. 
:    Altmann said an attorney general's opinion from 1984 found an attorney for a landlord organization can't be a public member of a rent board. 
:     Board Chairman Philip LaGreca defended Goldstein, noting he asked the state's Division of Housing and Community Renewal last year to review whether the attorney had a conflict of interest. The agency, which reviewed Goldstein's background in 1997,  found no problem, LaGreca said.


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