Thomas Galante

Thomas W. Galante, the embattled president and CEO of the Queens Library (QL) in New York, on the evening of September 11 was placed on indefinite, paid administrative leave by the library’s recently reorganized board. The move followed months of negative local news coverage regarding his $392,000 salary, his consulting work, library renovation projects that included his office, and an FBI investigation regarding QL’s procedures for awarding construction contracts. Bridget Quinn-Carey, the current executive VP and COO, will serve as interim president and CEO. Quinn-Carey told LJ that key near-term goals for QL leadership would include offering enhanced transparency, and reminding stakeholders and patrons of the positive work that the library system does for its community. “The main challenge is being able to make sure that, moving forward, everybody is on the same page, everyone is feeling really good about the Queens Library in the future, and that stakeholders know that we, as an organization, are as committed as ever to continuing with the great work that we do,” she said. “We are communicating that, and we are working with our stakeholders to address their concerns…. This is the opportunity to end this chapter, where we’ve been, and really look to the future and say, ‘We’re the Queens Library, we’re award-winning, we do great things for our community'. That’s the focus.” Separately, “the Board directed its Audit Committee to provide [New York City] Comptroller [Scott] Stringer full access to all financial documents from state, federal, and private sources that he has requested,” according to a statement released by QL. “It will also investigate opportunities to resolve the current dispute through mutual agreement. Tonight's decision by the board is part of its ongoing efforts to insure the public that the Library's actions are being conducted in an open and transparent manner.” QL had previously provided the comptroller’s office with access to all financial documents related to state, city, and federal funding, but several former board members had balked when asked to hand over information regarding private donations, which account for about 15 percent of the system’s total budget. In a statement issued to the press, Queens Borough President (QBP) Melinda Katz said “I…applaud the Board for voting to provide City Comptroller Scott Stringer with the information he needs to conduct the audit of the Library’s finances. There was no excuse for the Library’s earlier decision not to cooperate with the audit.”

Bad press

Galante’s troubles began early this year, when the New York Daily News on January 27 published “Queens Library president gets $390G salary, luxe office makeover while shedding 130 jobs.” The article described, in scandal-tinged terms, Galante’s salary and his allowance for a company car. It also portrayed recent renovations to executive conference rooms and an outdoor meeting area in QL’s central library as a $140,000 private lounge and private outdoor smoking deck for Galante. Of the 130 jobs mentioned in the headline, the total included five years of attrition during a prolonged hiring freeze, and the 2013 outsourcing of janitorial work at two branches to a third-party vendor. Galante’s salary and raise structure were negotiated with the QL board in 2005, using data from nonprofit tracker Guidestar to determine average salaries for the CEOs of nonprofit organizations of comparable size to QL. By Tuesday, January 28, Stringer had announced that his office would audit all three of New York’s library systems, including QL, the New York Public Library, and the Brooklyn Public Library. Separately, NYC Council Majority Leader Jimmy Van Bramer (D-Queens), publicly criticized Galante’s salary and announced that the City Council would convene a hearing to question him. Van Bramer, who was formerly chief external affairs officer for QL, also condemned the use of $27,000 in library funds for the renovation of the outdoor space, specifically, as part of a broader renovation of the system’s central library. “Why would you spend that much money on something that clearly is not needed and not useful in any way, shape, or form?” Van Bramer told the Daily News. “If you had $30,000 lying around and didn’t know what to do with it, you should buy books. You’re a library. Buy books.” Criticism from both the public and city and state officials mounted when followup stories in the Daily News revealed that Galante had also billed a total of $287,000 to Long Island’s Elmont Union Free School District for his services as chief financial consultant from 2008 to 2010. Allegations that he may have steered renovation contracts to Frank Marino, an acquaintance from Elmont, soon surfaced as well, which resulted in ongoing investigations by the FBI and the New York City Department of Investigation. These allegations are serious, but the months-long investigation thus far has proven inconclusive, and no charges have been filed. Meanwhile, QL has faced unfortunate fallout from the case, with city government scrutinizing every aspect of its budget. At a public hearing in March, for example, City Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley “lit into Mr. Galante” over QL’s use of $30,000 for a public relations campaign, according to the New York Times. The steady stream of negative stories has taken a toll, Quinn-Carey said. “It clouds our ability to tell the real story, the good story about what we do.”

City takes control

In April, the library’s board was locked in a 9-9 vote over suspending Galante, and began resisting demands from the comptroller’s office to hand over financial records involving private donations. The situation deteriorated quickly. Stringer almost immediately froze more than $20 million in public funding, and by June, the New York State Senate had passed S-6893, a bill authored in part by Katz, and sponsored by Queens State Senator Michael Gianaris and Assemblyman Jeffrion Aubry, which enables the offices of the QBP and New York City mayor to dismiss QL board members at will, and cuts the appointment terms for board members from five years to two. In an earlier interview, Queens Library spokesperson Joanne King said that the new law would compromise QL’s ability to operate independently. “In terms of independence of governance, it is extremely threatening, because the board will now be subject to political control,” she said. That new control was soon exerted. In July, Katz and NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio dismissed eight of the nine trustees who had voted not to suspend Galante. Mayor de Blasio's office removed Patricia Flynn and Stephen Van Anden. Katz removed Jacqueline E. Arrington, Joseph R. Ficalora, William Jefferson, Grace Lawrence, Terri C. Mangino, and George L. Stamatiades. Mary Ann Mattone, who also voted against suspending Galante, resigned. The six trustees dismissed by Katz later sued to have their positions reinstated and the law overturned, but the case has gained little traction. U.S. Magistrate Judge James Orenstein last month denied the trustees request for a temporary restraining order that would have restored them to the board while their lawsuit is decided. The mayor and QBP have since each made two appointments, and it was this reconstituted board that last week ousted Galante. One anonymous board member told the Daily News that “many members” had wanted to suspend Galante without pay, but could not find cause. Quinn-Carey explained that Galante has been placed on paid administrative leave pending further action of the board, and that it was her understanding that the board’s ultimate decision is not contingent on the outcome of the contracting investigation. When asked how the board would establish a reasonable level of CEO compensation going forward, considering the criticism that city officials and the press had levied at Galante’s Guidestar-averaged salary this summer, Gabriel Taussig, chairman of the QL Board, said via QL spokesperson King that the new board does plan to address this issue, but has not yet begun focused discussions. Meanwhile, Quinn-Carey said that the board “is really anxious to move forward. The new members who have come on are all here for the right reasons, and they really want to help support the Queens Library…. This is a new day, and our elected officials are incredibly supportive,” she later added, noting that the mayor’s office this year had increased funding for the system for the first time in several years.