A Brooklyn legislator who has launched a campaign to abolish the public advocate’s office failed to reveal one pertinent fact — his wife applied for a job there and was turned down, sources say.
“I’ve yet to hear a good argument for why this job should exist in my entire life or why it’s necessary to spend [more than $3 million] a year on this office,” said City Councilman Kalman Yeger when he proposed getting rid of the office on Monday. “That money could be used for any number of things: teachers, cops, housing.”
He didn’t mention that his wife, Jennifer Berger, would have gotten some of that money if she had been hired by Public Advocate Letitia James.
Sources familiar with the discussions said Berger applied for a job in February, after she lost her $65,000 gig at the City Council.
Berger would have worked in intergovernmental relations as a liaison to the Jewish community, sources said.
“Jennie Berger applied for a job. There was a long back and forth of discussions. She had many demands,” a source said. “She wanted $40,000 more than the office was paying for such a position.”
Sources also said she wanted to have a flexible schedule so she could take off on weekdays.
That went nowhere.
But by August, Berger was appointed as a special assistant to Mayor de Blasio, earning $115,000.
Yeger initially refused to comment when asked how his wife’s job hunt at the PA squared with his proposal to scrap the office.
“That’s not how I do things,” he said when a reporter approached him. “E-mail my office.”
Yeger spokesman Jay Ackerman later responded in a statement, saying that Berger “has her own professional career” and that she did indeed interview at the public advocate’s office. But he said she was recruited and didn’t want the job that was offered.
“Earlier this year, she was recruited and offered a position, which she declined. She had previously worked on Tish’s campaign but chose not to join her government staff. Tish and Kalman are friends for well over a decade, and he thinks the world of Tish and her public service,” Ackerman said.
“This bill [to abolish the office] has nothing to do with the current or prior officeholders, as he said on the floor yesterday. The bill will simply present a question to the voters about the future of the office.”
Berger did not respond to a phone message.
But sources said Berger was not recruited and sought employment with the PA’s office on her own.
Political insiders said Yeger’s push to eliminate the public advocate’s office looks like petty payback in light of his wife’s previous dealings with the office.
Neighboring Brooklyn Councilman Chaim Deutsch said he opposed Yeger’s call to abolish the PA — but declined to comment on Yeger’s wife seeking a job there.
“The public advocate’s office is an important job. We should enhance the office and give it more power,” said Deutsch.
Additional reporting by Rich Calder