SEPTEMBER 22, 2011 2:48 PM0 COMMENTS
Questions About Deputy Irk Mayor Bloomberg
BY CELESTE KATZ, Daily News
LINK

Mayor Bloomberg has gotten a reputation for getting testy with the press over questions he doesn't like, and that was certainly in evidence today when veteran 1010 WINS reporter Stan Brooks asked Hizzoner about exclusive Daily News reporting that examines where Deputy Mayor Robert Steel really lives.

Bloomberg, notes our Erin Einhorn, accused Brooks of trying to “assassinate” Steel by asking about the NYDN reports, which detail how much of the deputy mayor's life seems more linked to his sprawling Connecticut manse than the city he's supposed to be helping to run.

"You usually require Deputy Mayors to live in the city but it seems like Deputy Mayor Steel has most of his life outside the city," Brooks began.

"Why does it seem that way? I don’t know that to be the case. He’s been moved into the city right away and lives in the city five days a week. What is your problem again? I’m not sure I follow you," Bloomberg said in his first public response to the stories.

Brooks gave a few examples: "His cars, his dogs, his…"

"His family lives out in Connecticut. His family is not required to live in the city. He is," the mayor said of his deputy. "And what was your question again? I’m sorry, but you asked about him."

"Whether he’s spending more of his time in the suburbs than in the city," Brooks specified.

"He lives in the city. What is your evidence? What are the allegations? Why do you try to assassinate somebody?" Bloomberg demanded.

"He lives in the city. He pays his taxes in the city. He’s complied with every single thing to live in the city and his family has a right to live where they choose to live and he certainly has a right to go away on weekends. He’s not the Deputy Mayor for operations where he has to be in touch all the time but in any case, he lives very close by on weekends but he lives in the city, which is what the law requires him to do and something, incidentally, I could waive any time I want. I just chose not to. He volunteered to live in the city and to pay taxes in the city and he does and so I’m not sure where you get your facts from."

I think he gets them from here, Mr. Mayor.

Deputy Mayor Robert Steel says he resides in New York City, but facts paint a different picture
BY REUVEN BLAU AND ERIN EINHORN, DAILY NEWS CITY HALL BUREAU
Wednesday, September 21st 2011, 4:00 AM
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Deputy Mayor Robert Steel insists he lives in the city - but his wife, his Porsche, his Mercedes-Benz, his Lexus and his four yappy dogs all live in Connecticut.

"Where would you rather live if you were a dog?" Steel asked when the Daily News confronted him in the driveway of his extravagant Greenwich mansion. "I'd rather live here."

City law requires all top city officials to live in the city.

Although most major unions have negotiated the right for members to live in the suburbs, Mayor Bloomberg issued an executive order insisting that top officials - except those granted a waiver - reside in the city.

Just 32 employees have been granted that waiver. Steel never requested one.

That means he had 90 days to move to New York after becoming deputy mayor for economic development in August 2010.

The 60-year-old former Goldman Sachs and Wachovia executive was living in a five-bedroom, five-bath, 7,438-square-foot manor - tucked into 7 acres of rolling hills - that he and his wife bought for $5.7 million in 1994, records show.

He began renting a four-bedroom luxury apartment on Ninth Ave. in Chelsea and switched his voter registration to the Manhattan address on Sept. 17, 2010.

A slew of other records put Steel in Connecticut, though:

- The Greenwich clerk's office has dog licenses for four Steel dogs: a Welsh springer spaniel named Duke, a Labrador retriever named Jack and two Yorkshire terriers named Lulu and Charlie.

- The Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles counts four luxury cars registered in Greenwich: a 2005 Porsche Cayenne, a 2008 Lexus LS 600, a 2000 Mercedes-Benz CLK 430 and a 2009 Chevy Tahoe JK. Steel renewed three of the registrations after becoming deputy mayor.

- Steel, who was a cabinet undersecretary for President George W. Bush, listed the Connecticut address on several campaign contributions, including two that list his occupation as New York's deputy mayor.

- Steel's wife, Gillian, also listed the Connecticut address on campaign contributions in the past year. She's registered to vote in Connecticut.

- Steel changed his driver's license to the New York address in May - nearly a year after claiming he'd moved to Manhattan. State law requires New Yorkers to update their licenses within 10 days of moving.

Still, he maintains the Chelsea rental is his primary address.

When The News visited his Greenwich mansion last Sunday afternoon, his wife initially told a reporter Steel wasn't home because he was "in New York."

Moments later, he pulled up wearing golf shoes, shorts and a preppie sweater.

He angrily insisted he was just visiting Connecticut. "I can't remember the last time I was here on a weekday," he said.

Asked about the dog licenses, he said the pooches live in Connecticut - but he does not. "Why would I bring my dogs to New York?" he asked repeatedly.

He dismissed questions about the political contributions, saying the campaigns were mistaken.

He said his cars are registered in Connecticut because that's where he uses them, taking a car service into the city - at his own expense.

Like Bloomberg, Steel forgoes the six-figure salary that comes with his job and is paid just $1 a year. He says he files his taxes in New York at "significant" personal cost.

He declined to offer proof. The mayor's office refused to release his tax return.

"I've done everything I'm supposed to do," Steel said.

eeinhorn@nydailynews.com

Home away from home: Does NYC deputy mayor live in Greenwich?
Neil Vigdor, Greenwichtime.com, September 23, 2011
LINK

Robert K. Steel is testing the definition of outer borough.

By day, the 60-year-old married father of three is a deputy mayor of New York City in charge of economic development, reporting to the most famous straphanger of them all, Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
By night, Steel is the toast of Greenwich, the honoree of the local historical society Thursday evening in his home away from home -- or maybe it's the other way around.

The subject of an embarrassing report in the New York Daily News this week that cast doubt that his primary residence is in the city, as required for top administration members, Steel recoiled at questions from Greenwich Time on his way into Indian Harbor Yacht Club to accept his award.

Steel's appearance at the members-only reception came just hours after Bloomberg accused a reporter of character assassination when the residency issue came up, insisting that his deputy lives in the city during the week and is free to choose where he spends weekends.

And that includes an $8.6 million estate listed under the name of Steel's wife Gillian on Mayfair Lane in Greenwich.

"The mayor spoke for himself," Steel said. "The mayor spoke about it today at the press conference."
Among those who showed up to fete Steel was Peter Malkin, a Greenwich real estate developer and principal owner of the Empire State Building.

Bloomberg spokesman Andrew Brent shot down questions about Steel's residency in response to an inquiry from Greenwich Time.

"He lives in New York City," Brent said.

A former chief executive of Wachovia and former vice chair of Goldman Sachs, Steel had the option of seeking a waiver from the city's residency requirement when he became a deputy mayor in August 2010.

"He didn't request one because he lives in New York City," Brent said.

A check of the motor vehicle rolls and pet registry of Greenwich and donor information from the Center for Responsive Politics, a Washington, D.C., organization the tracks the role of money in campaigns, creates a conflicting appearance, however.

Records from the town clerk's office show that all four of Steel's dogs are licensed in Greenwich -- Jack, a Labrador retriever; Duke, a Welsh springer spaniel named after Steel's alma mater; and Lulu and Charlie, both Yorkshire terriers.

All four came to the front door Thursday when a reporter from Greenwich Time tried to visit Steel, a former undersecretary of the U.S. Treasury under President George W. Bush.

The Steels bought the 7-acre property in 1994 from Richard Fuld, who was chief executive of Lehman Brothers when it declared bankruptcy.

Five cars are registered under Steel's name with the assessor, including a 2005 Porsche Cayenne; 2000 Mercedes CLK 430; 2008 Lexus LS 600 HL; 2002 Mercedes E320 S-4; and a 2009 Chevrolet Tahoe K1.
Steel also listed Greenwich as his home address on a pair of August and September 2010 political donations when he was deputy mayor to Republican Ben Quayle, now a congressman from Arizona.
Steel was confronted outside his Greenwich home last Sunday by a reporter from the Daily News.
Friends of Steel, who is tasked with job-creation initiatives by the Bloomberg administration and is chairman of The Aspen Institute, a leadership think tank, characterized him as a leading authority on the economy and generous philanthropist.

"Bob Steel has an excellent record in the private sector and, by all accounts, is doing an excellent job for the city of New York," Tom Foley, a Greenwich Republican and 2010 candidate for governor, told Greenwich Time. "New York City is lucky to have him."

Staff writer Neil Vigdor can be reached at neil.vigdor@scni.com or at 203-625-4436.