The Queens Library board of trustees Thursday night agreed to cooperate with an audit by New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer and a federal investigation of chief executive Thomas Galante over possible misuse of funds.
Board members placed Galante, whom the Federal Bureau of Investigation and U.S. Attorney's Office are investigating, on paid administrative leave. He makes $392,000 annually.
Stringer, Mayor Bill de Blasio, borough President Melinda Katz and the City Council had pressured the library management and board the past few months after the Daily News reported that Galante had built a $27,000 private smoking deck next to his executive office and held a consulting job for a Long Island school district that paid him more than $100,000 a year.
De Blasio and Katz replaced several of the 13 voting members on the 19-member board over the summer. They also won a court battle by the fired members that challenged their move. The board, under its earlier composition, had given Galante a vote of confidence in the spring and opposed Stringer's audit.
"The new Queens Library board has ended months of frustration and misdirection by voting to open its books for my office's review," said Stringer.
Queens' library operates separately, as does Brooklyn's, from the New York Public Library, which covers Manhattan, the Bronx and Staten Island.
"There was no excuse for the library's earlier decision not to cooperate with the audit," said Katz, who noted that city taxpayer dollars cover 85% of the library's budget. State and federal money, contributions and private sources account for the other 15%.
The board named chief operating officer Bridget Quinn-Carey as interim CEO and shelved a probe that sought to identify a whistleblower.
