Ted Phillips

Among the millions of dollars raised by four Democratic contenders for the office of New York City comptroller, public finance professionals have played a small role, contributing thousands of dollars, campaign finance records show.

The New York City Capital Resource Corp. approved its first recovery zone facility bond deals at its board meeting yesterday. It plans to issue a total of $35 million of tax-exempt bonds for the three projects approved.

The New York State Housing Finance Agency last week approved $177.4 million of bonds to finance nine affordable housing projects throughout the state.

David Mack rebuffed New York Gov. David Paterson’s call to step down as vice chairman of the board at the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and as a board member of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey last week.

The New York Senate last week confirmed Jay Walder as the new chairman and chief executive officer of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

The stalemate in the New York Senate has left some local governments crossing their fingers that important finance bills will eventually get passed. For municipalities with financial control boards overseeing their finances, the calculus is slightly different.

State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli in a report last week concurred with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s assessment that its capital plan is underfunded and would be even more so if the state and New York City don’t pass a congestion pricing bill.