New York loses big on surplus COVID-19 gear
admin
2023-02-26 20:42:17
0

City receives only $500,000 at auction for $224 million worth of unused supplies

A 90-day stockpile of medical supplies for which New York City spent millions of dollars during the COVID-19 pandemic's peak has been sold off for one-fifth of a penny for every dollar spent, media reported.

At the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, New York City spent $224 million on contracts to purchase around 9.5 million pieces of COVID-19 medical equipment and safety gear. Recently, those items were auctioned off for only $500,000 — about 5 cents per item, according to The City, a nonprofit news website (thecity.nyc).

Following The City's investigation, Mayor Eric Adams on Tuesday said he will order a re-examination of the rules governing auctions of government surplus goods.

Adams also cited a provision in the city charter that requires the Department of Citywide Administrative Services to sell off goods that are deemed by the agency to no longer be needed.

"I think that needs to be reexamined, and I'm going to communicate with the team and figure out what options do we have, because taxpayers' dollars should be spent better," he said.

The City said its investigation has revealed that since last summer, DCAS has been attempting to sell millions of dollars' worth of COVID-19-related medical supplies and personal protective equipment such as face shields, gowns, hand sanitizer, KN95 masks and N95 masks.

DCAS spokesman Nick Benson told The City that the spending rush during the early days of the pandemic was to create a 90-day supply of medical supplies.

Some surplus items had already been donated to Ukraine, Indonesia, Ghana, Haiti, South Africa and nonprofit organizations, he told The City. Auctioning off surplus, he said, "is required by the city charter".

Junk dealer

The auction included nearly 3,000 mechanical ventilators that cost taxpayers $12 million, according to the investigative report. The ventilators were auctioned off on Jan 24 for just $24,600 as "nonfunctioning medical equipment for scrap metal", the website reported.

In April 2020, then-mayor Bill de Blasio commissioned the breathing devices and called them "a story about doing the impossible".

"Our city is taking our future into our own hands. That's how we'll beat this crisis and prepare for the next," he said at the time.

A junk dealer from Long Island purchased the entire $12 million, 500,000-pound lot for just about $8 per device, The City reported.

Despite being new and in original packaging, many of the items have remained unsold even after being put up for auction. The City said that only two of 24 auctions held last summer resulted in sales, and bidders paid just $194,000 for goods that were originally purchased for $980,000, according to internal DCAS emails, The City reported.

New York City Comptroller Brad Lander earlier this month issued a report noting that the city also paid an inflated price for certain items, such as face shields. For example, DCAS, which is handling the sales, purchased some face shields for $12.87 each, 250 percent more than the average price of $3.67.

Last week, there were 701,000 face shields reportedly put up for auctions with an opening bid of $1,000, less than 1 cent per shield.

DCAS also paid a contracted company as much as $7.50 per cloth mask — 239 percent more than the average price of $2.21 per cloth mask, according to Lander's report.

Some products the city bought also came with expiration dates, including 2,800 cases of hand-sanitizing wipes that were set to expire on Jan 31. The administration attempted to sell these wipes for $56,000 on Jan 12, 19 days before the expiration date, The City reported.


相关内容

热门资讯

江西第一封高考录取通知书送达!... 来源:江南都市报 江南都市报全媒体记者章娜前几日,江西省教育考试院发布了2025年普通高校招生提前本...
大城县举办听力健康公益义诊活动  栏目名称:《廊坊新闻》首播频道:新闻综合频道首播时间:19:40重播时间:22:00 次日10:0...
恋爱谈多久,可以谈婚论嫁? 恋爱谈多久,可以谈婚论嫁?大半年。这样的时间是很合理的。可以让你了解对方,可以保证婚姻的稳定。两年左...
一年关店1078家!这个曾经暴... 来源:品牌观察官营收涨了、利润也涨了,但门店却“哗哗”关掉了上千家!曾经门店狂飙、开店比便利店还快的...
资深专业机构投资者认定标准细化...   7月13日,上交所发布《发行上市审核规则适用指引第8号——资深专业机构投资者》(简称《资深专业机...
清凉书海度盛夏,南京江北图书馆... 转自:扬子晚报七月的周末热浪翻涌,南京江北图书馆内却坐满了读者,近2000个阅览座席在一座难求。家长...
我国最大盆地,超高压电力环网贯... 转自:中国能源报4197公里“能量环”!我国最大盆地超高压电力环网贯通。历时15年建设,总长4197...
上交所就发布实施进一步深化科创...   来源:上交所发布  为了落实《中国证监会关于在科创板设置科创成长层 增强制度包容性适应性的意见》...
集齐王牌开战!马斯克Space... 当地时间周六,马斯克旗下航天公司SpaceX向xAI注资20亿美元的消息传出,这已是马斯克近期在AI...