New York Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie and his staffers received nearly $14,000 in luxury Boston Celtics tickets from Delaware North, a gaming and hospitality company, in the months before the firm secured a projected $18 million tax break.
Delaware North, which owns the TD Garden where the Celtics play, had been lobbying Heastie. The tax break was not part of the governor's or the Legislature's initial budget proposals but appeared in the final budget deal in late May, according to New York Focus.
Heastie, a Democrat from the Bronx, and at least four staffers attended a Celtics game in March, sitting in a luxury suite. He posted on Instagram at the time, "Team Heastie road trip to the Boston Gahden!" The tickets were valued at $13,800 and were provided by Delaware North.
This was not an isolated incident. Heastie and his staff had previously received similar luxury suite tickets to Celtics games from Delaware North in prior years. He was even photographed with retired NBA stars, including Dominique Wilkins, at a game.
Delaware North, a Buffalo-based company, is a registered lobbyist. To circumvent rules that limit political donations from lobbyists, the company reportedly donated the suites to the Democratic Assembly Campaign Committee, a fund that Heastie helps lead. This maneuver meant the tickets did not count as a direct gift under state ethics regulations.
In the weeks following the March game, lobbyists for Delaware North met with Heastie to discuss the tax rate for slot parlors, such as the company's Finger Lakes Gaming & Racetrack. The tax break ultimately passed, allowing slot parlors to retain a larger portion of their revenue.
Heastie defended the practice on Instagram, calling the tickets part of "fundraising" and stating that "Sports games are great ways to fundraise." He suggested that a fair question would be about how much money was raised through these events, estimating "10 times that amount of money over the years."
A representative for Delaware North, Glen White, stated that the company was asked to provide the suites for fundraising events and that their government affairs team operates within legal guidelines. White added that the company did not discuss political matters with Heastie or his staff during the games.
Since Heastie became speaker in 2015, the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee has spent over $1 million on teams, stadiums, and sports-related companies, including the Yankees, Mets, Barclays Center, and Madison Square Garden.
This situation is the latest in a series of ethics questions surrounding Heastie. The New York Post previously reported on a trip Heastie took to Rio de Janeiro with lobbyist Patrick Jenkins, where the cost of the trip remained undisclosed.