New York Observer

March 21, 1988

WISE GUYS: Paid Flack
By Tom Robbins

Last week's Observer contained a letter accusing this column of pandering to a "zealot"—embattled Landmarks Preservation Commission member Anthony Tung. How can you expect people to take the paper seriously, asked Andrew Alperin, when printing such "drivel"?

His animosity is well-founded but kept secret from readers of the letters column. At a recent landmarks hearing on a proposed development at 55 White Street in Lower Manhattan, Mr. Alperin appeared as a witness on behalf of the developers, introducing himself as a civic-minded member of a slew of architectural groups. It was only under questioning by Mr. Tung that he acknowledged that he was also a paid consultant to the builders.