"This is old news. ... We've hashed and rehashed it," said Assembly member Chris Birch, explaining why he was against referring the matter to the Ethics Board.
George Sullivan died last year.
The Assembly voted earlier this year to make the insurance payment. The payment fulfilled a deal the city agreed to in 1982 after George Sullivan left office. The deal was for him to have life insurance through the city for life.
However, in 2002 the city's life insurance carrier, Aetna, said it had no policy for him and wouldn't cover him.
Assembly member Harriet Drummond wanted the city Ethics Board to look into whether the Assembly's approval of the life insurance payment met the terms of the Ethics Code. But only three other Assembly members supported that idea: Elvi Gray-Jackson, Mike Gutierrez and Paul Honeman. So it died.
There is already an independent legal inquiry in the works on issues related to the life insurance payment. The Assembly authorized the legal review -- also proposed by Drummond -- earlier this month.
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