FOR THE RECORD

The newspaper and broadcast reporters assigned to 1 Police Plaza are being moved out of their second-floor offices in what the NYPD describes as a space issue but some of them suspect has other motivations.

The official explanation from the department was that it needed that area, which reporters have occupied since the current police headquarters opened in 1973, for a new Joint Operations Center, replacing what was described as an "old, outmoded Command and Control Center" six floors above.

Originally, the media corps from six different organizations (The Chief does not have space at 1 Police Plaza) was supposed to be exiled from the building until at least 2013, when construction of a new Police Academy might open up space within headquarters, but following protests by several outlets the department agreed to move them into a conference room on the same floor that traditionally has been used for press briefings.

The comments of one denizen of "The Shack," who spoke on condition of anonymity, reflect the reality that while Police Commissioner Ray Kelly generally receives favorable media coverage, he harbors a distrust of those who cover the NYPD.

"We don't believe it's a space issue and we don't think it's the result of any one incident," this reporter said. "To us it's just a natural progression of what's been happening since Kelly came back here."

The unhappiness among reporters about the shift was particularly evident in a story by Murray Weiss, the Post's criminal justice editor, that stated, "Commissioner Ray Kelly's terse edict—a stunning decision apparently made behind the back of Mayor Bloomberg, founder of one of the world's largest media companies— came in a letter mailed [April 10], the same day City Hall got word."

The New York Times made clear its own displeasure in a story that quoted its metropolitan editor, Joe Sexton, saying, "The public is always best served when reporters have the greatest possible access to the people and institutions they cover. Years ago, Ray Kelly understood that truth instinctively and believed it genuinely. I look forward to reminding him of that truth, and to talking about ways of serving it."

Richard Steier's column last week focused on Deputy Mayor Ed Skyler's statement that the city's traditional defined-benefit pensions were "obsolete and unaffordable" and noted that two officials who asked not to be identified said that they thought a city layoff memo was issued April 8 in response to a statement here by Municipal Labor Committee Chairman Harry Nespoli questioning Mr. Skyler's judgment.

A member of the Mayor's Press Office called April 14, the day the column appeared, and insisted that a draft of the layoff memo was produced several days prior to publication of the article in which Mr. Nespoli made his comment.

The aide wanted it made clear that the Bloomberg administration would not lay off people because a ranking official might have been unhappy about a union leader's comments.

That's undoubtedly true, but may also be beside the point. The layoff memo's primary value seemed to be in firing a shot across labor's bow in an effort to force concessions on either health benefits or pensions that the unions until then had been unwilling to make. It's all part of the maneuvering that is likely to produce some kind of deal on healthfund changes before the city budget is finalized.

We have reason to believe that the draft memo was in fact produced prior to the article with Mr. Nespoli's first round of unflattering comments about Mr. Skyler (a second set appeared in last week's paper). We still find it interesting that the memo moved from draft status to an official communication that was released to the media the day after a leading union official spoke critically of the Deputy Mayor overseeing both the budget office and the labor talks.

Former Civil Service Technical Guild President Lou Albano called last week to take issue with a claim made by a current Guild official, Mitch Feder, about instances where union funds were approved to assist its officers.

Mr. Feder, who is in a continuing battle over whether the Guild will cover his legal fees in a Housing Authority disciplinary case, has cited "an outright grant of $30,000 to pay for the hospital bill of then-Tech Guild Secretary Richard Delio."

According to Mr. Albano, that money was raised among members of the union, including officers, and came from their pockets, not the coffers of the Tech Guild.