Balkany became a key figure in the distribution of day-care vouchers in New York due to his close ties with Rudy Giuliani and top-aide Bruce Teitelbaum. According to reports in the "Daily News", Balkany helped corral for Orthodox Jewish schools more than half the city's total allocation of vouchers. Balkany offered a full-service operation, charging families a fee to fill out applications for the vouchers, which were in desperate demand all over the city. Nicholas Scoppetta, at the time serving as commissioner for children's services, was sufficiently disturbed by events to refer the matter to the city's Department of Investigation, which opened a probe that was later joined by federal investigators.