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May 10, 2010
Harlem group's chaos endangers $76M gift
'The appearance of impropriety, favoritism or conflict . . . could harm [West Harlem] as a whole.'
NY Post
by Isabel Vincent and Melissa Klein
You'll never believe this, but another "Community Benefits Agreement" appears to be failing to benefit the community.
A $76 million windfall intended to help Harlem residents is in limbo -- and may never be paid -- because the politician-backed nonprofit in charge of distributing the money is in disarray, The Post has learned.
Although it formed four years ago, the West Harlem Local Development Corp. lacks a mission statement, has yet to get tax-exempt status from the IRS and doesn't even have a phone number.
The group already has received $500,000 from Columbia University -- part of a 16-year payout designed to assuage community fears over the school's expansion -- yet hasn't spent a cent on the neighborhood.
At least five people have quit the nonprofit, alleging that it was becoming a "slush fund" for Manhattan politicians.
The delay "threatens to undermine" the agreement and leave Harlem with nothing, Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer charged in a scathing letter to the group.
NoLandGrab: Pot, meet kettle. Stringer was instrumental in setting up the LDC, which undermined community opposition to Columbia's landgrab.
Posted by eric at May 10, 2010 11:44 AM