Monday, November 29, 2010

Click here to hear Phil Grossman -Coalition Against the Chinatown B.I.D. re: complaint filed with LMDC against Chinatown Partnership LDC




On November 10th 2010 Phillip Grossman, an attorney representing the Coalition Against the Chinatown B.I.D. sent a letter to the Lower Manhattan Development Committee alerting them to what amounts to be a "Grossly wasteful expenditure of your $5,400,000.00 Clean Streets program-grant", by the Chinatown Partnership Local Development Corp. The Coalition's complaint is based on an analysis of the "Partnership's" 990 forms which are required for non-profits to file with the IRS. CPLDC's 990 form 2006 2007 2008 that The Coalition Against the Chinatown BID obtained through a "Freedom of information Law (FOIL)" request, since the Chinatown Partnership does NOT post their 990's on their own website, is a serious point of contention for years by business and property owners in Chinatown.


The letter reads as follows:
PHILIP J. GROSSMAN
ATTORNEY AT LAW
NEW YORK, NEW YORK 10013

November 10, 2010

Lower Manhattan Development, Corp.
One Liberty Plaza
New York, NY 10006

ATTN: David EMIL, President

Re: Grossly wasteful expenditure of your $5,400,000.00 Clean Streets program grant to CHINATOWN PARTNERSHIP LOCAL DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION

Dear Mr. David Emil:

I represent various local property owners and the groups known as the coalition of Business And property owners, and The Coalition Against The CHINATOWN B.I.D., in connection with this complaint to your agency. The local property owners whom I represent, and whom are affiliated with the above-mentioned groups, have been adversely affected by the gross waste of the $5,400,000.00 clean streets program grant to the CHINATOWN PARTNERSHTP LOCAL DEVELOPMENT CORP.

In support of our complaint of grossly wasteful expenditures, I enclose our "ANALYSIS OF CHINATOWN PARTNERSHIP LOCAL DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION CLEAN STREETS EXPENDITURES under AGREEMENT #: M07-571* For PERIOD FROM January 01, 2006 to June 30,2009, with supporting schedule and documentation. Our analysis is limited to the period from January 01, 2005 to June 30, 2009, because financial statements for the period
after June 30 , 2009, are not yet available from the CHINATOWN PARTNERSHIP LOCAL DEVELOPMENT CORP.

The basis of our complaint, is that based on the above described analysis of financials for the period from January 01, 2006 to June 30, 2OO9 in which the CHINATOWN PARTNERSHIP LOCAL DEVELOPMENT CORP. expended $2,025,352.00 of your agency's clean streets program grant, it appears that only $633,608.00 was actually expended on street cleaning and maintenance, which is only 31.3.percent of the total funds expended for the period.

Furthermore, under: the 8/I/2008 addendum to the contract between the CHINATOWN PARTNERSHIP LOCAL DEVELOPMENT CORP. and the street cleaning sub-contractor BLOCK BY BLOCK (copy attached, ) the parties to the contract agreed that the sub-contractor BLOCK BY BLOCK, would be reimbursed for it's street cleaning management personnel, and which reimbursement in fact did occur. See copies attached of BLOCK BY BLOCK invoices.


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Therefore, in view of the fact that the street cleaning sub-contractor Block By Block was managing Chinatown street cleaning crew, it is astounding and amazing that, the "CHINATOWN PARTNERSHIP LOCAL DEVELOPMENT CORP. expended $583,266.00* on management personnel, out of total expenditures of $2,025,352, for the period from January 01,2006 to, June 30, 2oo9, or 28 percent of the total fund expended for the period.

Furthermore local property owners, and. store owners, have been damaged by the gross waste of your agency's street cleaning grant by the CHINATOWN PARTNERSHIP LOCAL DEVELOPMENT CORP., in fact they have not derived the full benefit of your agency’s street cleaning grant, as only 31.3 percent of the grant was actually expended on street cleaning and maintenance.

Therefore, we respectfully request that your agency investigate, what appears to be, a gross waste of the clean streets grant money by the CHINATOWN LOCAL DEVELOPMENT CORP., and we also respectfully request that you seek recoupment, of what appears to be,
grossly wasted grant money.

Philip J. Grossman

Lower Manhattan Development Corp., One Liberty Plaza, 20th Floor,
York, NY 10006, ATTN: Avi Schick, chairman Board of Directors

*The Chinatown Partnership Local Development Corp. at one time had a staff of four, and currently has a staff of only two. The Executive Director's salary for several years has been over $100,000.00 annually. The cleaners hired by Block by Block number only ten people.

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