Wrestlemania in Howard Beach

 

Queens Chronicle

 The Our Lady of Grace School auditorium in Howard Beach transformed into a willful wrestling ring last Saturday, with around 200 enthusiastic residents eagerly attending to witness East Coast Professional Wrestling. It was more than just body slams — it was pandemonium with a purpose, as proceeds were donated to the church.

  

This guy is my favorite. He looks like Cardinal Dolan as the Penguin.

 

Mayor de Blasio has avoided a health clinic CEO's charitable request to provide PPE supplies

NY Post

New York City is desperately pleading for healthcare workers and equipment for the fight against the coronavirus — but a local doctor who has offered his network of 600 beds and 100 physicians said city and state bureaucrats have ignored him.

Dr. Yan Katsnelson said he’s been trying for weeks to get the offices of Mayor Bill de Blasio, Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the city and state health departments to take him up on his offer.

His 30 temporarily closed health clinics — equipped with 5,000-plus masks and oxygen machines — are collecting dust, he said, while overwhelmed local hospitals are forced to treat patients in hallways and waiting-room chairs.

“De Blasio said right now I will take beds anywhere and everywhere. What the hell is he talking about?” said Katsnelson, claiming his staff contacted City Hall “several times” in the last two weeks offering to take in COVID-19 patients or relieve hospitals of non-coronavirus patients.

“My CEO is desperate to offer a helping hand with our equipped medical facilities and physicians, [nurse practitioners] and [physician assistants],” a Katsnelson employee wrote in a March 19 email to city Health Department Assistant Commissioner Jennifer Rakeman, state Bureau of Communicable Disease Control director Daniel Kuhles, state Division of Epidemiology director Debra Blog, and others.

The employee also spoke briefly to de Blasio aide Freddi Goldstein later that day. She also contacted the governor’s office, said Katsnelson, a Chicago-based cardiovascular surgeon who owns a national network of vascular and fibroid clinics.

They haven’t heard back since mid-March.

“Telephone calls were made … voice mails were left and not returned,” the employee said of the city and state runaround.

Charity with ties to shady pol investigated

From DNA Info:

City investigators have opened a probe into a Queens nonprofit that has ties to disgraced ex-state Sen. Shirley Huntley and other elected officials, sources said.

The city Department of Investigation began in May looking into the finances of the St. Albans nonprofit Clergy United for Community Empowerment and into its executive vice-president and CEO, the Rev. Ernestine Sanders, according to sources.

The nonprofit bills itself as providing health and mental health services to HIV individuals and their families.

The group, whose board members include influential clergy from Southeast Queens, also holds political sway and its endorsement is coveted by both candidates running for office and elected officials.

Councilman I. Daneek Miller, who represents St. Albans, directed $63,438 in discretionary funds to Clergy United in fiscal year 2016 to run domestic violence initiatives, records show. In all, the nonprofit received nearly $219,000 in discretionary funds from the City Council that year, records show.

Miller declined to comment on the investigation.

Huntley, when she was a state senator, also steered $75,000 in state funds to Clergy United between fiscal years 2007 and 2010, according to a Politico article in 2012.

Huntley pleaded guilty in 2013 to mail fraud charges for stealing $87,000 in taxpayer money that went to an educational nonprofit she founded. She served 10 months in federal prison.

Goodwill will stop the beeping noise

From PIX11:

Residents in Astoria say they haven’t been able to sleep because of noisy trucks rattling through their neighborhood and loudly beeping as they back up, as early as 4:30 a.m.

A viewer contacted PIX11 News for help. Berty Samovici recorded video of the disruptive daily noise. He said trucks owned by Goodwill are constantly backing up, evening on the weekends and early in the morning.

PIX11 News reached out to the CEO of Goodwill, who promised to fix the problem.

“We are going to stop the noise,” she said.

State bill outlaws most clothing bins

From the Queens Chronicle:

A state bill aimed at eliminating clothing collection bins from fake charities and introduced by Assemblyman Ed Braunstein (D-Bayside) has been passed by both houses of the Legislature.

The measure, which prohibits placing bins on public property, goes a step further than city law by forcing the owners to disclose whether they are operated by a nonprofit group or a for-profit business.

In addition, the owner must reveal whether a bin is operated by a for-profit business partnering with a nonprofit group, a practice known as rent-a-charity.

The owners are subject to fines of up $500 for violations and must meet maintenance requirements.

Weiner to open Rockaway restaurant

From AM-NY:

Anthony Weiner is going from politics to pots and pans by eyeing a nonprofit restaurant to help the Rockaways recover from Superstorm Sandy.

The ex-congressman, who has been volunteering in the neighborhood, will help oversee the project, which is in its very early stages.

In addition to providing residents with a new grub site, the "Rockaway Restoration Kitchen" will train unemployed New Yorkers in culinary skills that they can use for food industry jobs, the project's website said.

Weiner, 49, was listed as administrator for an idealist.org job listing for the group's executive director. The project, first reported by the Rockaway Times on Thursday, said Weiner, who ran for mayor last year, is still looking for a location.

Weiner declined to give details to amNewYork about his role with the kitchen but told the Daily News, "residents need help developing skills to lift them out of unemployment."

"This project is at the very earliest stages of trying to tackle these challenges," he told the paper.

The job listing expires on Aug. 31 and the group's website is still under construction. But it did list some details of the program.

Rockaway Restoration Kitchen will "provide a comfortable neighborhood restaurant with healthy, locally sourced food that satisfies the hunger of Rockaway residents." The 13-week training program will help unemployed residents, particularly those with barriers to job placement such as incarceration or disability, with hands-on cooking training and professional assistance.

Phony charities behind most clothing bins

From the NY Times:

A growing number of companies — many of them based in New Jersey — are illegally placing used-clothing bins throughout New York City, blocking sidewalks and serving as magnets for litter and graffiti. The receptacles typically have signs that indicate donated goods will go to the poor or, in some cases, to legitimate charities. But, city officials said, the needy do not benefit from much of what is collected. Instead, the clothing is often sold in thrift stores or in bulk oveseas, with the proceeds going to for-profit entities that can be impossible to trace, or even to contact.

City law bans such bins from being placed on sidewalks and streets; they are legal on private property with the consent of the owner. Once found by Sanitation Department enforcement officers or reported by residents to the city’s 311 help line, an illegal bin is tagged and the owner has 30 days to remove it. Summonses are not issued, a department spokeswoman explained, based on the theory that those distributing the bins have factored any fines into the cost of doing business.

Statistics confirm what a trip through many neighborhoods shows. In the fiscal year 2010, the city tagged 91 bins and confiscated 10. In the fiscal year 2014, which ended June 30, more than 2,006 bins were tagged and 132 were confiscated.

A similar pattern has emerged nationally, according to officials at leading charities. They are alarmed by the misleading competition, which, they maintain, is undermining their own efforts.

Council wants charities to give Walmart's money back

From the NY Post:

Local nonprofits that have received charitable contributions from Walmart are denouncing extraordinary demands from the City Council that they return the funds to protest the retail giant’s policies.

Even charity officials whose ideologies are in line with the far-left council said its position — which stems from concerns about Walmart’s wages and work conditions — is way out of line.

“We will not give the money back nor should we,” declared Joel Berg, executive director of the ­Coalition Against Hunger.

“Our determination of whether we ask for and take money is not how the company earned the money, it’s how they want us to spend it,” he added.

“In this case it’s on progressive values. Never has it been tied to any public-policy agenda.”

“We have had it, our constituents have had it and everyone we know in this city has had it with [Walmart],” said ringleader Daniel Dromm (D-Queens), who took ­political correctness to the extreme by calling on charities to return the company’s contributions.

Danny again, eh?

How to get illegal clothing bins removed

From Clean Up Jamaica Queens:
If you are very observant like I am, you will have noticed a huge amount of various donation clothing bins in various colors (black, green, pink, etc) all over the community, some in front of apartment building, some in the middle of sidewalks and some in parking lots of business.
The Goodwill bins are actually going toward the charity Goodwill and more than likely are put there legally. Most of the others (pink, black, green, blue) are placed illegally without approval. With the exception of the Goodwill bins, the clothing from these bins are actually sold, not given to charity, so you might want to think before you put clothing in these bins.
These bins are becoming a major eyesore not only in the Jamaica community, but all over NYC and our people in charge are not doing a damn thing about this latest quality of life issue. Besides being eyesores and sometimes blocking sidewalks, they tend to have graffiti and stickers placed all over them and many have garbage dumped on the sides of them.
Until recently, the only way to have these removed were to print out a form from the Department of Sanitation's website and mail in in. Well, now you can just fill-out the form on-line and submit it. You can find the link here.

No one talked on Wills' wire

From the NY Post:

Indicted City Councilman Ruben Wills was trying to get the goods on fellow lawmakers — and get the heat off himself during a state probe of his shady nonprofit — by wearing a wire, The Post has learned.

Wills, who was arrested last week by Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, was doing the secret recording at the behest of Schneiderman’s ­office, two sources said.

But Wills apparently failed to deliver.

“He was radioactive, and nobody would speak to him,” a lawmaker said. “Nobody would have anything to do with him.”

Schneiderman’s office began investigating Wills and his charity, New York 4 Life, in 2012 but took no action until last week.

“They’re mad at him for not getting the goods,” the source said.

Clothing bins not always charitable

From DNA Info:

Metal bins for used clothing can be found on sidewalks across the city, but their placement is often illegal and they're being installed faster than the city can remove them.

For-profit companies that put out donation bins similar to those of charities including Goodwill and The Salvation Army have the Department of Sanitation removing dozens of collection points, with 57 hauled off in the past nine months, up from 30 removed in the city's previous fiscal year, running from July 2012 to June 2013.

Brooklyn had the most bins removed of any borough, with 33 pulled. Eleven were hauled away from the Bronx, 4 were taken from Queens and none were removed from Manhattan, according to the Sanitation Department.

The sale of used clothing and other textiles is a multimillion dollar business, with companies sending them internationally for resale or to companies that use them for insulation and furniture padding.

When residents complain about clothing bins on sidewalks or private property, Sanitation workers tag them with stickers warning their owners the containers will be hauled off if they're not moved within 30 days.

The companies SpinGreen, USAgain and Viltex place used clothing bins in the city and don't claim to be charities, but some nonprofits said donors are being duped.

“They take away money from charitable organizations,” said Mauricio Hernandez of Goodwill New York. “People usually believe that they are supplying some sort of charitable organization, while they are often giving money to an entrepreneur.”

Sandy volunteer still trying to raise money to fix up Rockaways

"This reality show I’m still fighting to get launched (I won’t be on it, just behind the scenes), donating 100% of all Creator & Exec Producer $ I earn (& w/ 100% transparency) back into these communities guarantees me extraordinary inner wealth for life." - Steve Major, aka the "Arverne Sinkhole guy"

You can visit The Real Volunteers on Facebook and Tumblr

High rise likely to replace thrift shop

From the Times Ledger:

A popular thrift shop in Astoria, which raises money for the rehabilitation of drug addicts and alcoholics, is closing next month and currently selling its inventory of restored furniture, antiques and clothing for 50 percent off.

Nook n’ Crannie, at 29-18 Ditmars Blvd., has operated as the principal ministry of Betel America Church of Astoria. Many of the residents of the church’s rehab center have worked at the store in the last seven years, doing furniture restoration and deliveries.

Betel of America opted to sell its property on 4th Street and move the entire operation to the Southeast, most likely to North Carolina or Virginia.

“The board of directors couldn’t say no to the money that land developers have offered for the property,” Executive Director David Tepper said. “Large parts of the riverfront are being sold off to developers. We love the neighborhood — they’ve been good to us — but it gets to the point where it’s a no-brainer with all the cash involved, especially considering what we do.”

Cops play Santa for abused kids

From The Forum:

Officers from the 104th Precinct took it upon themselves to turn one Ridgewood family’s Christmas into a merry one.

After learning of how an abusive father’s rage was ruining the lives of his wife and four children, a handful of Queens cops came together to collect more than $1,200 in cash to keep the kids’ Christmas spirit alive.

Capt. Christopher Manson told the story of Sgt. Martha Lequerica and Officer Nicholas Cadavid, who spearheaded the efforts to give new meaning to the holidays for the family, including the 5-year-old son left bruised and stitched from a beating. He said officers responded to the family’s calls of abuse and poor living conditions, which were later validated when they found children forced to sleep on the floor.

“They had nothing,” Manson said. “The crammed conditions there were immeasurable.”

Without skipping a beat, Manson said his officers started raising money throughout the precinct with hopes to better the lives of the beaten 5-year-old and his three siblings from 2-months-old to 11-years-old. Within hours, the precinct was able to raise over $1,200 and counting with help from the Det. Thomas Bell of community affairs as well as the domestic violence desks.

“He was an abuser,” Bell said. “He abused his children and his wife.”

Just the precinct’s crossing guards alone were able to raise more than $300 to help make the family’s holiday season a bit brighter, Manson said.

The captain said officers made deliveries over the weekend, bringing the children an assortment of items purchased with the money including a car load of Christmas toys, bunk beds, blankets, pillows, winter clothes, snow boots, chocolates and more.

“We’re just trying to improve the life of one family right now,” he said. “I think it’s going to make a significant improvement. Cops do a lot of good things”

Illegal stickers have ties to mafia and fake charity

From WyckoffHeights.org:

Residents of Ridgewood and Bushwick likely have noticed the multitude of new “Cash for Cars" stickers that have appeared on signs and telephone poles throughout the neighborhood in recent weeks. These ads promise “300 & up" but provide no information about the entity behind them, just a phone number - 347-246-1637.

Seeking more information I recently called that number. A woman answered - "Cash for cars!" - and offered $200 and a tax receipt for $500 in exchange for my (fictitious) 20-year-old sedan. Asked if the tax receipt meant they were a non-profit, she replied that they worked with several non-profit organizations and that the money raised went “to the troops and the kids." Pressed for more information she said the tax receipt would be from the “Foundation of Dreams."

An internet search for the Foundation of Dreams turned up no such organization registered in New York State. Some websites suggested that a North Carolina-based Foundation of Dreams was associated with an address in Queens, but I found nothing definitive.

A search for the Cash for Cars telephone number turns up dozens of similar ads online, many in local newspapers’ classifieds. Most are as vague as the recent stickers but a few refer to a “Troops Relief Fund".

State records show that a Troops Relief Fund Inc was registered in 2008 by John Lomonaco of Cobble Hill, Brooklyn. The not-for-profit’s 2009 IRS filing (available on Guidestar.org) states “This organions [SIC] mission is to help the US Armed Forces by soliciting donation [SIC] and distributing these assets to organization [SIC] that help the US Armed Forces."

IRS filings from 2009 to 2012 show revenue of almost $150,000, with most of that spent on salaries, rent, utilities, advertising, and other expenses. Just $2,900 (or 2%) was spent on “donations" by the organization (the nature of these donations is not explained).

Further research finds that the organization’s secretary - an Ozone Park resident - is also secretary for Bless the Kids Fund Inc, a Hewlett NY not-for-profit which in 2009 reported revenue of $549,491 from “car sales" with 7% of that going to charity.

According to IRS filings the vice president of Bless the Kids Fund is a Mark Lomonaco, whose Facebook page features a photo of a Troops Relief Fund tow truck and a post from November 2012 promoting Foundation of Dreams, Bless the Kids and Troops Relief Fund, and with the same phone number as the recent sticker ads.

Mark Lomonaco turns out to be a former associate of Carmine Agnello (one-time Gambino Family soldier and John Gotti son-in-law). In 2000 Agnello, Lomonaco and five others were arrested and charged as the result of an investigation into organized crime in the scrap metal industry, during which an undercover police-run scrap yard in Queens was firebombed.

A 2001 press release by the Department of Justice stated that Lomonaco and the other defendants plead guilty to racketeering, extortion, arson, income tax fraud, and obliteration of vehicle identification numbers.

This is the best blog post I have read in a long time. GO GET 'EM!

Charity demolishing old Woodhaven house for group home

Photo from Project Woodhaven

Was headed south on Woodhaven Blvd this past Sunday when I noticed a nice big old house (that I believe recently contained doctors' offices) with a strange box-shaped hole on all sides of the roof - you could see right through it. I made a mental note to check the DOB online system when I got home.


88-38 Woodhaven Blvd has a full demo permit on file for both the house and garage. And not just a regular demo permit. No, this baby is going to be taken down with heavy equipment since they applied for a mechanical demo permit. What joy! And who is bringing this to us? Heartshare Human Services, a charity that services people with special needs.

There are no new building permits yet, but this article from the Queens Chronicle says that the home will house 10 adults and be slightly larger than the current house. Luckily, the zoning is R3-1 which limits the level of replacement crappiness, but they could always pull the "community facility" card out of the deck.

Judging from the way the house was being kept by this charity before the demo began and that Heartshare conveniently left out the fact that they were planning to demolish the existing structure when they went before CB9 last year for approval of their group home, the community needs to keep on top of them to make sure they stick to their publicly-made promises. It's not like they can expect elected officials to do it.

Where the concert money went

From NBC 4:

Some of the biggest names in music, from the Rolling Stones and The Who to Roger Waters and Paul McCartney, came together for the 12-12-12 Concert for Sandy Relief to raise millions of dollars. The money went to its organizer, the nonprofit Robin Hood Foundation, but since then many victims of the storm have been asking where the money went.

To find out, the I-Team analyzed the numbers, interviewed Robin Hood's top executive, and reached out to hundreds of nonprofit organizations that received grants after the concert.

The Robin Hood Foundation has already disbursed $50 million to more than 320 nonprofits in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, but not all of that money has gone directly to rebuilding homes or into the hands of affected homeowners.

About 54 percent of the concert donations have been designated for housing rehabilitation and relief. The other 46 percent is paying for human services, like counseling, education, health and for reimbursing smaller nonprofits that provided emergency response in the hours and days immediately following the storm.

Cats saved from Kew Gardens hoarder

Empty Cages Collective recently learned of a hoarding situation that was about to turn tragic. After years of complaints from neighbors and concerned citizens to the ASPCA and numerous evictions due to non-payment of rent and keeping animals in squalid conditions, a homeless woman in Kew Gardens, Queens began keeping 23 cats illegally in a storage locker until the storage company found out and kicked her out. The woman, with no where to go, found a kind man to let her keep the cats in his car. The woman said she would just need 24 hours to figure somewhere for the cats to go. After nearly a week, the condition of the car and the cats deteriorated. The cats were living smashed several a head into carriers. They only had access to water sparingly. When the woman would let them out of the carrier, they would defecate in the corners of the vehicle, under seats, on blankets making a huge mess. Something had to be done.

The cats were infested with fleas and earmites, and some with wounds from scratching so intensely were stressed by the conditions beyond measure. They needed help yesterday! They had already waited too long.

The man, who had finally had enough, threatened to kick the woman out of his vehicle. The woman planned to keep the cats locked in carriers hidden behind bushes in a park if this happened. She had no concern for the upcoming storm. She would not accept any help from anyone who stepped in offering to care for the cats.



Finally, a friend of the woman and the owner of the car intervened due to the declining health and conditions of the cats. On Saturday, October 27, Empty Cages Collective stepped up! The 19 cats we were told about ended up being 23 cats in need of veterinary care and rescue!

Admitting 23 cats at one time into our rescue program is a very big project. Please help us ensure that it goes as smoothly as possible for both us and the cats!

DONATE! We need donations to cover veterinary care, food, litter, boarding, transport and other expenses. Without you, we will not be able to do this: www.emptycagescollective.org/donate


Donations can also be sent by mail to
Empty Cages Collective
302 Bedford Avenue, PMB#301
Brooklyn, NY 11211

FOSTER! We desperately need foster homes (at least 1.5 month commitment: although they maybe placed sooner) for these unfortunate cats. Please contact us at 1.800.880.2684 or adopt@emptycagescollective.org

RESCUE! Are you another legitimate no kill animal rescue organization willing to take even 1 of these poor victims to place under the auspices of your organization? Please do! We need your help. Contact 1.800.880.2684 or emptycagescollective@gmail.com to discuss it.

TRANSPORT! Volunteer to help transport rescues to veterinarians, foster and adoptive homes. This is a big help and helps us get animals to where they need to be quickly! 1.800.880.2684 or emptycagescollective@gmail.com

ADOPT! Have you been thinking about adding a new cat family member to your family? This is a great time to save a life and provide a wonderful home for an animal who has been through an immense amount of crisis! Get in touch at 1.800.880.2684 or adopt@emptycagescollective.org to become a friend to one of these wonderful felines.

VOLUNTEER! Help us with adoption events and tabling to find cats and kittens (and other animals) wonderful homes. We require a full day (mostly weekends: 8 hour) commitment. Get in touch 1.800.880.2684 or volunteer@emptycagescollective.org.

On behalf of all of our new rescues, thank you for your support.

Scamming on the Boulevard

From the Queens Chronicle:

On a recent Thursday morning, a group of people in blue “FBI (Firm Believer In) Jesus” baseball caps and yellow reflective jackets were asking pedestrians and drivers for money at the intersection of Queens Boulevard and 63rd Drive. They said they were from New Life Church and were collecting money for a charity that helps the homeless and abused men, women and children.

The group said that the money helps Queens residents as well as people nationwide in the above-mentioned situations.

But is the money really going to charity? The people said they are Evangelists from a Bible-based faith ministry that was formed 45 or 50 years ago. They strive to pull people off the streets while rebuilding the inner and outer man. But they had no documentation on their organization, and just explained their mission using various Bible verses.

One woman, who identified herself only as “Sister Kim,” said she was once a prostitute and that the New Life Church saved her. But she refused to say where the church is located, except that it is nearby.

A person who answered the phone at the nearest church of that name said the group was unknown to the congregation.

The leader of the group was offended when asked if the charity was legitimate. He called over some other members to confirm that it was; they all swore it was. To drive the point home, the group gave a number for a Pastor Kenny at something called the House of David, but he could not be reached.

The Federal Trade Commission says if an “organization does not give out written information about its identity, its costs, and how the donation will be used” it is most likely a scam, especially since “A legitimate organization will have no trouble providing this information.”

The group’s leader, who would not identify himself, insisted the police check on them every hour and said, “If we were doing something illegal, why wouldn’t they arrest us?”

Why did pols give this no-show doc tons of cash?

From the NY Post:

The city spigot of cash for a questionable Queens charity may be turned off.

The city Health Department said it was reviewing three contracts worth a total of $13,000 with Angeldocs after the The Post reported last week that the charity’s health center was often shuttered and that the founder and sole staffer, Dr. Dorothy Ogundu, refused to reveal how many patients she treated or whether she had malpractice insurance.

The taxpayer cash, secured by City Councilmen Leroy Comrie, James Gennaro and Mark Weprin, was supposed to fund Ogundu’s public-access television show on health topics and to generally “improve prevention of diseases.”

After The Post raised questions about Angeldocs, Weprin’s brother, Assemblyman David Weprin, pulled legislation he had proposed that would allow Ogundu to apply for a retroactive property-tax break on the health-center building.

She owes the city $300,000 in back taxes.