Ridgewood Bushwick Senior Citizens Council

Ridgewood Bushwick Senior Citizens Council
Non-profit organization
Founded 1973[1]
Headquarters Bushwick, Brooklyn
Key people

Vito Lopez, Founder[2] Christina Fisher, Executive Director[3]

Angela Battaglia, Director of Housing[3]
Revenue $21,217,906 USD (2009)[4]
Number of employees
 553 (2009)[4]
Website http://www.rbcouncil.org

Ridgewood Bushwick Senior Citizens Council is a non-profit organization in Bushwick, Brooklyn. Founded in 1973 by Vito Lopez (now a New York State Assemblyman), RBSCC offers housing and family services to neighborhoods in Brooklyn and Queens.

Investigations

Media reports in September 2010 reported that RBSCC was under investigation for political conflicts of interest and financial mismanagement.[5] City and state contracts with RBSCC have been put on hold pending the outcome of these investigations.[6]

2010 NYC DOI Probe

According to a 2010 report by the New York City Department of Investigation, RBSCC employees at the Hope Gardens Senior Center received City funding for services that were not provided, submitting falsified attendance sheets, contracts, and other fraudulent paperwork to substantiate the claims.[7]

The report outlined inadequate management and oversight by RBSCC, and expressed concern regarding the organization's board. Investigators interviewed seven members of the nine-member board; the DOI report noted that "none of the seven interviewed has any significant expertise or experience", "the majority of Board members could not identify Ridgewood Bushwick's Controller or remember receiving any financial reports", and "two of the Board members could not identify the Executive Director of the organization."[7]

References

  1. ↑ RBSCC.org (via Internet Archive), Ridgewood Bushwick Senior Citizens Council, 2008
  2. ↑ Gottlieb, Martin (1993-02-07), Growth of a New-Age Political Machine, New York Times
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (IRS Form 990), Ridgewood Bushwick Senior Citizens Council, 2008
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (IRS Form 990), Ridgewood Bushwick Senior Citizens Council, 2009
  5. ↑ Goldstein, Joseph; Seifman, David (2010-09-15), Vito Lopez-backed charity led by the clueless, New York Post
  6. ↑ Seifman, David (2010-09-28), Vito boiling as city freezes $12M deals, New York Post
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 The Criminal Case involving the Hope Gardens Senior Center of the Ridgewood Bushwick Senior Citizens Council, New York City Department of Investigation, 2010-07-20