Results tagged “charity”

While you were busy doing Sudoku at your temp job, industrious 19-year-old computer whiz Adeniyi Adeyemi was using his three month temp job to launch a $1.1 million fraud scheme, according to a 149-count indictment. During his stint in the IT department at Bank of New York Mellon in November 2001, Adeyemi allegedly stole personal identifying information from dozens of employees, using the information from more than 30 bank and brokerage accounts in their names. Over the next eight years he used the stolen identities to set up more than 30 fraudulent bank and brokerage accounts, prosecutors say.

Last year residents of a Perry Street townhouse, one that is home to Carrie Bradshaw in a fictional world, put up a chain and a sign threatening away any fans taking photos on the stoop. Since fans allegedly are ignoring the sign, they have added a new one. This time around it's attached to a money drop box, and asks if you take a photo, to donate to a charity for orphaned animals. Hear that Carrie fans? For every photo you take, and dollar you don't donate, you are killing kittens and puppies. VanishingNY spotted the new system, and calls for a new tax in the city: a Tourist & Yunnie Nuisance Tax.

Two rabbis at a Brooklyn Heights synagogue are committed to helping a career criminal who's a suspect in repeated break-ins at their house of worship. Rabbis Aaron Raskin and Simcha Weinstein (the "funny" Rabbi!) befriended suspect Davis Duvallya, 43, several years ago, giving him money and food whenever he asked. Duvallya has 29 arrests on his record and an apparent drug problem, and it seems he sees his charitable friends as gullible targets. He was recently convicted of burglarizing Congregation B'Nai Avraham on March 3rd, stealing a stereo and a charity box containing about $50, and police say he's the main suspect in several other break-ins, which cost the synagogue a laptop computer and toaster. Rabbi Raskin says Duvallya most recently tried to break in on Thursday at 3:30 a.m., but a cleaner scared him off. Now police are searching for him, but Rabbi Raskin tells the Daily News that if Duvallya surfaces, he'll won't turn his back on him: "I feel you have to separate the person from the act. If he's a thief, don't let him in. But what, you don't feed him? He should die? No." But should a man be rewarded for noshing the hand that feeds him?

Besides offering affordable health care for constituents in the Bronx, the non-profit community health care center run by State Senate Majority Leader Pedro Espada Jr. also provides lots of jobs for the community... of people related to Espada. The Post's Isabel Vincent has donned her Hazmat suit to take a closer look at Espada's Soundview HealthCare Network, which stays afloat thanks to millions of taxpayer dollars. What she found may not surprise you. (It even comes with a handy graphic charting the family money tree.) For instance, two employees previously convicted of fraud for using Soundview money to promote Espada's political campaign are back on staff, and the charity still owes some $347,000 in income tax withheld from employees. Attorney General Andrew Cuomo has been investigating the shady shenanigans, but the Post has already found plenty of questionable conduct, such as Espada paying himself over than $450,000 a year, some $80,000 more than the standard for a charity its size. Then there's Soundview's not-illegal-but-still-sleazy employment of all Espada's sons with near six-figure jobs. Oh, and the charity's board is packed with Espada's friends and relatives, including his grandfather Victor, who's over 90 years old, lives in Puerto Rico, and "votes" via conference call!

Last year, 51-year-old Cecille Villacorta, an ex-Saks employee, went on trial for charges that, through a unique con, she stole over $1 million from the Manhattan flagship store. She faced up to 7 years in prison for grand larceny, and now the court has finally handed down her sentence: 90 days behind bars, five years’ probation and a $96,000 fine. Though Villacorta reportedly left the courtroom happy, the conviction is being appealed—if it's upheld, she also faces deportation to her native Philippines.

Governor Paterson has discovered the gift of charity in his first year as the state's head honcho. Yesterday Paterson's tax returns were made public, showing that he and his wife Michelle got a $4,300 refund for the over $61,000 in federal taxes they had paid and owed another $182 on top of the $27,000 plus in state and local taxes paid out. Some of that federal refund can be attributed to the $11,000 the Patersons donated this past year. Soon after taking over for Eliot Spitzer last year, it was revealed that the only donation that came out of the nearly $270,000 in income the couple earned in 2007 was a $150 worth of clothes they gave to The Salvation Army. This year The Sal made out like bandits with the Patersons donating over $1,400 in used clothing. Other beneficiaries of the couple's charity included the National Federation of the Blind; City Meals; 100 Black Men; Hadassah; the American Foundation of the Blind; League of the Hard of Hearing; Hispanic Federation; and WNYC Hear It Now.

                     

Last night the kilts came out for the Dressed to Kilt fashion show and charity event (benefiting the Friends of Scotland charity), hosted at M2. Hopefully this will be the only time that Sir Sean Connery, Obama Girl and Real Housewives Alex McCord are ever in the same room together, as the bold-faced names mingled with the D-listers all in the name of Scotland. While models debuted traditional kilts and fashion-forward couture, the big names also walked the runway in the appropriate plaid garb. Sadly, there were no upskirt shots of Gossip Girl's Ed Westwick, but a model gave the audience a (SFW) full frontal peak. Enjoy!

A judge ruled that Leona Helmsley's multibillion dollar fortune can be distributed to a number of charities—and not just dog-related ones. The real estate mogul, who died in 2007, had wanted her $5-8 billion fortune to go to canine charities (she also left $12 million to her dog Trouble, but that was reduced to $2 million by a judge), but now The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust's trustees will be able to determine where the money goes. A statement from the trust notes, "In the hope that this would be the court's decision, the trustees have been diligently working to identify potential grantees so the Trust's funds would be put to optimal use as soon as possible in such areas as health care, medical research, human services, education, and various other areas."

The annual NY Cares Coat Drive has been extended past this month and into January because there have been fewer donations this season. The organization usually collected 80,000-90,000 coats a year, but this year, they are off that mark by about 10%--which means 8,000 or more people could be without coats. There's increased demand this year and NY Cares executive director Gary Bagley tells NY1, "We're guessing it's probably the economic situation, maybe people are holding to their coats a little longer, they're a little concerned. We're really asking people to dig deep into their closets and come out." Here are details on where you can donate your gently used coats--and NY Cares has receipts so you can get a tax deduction.

Competitive eater Takeru Kobayashi will do what no one wants to do: eat all the leftover holiday fruitcake! This is all part of the Major League Eating’s Holiday Food Bank Giving Initiative; the MLE tells us that "Kobayashi will attempt to break the fruitcake-eating world record, seeking to consume all fruitcake leftover from the holidays. The event is designed to benefit the Food Bank For New York City and to raise awareness of the crisis faced by food banks across the nation in the current economic environment."

Wheee, the tabloids won't stop hammering Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz over the way he runs three non-profits that produce free Brooklyn events and promote tourism! First the Daily News got up in his grill over $680,496 in no-bid contracts he awarded to the non-profits, then the Post was all, What's up with all the loot the Atlantic Yards developer pours into your pet projects, Marty? Now the Post is insinuating that the $2.7 million (maybe more) in tax dollars the Bloomberg administration has funneled to Markowitz's non-profits is essentially a payoff for the beep's Bloomberg cheerleading. Politicians doling out tax money for favors? We're shocked, and so is Dick Dadey of the watchdog group Citizens Union: "It doesn't smell right that he's getting so much city funds for nonprofits serving his interest."

That super-secret, impossible-to-get-into Prince show? It went down for four hours (two shows) on the rooftop loft at the Hotel Gansevoort on Friday night. The NY Times reports that audience members paid around $1,000 to get inside the intimate room, with proceeds going to charity (Love 4 One Another Charities and Urban Farming). The Purple One did give a nod to the tough times however, the paper notes that "moments into the early set he joked about the tough day, then he tweaked the lyrics of '1999' to reference the financial crisis." Howard Stern, Spike Lee and Dave Chappelle were all in attendance, and the latter even took over entertaining duties for a bit, saying, “I played tambourine tonight at a Prince show — that’s the good news. The bad news is, I flew coach.”

Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, pictured here at last week's Atlantic Antic, is still drawing fire over the way he runs several non-profit groups that put on free Brooklyn events and promote tourism. Last month city comptroller Bill Thompson said he was "very concerned" about $680,496 in taxpayer-financed no-bid contracts Markowitz awarded to the non-profits, and the Brooklyn Paper saw a conflict in the estimated $260,000 that Atlantic Yards developer Forest City Ratner donated to fund Markowitz's Best of Brooklyn non-profit and his concert series.

From the inbox comes a press release whose subject line pretty much says it all: "Highest Bidder Gets a Chance to Knock Out Lindsay Lohan's Father Michael In Charity Boxing Match." It goes on to explain that Michael Lohan, subject of many hate-blogs posted by Lindsay and her good friend Samantha Ronson on their MySpace pages, is putting himself on auction to highest bidder to box three rounds in the annual Long Island Fight For Charity. Ideally Ms. Ronson would get up there herself, but since that isn't happening (yet!), the charity suggests you submit an offer (starting at $5,000) to boxing(a)lifightforcharity(dot)com. Lohan himself wanted to get K-fed in the ring with him, but "there was no funding source." Who will benefit from the beatdown? Organizations like Family Residence and Essential Enterprises who help more than 3,000 individuals with developmental disabilities and/or mental illness.

Everyone's least favorite Paul McCartney ex, Heather Mills, is trying to earn points by doing some good...and right here in New York, no less (where she resides part-time). NYMag reports that after cashing in on her divorce with the Beatle to the tune of $50 million, she is now donating $1 million in vegetarian food products to the children of Hunts Point (Mills is a honorary chairperson of the Hunts Point Alliance for Children). The South Bronx neighborhood, where more than half the population is below poverty level, will now be stocked up with soy products from the vegan--and she'll be on hand tomorrow, grilling up some of the goods, at a ceremony with Congressman José Serrano.

After the Daily News raised questions about $680,496 in no-bid contracts that Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz awarded to the nonprofit he runs out of his office, a spokesperson for city comptroller Bill Thompson tells the Brooklyn Paper that he's "very concerned about the contracts, which were clearly meant to circumvent the transparency [of] the contract registration process.” Thompson and Markowitz are both possible mayoral contenders.

The surf was definitely not up on the city's waterways today, but that didn't stop a crowd of surfers from hanging ten in a paddle parade around Manhattan. The surreal sight of men and women standing on boards as they paddled up the East River was brought to you by Sea Paddle NYC, the second annual fundraiser for autism charities and the Surfers' Environmental Alliance. Razor Wire reports the 28 mile odyssey started at South Street Seaport at 9 a.m. this morning and finished in Battery Park City this afternoon. More photos here.

This Monday, June 16th, America's world-renowned French chefs are descending upon Rockefeller Center for Crème de la Crème, Citymeals-on-Wheels Chefs’ Tribute fundraiser to honor the legendary masters of French cooking.

Mark your calendars -- National Escargot Day is rapidly approaching. Really. As a lead up to the big day, Chef Craig Hopson of One if by Land, Two if by Sea, in association with Douglas Dussault of Potironne Company, is serving a 6-course snail-laden tasting menu featuring Wild Burgundy Snails. Yes, even dessert will have a snail of some sort involved.

Mayor MIchael Bloomberg's largess makes him the country's seventh biggest charitable donor. The Chronicle of Philanthropy's Top 50 Donor List (less sexy than the Forbes list, but possibly more worthy) notes he committed $205 million to various institutions last year.

Back in 2006, an agreement signed the day construction started for the new Yankee Stadium promised the team would pay $1.2 million a year in cash and in kind to a fund benefiting Bronx residents for 40 years. It was a gesture to make up for the inconvenience during construction and loss of parkland the new stadium was costing the neighborhood. After a year and half, none of the money has been distributed - and it's unclear who will be distributing it, if ever.

Now that you've torn through your presents and are making room for new gifts and purchases -- why not give a little back? Green Brooklyn reminds us that we have until December 31st to make tax-deductible donations (to claim on 2007 income taxes). They were particularly moved by the amount of work Habitat for Humanity has been doing for Brooklyn, they just completed their 9th home in the area -- all "constructed using state-of-the-art, eco-friendly building materials, like cabinets partially made of sunflower seeds and counter tops made of recycled glass."

During the holidays, we are all bombarded with requests for charitable giving. Sure, it's a great way to do something good and squeeze in one more tax deduction before year's end, but given the number of requests, making a choice about how to spend your charity dollars can be somewhat daunting. The Times focused this week on the dizzying number of food-related charities making year-end requests.

Have you seen the copper-toned glow emanating from Rockefeller Center? It's not The Tree...it's a penny harvest field! The installation is the first phase of Penny Harvest, and the copious coins came from students in NYC who have collected $1 million in change. The pennies will later go to different charities and towards improving the students communities.New York first lady Silda Wall Spitzer joined hundreds of public school children on Monday to unveil a mass...

We hope the following doesn't put anyone off their appetite before they've even had a chance to tuck into their Thanksgiving feast, but we have to describe what champion eater Tim Janus managed to consume in a publicity feast for charity. In the course of 15 minutes, Janus gobbled down the following:A 10-pound turkey Four pounds of mashed potatoes Three pounds of cranberry sauce Two and a half pounds of green beans This was accomplished...

The city’s food charities are dealing with dire shortages this year, exacerbated by cutbacks in federal food aid. Many places like St. Benedict the Moor Neighborhood Center in the South Bronx are almost barren; according to today’s Times, the center’s pantry used to be stacked up to the ceiling with food but now holds just “a few sacks of potatoes, some cornflakes, juice and peanut butter.” To help fill the void, City Harvest, the non-profit...

Knicks 97 Minnesota 93: Isiah Thomas was booed when he was introduced before the game, but the rest of the Knicks were cheered. And, when Nate Robinson pledged before the game that this team would win more games than in previous seasons that elicited the biggest cheers of all. Robinson backed up his pledge with 10 points in 16 minutes while Jamal Crawford had 24. Unlike Friday, the Knicks shot well from the charity stripe,...

The Critical Mass Halloween Ride is tonight! If you go, get some good pictures!

New Yorkers are good at finding creative ways to pay the rent. One 20-something couple is painting each thing they want, and selling the painting for the exact price of the item they're hankering for. So a painting of an iPhone will set you back $432.32 and a painted slice of pepperoni will cost you 3 bucks. They even painted their rent...and more optimistically: a million dollar bill (in their work titled Financial Security). The nice thing is that they're also giving others what they want, some of the painting proceeds go to charity (so far one in Africa and one in New Orleans).

There appears to be another license plate problem for New York, but unlike the problem of people and groups getting official license plates without being eligible, this situation wasn't created by the DMV. A Missouri-based charity that provides bicycle helmets to children and sells old license plates as a fund-raiser, the American Children’s Safety Network (ASCN), is selling what appears to be a new design of a New York optional license plate in both car and motorcycle sizes.