Attorney General Eric Schneiderman has identified and announced the six Lower East Side nonprofit organizations that will receive grants as part of a settlement with Allure Group that seeks to rectify the damage done in the Rivington House scandal when a HIV/AIDS nursing home was closed and sold to developers to become luxury condos.
According to the Lo-Down, the Charities Bureau of the Attorney General’s office will award grants totaling $1.25 million to the Grand Street Settlement, Henry Street Settlement, University Settlement, Community Healthcare Network, Chinese American Planning Council, and the Lower East Side Harm Reduction Center.
“We are pleased that after a careful and comprehensive process, we are able to award these recovered funds to several highly regarded local organizations committed to serving vulnerable New Yorkers on the Lower East Side,” said the attorney general’s press secretary Amy Spitalnick, in a statement to The Lo-Down.
While community members were glad to learn of the grants, there were some complaints at a recent meeting held by Community Board 3’s executive committee about the lack of public involvement in the selection process for the grant recipients. Per The Lo-Down, District Manager Susan Stetzer called out the “lack of transparency” and highlighted that other notable organizations weren’t given a chance to compete for the awards. Stetzer is requested an explanation from the Attorney General’s office at an upcoming public meeting.
In addition to the grants, the Allure Group must also pay $750,000 in penalties and cost to the state as well as open a new healthcare facilities on the Lower East Side and in Brooklyn. The group is also required to make improvements to the Greater Harlem and bring 88 new affordable homes for seniors to the Lower East Side.