Thursday, August 12, 2010
Documented Fraud at the Amalgamated. The name of the victim has been blocked.
The Amalgamated employees and Board Members are in deep doo-doo now. And when your local elected officials choose to do nothing, you can usually trace their decision to do nothing back to a benefit they are receiving from malfeasance.
************************************************************
***KINDLY FORWARD A COPY OF THIS E-MAIL TRANSMISSION TO GARY R. CONNOR - General Counsel of the DHCR***
Good Evening Mr. Fadis:
I met with Ms. Patricia Goldwater and Mrs. Sherise Spencer-Bradford this afternoon in an effort to remove all late fees and overdue balances wrongfully applied to my account.
After I successfully corrected all billing errors committed by the Finance Office, I discussed the STAR REBATE issue (as mentioned in my initial e-mail in which you were copied) with Ms. Goldwater as it pertains to my apartment. Ms. Goldwater admitted that my unit was never registered with the City of New York to "Madame X" when I transferred from "X" to "X" in October 2005.
I believe it is necessary to give you a brief history of my residency at the Amalgamated Housing Corporation in order for all parties to understand the egregious nature of the violations committed against my family and the Law.
I occupied xxx from March 13, 2004 until September 30, 2005. Unfortunately, my transfer was not as seamless as it should have been. At the time of my initial request to transfer in April 2004, the Chairman of the Allocations Committee - Robert Gillman - refused to honor my request. Robert Gillman stated I was not "entitled" to transfer to a larger unit to accommodate my family due to "Board Policy and Family Composition". I was originally offered a three bedroom apartment in September 2003 after I completed the investigation process, however, the Allocations Director - Sylvia Rivera - misplaced the waiver letter the former Allocations Director - Dorothy Sullivan - submit to the DHCR in September 2003. The charade continued until Ivy White offered to show me the units the Allocations Office claimed to have available on February 4, 2004. I accepted a two bedroom apartment and was told I could transfer to the next three bedroom apartment that became available by Doris Spencer during the mandatory New Cooperator meeting I was required to attend before taking possession of xxx on March 13, 2004.
Because of the blatant discrimination and harassment I encountered in trying to deal with the Allocations Committee and the Management Office, I sought relief from the Office of Appeals/Division of Legal Affairs of the DHCR in Albany in April 2004. The Amalgamated Housing Corporation retained the legal services of Dean M. Roberts ESQ to challenge my request for a transfer. Despite the efforts the Amalgamated Housing Corporation exercised in an attempt to block my transfer to a three bedroom, the Office of Appeals ruled in my favor in May 2005. The Amalgamated Housing Corporation was instructed to transfer me to the next three bedroom apartment available pending my approval of the unit.
I paid all "mandatory" fees (transfer/equity/deposit/painting/name plates/share price etc) for my unit in August 2005. I moved into xxx on October 1, 2005.
I submit another STAR rebate form to the Department of Finance as a means to clarify my transfer from xxx to xxx in November 2005. When rebate funds were credited to my fellow Shareholders on their carrying charge statements in 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009 I called the Department of Finance to inquire about the status of my rebate every year. I was informed by the Department of Finance that "they" were awaiting word from the Housing Company to process my rebate. It was not until I contacted HPD, the Department of Finance and 311 that I discovered that my unit has been registered to the Amalgamated Housing Corporation and not to "Madame X" as required BY LAW. For five (5) straight years I have been denied equal services and rebate rights afforded to my fellow shareholders because the Amalgamated Housing Corporation willfully defrauded the Department of Finance, the Internal Revenue Service and the State Division of Taxation and Finance by registering my unit to the "Corporation" rather than to the Shareholder.
Needless to say, I am bereft of patience. Ms. Goldwater explained that the employees of the Finance Department are "underpaid" therefore, the quality of service is extremely low. The vast majority of employees of the Amalgamated Housing Corporation were hired due to nepotism. If employees are unqualified to handle the finances of a Corporation and its Shareholders, the employees should not be in their current positions at all. Further, most of the employees are compensated for their low pay scale by the luxury of free apartments, which are probably registered to the Corporation as well. Ms. Goldwater explained that the former Finance Manager, Wendy Cosgrove, was responsible for the error, however, if the Manager and the DHCR conducted a yearly audit of the Allocations Office, the Finance Office and the Management Office, all units would be registered to the proper party. I simply REFUSE to blame a former employee for this particular case of FRAUD. I would like to know how many apartments the Amalgamated Housing Corporation has registered to the Corporation rather than the Shareholder. I believe the Corporation may be 'hoarding' apartments as a means to qualify for tax shelters and/or in anticipation of increasing profits for the certain members of the Cooperative should the Corporation go bankrupt or decide to privatize.
In addition to deliberately deceiving Shareholders (and I use the plural term because I find it hard to believe that I am the only victim of this illegal business practice), the Amalgamated Housing Corporation is also deceiving the City and State of New York by collecting rebate funds for all units registered solely to the Corporation that may be registered as unoccupied in order to categorize the lack of carrying charges collected as a loss of income to the Corporation.
I have complied with Housing Rules by submitting an 'Income Affadavit' to the Management Office every year (2004 - 2010 inclusive). It is my understanding that the 'Income Affidavit' is then forwarded to the DHCR for approval. How is it possible that the DCHR has approved my yearly 'Income Affidavit' without knowledge that I was never the registered Shareholder for my current unit? Who is responsible for ensuring that each unit is registered to the actual Shareholder - rather than the Corporation - at the DHCR?
Apparently there aren't enough checks and balances in place to protect the Consumer/Shareholder. Clearly this situation, and method of creative accounting practices, involve not only the Amalgamated Housing Corporation. The DHCR is legally culpable of negligence because the DHCR has repeatedly failed to ensure the Housing Corporation is consistently in compliance with NYCRR and State Regulations as well.
I expect that a FULL and THOROUGH investigation of the Amalgamated Housing Corporation will commence upon receipt of this notice of FRAUD. In additon, I expect to be fully compensated for every rebate I did not receive and all of the time, effort and aggravation I expended in doing the job of a tax-payer funded State Agency (DHCR) in order to ensure the Housing Company is in compliance with Federal/State/Local Laws, Rules and Regulation. In addition, please be advised that I expect to be compensated for the willful use of fraudulent and deceitful business practices exercised by the Amalgamated Housing Corporation in an effort to deprive my family of the same rights afforded to ALL Shareholders.
I am forwarding this e-mail and the entire trail of e-mail exchanges between myself, the employees of the DHCR and Ms. Patricia Goldwater of the Amalgamated Housing Corporation to the office of Janice K. Fedarcyk, Assistant Director in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation NY.
If you wish to issue a response to this e-mail, please do so in writing.
Sincerely,
"Madame X"
Shareholder
Amalgamated Housing Corporation
XXXX
XXXX
Bronx, NY 10463
**********************************************************
"Madame X" has been the victim of harassment and discrimination for YEARS. Tenacity is a beautiful thing. Must be in her blood ; )
"It will always be a battle a day between those who want maximum change and those who want to maintain the status quo."
Gerry Adams
The Amalgamated employees and Board Members are in deep doo-doo now. And when your local elected officials choose to do nothing, you can usually trace their decision to do nothing back to a benefit they are receiving from malfeasance.
************************************************************
***KINDLY FORWARD A COPY OF THIS E-MAIL TRANSMISSION TO GARY R. CONNOR - General Counsel of the DHCR***
Good Evening Mr. Fadis:
I met with Ms. Patricia Goldwater and Mrs. Sherise Spencer-Bradford this afternoon in an effort to remove all late fees and overdue balances wrongfully applied to my account.
After I successfully corrected all billing errors committed by the Finance Office, I discussed the STAR REBATE issue (as mentioned in my initial e-mail in which you were copied) with Ms. Goldwater as it pertains to my apartment. Ms. Goldwater admitted that my unit was never registered with the City of New York to "Madame X" when I transferred from "X" to "X" in October 2005.
I believe it is necessary to give you a brief history of my residency at the Amalgamated Housing Corporation in order for all parties to understand the egregious nature of the violations committed against my family and the Law.
I occupied xxx from March 13, 2004 until September 30, 2005. Unfortunately, my transfer was not as seamless as it should have been. At the time of my initial request to transfer in April 2004, the Chairman of the Allocations Committee - Robert Gillman - refused to honor my request. Robert Gillman stated I was not "entitled" to transfer to a larger unit to accommodate my family due to "Board Policy and Family Composition". I was originally offered a three bedroom apartment in September 2003 after I completed the investigation process, however, the Allocations Director - Sylvia Rivera - misplaced the waiver letter the former Allocations Director - Dorothy Sullivan - submit to the DHCR in September 2003. The charade continued until Ivy White offered to show me the units the Allocations Office claimed to have available on February 4, 2004. I accepted a two bedroom apartment and was told I could transfer to the next three bedroom apartment that became available by Doris Spencer during the mandatory New Cooperator meeting I was required to attend before taking possession of xxx on March 13, 2004.
Because of the blatant discrimination and harassment I encountered in trying to deal with the Allocations Committee and the Management Office, I sought relief from the Office of Appeals/Division of Legal Affairs of the DHCR in Albany in April 2004. The Amalgamated Housing Corporation retained the legal services of Dean M. Roberts ESQ to challenge my request for a transfer. Despite the efforts the Amalgamated Housing Corporation exercised in an attempt to block my transfer to a three bedroom, the Office of Appeals ruled in my favor in May 2005. The Amalgamated Housing Corporation was instructed to transfer me to the next three bedroom apartment available pending my approval of the unit.
I paid all "mandatory" fees (transfer/equity/deposit/painting/name plates/share price etc) for my unit in August 2005. I moved into xxx on October 1, 2005.
I submit another STAR rebate form to the Department of Finance as a means to clarify my transfer from xxx to xxx in November 2005. When rebate funds were credited to my fellow Shareholders on their carrying charge statements in 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009 I called the Department of Finance to inquire about the status of my rebate every year. I was informed by the Department of Finance that "they" were awaiting word from the Housing Company to process my rebate. It was not until I contacted HPD, the Department of Finance and 311 that I discovered that my unit has been registered to the Amalgamated Housing Corporation and not to "Madame X" as required BY LAW. For five (5) straight years I have been denied equal services and rebate rights afforded to my fellow shareholders because the Amalgamated Housing Corporation willfully defrauded the Department of Finance, the Internal Revenue Service and the State Division of Taxation and Finance by registering my unit to the "Corporation" rather than to the Shareholder.
Needless to say, I am bereft of patience. Ms. Goldwater explained that the employees of the Finance Department are "underpaid" therefore, the quality of service is extremely low. The vast majority of employees of the Amalgamated Housing Corporation were hired due to nepotism. If employees are unqualified to handle the finances of a Corporation and its Shareholders, the employees should not be in their current positions at all. Further, most of the employees are compensated for their low pay scale by the luxury of free apartments, which are probably registered to the Corporation as well. Ms. Goldwater explained that the former Finance Manager, Wendy Cosgrove, was responsible for the error, however, if the Manager and the DHCR conducted a yearly audit of the Allocations Office, the Finance Office and the Management Office, all units would be registered to the proper party. I simply REFUSE to blame a former employee for this particular case of FRAUD. I would like to know how many apartments the Amalgamated Housing Corporation has registered to the Corporation rather than the Shareholder. I believe the Corporation may be 'hoarding' apartments as a means to qualify for tax shelters and/or in anticipation of increasing profits for the certain members of the Cooperative should the Corporation go bankrupt or decide to privatize.
In addition to deliberately deceiving Shareholders (and I use the plural term because I find it hard to believe that I am the only victim of this illegal business practice), the Amalgamated Housing Corporation is also deceiving the City and State of New York by collecting rebate funds for all units registered solely to the Corporation that may be registered as unoccupied in order to categorize the lack of carrying charges collected as a loss of income to the Corporation.
I have complied with Housing Rules by submitting an 'Income Affadavit' to the Management Office every year (2004 - 2010 inclusive). It is my understanding that the 'Income Affidavit' is then forwarded to the DHCR for approval. How is it possible that the DCHR has approved my yearly 'Income Affidavit' without knowledge that I was never the registered Shareholder for my current unit? Who is responsible for ensuring that each unit is registered to the actual Shareholder - rather than the Corporation - at the DHCR?
Apparently there aren't enough checks and balances in place to protect the Consumer/Shareholder. Clearly this situation, and method of creative accounting practices, involve not only the Amalgamated Housing Corporation. The DHCR is legally culpable of negligence because the DHCR has repeatedly failed to ensure the Housing Corporation is consistently in compliance with NYCRR and State Regulations as well.
I expect that a FULL and THOROUGH investigation of the Amalgamated Housing Corporation will commence upon receipt of this notice of FRAUD. In additon, I expect to be fully compensated for every rebate I did not receive and all of the time, effort and aggravation I expended in doing the job of a tax-payer funded State Agency (DHCR) in order to ensure the Housing Company is in compliance with Federal/State/Local Laws, Rules and Regulation. In addition, please be advised that I expect to be compensated for the willful use of fraudulent and deceitful business practices exercised by the Amalgamated Housing Corporation in an effort to deprive my family of the same rights afforded to ALL Shareholders.
I am forwarding this e-mail and the entire trail of e-mail exchanges between myself, the employees of the DHCR and Ms. Patricia Goldwater of the Amalgamated Housing Corporation to the office of Janice K. Fedarcyk, Assistant Director in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation NY.
If you wish to issue a response to this e-mail, please do so in writing.
Sincerely,
"Madame X"
Shareholder
Amalgamated Housing Corporation
XXXX
XXXX
Bronx, NY 10463
**********************************************************
"Madame X" has been the victim of harassment and discrimination for YEARS. Tenacity is a beautiful thing. Must be in her blood ; )
"It will always be a battle a day between those who want maximum change and those who want to maintain the status quo."
Gerry Adams
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
***ALL THAT IS NECESSARY***
This blog has been sending out an S.O.S for a long, long time.
It seems to me that it is so much easier for some to sensationalize the issues rather than to actually DO SOMETHING about the real issues that are plaguing an entire neighborhood of hard working tax-paying moderate to middle income folks.
The US House of Representatives in Washington, DC has read this blog.
The Office of the Attorney General of the State of NY has read this blog.
The Assemblyman for our District has read this blog - but focused only on the suggested name of the author and his perception of the "disturbing" nature of the blog instead of focusing on the disturbing manner in which the Management and Education Offices of the Cooperative conduct business.
The Office of the Bronx Borough President has read this blog.
So, if you are on the outside looking in, and you think that what is written on the many pages of this blog is "disturbing", imagine how it must feel to actually LIVE here? I am not talking about the residents who have been spared the frustration and humiliation of being deliberately discriminated against or sold shares for a defective unit or were forced to wait an additional two or three years because we were told we made too much money or are victims of robberies at the hands of what could very well be Coop employees or were billed for non-existent air conditioners or were harassed by perverted porters or were deliberately billed late fees or miscellaneous fees or had to bear the burden of a huge carrying charge increase while far too many employees and associates live at the Amalgamated Housing Corporation (or Park Reservoir) for FREE. I've heard hundreds of stories of Amalgamated corruption and each and every one of them broke my heart. I cannot believe I spent my hard earned money to live in this shithole. At least I have an outlet. What about the voices of the unheard?
I know what its like to work hard to support your family (or yourself)and save money to afford a decent place to live. The politicians in our area live in beautiful homes, unencumbered by inadequate State Supervision. The Amalgamated is a MIRAGE. Our expectations weren't even 1/2 met. We've written letters, we've made phone calls, we've written to newspapers, we've spread the word. We've endured attempted robberies, walked past drug deals, had ceilings leak on our heads, watched rain destroy various rooms in our homes because the buildings were neglected for so long, we've been paying for the freebies for people who do not deserve them, we've been supporting the family members of the Board and employees in jobs that most of the people in the back office do not deserve and are not skilled for.
The problems continue. We have a Finance Department that adds fees to unsuspecting shareholders before the shareholder produces a receipt which proves his or her carrying charges were paid ON TIME. Ordinarily, such deceitful employees would be dismissed immediately. Not here. I read an e-mail today from a shareholder who is disputing late fees and an oustanding prior balance on her carrying charge statement. She brought up a really good point. Without quoting her exactly, she mentioned that one of the AHC Accountants at Szold & Brandwen P.C. was able to move his mother-in-law into the Amalgamated without the hinderance of a waiting list. If the Accountant for the Amalgamated is getting special favors, what exactly is he giving the Corporation in exchange for the favor? How many other people reside within the AHC who would not have been here were it not for favors? Does that seem fair to you?
Hopefully, one of the politicians who make it a point to read this blog everyday will examine his or her conscience and DO SOMETHING about the state of affairs at the Amalgamated Housing Corporation. If this Coop goes under (i.e. bankruptcy), you can trust and believe I will release the IP addresses of every State Official who stopped by this blog and did nothing to investigate our justified claims of malfeasance and wrong doing. If there is ONE drug related incident at this Cooperative (robbery, shooting, death) you can rest assured the same IP addresses will be handed over to the FEDS to prove that many people at the Amalgamated Housing Corporation have been
Read on gentlemen. The day will come when you, too, will have to answer for the role you played in ignoring corruption.
Our beautiful Naples provided apartments and homes are among the top joint lodging in the Napoli region. With our fond and broody staff, you testament be provided relocation options to fit your requirements and be competent to select your perfect short-term or long-term accommodations.
ReplyDeletenaples corporate housing