Jewish Anti-Poverty Agency CEO Forced Out Because Haredi-Controlled Agencies Did Not Like Increased Oversight

A major sticking point came over increased oversight. For years, the Met Council has served as a “fiscal conduit” for seven of the smaller JCCs and community organizations, meaning that the Council handled financial operations such as payroll and bill paying. However, as part of an agreement with the Attorney General and the New York City Mayor’s Office of Contract Services, the Council agreed to put in writing the financial arrangements between it and those agencies in order to provide increased transparency.…Several agency heads also felt that Frankel made the oversight more stringent, putting the JCCs on a “much tighter leash” than the AG was requiring.

 

The Jewish Week reports on the departure of the Metropolitan Council on Jewish Poverty's CEO, former NYC fiance commission David Frankel, who was hired by the Met Council 12 months ago after former CEO – and now state prison inmate – William E. Rapfogel was fired, and city, state and federal governments had cut off funds to the anti-poverty agency or were about to do so:

…A major sticking point came over increased oversight. For years, the Met Council has served as a “fiscal conduit” for seven of the smaller JCCs and community organizations, meaning that the Council handled financial operations such as payroll and bill paying. However, as part of an agreement with the Attorney General and the New York City Mayor’s Office of Contract Services, the Council agreed to put in writing the financial arrangements between it and those agencies in order to provide increased transparency.

However, several people with knowledge of the situation said that the heads of these agencies felt they didn’t have enough say in the new financial agreement and, in fact, didn’t even see a draft of it until two weeks before it was due at the AG’s office.

Several agency heads also felt that Frankel made the oversight more stringent, putting the JCCs on a “much tighter leash” than the AG was requiring.

“In the new agreement, every dollar had to go through the Met Council,” said one person with knowledge of the negotiations.

When the agency heads received the draft of the agreement they balked, refusing to sign it until they could meet with Frankel and discuss possible changes, according to multiple sources. In the end, Frankel did agree to some of the changes and nearly all the agencies signed on. The one exception was the JCC of the Rockaway Peninsula, which, sources said, was about ready to handle their finances on their own — a goal of many of the JCCs.…

Those JCCs (Jewish Community Councils) are almost all haredi-controlled.

The Jewish Week goes on report that Met Council sources said that Frankel was the right man at the right time and righted the failing agency after Rapfogel's multimillion dollar decades-long embezzlement came to light.

But now, its sources say, a leader with more sensitivity to the Met Council's mission is necessary.

What the Jewish Week doesn't report is that some of these JCCs have been accused by a small number of clients and community members of misusing some of the government monies they receive through the Met Council, and accused of failing to help needy Jews who are not members of their particular religious community in the same way they help their own poor – who allegedly get much more assistance.

But the bottom line is that Met Council essentially stole at least $9 million from government sources during Rapfogel's reign, and the actual amount could really be higher.

And for any part of the Met Council to complain about stricter oversight after 20 years of embezzlement and board oversight that was lax (or missing altogether), should just not be acceptable to taxpayers and to the Jewish community as a whole.

Unfortunately, however, while governments did act against the Met Council once, it may take time for them to do it again, and the Jewish community is as it so often is – AWOL.

And who will suffer for this?

Both in the short term and the long term, likely the same people that suffered through the decades of this prolonged scandal – the actual Jewish poor.

Related Posts:

Chabad Rabbi Candidate To Hed Met Council.

New CEO Of Scandal-Plagued Anti-Poverty Charity 'Resigns."

All Met Council Scandal Posts.

Comments

[lj]

they'll figure it all out soon enough. Not quite yet.

[Kosher Ham]

It's not enough to simply be frum. One has to be ehrlich!

[Sergey Kadinsky]

"Those JCCs (Jewish Community Councils) are almost all haredi-controlled."

Far from reality.

The Bronx has five JCCs that are affiliated with Met Council, none of them in haredi neighborhoods. Some are in places where there are few Jews left. Same goes for the Staten Island JCC, the only one on that island.

That leaves Brooklyn, which has nine affiliated organizations. Shorefront in Brighton Beach serves a mostly Russian-speaking constituency. Canarsie JCC and Bensonhurst are also largely Russian and traditional Orthodox. Coney Island JCC is led by Rabbi Moshe Weiner (a Chabadnik) but its constituency is mostly Russian and American seniors.

So that leaves us with Williamsburg, Borough Park, Midwood, Flatbush and Crown Heights.

Out of 20 affiliated COJOs and JCCs, only four are in haredi neighborhoods.

I live in Queens and here's a list of the Queens JCC board members: http://qjcc.org/board.htm

Shmarya, if you're an expert on who's haredi, give me a breakdown. Which of those board members are haredim? You should know that as a beneficiary of public funding, the QJCC serves Jews and gentiles alike.

Still not convinced? Stop by the QJCC Pesach food distribution. Plenty of other nationalities in line besides Jews, let alone haredim.

Now, would you care to clarify your statement that "Those JCCs (Jewish Community Councils) are almost all haredi-controlled."

Anyway, good luck to Rabbi Weiner and good luck to you and anyone who needs assistance in a time of need. Let's wait and see. I know bloggers have a hard time doing that.

[Shmarya Rosenberg]

Segey Kadinsky –

First of all, you’re hack reporter Kadinsky, a joke, a person of ridicule to the few professional reporters who have seen your work.

Second, in typical Kadinsky style you forgot to mention how many of those other JCCs are Modern Orthodox or Mizrachi Orthodox controlled, and you forgot to mention that the small, weak non-haredi ones have no power.

Being a moron and an asshole are preventable things, Kadinsky. Go get yourself some therapy and a profession and learn to shut your moronic mouth.

[Sergey Kadinsky]

I see no point in name calling. Answer the question.

[Shmarya Rosenberg]

Sergey Kadinsky –

I did. But like usual, you couldn’t understand the rather simple answer.