45.6 F
New York
Friday, March 29, 2024

Bronx Councilman Gives $130K in Taxpayer Money to His Former Nonprofit

Related Articles

-Advertisement-

Must read

Bronx Councilman Mark Gjonaj has included $130,000 of the city budget for the fiscal year to go to his own nonprofit organization, the Albanian-American Community Association, Crain’s Reported

According to the plan’s Schedule C, which lists “discretionary funds” that council members give to groups of their choice, shows two different five-figure donations to the AACA – $55,000 coming from Gjonaj himself, and $75,000 from Speaker Corey Johnson. The document shows that Gjonaj requested that Johnson donate the money to the AACA. According to the budget, both donations are listed as “funding to support community engagement activities including cultural, educational and recreational programming and services.” Other Albanian organizations are listed in the budget to receive a combined $22,777 from the city in the coming fiscal year.

This is the first year that the AACA is receiving money from the city and is also Gjonaj’s first year as a council member. The group was first registered with the state Charities Bureau in March, even though it was incorporated in the state in 2007.

The donation follows State Board of Elections records, which show that in January, Gjonaj gave them $10,000 from his campaign. Gjonaj, who was elected to the council last year and to the New York General Assembly back in 2012, is a second-generation immigrant from Montenegro, and the first person of Albanian descent to be elected to either governing body , according to Crain’s.

The AACA did not list Gjonaj as an executive when they filed with the Charities Bureau, but local and Albanian news reports found by Crain’s New York Business list him as a “co-founder” of the organization. Gjonaj had also listed his personal phone number as a contact on the group’s social media page, and the group’s secretary, Vilma Jankovic, worked on Gjonaj’s campaign.

Furthermore, the address listed as the AACA headquarters on Gjonaj’s political donations account, 970 Morris Park Avenue, is also the office of M & P Realty, Gjonaj’s family business. This address is also listed under the organization’s publicly listed connection with the IRS, which also gives the same phone number for both the AACA and M & P Realty. The filings that the group made with the Charities Bureau give the address at 931 Morris Park Avenue, which is also the address of Gjonaj’s brother’s firm, Celaj, Brija & Gjonaj Property Tax Consultants.

Gjonaj’s office said that the Association is in the process of updating its address to 1740 Hone Avenue on all paperwork, and that he has fully disassociated himself from the group. Interestingly, that address is also home to the law firm Madonna & Del Vecchio, whose partner William Madonna served as legal counsel to Gjonaj’s Assebly office prior to his passing in 2017.

Office spokesman Reginald Johnson told Crain’s New York Business, “The councilman is no longer involved with the organization,” and insisted that all references to Gjonaj being a co-founder of the organization were in error, as he was only a volunteer and supporter of the AACA.

By Ronald Kurtz

balance of natureDonate

Latest article

- Advertisement -