We started asking questions. Then, RIOC and the PTA at PS/IS 217 locked the doors and pulled down the shades. What are they hiding and why?
by David Stone
We started looking after learning of a theft of PTA funds that went unreported last October. Who stole at least $5,000 collected locally? Was there an investigation? Secretiveness is always a red flag.
We can’t repeat it enough: People with nothing to hide don’t hide anything. So, why were RIOC and the PTA so committed to revealing virtually nothing?
Digging around turned up some disturbing facts.
But before going deeper into this, remember that the PTA is a quasi-government organization. It has deep intrinsic ties to the New York City Department of Education. Nonprofits competing with them for funds RIOC doles out like Scrooge are not in positions like that.
The PTA is so embedded in the school system that PS/IS 217 principal Mandana Beckman is the first presenter at every monthly meeting.
RIOC and the PTA, Questions Unanswered
The PS/IS 217 parents group gathers funds from RIOC resources in two primary ways. Neither is clearly legitimate, and one shields itself behind a secret deal.
- Public Purpose Funds: According to its current budget the PTA expects $13,000 in public purpose funds. (in its budget, the PTA lists this as “RIOC General Purpose Grant,” which it absolutely is not.) Previous years were higher, averaging over $20K. With the money, it funds school activities approved through its application. In terms of resources, the school is city government funded and gets additional cash from Beacon for after school activities.
- “Saturday marketplace,¨ as it’s listed in the budget, is controversial. At a projected $30,020, it’s the third largest revenue source in a quarter-million dollar annual budget. Although the PTA lists this on their 990 Internal Revenue filing as a “fundraising” event, it’s not. It’s a business process of collecting fees from vendors at the Roosevelt Island Farmers Market. For reasons RIOC will not disclose, this comes from an exclusive, privileged permit. All fees are waived by contract. The PTA has no special expertise and does little more than collect fees from vendors. There is no accountability, and RIOC hasn’t any idea how the money is spent. Significantly, other nonprofits never get any access to this gift of public resources.
After some research, we discovered another troubling twist. “Holy shit!” one longtime resident observer said. He was responding to news that the the PTA’s co-treasurer is none other than RIOC board member Conway Ekpo. Ekpo personally filed their mandatory 2023 Internal Revenue report known as a 990.
Conflict of Interest?
RIOC, Ekpo and the PTA responded in identical fashion when asked about the potential conflict. Conflicts of interests can be anything from benign to corrupt. The only consistent thing is that they should be open and aboveboard. With RIOC and the PTA, it’s neither.
We asked RIOC board chair RuthAnne Visnauskas, the RIOC interim leadership team and Ekpo himself via email about the possible conflict of interest. Had it ever been reported?
None of them responded or even acknowledged the question. This is an easy question. If nothing untoward is going on, why not just say so and be done with it? Again, people with nothing to hide don’t hide anything. Period.
Back to the theft
In a November 2023 email to PTA members, Co-Presidents Amanda Brown and Angela Fekete reported the theft.
Of local concern, this was yet another Roosevelt Island crime that went unreported by RIOC’s Public Safety Department. An ongoing effort burnishes the facade of a crime free community by simply not reporting crimes. Makes the statistics look good. This helps real estate developers RIOC craves pleasing but does nothing for informing the community.
PTA related thefts are disturbingly common. In just 2024 so far, multiple thefts of from $15,000 to $185,000 have been reported in New York City alone. And this theft, according to informants and reports, is not a first for PS/IS 217.
RIOC and the PTA’s Poor Responses
In an email, I asked the PTA, “Finally, sources tell us that there was a theft from your accounts within the last year and a half. Please provide a summary of the incident, your police report and how the lost revenue was accounted for.”
“Please direct your inquiry to the DOE Press Office,” the PTA answered, further confirming their role as a quasi-government entity receiving money intended for nonprofits. It also confirms a total lack of transparency.
It gets worse. RIOC could not explain why or how the PTA gets privileged access to government resources. But in brief…
“Doing so would be considered misuse of public funds and could have serious legal consequences. Government resources, including taxpayer money, are meant to be used for the benefit of the public, and their distribution is subject to strict regulations and oversight. Giving them away without proper authorization would be considered a violation of these regulations.“
There is neither oversight nor proper authorization in giving away the Farmers Market revenue.
More…
In PS/IS 217’s IRS form 990, the group declares the document available upon request. It was filed by RIOC board member Ekpo. Regulations mandate a method for providing public access. But the Co-Presidents refused our request. We got the form anyway, but not through them.
The PTA also stonewalled on questions about the hows and whys of the Farmers Market. They also kicked that over to the Department of Education, which has nothing to do with it.
Finally…
- Neither RIOC nor the PTA will answer questions about RIOC’s largess toward the stonewalling nonprofit. Disclosing access to government resources and how you use them is a basic ethical and legal principal. But neither group honors it.
- RIOC board member Conway Ekpo faces a clear conflict of interest as the PTA’s co-treasurer. However, there are questions about his openness regarding this conflict. A non-response is worse than a misleading one.
- Someone stole money from the PTA, but as far as our research goes, it was not reported to RIOC. Funds received from RIOC are commingled with others. The public has a right to know were their money went and how it’s spent or lost. Thefts elevate the concerns. Yet, RIOC and the PTA put forward no answers.
- There’s a clear question of fairness. Should RIOC force Roosevelt Island nonprofits into competition with a quasi-governmental entity with vastly greater access and resources? RIOC is miserly with Public Purpose Funds. Sharing a RIOC board member as co-treasurer seems unfair on its face.
Finally, RIOC’s and the PTA’s responses to our questions are far from puzzling. Historically, the state agency has gone into bunker mode when confronted with realities it doesn’t like. History repeats. The PTA? Why stand tall as a community member when you can hide behind the Department of Education?
Transparency has taken a hit on Roosevelt Island for the last decade. During a brief period while Deputy Chief Counsel Gerrald Ellis led the state agency, the view cleared. That’s over now and, apparently, with Albany’s broad shoulders protecting secrecy about where the community’s money goes and why it goes wherever it does.
An Emergency, Apparently
Read the full article to learn more about this story.
Am new to this site but am really enjoying your investigative work; it’s what this island has needed for a long time. We are a microcosm of the country at large, and good government, as you rightly state, requires transparency and accountability, and acknowledging that its first duty lies in protecting the rights of the people who put them in office, whether it be on the local, city, state or federal level. RIOC has never shown the citizens of Roosevelt Island that it has anything by a bureaucratic involvement or interest in overseeing this island. Over the years, Albany has done nothing to dispel that perception.
That about sums it up. Thanks for your comment.