Even more curiously, the New York Agency for Community Affairs isn’t based in New York at all, but at 2609 Canal Street, New Orleans, LA 70119, the same address as ACORN’s local affiliate there. What’s more, NYACA’s chief organizer is Jon Kest, younger brother of ACORN National Executive Director Steven Kest. Jon Kest also serves as chief organizer for the local ACORN chapter in New Orleans. As ACORN has its national headquarters in New Orleans (1024 Elysian Fields Avenue), it doesn’t take a huge leap of imagination to realize NYACA is an ACORN front. But NYACA isn’t entirely devoid of a New York connection: One of its employees is Bertha Lewis, head of ACORN’s New York City affiliate. And the Kests until a decade ago ran the New York City operation. That’s when Ms. Lewis assumed the reins. Even sports teams change their name if they move to another city. Apparently, ACORN affiliates don’t.
Creative bookkeeping explains why ACORN saw fit to add an organizational layer in the form of New York Agency for Community Affairs. NYACA is registered as a “public charity,” which exempts it from paying certain state and local taxes, and equally importantly, prohibits it from engaging in or supporting political activity. ACORN, on the other hand, is a “social welfare organization” - that is, authorized to conduct certain political campaign operations using public as well as private funds. ACORN in fact has received large sums of money from the Working Families Party (WFP), an entity founded by none other than Steven Kest in 1998 to move the Democratic Party leftward (Note: Under New York State election law, a party may “cross-endorse” candidates of other parties). The WFP describes itself as a coalition founded by ACORN, the Communications Workers of America and the United Auto Workers.
As ACORN Engaged In Political Work, Affiliate Received Taxpayer Money
Millions of government dollars sent to group in ACORN offices, then sent to ACORN
A non-profit organization which has affiliates providing campaign-related services for political candidates has received hundreds of thousands of dollars in taxpayer money in recent years, allocated in many cases by some of the same lawmakers on whose campaigns the group worked.
The earmarks have been directed to the New York Agency for Community Affairs (NYACA), which is located at the same office as ACORN and its various political arms.
NYACA received $175,000 from eight state senators this year, $240,500 from 10 Assembly members and $85,000 from four Council members.
Several of those legislators received backing from ACORN in current or previous political campaigns in the form of canvassing and other field work when facing contested races.
NYACA and ACORN.
“The organizations share staff and office space,” said Mariana Davenport, the executive director of NYACA, in an email, adding that, “Although many of the NYACA board members are also members of ACORN, ACORN has no authority to direct NYACA.”
Davenport, herself an ACORN employee, wrote that the organization she heads has no independent payroll and acts simply as a “fiscal sponsor” for taxpayer funding meant for ACORN’s foreclosure prevention efforts and homebuyers’ assistance programs, among other initiatives.
Davenport explained, “when NYACA receives a grant, it enters into a contract/grant agreement with ACORN which sets out the parameters of all work and strictly requires that all work complies with section 501(c)3 of the Internal Revenue code,” adding that, “the fiscal sponsor and its board serve to provide independent oversight to ensure contractors or sub-grantees use funding strictly for permissible purposes.”
The Senate Democratic Campaign Committee, for example, has paid both Data and Field Services, the for-profit arm of the Working Families Party, and “ACORN Associates” tens of thousands of dollars for campaign-related services as recently as last year.
Elected Officials Who Funded NYACA:
In addition Perkins and Krueger, the state senators who have funded NYACA are: Eric Schneiderman, Velmanette Montgomery, Ruth Hassell-Thompson, Hiram Monserrate, Kevin Parker, Diane Savino, Eric Adams and John Sampson.
In addition to Palma, the Council members who have funded NYACA are: Bill de Blasio, Melissa Mark-Viverito and James Sanders.
The Assembly members who have funded NYACA are: Sheldon Silver, William Boyland, Adam Clayton Powell IV, Hakeem Jeffries, Vivian Cook, Audrey Pheffer, Annette Robinson, Richard Gottfried, Nick Perry and Darryl Towns. Aurelia Greene, now the deputy Bronx borough president, also funded the group while in the Assembly.
http://www.cityhallnews.com/news/132/ARTICLE/2116/2009-09-02.html