The local paper for the Upper pper East Side Sid WHAT’S A MASTERPIECE WORTH? ◄ CITY ARTS, P.12
WEEK OF WEEKAUGUST OF AUG. - SEPT.
29-4 292019
FAREWELL TO RISTORANTE MORINI BUSINESS
A neighborhood favorite is the first of five businesses to shut down on Madison Avenue near 86th Street BY EMA SCHUMER
Ristorante Morini was the first of five businesses along Madison Avenue between 85th and 86th Streets to close on Friday, August 16, allegedly at the behest of the real estate investment trust that owns the property located at 1167 Madison Avenue. The four other stores — H.L. Purdy Opticians, shoe seller Chuckies, Premier Cru Wine Merchants, and Prestige Cleaners — will follow suit in the near future, representatives at the stores said. In December 2015, Vornado Realty Trust purchased 1167 Madison Avenue and the adjoining property at 50 East 86th Street, The Real Deal reported. The real estate investment trust boasts a vast portfolio of commercial, retail, and residential property, including the 950-foot tall condominium tower under construction at 220 Central Park South. Sometime in July, Vornado gave the five businesses on Madison notice that they must evacuate their storefronts, according to owners and employees at the stores.
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HEARTLESS ATTACK ON HEART OF NEW YORK
PHILANTHROPY
Scores of nonprofits – and the multitude of donors who support them – lost hundreds of thousands of dollars when the credit card processor they depended on suddenly went dark.
INSIDE
'A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF ANGER' The firing of Daniel Pantaleo roils the NYPD ranks. p. 6
BY DOUGLAS FEIDEN
An online fundraising platform that enabled charities to receive donations from the public abruptly ended operations, cut off all communications – and stopped disbursing the funds it owed to its nonprofit clients, a dozen of them told Straus News. The alleged victims include dance companies, theater troupes, opera companies, arts groups, preservation groups, PTAs, immigrant support groups, senior groups, educational advocacy groups and organizations affiliated with churches and synagogues. All of them had relied on NYCharities.org, a nonprofit e-giving web site headquartered at 50 Broadway and founded in 2004 by Cristine Cronin, its president, mostly to help smallsized charities with modest budgets and staffs manage their philanthropic giving. While there were a few glitches along the way, that’s basically what it did for 15 years, most of the nonprofits agreed. Then in May and
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BRINGING TECH TO SENIORS A pilot program aims to enhance quality of life for older Roosevelt Island residents. p. 9
State Attorney General Letitia (Tish) James (left) with Leonie Haimson, founder and executive director of Class Size Matters, at a June 19 fundraiser. The educational advocacy group says it lost $7,000 on the bash because NYCharities, the online funding platform it used, never handed over the funds. Now, James is investigating the matter. Photo: Patrick Nevada / Class Size Matters
June, the portal continued to process the donations it received, but those funds never reached their intended recipients, those groups allege. Now, they are telling their stories to at least two sets of investigators: State Attorney General Letitia James launched a probe on July 31. Separately, Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance’s Major Economic Crimes Bureau has also been gather-
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ing facts and taking statements from dozens of the nonprofits. In a statement, James said NYCharities.org had “failed to distribute hundreds of thousands of dollars to New York charities over the past several months … inexcusably depriving charities of their donors’ generosity.” “Leaving New York’s charitable or-
WHEN EXERCISE BECOMES AN ADDICTION How much of a good thing is too much? p. 2
Jewish women and girls light up the world by lighting the Shabbat candles every Friday evening 18 minutes before sunset. Friday, August 30– 7:14 pm. For more information visit www.chabaduppereastrside.com.
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