Groups running NYC homeless shelters took massive salaries as questions remain over taxpayer-funded contracts: report
Top executives of taxpayer-funded groups running the city’s homeless shelters gave themselves massive salaries — and some of the nonprofits still haven’t reported their pay, a shocking new report revealed.City Hall is scrambling to make changes to its provider compliance processes after an embarrassing report from the Department of Investigations exposed inflated salaries, nepotism and a lack of competitive bidding in the city’s shelter contracting process.At least 13 of DHS’s 87 contracted shelter providers still have not disclosed their executive compensation levels to the Department of Homeless Services — a violation of their agreements.The damning report caused City Council Finance Chair Justin Brannan to remark that “blank checks to outside vendors and no-bid emergency contracts seem to flow like a freshwater stream throughout City Hall.”Brannan made his statement at a City Council joint oversight hearing Tuesday where council members grilled the Department of Social Services Commissioner Molly Wasow Park over the findings of the October report, which recommends the agency install a chief compliance officer, more closely monitor shelter expenditures and set a cap for city-funded executive compensation.“The administration has the duty and responsibility to manage city funds with prudence to ensure city funds, authorized for public services, are in fact serving the public — not friends, family or private interests,” Brannan said.The DOI identified multiple shelter executives who paid themselves big bucks after securing city-funded contracts.In one instance, the chief executive of a shelter provider paid himself more than $1 million in one year.That provider, CORE, was almost entirely funded by the city, according to the report.
Park said DHS no longer works with CORE.The president and CEO of provider Camba received more than $700,000 across multiple years, according to the report.The president and chief executive officer of Acacia Network H...