An embattled Harlem nonprofit accused of squandering tens of millions meant for the area’s regeneration is hobbled by its feckless board, sources tell The Post.
Frustrated with the West Harlem Development Corporation’s (WHDC) failure to capitalize on its near $100 million endowment from Columbia University, sources blame the long-procrastinating board, who have failed to make any significant investments to benefit the community.
The fund has dwindled to $56 million and the 13 board members, many of whom have degrees from Ivy League universities, appear beholden to its chair, ex-judge Milton Tingling, and loathe to challenge him, one former member told The Post.
The nonprofit is also being sued by former board member and employee Vincent Morgan over allegations of antisemitism, racism and harassment by the group’s executive director, Zead Ramadan.
As part of that lawsuit, Morgan claims Tingling called a meeting outside working hours in February 2024 where he told him “things are starting to go off the rails,” and told him to check with him before raising issues, according to federal court filings.
“I’m going to say this up front: What goes on here stays here,” Tingling said, according to a transcript of the meeting.
“Nobody should be going to the board. Even Zead doesn’t go to the board. He comes to me first. Okay, that’s the way it has to be. There’s no direct line to the board. That’s out completely now.”
Tingling and Ramadan did not respond to requests for comment. WHDC has denied the allegations made in Morgan’s lawsuit.
Larry English, who represents Democratic New York Congressman Adriano Espaillat on the WHDC board of directors, expressed his frustrations over the board’s inaction to The Post.
“Ultimately the money belongs to the West Harlem community and change will only occur when we demand it,” he said.
The board itself is not lacking in experience. It includes Damon Munchus, a Harvard graduate, who worked as an aide in the Obama administration and describes himself as “a Senior Qualified Financial Expert with 25+ years experience uniting investment banking deal execution, B2B technology operating finance, and federal public-policy” on his LinkedIn profile. He declined to comment for this story.
In April, English had introduced a motion to terminate Ramadan — who previously ran a café and had no nonprofit experience prior to assuming his role in 2020 — for “a pattern of behavior characterized by systemic bigotry, professional incompetence and the cultivation of a hostile work environment,” according to a motion viewed by The Post.
In one instance, Ramadan allegedly referred to two African American women on the board as “old black church ladies” and to Ross Frommer, a vice president of Columbia University as “this messy f—ing Zionist Jewish guy who has done nothing in two decades…he was the biggest bum…piece of s—t.”
The motion to terminate Ramadan was denied by the board. Earlier, board members had twice voted on whether to remove English, but he retained enough support to stay, according to documents seen by The Post.
In addition to Espaillat, other board members represent Democratic City Councilmember Sean Abreu, State Assemblyman Jordan Wright and Community Board 9 chair Victor Edwards. None returned The Post’s calls for comment about WHDC.
Wright is the son of Harlem power broker Keith Wright, who heads up the New York County Democrats, and still wields a great deal of power in the district. Wright senior also did not return a request for comment Monday.
One longtime board member doesn’t even live in the district. Ted Kovaleff, a former assistant dean of Columbia University’s School of Law and a PhD in history, who has been on the board since its formation in 2009, lives in Vermont, according to public records, and calls into board meetings.
Another board member, Georgette Morgan-Thomas, a reverend and Harlem civic leader, spends most of her time in Philadelphia running one of the last hat factories in the US, which she co-owns, according to an online bio.
Among the staff members administering the $56 million — the amount left from Columbia University’s windfall, to make good on its $6.3 billion incursion into the neighborhood — is a longtime, semi-retired bookkeeper and “financial assistant” with no corporate experience in the US. Their last job was working as “a restaurant team member” at Google, according to documents viewed by The Post.
The board also includes Darlene Grant Bruce, who was recently named a commissioner to the New York State Parole Board by Governor Kathy Hochul, a part-time position that comes with a $190,000 salary and six-year term.
However, as The Post has reported, the WHDC spends around the same amount the funds earns in interest each year, approximately $2 million on Thanksgiving turkeys a music festival and local arts groups, rather than anything meaningful for the community.
