www.BXTimes.com BRONX WEEKLY March 10, 2019 6
A group of parishioners at Our Lady of Victory – St. Augustine on Webster Avenue have written to the
Archdiocese of New York to express concern concerning parish management.
Schneps Media / Patrick Rocchio
St. Augustine-OLV parishioners
charge accounting irregularities
BY PATRICK ROCCHIO
A group of parishioners
are at odds with their pastor
concerning his accounting of
church funds.
The Concerned Parishioners
of St. Augustine-Our
Lady of Victory wrote to the
Archdiocese of New York
about the concerns they
have about the pastor of their
church.
“We sent letters to the
Archdiocese and Timothy
Cardinal Dolan and his response
to each of us was a generic
response,” reads a statement
from the group. “The
Concerned Parishioners are
extremely concerned about
the irregularities in our
church.”
The Archdiocese of New
York advised the group to
contact an archdiocese offi -
cial to investigate the parish’s
fi nances.
Among the allegations
raised by the group was the
pastor, Father George Stewart,
hasn’t produced an annual
fi nancial statement
since 2015; dismissed a Roman
Catholic nun, Sr. Dorothy
Hall, who ran the church’s
food pantry, when the program
should have had ample
funds to keep her and the pantry
going; involves himself in
counting the parishioner’s
weekly tithes; and comingled
parish funds earmarked for
the pantry and other specifi c
uses for general church purposes.
Darlyne Lawson, one of the
members of the Concerned
Parishioners, went so far as to
request a forensic accounting
of the parish’s fi nances.
“There is a complete lack
of transparency,” said Lawson,
alleging: “We feel that
there could be malfeasance.”
The group alleged that
several people who had raised
concerns with the pastor regarding
his accounting practices
were fi red, ostracized or
ignored.
Hall said that at one point
she was a cosignatory on parish
accounts and had access to
the bank records.
“He is the only one counting
the Sunday collection…
(and) uses the pulpit as a bully
pulpit,” said parish member
Claire Harris
The group provided the
Bronx Times with bank records
alleging the comingling
of separate accounts, adding:
• there is no bank deposit
record listing the approximately
$33,000 a month in rent
the parish receives from Harriet
Tubman Charter School;
• there was no report made
concerning the church benefactors’
contributions, such
as the $33,000 that was in the
“food pantry director’s special
account.”
• when asked about the
comingling of an account that
was primarily earmarked for
the food pantry with general
church funds, that the pastor
responded in anger telling
Hall, the director, that the
money was used to pay food
pantry bills, which the group
believes was fully funded.
• the United Way sent the
church a check for $1,250 earmarked
for food pantry volunteers,
and that the check was
deposited in a restricted account
on July 10, 2017, but the
funds were never dispersed.
An Archdiocese of New
York spokesperson stated that
in the past, the group has contacted
them with other issues,
such as the parish council
committees or conditions of
bathrooms, and so far as it is
known never gave the Archdiocese
permission to share
the letter’s contents with Fr.
Stewart.
“The Archdiocese of New
York takes seriously allegations
of fi nancial impropriety,”
stated the spokesman.
“I would therefore encourage
the parishioners who
contacted you...to write to
the chief fi nancial offi cer of
the archdiocese, Mr. William
Whiston, to share their specifi
c concerns so that they
might be investigated and responded
to.”
In a statement, Stewart
said that since becoming pastor
he has been in regular
contact with the archdiocese
fi nancial offi ce in order to be
sure the parish is in compliance
with all fi nancial protocols
and procedures. Stewart
said that in order to achieve
transparency, the parish
presently has the oversight of
an accountant and separate
bookkeeper. His accounts
are reconciled each month
and the software is used that
makes the fi nances fully
viewable by archdiocesan authorities,
said Stewart.
He also said that in the
past year the parish completed
a full audit of parish
and pantry.
Renovated Little Claremont
Playground reopens
BY ROBERT WIRSING
A popular Claremont park
has reopened just in time for
the spring season.
NYC Parks Commissioner
Mitchell Silver, Bronx Parks
Commissioner Iris Rodriguez
Rosa, Councilwoman
Vanessa Gibson, NYC Department
of Environmental
Protections Bronx Borough
Community Liaison Eleftheria
Ardizzone, P.S. 42 students
and staff and residents
joined in commemorating the
grand reopening of the newly
renovated Little Claremont
Playground on Wednesday,
February 27.
A Community Parks Initiative
site, the .55 acre playground’s
reconstruction was
funded with $3.7 million from
Mayor de Blasio and DEP.
The park’s reconstruction
commenced on August
29, 2017 following a groundbreaking
ceremony.
Through CPI, the city
is investing $318 million in
capital dollars to renovate 67
citywide parks which have
not undergone signifi cant improvements
in decades.
“The transformation of
Little Claremont Playground
is an incredibly important
improvement for this community
and especially for
the students and staff at P.S.
42 who use this space so frequently,”
expressed Silver.
Its new amenities include
play equipment for children
ages 5 to 12-years-old, a water
play area with in-ground
features and spray posts, a
multi-purpose synthetic turf
fi eld, an outdoor classroom
with a stage and landscape
enhancements and an improved
community garden.
Silver added that these
new amenities make Little
Claremont Playground the
perfect destination for local
youth to play, discover, learn
and be physically active.
DEP has partnered with
Parks to provide green infrastructure
which will capture
storm water runoff.
DEP Commissioner Vincent
Sapienza explained
that the park’s newly installed
rain gardens, permeable
pavement and synthetic
turf fi eld will aid in reducing
stormwater runoff by
1.5 million gallons annually,
improve the Bronx Kill and
Harlem River’s health and
beautify the neighborhood.
“This new open space will
promote recreation, health
and wellness to the Claremont
community and I am
thankful for this commitment
to enhance open spaces
for our children, seniors and
families and I look forward
to more investments in our
parks across the community,”
stated Gibson.
The park was once part of
the old Morris family estate
established in 1679.
Encompassed by Claremont
Parkway between Park
and Washington avenues,
Little Claremont Playground
has a rich history with
nearby P.S. 42.
According to Desiree
Machicote, P.S. 42 Garden
and Sustainability coordinator
and science teacher, P.S.
42 and St. Paul’s Church volunteers
revitalized the former
vacant lot serving as a
garbage dump into a vibrant
GreenThumb Garden in May
1994.
Every May, P.S. 42 hosts an
Earth Day celebration at the
park for students to engage
in hands-on lessons inside
the garden where they learn
proper planting techniques
and observe local wildlife.
Throughout the years,
students enjoyed planting
marigolds, geraniums and
pansies and harvesting cherries,
peaches, zucchinis and
pumpkins from the garden.
The garden has hosted the
Daffodil Project and Butterfl
y Project NYC.
Machicote and several volunteers
plan to reintroduce
fruits and vegetables to the
new community garden.
(l-r) PEP offi cer C. Guzman; Desiree Machicote; Bronx Parks Commissioner Rodriguez-Rosa; Councilwoman
Gibson; NYC Parks Commissioner Silver; Effi e Ardizzone; Lucia Orduz-Castillo, P.S. 42 principal
and PEP offi cer Edmondson were eager to cut the ribbon. Photo by Veronica Feliciano
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