Ridgewood Bushwick Senior Citizens Council is a non-profit organization

Non-profit organization

Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...

 in Bushwick, Brooklyn

Bushwick, Brooklyn

Bushwick is a neighborhood in the northern part of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood, formerly Brooklyn's 18th Ward, is now part of Brooklyn Community Board 4...

. Founded in 1973 by Vito Lopez

Vito Lopez

Vito Joseph Lopez is an American politician, member of the New York State Assembly, and chairman of the Democratic Party of Kings County.-Personal life:...

(now a New York State Assemblyman), RBSCC offers housing and family services to neighborhoods in Brooklyn and Queens.

Investigations

Media reports in September 2010 reported that RBSCC was under investigation for political conflicts of interest and financial mismanagement. City and state contracts with RBSCC have been put on hold pending the outcome of these investigations.

2010 NYC DOI Probe

According to a 2010 report by the New York City Department of Investigation, RBSCC employees at the Hope Gardens Senior Center received City funding for services that were not provided, submitting falsified attendance sheets, contracts, and other fraudulent paperwork to substantiate the claims.

The report outlined inadequate management and oversight by RBSCC, and expressed concern regarding the organization's board. Investigators interviewed seven members of the nine-member board; the DOI report noted that "none of the seven interviewed has any significant expertise or experience", "the majority of Board members could not identify Ridgewood Bushwick's Controller or remember receiving any financial reports", and "two of the Board members could not identify the Executive Director of the organization."