Photos yesterday by Stacie Joy
Supporters gathered outside the Sixth Street Community Center on Wednesday to announce they've filed a formal complaint with the New York State Attorney General, demanding the reinstatement of ousted Executive Director Howard Brandstein and the removal of the Center's current board of directors.
The event, organized by the Friends of Sixth Street Community Center, comes amid allegations of governance failures, financial mismanagement, and retaliatory practices at the Center, which they say threaten to upend nearly 50 years of community-driven work on the Lower East Side.
The text of the AG complaint states: "Without immediate intervention, the Center's financial stability, physical assets, and community trust will be irreparably harmed."
In April, the Center's four-member board abruptly fired Brandstein (seen below), who had led the organization for 35 years. The move followed a complaint Brandstein filed with the State Division of Human Rights in January, accusing the board of harassment and intimidation.
Since then, supporters allege, the board has dismantled critical anti-displacement efforts, including sabotaging a $100,000 planning grant to create low-income housing through a Community Land Trust.
Brandstein, a co-founder of the Center, stated that he was abruptly dismissed without severance pay or notice on the morning of April 8.
According to him, the termination letter alleged financial impropriety and misconduct — claims he categorically denies.
"This board is out to destroy me, plain and simple," he wrote in a public statement, citing not only his dismissal but also the loss of access to personal items, digital files, and ongoing project work, including a community land trust partnership to develop affordable housing.
The volunteer board has declined to discuss specific employment matters, citing legal limitations.
In a public statement in April, the board announced that it had made a "very difficult decision" to transition leadership "in the best interest of the center and its mission," adding that it is committed to maintaining SSCC's programs and its role in the neighborhood.
"We remain focused on strengthening our programs, engaging with the community, and keeping the Center accessible in all ways," the board wrote, acknowledging the disruption caused by protests and urging respect for the safety of youth program participants and staff.
Both sides agree that tensions had been escalating for over a year.
Founded in 1978, the Sixth Street Community Center, between Avenue B and Avenue C, has been an invaluable resource in the neighborhood, offering youth programs, organic food through its Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) initiative, and free meals and produce during the pandemic. It has also played a role in advocating for community land trusts and affordable housing.
The Center, meanwhile, continues its programming, including enrollment for the Sixth Street Youth Program for the 2025-26 academic year.
Previously on EV Grieve:
I was a member of the Board two years ago when one Board member, Sarah Johnson, announced in executive session that for years she's felt that so long as Howard Brandstein was associated with the Sixth Street Community Center she would refuse to raise funds for it, and that her position went back for many years. The rest of the Board went along with that, and NONE of them has raised a dime for the Center. Since that time, Sarah Johnson put that statement into writing over her signature, and that email indicating a longtime vendetta against Howard Brandstein is included in the filing to the Attorney General.
ReplyDeleteWe have so few community institutions left; we can't afford to lose another. I can't read the minds of the directors who have seized control of the Center, but it is more than reasonable to draw conclusions when the executive director of 35 years, a co-founder, is fired in a 1 a.m. email and then the board member who styles himself a "police abolitionist" calls the police on the founder! The Sixth Street Community Center would not exist without the tireless work over decades of Howard Brandstein and Annette Averette, both of whom the board is attempting to erase from history. Why?
ReplyDeleteBrandstein should publish the letter from the Board to make clear what the allegations are. If there were financial improprieties involved with the administration of a long-time nonprofit, that should be a matter for the state, but we have not heard about an investigation. You can never completely discount accusations of misconduct, but without any clarification it's hard to think the Board is acting in good faith.
ReplyDelete