“Conspiracy” against Alianza Dominicana and leadership silence in New York

This is a reprint of original article posted by 
José Carvajal, Queenslatino, 23 August 2010. 

In editorials section of VOICES THAT MUST BE HEARD - 
Edition 439 2 September 2010 Translated from Spanish by Warren G. Gottlieb.

The City owes more than $2 million to Alianza Dominicana. There are 300 employees whose salaries are not being paid as a result of this debt, and more than 30,000 people who receive social services through this NGO are at risk—and not one political leader says anything? Where then is the leadership that they praise so much?

The Alianza Dominicana crisis may have originated at the municipal office that grants funding to the nonprofit organization, which provides services to 30,000 people annually.

My informant, Deep Throat, assures me that the City owes more than $2 million to Alianza for services that the NGO rendered to the hundreds of people that regularly attend programs that cover a range of needs affecting hundreds of families in upper Manhattan.

So, it's not ridiculous to think that the City is largely to blame for Alianza's internal crisis. Without the City's unfulfilled debt and delays originating from the municipal offices, Moisés Pérez and the board of directors would not have had the urgent need to devise ways to stay afloat waiting for the "fat cats" to dole out the dough.

The problem grew to greater proportions when Alianza became unable to pay the salaries of its 300-employee staff. Of course, discontent is restless and the staff's claims saw the light of day, and leaked through to the media.

I in particular do not rule out a conspiracy. No institution that is owed $2 million can survive the crisis that such a debt generates, unless its directors are creative enough to resolve the problem, which is what happened in this case.

Now what's surprising is the silence of Washington Heights' political leaders regarding this possible conspiracy, which is apparently financial in nature. They have said very little and have been elusive—like someone who doesn't want to deal with a situation that doesn't involve them.

However, there are leaders who cannot afford the luxury of hiding, or to ignore what is happening. Assemblyman and Senate hopeful Adriano Espaillat (D-District 72) shouldn't, nor should Council Member Ydanis Rodríguez (D-District 10), or the dean of community politicians Guillermo Linares, because all three of them know both sides of the coin—Moisés y Alianza on one side and the money (the City) on the other. The community should call on them to speak out virgorously and honestly.

Sociologist Ramona Hernández, whose Dominican Studies Institute, walled within the royal buildings of New York's City College, received funds arranged by ex-Council Member Miguel Martínez, diminished now to federal inmate for committing financial crimes, should also speak out.

Only a simpleton, someone incapable of seeing past the nose on their face, could come away from the problem that Alianza Dominicana is facing and see it as a bad moment for Moisés Pérez and his relationship with the City.

Posted in: Alianza,Espaillat,Y Rodriguez