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Opinion November 6, 2013- By Steven E. Greer
At the November 4th meeting of the CB1’s BPC subcommittee, CB1 member Bob Townley made the audacious claim, “I can tell you that Manhattan Youth serves more people in Battery Park City than any other organization.”. Mr. Townley is on a campaign to have the BPCA restore the free money that had been dolled out to his Tribeca Manhattan Youth community center for several years (Those funds were cut off after BatteryPark.TV reported).
On what basis does Mr. Townley have to claim that he “serves” BPC so well? His Manhattan Youth after-school programs do have a monopoly over the Department of Education, thanks to his supporter Sheldon Silver. But is that really altruistic “service”, or should Mr. Townley be profusely thanking the parents of BPC and the DOE for the business and revenue?
The Manhattan Youth after-school programs offered to parents are alternatives to $15/hr babysitting. The Manhattan Youth services prices range from $360 upward for one month of programs, five days a week, three hours per day. Therefore, the effective hourly rate is only $6 to $10 per hour. However, Manhattan Youth also receives large grants from the city and state to provide the after school programs.
In addition to the direct revenue generated for Mr. Townley from the after-school programs, the school programs provide essential referrals to the classes and programs offered on-site at the Manhattan Youth facility in Tribeca. Also, other enterprises run by Mr. Townley, such as his Belleayre Mountain Camp, benefit from local students signing up who are also part of the after-school programs. If Mr. Townley no longer had access to the schools within Battery Park City, the rest of his enterprises would suffer.
For Mr. Townley to take the high road and claim that he “serves” BPC is much like Gristedes claiming that they “serve” BPC with their inferior produce and high prices. Mr. Townley is interested in BPC for Mr. Townley.
Bob Townley claims to serve BPC more than any other organization
I agree with your reports on Bob Townley (and many readers feel the same) but I have a question that is often brought up when I complain about the monopoly of DCC/Manhattan Youth. It is set up as a non-profit, so how is it that Bob Townley is profiting from the monopoly? Or is DCC a non profit but Manhattan Youth isn’t?
Thanks,
Cheryl
Non-profit is a meaningless term nowadays. For example, Nancy Brinker who runs the pink ribbon mafia under the guise of breast cancer awareness makes almost a million dollar salary. Also, non-profit also does not mean non-revenue.
Got it. Non-profit also does not mean non power hungry. I’ve never understood why it is not a plain and simple conflict of interest that he’s on the CB1 Youth & Ed.
Are there any reports on Bob Townley’s salary and personal gain, or is that closely guarded? (though it’s a non profit then it should be published somewhere?)
In the 2012 form Mr. Townley claims to earn $128,400 from Manhattan Youth
To BPC Resident
You need to complain to your building that this trash is promoted proudly on the doorman counter
Editor, you highlighted this in another article, but i thought it was right on target and worth repeating. In the Broadsheet’s coverage of the Stuy Community center issue, the broadsheet describes Mark Costello as “a member of Community Board 1 (CB1), who helped negotiate the agreement that paved the way for the BPCA to recruit Asphalt Green to open the new athletic facility on North End Avenue”.
To be blunt: It doesn’t get more Orwellian than this. Costello was and is the main opponent to Asphalt Green becoming the operator of the community center space. If he had his way, Townley would have gotten control of the BPC community center and extended his monopoly. Because Costello failed, we now have the revisionist history of what occurred. Doubleplusgood, Pulitzer Matt!