Thread: Brooklyn BID director charged with stealing $85K for wild shopping spree that include

Brooklyn BID director charged with stealing $85K for wild shopping spree that included Beyonce concert tickets

BY OREN YANIV
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Monday, March 16, 2015

Sharon Davidson allegedly bought $600 Beyonce concert tickets with stolen cash.

She was allegedly crazy in larceny.

A Beyonce fan who served as the director of a Brooklyn Business Improvement District was charged Monday with stealing $85,000 to pay for Queen Bee concert tickets, mani-pedis, Weight Watchers and a host of other personal expenses.

Sharon Davidson, 63, used the North Flatbush BID “accounts as her own personal piggy bank, spending non-stop on everything from airline tickets to chocolates,” said Brooklyn District Attorney Kenneth Thompson. “She will now be held accountable. "

Sharon Davidson, 63, who served as the director of a Brooklyn Business Improvement District, plans to fight the charges, said her lawyer.


The director of the group, that’s meant to promote some 150 neighborhood small businesses, is accused of making unauthorized withdrawals of funds between 2010 and 2013, using ATMs, checks and credit card to pamper and better herself.

BID debits cards were used to spend $4,000 at the fashion retailer Talbots and buy $3,000 worth of groceries at Fresh Direct. Davidson also treated herself to $600 Beyonce tickets, $600 at Weight Watchers, $400 on manicures and pedicures and $13,000 via Paypal to buy shoes, clothing, jewelry and makeup, prosecutors said.

The alleged theft, also spent on restaurants and other amenities, totalled $85,691.36, according to the indictment. Davidson is also charged with falsely collecting $5,190 in unemployment benefits.

The dubious expenses were discovered by the city’s Department of Small Business Services, which referred them to the Department of Investigation.

“This type of charged conduct sabotages an entire community,” said the agency’s commissioner Mark Peters.

Davidson, of Riverhead, L.I., was released without bail after pleading not guilty to grand larceny and fraud charges.

Her lawyer Morris Shamuil said his client has records that can justify the expenses.

“She maintains her innocence,” he said. “She wants to fight the case.”

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/...icle-1.2151587

North Flatbush BID Was $31K in the Hole Before Chief Stepped Down: Records


By Leslie Albrecht on
February 19, 2014 9:37am



The North Flatbush Business Improvement District has operated with a deficit for several years, according to public records.View Full CaptionFlickr/threecee


BROOKLYN — The nonprofit group that's responsible for helping Flatbush Avenue businesses thrive was carrying a deficit of its own that topped $35,000 in recent years, records show.

The North Flatbush Business Improvement District, which charges an annual fee to local businesses for street cleaning and other local improvements, spent more money than it took in for at least four years in a row, according to the group's most recent filings with the Internal Revenue Service.

The red ink has caught the attention of the city's Small Business Services agency, which oversees New York City's more than 60 BIDs.

BIDs "typically do not run a deficit," and the SBS has "been working with the North Flatbush BID to review the organization’s financial management, which is still ongoing," an SBS spokeswoman said.

The BID's executive director, Sharon Davidson, stepped down in Decemberafter five years at the helm. Davidson served as the BID's vice president for five years before becoming executive director.

She said the BID's shaky financial footing was an ongoing problem.

"It’s hard to run a BID when you only have $115,000," Davidson said. "We always had a deficit. There were times that I didn’t get paid. We had a board comprised of multi-millionaires who refused to increase the budget."

The BID's board president, Regina Cahill, did not respond to a request for comment.

Tax documents show that the BID has been in the red since 2007, when the executive director was Dawn C. Torres. That year, the BID reported income of $139,000 and expenses of $172,000, ending the year $33,410 in the red.

Davidson took over the next year, and the BID continued to out-spend its revenues, running a deficit of $12,433. In 2009, the overspending swelled to $36,871. The deficits continued each year until 2011, the most recent year for which records are available. In its last IRS filing, the BID reported income of $123,703 and expenses of $155,268, ending the fiscal year with a $31,565 deficit.

From 2007 to 2011, the BID's overall assets shrank from a positive balance of $52,805 to a deficit of $33,559, records show.
The North Flatbush Avenue BID, which is led by a president, executive director, and board of directors, is a nonprofit public charity whose mission is to "promote the economic growth and well-being of the people and businesses in the North Flatbush Avenue area," according to documents filed with the IRS.

In 2013, the BID took in $150,000 from paying members in its 24-block territory, according to the Small Business Services agency. Information on 2013 expenses wasn't available.

In recent years BID's activities have included pushing for the creation ofpublic plazas on north Flatbush Avenue, installing promotional banners along the avenue, publishing a shopping guide, and offering workshops for local merchants on topics such as how to use social media.

http://www.ibrooklyn.com/news/newsar...?ArticleID=184

What is a BID?

February 7, 2009 Sharon Davidson
New York City is home to the nation’s largest, most comprehensive network of Business Improvement Districts (BID’s) in the country. The city’s BID’s annually contribute over $80 million worth of services to more than 70,000 businesses in neighborhoods across the five boroughs.
A Business Improvement District or “BID” is a formal organization made up of property owners and commercial tenants who are dedicated to promoting business development and improving an area’s quality of life. BID’s deliver supplemental services such as sanitation and maintenance, public safety and visitor services, marketing and promotional programs, capital improvements, and beautification for the area – all funded by a special assessment paid by property owners within the district. Since its inception over twenty years ago, the City’s BID program has contributed over $830 million in supplemental services to invigorate our neighborhoods.
The New York City Department of Small Business Services (SBS) is the lead agency responsible for BID creation and oversight. If you would like more information or to learn more about SBS and the BID creation process, visitwww.nyc.govdistrictdevelopement.