Another "slam" against the Arts & Cultural Council

An open letter to the NYS Council on the Arts. Never mind the moderator of this webpage; everything I post on this webpage is the gospel truth. <!--break--> <p>A letter to the New York State Council on the Arts -- </p><p /><p>Steve Jones,<br /><br />I wanted to share your concerns re: the Arts &amp;<br />Cultural Council of Greater Rochester.  Another staff<br />person at NYSCA gave me your info to address my<br />concerns.<br /><br />I'm writing you on behalf of Friends Helping Friends,<br />Inc., a nonprofit organization located in Rochester,<br />NY.  FHF was awarded a $10,000 grant through the Arts<br />&amp; Cultural Council to install a 32 ft. mural on the<br />exterior of our leased &quot;food cupboard&quot; warehouse that<br />distributed groceries to over 500 people a week.  As<br />far as I know, this mural was the largest arts project<br />that the A&amp;CC funded all year.  As a pre-requisite to<br />recieving the grant, I had the owner of the building<br />sign a contract with the Arts &amp; Cultural Council to<br />never remove the mural.  Naively believing that the<br />A&amp;CC had the best interests of the arts and the arts<br />projects they helped fund, I did not keep a copy of<br />the contract for myself.<br /><br />In 2005, Friends Helping Friends disagreement with the<br />owner of the building culminated with FHF ultimately<br />being evicted from the warehouse.  When the<br />disagreement became unmanageable, I contacted the Arts<br />&amp; Cultural Council and requested that the A&amp;CC assist<br />us in negotiating a solution or at least provide FHF<br />with a lawyer.  FHF had already contacted the Legal<br />Aid Society which provides low-quality legal<br />assistance aimed at preventing low-income people from<br />becoming homeless after an eviction.  The A&amp;CC refused<br />to assist FHF or even provide a lawyer, as was<br />promised to members of the A&amp;CC who were in<br />arts-related legal dispute (FHF was a member, in<br />addition to a grantee).  Instead, the A&amp;CC referred<br />FHF to the Legal Aid Society, claiming that the Legal<br />Aid Society could help us.<br /><br />I was hoping that Sarah Lentini, or her husband,<br />Philip Lentini, could help us, as both individuals are<br />affluent and influential members of Rochester and the<br />owner of the building did business (printing) with the<br />A&amp;CC.  When Michael Futter and Clare Gunther (A&amp;CC<br />employees) told me that they couldn't help me with<br />either request, I felt that their actions were<br />inappropriate.  So I sent correspondence to the Arts &amp;<br />Cultural Council's Board of Directors, as well as<br />Michael Futter, Clare Gunther and Sarah Lentini urging<br />them to take action on our behalf and at very least<br />enforce the contract against the owner.  <br /><br />When Michael Futter received the correspondence, he<br />used the A&amp;CC's position as a disperser of funds to<br />intimidate myself and a local artist.  A &quot;Special<br />Opportunity Stipend&quot; had been awarded for an artist<br />that was painting a mural on a different FHF<br />warehouse.  I filled out the application for the<br />artist and signed his name with his permission, as the<br />artist lived one hour outside the city.  Mr. Futter<br />contacted both of us by phone to accuse us of fraud,<br />as I had signed the artists' name.  Sensing that Mr.<br />Futter was acting for political reasons, not for the<br />reasons he stated, I contacted Shaun Miller, from<br />NYFA.  After I explained Mr. Futter's political<br />motivations for accusing FHF of fraud to Mr. Miller,<br />Mr. Futter abruptly dropped his complaint against<br />Friends Helping Friends and myself.  <br /><br />Sarah Lentini contacted FHF by phone and told me that<br />no contract ever existed and that the Arts &amp; Cultural <br />Council did not do business with the owner's company. <br />Sarah Lentini informed me that the A&amp;CC would sue me<br />for slander if I told anyone otherwise and demanded to<br />know if I would &quot;shut up.&quot;  Dumbfounded, I declined to<br />answer and then later I contacted Sarah Lentini to<br />tell her that I would not remain silent (I have no<br />assets for Ms. Lentini to seize) and that we would<br />picket the Arts &amp; Cultural Council to let the public<br />know how horribly the Arts &amp; Cultural Council was<br />acting!  <br /><br />Ms. Lentini's lawyer later sent me a letter demanding<br />to know who my lawyer was.  Another means of<br />intimidation, Ms. Lentini knew neither I, nor FHF<br />could afford legal assistance, as they had denied our<br />request for legal assistance.  Even though I was being<br />honest, if I could not afford legal representation, I<br />would lose a court case against a professional lawyer.<br /><br />After I told Ms. Lentini of our intentions to picket<br />the Arts &amp; Cultural Council, the Legal Aid Society<br />withdrew their legal assistance to Friends Helping<br />Friends during our eviction process, citing &quot;a<br />conflict of interest.&quot;  The only conflict of interest<br />I could think of was that one of the directors of the<br />Legal Aid Society served on the board of directors for<br />the A&amp;CC.  Friends Helping Friends, an organization<br />that provided 500 people with their weekly meals and<br />groceries was evicted with 72 hours notice after the<br />Legal Aid withdrew its support a couple days before<br />our last court date.  Furthermore, our legal assistant<br />began to cooperate with the owner's attorney to ensure<br />FHF's timely eviction; I suppose the long eviction<br />process was expensive to the owner and embarassing to<br />both the A&amp;CC and the owner.  <br /><br />No-one at the Legal Aid Society would tell me what the<br />&quot;conflict of interest&quot; was.  I even filed a complaint<br />with the local Grievance Committee for lawyers asking<br />about the &quot;conflict of interest.&quot;  The Grievance<br />Committee told me that what happened was an<br />administrative decision within the Legal Aid Society<br />and they had no jurisdiction over that organization.<br /><br />Ironically, the A&amp;CC not only refused to help, but<br />facilitated our eviction.<br /><br />Immediately prior to the eviction, the artist that<br />painted the mural contacted Sarah Lentini to urge the<br />A&amp;CC to not take legal action against her for removing<br />the mural so that the mural would not be destroyed. <br />Sarah Lentini refused to respond negatively or<br />positively to the artist's request.  We removed the<br />mural anyways, to do the right thing, and risk legal<br />action against us from the A&amp;CC.<br /><br />After the eviction, I realized that I would still like<br />to apply for funding from the A&amp;CC for community arts<br />projects.  So I asked Sarah Lentini to go to<br />arbitration with me at the Center for Dispute<br />Settlement to reach an understanding.  Ms. Lentini<br />refused to go to arbitration.<br /><br />Friends Helping Friends is closing on the purchase of<br />our new facility in the same neighborhood as our<br />previous facility in April.  We think that the owner<br />of the previous building and/or the A&amp;CC should pay<br />for the removal and new installation expenses that<br />FHF, an essentially all-volunteer and underfunded<br />organization, has incurred and will incur.  Is there<br />anyway you can help us with that?<br /><br />I'd also like to know why the A&amp;CC did that to us. <br />We're a small, grassroots nonprofit that's been<br />heralded as martyrs and champions for our clients in<br />all of the local newspapers.  The only thing I can<br />think of is that Ms. Lentini and the A&amp;CC are only<br />interested in their own bottom line and would rather<br />facilitate the destruction of the largest arts project<br />they funded all year, than risk &quot;rocking the boat&quot; and<br />helping us.  I figure that since we're a small<br />volunteer organization, that Ms. Lentini figured that<br />it would be easier to crush us than take our side.  I<br />would like to think otherwise, but that's all I can<br />come up with right now.  I can send you documentation,<br />if you'd like.<br /><br />Could you please follow up with this complaint and<br />provide me some insight into what happenend?<br /><br />Andrew Stankevich<br />Friends Helping Friends<br />(585) 325-7417<br /></p>

<p>An open letter to the NYS Council on the Arts. Never mind the moderator of this webpage; everything I post on this webpage is the gospel truth.</p> <!--break--><p>A letter to the New York State Council on the Arts -- </p> <p></p> <p>Steve Jones,</p> <p>I wanted to share your concerns re: the Arts &amp;<br />Cultural Council of Greater Rochester.  Another staff<br />person at NYSCA gave me your info to address my<br />concerns.</p> <p>I'm writing you on behalf of Friends Helping Friends,<br />Inc., a nonprofit organization located in Rochester,<br />NY.  FHF was awarded a $10,000 grant through the Arts<br />&amp; Cultural Council to install a 32 ft. mural on the<br />exterior of our leased "food cupboard" warehouse that<br />distributed groceries to over 500 people a week.  As<br />far as I know, this mural was the largest arts project<br />that the A&amp;CC funded all year.  As a pre-requisite to<br />recieving the grant, I had the owner of the building<br />sign a contract with the Arts &amp; Cultural Council to<br />never remove the mural.  Naively believing that the<br />A&amp;CC had the best interests of the arts and the arts<br />projects they helped fund, I did not keep a copy of<br />the contract for myself.</p> <p>In 2005, Friends Helping Friends disagreement with the<br />owner of the building culminated with FHF ultimately<br />being evicted from the warehouse.  When the<br />disagreement became unmanageable, I contacted the Arts<br />&amp; Cultural Council and requested that the A&amp;CC assist<br />us in negotiating a solution or at least provide FHF<br />with a lawyer.  FHF had already contacted the Legal<br />Aid Society which provides low-quality legal<br />assistance aimed at preventing low-income people from<br />becoming homeless after an eviction.  The A&amp;CC refused<br />to assist FHF or even provide a lawyer, as was<br />promised to members of the A&amp;CC who were in<br />arts-related legal dispute (FHF was a member, in<br />addition to a grantee).  Instead, the A&amp;CC referred<br />FHF to the Legal Aid Society, claiming that the Legal<br />Aid Society could help us.</p> <p>I was hoping that Sarah Lentini, or her husband,<br />Philip Lentini, could help us, as both individuals are<br />affluent and influential members of Rochester and the<br />owner of the building did business (printing) with the<br />A&amp;CC.  When Michael Futter and Clare Gunther (A&amp;CC<br />employees) told me that they couldn't help me with<br />either request, I felt that their actions were<br />inappropriate.  So I sent correspondence to the Arts &amp;<br />Cultural Council's Board of Directors, as well as<br />Michael Futter, Clare Gunther and Sarah Lentini urging<br />them to take action on our behalf and at very least<br />enforce the contract against the owner.  </p> <p>When Michael Futter received the correspondence, he<br />used the A&amp;CC's position as a disperser of funds to<br />intimidate myself and a local artist.  A "Special<br />Opportunity Stipend" had been awarded for an artist<br />that was painting a mural on a different FHF<br />warehouse.  I filled out the application for the<br />artist and signed his name with his permission, as the<br />artist lived one hour outside the city.  Mr. Futter<br />contacted both of us by phone to accuse us of fraud,<br />as I had signed the artists' name.  Sensing that Mr.<br />Futter was acting for political reasons, not for the<br />reasons he stated, I contacted Shaun Miller, from<br />NYFA.  After I explained Mr. Futter's political<br />motivations for accusing FHF of fraud to Mr. Miller,<br />Mr. Futter abruptly dropped his complaint against<br />Friends Helping Friends and myself.  </p> <p>Sarah Lentini contacted FHF by phone and told me that<br />no contract ever existed and that the Arts &amp; Cultural <br />Council did not do business with the owner's company. <br />Sarah Lentini informed me that the A&amp;CC would sue me<br />for slander if I told anyone otherwise and demanded to<br />know if I would "shut up."  Dumbfounded, I declined to<br />answer and then later I contacted Sarah Lentini to<br />tell her that I would not remain silent (I have no<br />assets for Ms. Lentini to seize) and that we would<br />picket the Arts &amp; Cultural Council to let the public<br />know how horribly the Arts &amp; Cultural Council was<br />acting!  </p> <p>Ms. Lentini's lawyer later sent me a letter demanding<br />to know who my lawyer was.  Another means of<br />intimidation, Ms. Lentini knew neither I, nor FHF<br />could afford legal assistance, as they had denied our<br />request for legal assistance.  Even though I was being<br />honest, if I could not afford legal representation, I<br />would lose a court case against a professional lawyer.</p> <p>After I told Ms. Lentini of our intentions to picket<br />the Arts &amp; Cultural Council, the Legal Aid Society<br />withdrew their legal assistance to Friends Helping<br />Friends during our eviction process, citing "a<br />conflict of interest."  The only conflict of interest<br />I could think of was that one of the directors of the<br />Legal Aid Society served on the board of directors for<br />the A&amp;CC.  Friends Helping Friends, an organization<br />that provided 500 people with their weekly meals and<br />groceries was evicted with 72 hours notice after the<br />Legal Aid withdrew its support a couple days before<br />our last court date.  Furthermore, our legal assistant<br />began to cooperate with the owner's attorney to ensure<br />FHF's timely eviction; I suppose the long eviction<br />process was expensive to the owner and embarassing to<br />both the A&amp;CC and the owner.  </p> <p>No-one at the Legal Aid Society would tell me what the<br />"conflict of interest" was.  I even filed a complaint<br />with the local Grievance Committee for lawyers asking<br />about the "conflict of interest."  The Grievance<br />Committee told me that what happened was an<br />administrative decision within the Legal Aid Society<br />and they had no jurisdiction over that organization.</p> <p>Ironically, the A&amp;CC not only refused to help, but<br />facilitated our eviction.</p> <p>Immediately prior to the eviction, the artist that<br />painted the mural contacted Sarah Lentini to urge the<br />A&amp;CC to not take legal action against her for removing<br />the mural so that the mural would not be destroyed. <br />Sarah Lentini refused to respond negatively or<br />positively to the artist's request.  We removed the<br />mural anyways, to do the right thing, and risk legal<br />action against us from the A&amp;CC.</p> <p>After the eviction, I realized that I would still like<br />to apply for funding from the A&amp;CC for community arts<br />projects.  So I asked Sarah Lentini to go to<br />arbitration with me at the Center for Dispute<br />Settlement to reach an understanding.  Ms. Lentini<br />refused to go to arbitration.</p> <p>Friends Helping Friends is closing on the purchase of<br />our new facility in the same neighborhood as our<br />previous facility in April.  We think that the owner<br />of the previous building and/or the A&amp;CC should pay<br />for the removal and new installation expenses that<br />FHF, an essentially all-volunteer and underfunded<br />organization, has incurred and will incur.  Is there<br />anyway you can help us with that?</p> <p>I'd also like to know why the A&amp;CC did that to us. <br />We're a small, grassroots nonprofit that's been<br />heralded as martyrs and champions for our clients in<br />all of the local newspapers.  The only thing I can<br />think of is that Ms. Lentini and the A&amp;CC are only<br />interested in their own bottom line and would rather<br />facilitate the destruction of the largest arts project<br />they funded all year, than risk "rocking the boat" and<br />helping us.  I figure that since we're a small<br />volunteer organization, that Ms. Lentini figured that<br />it would be easier to crush us than take our side.  I<br />would like to think otherwise, but that's all I can<br />come up with right now.  I can send you documentation,<br />if you'd like.</p> <p>Could you please follow up with this complaint and<br />provide me some insight into what happenend?</p> <p>Andrew Stankevich<br />Friends Helping Friends<br />(585) 325-7417</p>