New York Attorney General Letitia James is seeking to dissolve a non-profit substance abuse treatment organization that ceased operating in 2014 and to give away its properties to two similar organizations.
James petitioned Westchester Supreme Court on March 26 to terminate Renaissance Project Inc. as a corporate entity and to transfer property titles to Lexington Center for Recovery Inc. and Samaritan Daytop Village Inc.
The attorney general has the authority to dissolve a charity that no longer fulfills its purpose, the petition states, and “the Renaissance Project is precisely such an entity. … In every meaningful sense, it is incapable of carrying out its corporate mission.”
The Renaissance Project, of New Rochelle, was formed in 1982 and provided treatment to people with substance abuse disorders at centers in Peekskill in Westchester County and Ellenville in Ulster County.
The state financed the programs through the Office of Addiction Services and backed the deals with state Dormitory Authority mortgages. In exchange, the state got liens that ensured that the properties would be dedicated exclusively for disorder treatment programs for 20 years.
In 2014, after receiving millions of dollars from the state and as the Dormitory Authority was about to close on the mortgages, the Renaissance Project abruptly ceased operations.
The officers and board of directors reneged on state contracts, refused to proceed with the mortgages, and disbanded the corporation, according to the petition.
The state quickly transferred the Peekskill program to Lexington Center for Recovery Inc., based in Katonah, and the Ellenville program to Samaritan Daytop Village Inc., based in Queens.
But because no one was given authority to transfer assets after the organization was disbanded, the properties remain in the name of the Renaissance Project.
The attorney general is asking the court to formally dissolve the Renaissance Project and then transfer the property titles to Lexington Center for Recovery and Samaritan Daytop Village.
Transferring the property titles would allow the state to place new liens on the properties and ensure uninterrupted services for 30 years, according to the petition, and would enable Lexington Center and Samaritan Daytop Village to receive new state financing for renovations and improvements.
The petition was filed by Peggy J. Farber, an assistant attorney general in the Charities Bureau.
