Overview:
Nonprofit Little Haiti BK’s alleged role in the 2023 New York Haitian Heritage Parade signals broader challenges it is aiming to confront as both its management and the community shift over the past few years. This report is part 2 of 3.
BROOKLYN — When the swatch of Flatbush known as “Little Haiti” was first designated in 2018, its stated goal was to “help small businesses remain in the neighborhood, erect a monument and build a cultural center,” according to a New York Times report. By 2021, Little Haiti BK Inc., a nonprofit founded to execute the vision, had gotten a subway station and several streets renamed to reflect the area’s Haitian heritage. Leaders also sought to form a Business Improvement District (BID) to revitalize businesses. Its top champion, Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn spoke of raising the neighborhood’s consumer price index (CPI).
In the three years since, few have seen the achievements. As Haitian residents have complained of homes becoming more unaffordable, gentrification and urgent matters such as immigration among their priorities, Little Haiti BK Inc.’s website went down. Its name began to appear as a sponsor or organizer on the cultural front – with a holiday tree lighting, a short films festival and three parades — the “Ayiti Nou La Toujou” parade in 2022, the 2023 one in dispute, and the 2024 Labor Day carnival. In the latter, Little Haiti BK Inc led a petition to keep Haitian ex-president Michel Martelly from the Parkway.
Over those three years, Little Haiti BK Inc. also became a key defendant in the parade lawsuit brought on by Lionel Lamarre. Meanwhile, on the business and economic improvement front, some residents complain that parts of Little Haiti now look like a neighborhood falling further into decline. Even though new construction is rising across the area, at a time when Haitian residents were still navigating a pandemic recovery, anxiety over turmoil in Haiti and immigration, and meeting basic needs, many Little Haiti residents have a different set of priorities.
“It’s too dirty,” Claudia Israel, a shopper at a Haitian variety store on Nostrand Avenue, said back in September.
Israel went on to list too much trash, delinquents and the subway reeking of urine as her top issues.
Indeed, it is not uncommon to wade through empty containers, debris and flying dirt while walking along Nostrand Avenue near Avenue D and Newkirk, the heart of the cultural district. On the September morning, two blocks from the Little Haiti subway station, a man arranged himself on a twin mattress under a tree to take a nap, as a city bus zoomed past a collection of debris close to the curb.
“The Haitian businesses aren’t organized enough,” Israel added. “They need the means to do it.”
Storekeeper Doris Etheart, listening to Israel over the stack of products, weighed in about the new construction and renovations underway even as existing business struggles.
“The only thing changing is gentrification. The white people [moving in] – it’s for them,” Etheart said. “It’s not for people who have been here.”
Disputed DYCD contract raises financial management questions
Looking at recent Little Haiti BK records over the past three years, The Haitian Times found inconsistencies related to the nonprofit across the court filings, city financial records, marketing materials and public appearances about leadership and operations. The connections of its officers and the parade dispute defendants also came to light on paper.
Dr. Thad Calabrese, a professor at the NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Policy, said inexperience, lack of oversight and an onerous procurement process may be factors in cases involving collaborators. Altogether, they may lead to “the potential of some conflicts.”
“If there are only a handful of nonprofits officially formed for a community, then the likelihood increases because there might be a limited number of people who have expertise in these types of situations,” said Calabrese, who teaches Public and Nonprofit Financial Management. “That would be fine.”
“Where it gets a little tricky though and problematic is when you start mixing money,” Calabrese continued. “When one organization engages with outside organizations, and the outside organization is controlled by someone who’s on the board. For example, are they getting [or] purchasing services at fair market value? Are they inflated? Is there something else going on? It becomes less transparent.”
Infighting and discord may be part of New York’s political landscape, experts say — up to a point
Little Haiti BK’s participation as a collaborator in the 2023 New York Haitian Heritage Parade illustrates why these questions matter.
It is not yet clear what role Little Haiti BK was meant to play. The documentation filed with the court is being disputed and Delia and John did not provide their corresponding answer. Among the key questions that could help determine its role is what agreement was made about spending money up front, tracking the receipts for reimbursement and the following procurement protocols with vendors.
One key exhibit shows a budget summary on Department of Youth and Community Development (DYCD) letterhead reflecting activities between July 2022 and June 2023 totaling $544,266. The summary includes $180,000 for Elie Enterprises as a subcontractor, $149,325 for JD & Associates Global and $16,100 for the Melanin Project. The three businesses are owned by codefendants Glenda Elie, her partner Jensen Desrosiers and Stephanie Pierre, respectively, for organizing the parade.
Lamarre maintains in his suit that the DYCD summary is fictitious, listing it as a “Fake Budget Report” in the materials he included with his complaint. In a subsequent memo to his complaint, Lamarre said when Elie Enterprises, JD Associates Global and Little Haiti BK could not receive the funds allocated because they were required to submit receipts, “they attempted to submit falsified documents to the City to get paid.”
Prior to withdrawing from the case, the attorney who represented Elie and Desrosiers denied Lamarre’s allegations of falsifying documents in the legal filing.
“When I stepped in, there was a lot to do, and I think the expectation was people were going to see a lot of splashing faster,”
On Dec. 20, Elie said via email to The Haitian Times that Lamarre is “lying about them,” meaning she, Desrosiers, Little Haiti and community leaders who supported the parade.
Little Haiti BK’s answer is not shown in court filings. Delia declined to comment and her organization’s attorney, Leandre M. John, declined through Delia to provide a copy of their legal answer.
Experts said, if true, it would be unusual that a contract stating the terms of the work Little Haiti BK was to perform, oversee or track for reimbursement was not readily available – that is, filed with the courts in their answer – since such documentation would squash arguments over Lamarre’s spending and Little Haiti BK’s fiscal sponsorship.
“I’ve never seen one [contract] written that says ‘Do all the work, and we’ll get around to paying you someday,’” said David Thompson, acting CEO of the National Council of Nonprofits. “If there’s no signed agreement, then it’s a politician’s promise.”
New Little Haiti BK leader responds
Delia, Little Haiti BK’s executive director as of January 2024, spoke with The Haitian Times on the condition that she could not discuss the parade suit. An attorney by trade specializing in immigration, Delia replaced Rockingster, who either resigned or was fired from the top leadership position. No public announcement was made, raising questions about Little Haiti BK’s overall leadership, especially as it faced the court battle in the spring.
Delia said her organization’s focus is on three goals: providing resources and information to small businesses, improving cleanliness and beautification in the area and highlighting the culture. She said she understands that some merchants may have “felt overlooked,” so she and her team of five are in touch with them.
In recent months, Little Haiti BK has organized a few neighborhood clean-ups and painting of murals with volunteers through its Konbit Program, which some business owners have joined. As of mid-November, Delia said she was also looking into hiring a sanitation service to supplement the city’s regular cleaning schedule. She said one elected official and the local community board were also considering providing more garbage cans.
“It’s not just the clean-up or the supplemental sanitation or the elected officials or Community Board 17 or the extra garbage cans, it’s the combination of all of those things together that I think is going to make an impact,” Delia said.
As for providing economic support locally, Delia said Little Haiti BK still intends to follow up on initiatives to strengthen businesses. A steering committee meets regularly to advance the BID process, which entails producing surveys, engaging with property owners and drawing the boundaries, she said. Delia also shared a list of eight active and upcoming programs in all that Little Haiti is pursuing – ranging from a “Merchants Who Learn Together Grow Together Series” course in Creole and English to a PACE University Partnership, supported by Bichotte Hernelyn, that offers business consulting.
Little Haiti BK Inc. allocated $3 million
In its 2023 federal tax filing, Little Haiti BK spent $225,621 that year — about $25,622 more than the total $199,999 it received in grants and contributions as revenue. The highest expense, $202,621, was on salaries, compensation and benefits, with $120,000 of it for Jackson Rockingster, its previous leader.
Delia said although the calendar year ended in deficit, the fiscal year may not. “We have received enough funding to continue to maintain all of the programming needs,” she said.
Through 2026, Little Haiti BK may receive nearly $3 million, according to the city’s financial records system, PassPort Public. Part of that is an “encumbered” discretionary contract for $600,000, meaning the money was appropriated for or spent on a specific item, but has not been reimbursed yet. As of Dec. 17, the contract was listed as “pending Comptroller approval,” a regular step in the payment process.
Many agencies are facing contract registration delays with the city, which have left numerous community service groups unable to pay employees or run programs.
The recent arrivals are a fraction of the estimated 1.5 million Haitians and people of Haitian ancestry who live here as legal permanent residents or citizens born in the U.S. or naturalized. According to the Migration Policy Institute, the population of Haitians in the U.S. grew 24% between 2010 and 2022.
She also pointed out that given the results of the November presidential elections, she and the board would also consider revisiting the mandate of Little Haiti BK.
“I can’t tell you yet what the future holds for Little Haiti BK,” Delia said.
As for the question of whether the leading groups have the right expertise to drive progress in the community, Delia reiterated her experience as a senior manager at Citizenship Now, a national organization, and as a managing attorney with a prior organization overseeing a $5 million budget. She said she served immigrants across the five boroughs and worked with more than 40 elected officials.
“When I stepped in, there was a lot to do, and I think the expectation was people were going to see a lot of splashing faster,” she said. “Part of my response has been building something strong, and a strong foundation requires groundwork and undoing some things and fixing some things.
“My hope is that people have seen the product of all of the hard work we did for the first nine months, and that these programs are launching,” she continued. “My hope is that people start to understand a lot more about what we do, which I think will change the response… It’s taking a lot of time to get the work done. So I hope they stick around to see the results.”
Inconsistencies, intertwined leadership addressed
Operationally, one area Delia said requires putting in order is Little Haiti BK’s recordkeeping.
“Shortly after entering, one of the first things I looked at was making sure we’re in compliance,” she said. “Part of that was getting any taxes that weren’t done timely filed, getting everything updated, etcetera, and then updating the documents with PassPort.”
Currently, according to PassPort Public, the city’s contracting database, Little Haiti BK lists Delia as chairman and David Morisset, an attorney, as its president. In its 2023 tax filing, Morisset is listed as Little Haiti BK’s executive director, with Delia as director.
Rockingster, who had been widely referred to as the executive director in the community, is listed in the 2023 IRS tax filings as simply director of Little Haiti BK. While at the helm of Little Haiti BK, Rockingster also led two related companies under Haitian American Business Network (HABNET), which he founded years prior — Habnet Services Corp and Habnet Chamber of Commerce as executive director and CEO, respectively.
Across all three entities during Rockingster’s tenure, Morisset is also listed as a board member of Rockingster’s Habnet Services and chairman of the chamber. In a DYCD budget summary, Morisset is listed as the executive director and Rockingster as the fiscal officer for Little Haiti.
Rockingster, who either resigned or was fired as the nonprofit’s leader, did not return calls and an email asking for comment about this tenure and the parade suit.
Morisset told The Haitian Times that he had worked with both Little Haiti BK and Habnet as a volunteer. His titles with them meant little in terms of day-to-day decision-making or organizational authority, he said. Also, the titles varied as a result of efforts to conform to external organizations they dealt with. For example, Morisset said, a bank might use an internal title that Little Haiti BK did not have, but adapted on paper in order to carry out transactions with them.
When asked about the title variations, Delia said she had not been aware of the inconsistencies and would consult with the nonprofit’s accountant to make any necessary adjustments to the records.
In Part 3 of this report, The Haitian Times looks at the political connections highlighted through the defendants associated with Anba Tonel Lounge & Restaurant and the Haitian Powerhouse.
