Comments on: Bronx Community Pride Center Closes After Former Director’s Arrest

By: marcus

marcus — Sat, 02 Mar 2013 03:29:25 +0000

Is there any chance of restarting the center? Its proximity to Lincoln Hospital and the bronx’s major subway hub would make it an ideal place for and LGBT Center focused on health and transgender medical services. I think there are many other boondoggles in the Bronx. We always here about trans medical services being needed in the Bronx – but when I try to volunteer as a physician with such experience, I get no answers from any of them.

By: Clr

Clr — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 22:28:43 +0000

I worked at the Bronx Community Pride Center as its Deputy Director for 89 days in 2004/05 before resigning due to the erratic, unprofessional, and questionable policies of Lisa Winters. I wrote about her abuses and shady behavior and copied my resignation letter to the President of the Board. Nothing was done and I never got a reply. Lisa’s best friend was the board president. They were protecting each other and blocking information to other Board Members. The Board was inactive, inattentive, and lacking any kind of oversight. They were warned numerous times about Lisa, but chose to do nothing. While I was employed and trying to build up programming, it came to my attention that the Youth Coordinator for the “Spot Next Door” augmented his income by being involved with porn. Especially porn that was made by black and latin youth. When I found this out I confronted Lisa, and in my letter of resignation I stated it again, but no one ever helped me or supported me. Using NYC money to fund pornographers to work with marginalized youth was beyond contempt. She denied knowing, but the entire staff verified that she was lying. I asked why she did not fire him on the spot when I brought it to her attention. She had hired friends and considered him”family” so did not want to do anything. It was another sign of wildly inappropriate boundaries.It was also sad that she would put the children and young adults at the Center in harms way with an adult who was neither educated, trained, or appropriate for the position. As for her broader reputation, it was well known across the city that she was to be avoided at all costs. This is why her community work fell flat, but also why the Center was not supported by the larger community. I was told many times that Lisa was not to be trusted and had burned many bridges in the community. How the hell did she get the job in the first place? Hummmmmmm maybe from her best friend the Board President. Any Board Member could have come to the site and talked with the staff at any time, but none of them showed their faces. How they could have put up with her for so long is why the money is gone. A dysfunctional Board hired a dysfunctional Executive Director. They deserve legal action against them as much as Lisa Winters.

By: marcus

marcus — Wed, 21 Nov 2012 02:22:39 +0000

I think this center was nothing but a boondoggle. What services did it REALLY offer and to how many people? They never answered the phone, returned phone calls or answered emails. Over several years, I contacted them by phone and email to inquire about volunteering but never got a response. Now I know why.

By: NelsonG

NelsonG — Sat, 30 Jun 2012 14:26:29 +0000

I find it hard to imagine that this could have been happening for more than five years and the staff and board of directors were blind to it all.

They all need to be held in shame,too.

Rather than shutting down the center, those currently running the place should continue providing full services until someone can come along to help fix this mess.

By: Bronx Community Pride Center Closes After Former Director’s Arrest | NEWS BOX ONLINE INDIA

Fri, 29 Jun 2012 13:03:49 +0000

[...] Source: Phillip L. Velez Blog [...]

By: Denise Clark

Denise Clark — Thu, 28 Jun 2012 12:28:53 +0000

The Boogie Down Bronx, how sad.