Brad Lander Under Fire for
False Claim on Black Business

New York City Comptroller Brad Lander’s recent statement after a review of unpaid invoices falsely indicated that Fusion East, a Black and Veteran Owned business, "wasted $750,000 in taxpayer funds" providing healthy balanced meals to thousands of public school faculty and students, many operating in disadvantaged communities across the city. 

The facts are that the restaurant reached out to the Comptroller’s office seeking help with collecting payment for DOE approved, open invoices totaling almost twenty thousand dollars.  Instead of help, the restaurant was referred back to the Department of Education, and shocked to learn that his request for assistance was weaponized in the form of a newspaper article alleging wrongdoing. 

“It is angering that a citywide elected official, whose office has championed the need for increased spend between the city and MWBE contractors, who claims to care about our communities, would attack a well-respected local MWBE business with an exaggerated claim of waste, misrepresenting the work of a business with a years long record of stellar service provision to several NYC agencies.   Fusion East has provided tens of thousands of healthy meals to students, teachers, and first responders and many more, across the city, including over 100 New York City Public schools, the majority in black and brown communities, at a cost far below the amounts allowed by Comptroller’s Directive 6 regulations.  

Comptroller Lander’s framing demonstrates a level of cultural incompetence of the foods our community values, resulting in at least one threat against the business.  This is highly irresponsible behavior from a sitting citywide elected official,” said Council Member, Chris Banks, District 42, Brooklyn.

Banks added that Lander's statement has the optics of "appearing racially based".

Assemblywoman Nikki Lucas, of the 60th Assembly District stated, “Brad Lander’s misleading statement is disgraceful. It seems to have fueled a racist firestorm that targeted a successful Black-owned business in East New York with hate, lies, and threats. It looks like a calculated attack to destroy Fusion East, a restaurant in my district that’s served good food at fair prices to over 100 schools.”

Lucas added, “We need to support our local businesses, not make them targets of hate. Fusion East provides jobs and a much-needed dining option for the community. Yet Lander’s statement made it sound like Fusion East earned $750,000 from one school, a claim that’s simply false.  This undermines the MWBE program he claims to support and exposes him as a hypocrite. In a city where Black-owned businesses get less than 2% of contracts, Lander’s message seems to suggest that he’d rather see that number at zero. You talk about your socialistic goals, you talk about community. The reality of it all is that you Brad Lander continue to benefit off the pain of Black people."

While the NYC budget is over $115 billion, black owned businesses receive less than 2% of city contracts, which is an inequity that causes alarm when one MWBE breaks through with some sort of minor success, and false statements are purposefully made to hurt its success.

"Fusion East is precisely the type of minority and Veteran-owned business we want to elevate, not tear down," said Randy Peers, President & CEO of the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce.  "With their track record of success in delivering for the DOE when asked, along with their continued investments in Brownsville and East New York, Fusion East and it's ownership didn't deserve this negative publicity that only seeks to undermine much of the good they have contributed over the years."