New York State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli and New York State Assemblymember Jordan Wright hosted a walking tour of Harlem to deliver unclaimed fund checks to several notable businesses in the community.
On September 2, the elected officials visited several Harlem staples, including Make My Cake, the Abyssinian Baptist Church, the Studio Museum in Harlem, and Sylvia’s Restaurant. During the tour, officials spoke with business owners and employees about the unclaimed funds and addressed many of their concerns.
Earlier this year, DiNapoli pledged to give back $20 billion in unclaimed funds to businesses across the state. The Office of Unclaimed Funds has awarded more than $430 million since January, with an average of $2 million a day. Business owners can file claims online at the State Comptroller website to see if they are eligible for funds. Smaller checks of $250 or less can be mailed directly to entities.
At Make My Cake, the first stop of the Harlem Tour, a check totaling $1,176 was presented to and accepted by Elizabeth Camejo, who has worked at the bakery since 2019. DiNapoli and Wright each bought cookies from the bakery.
The tour stopped next at the historic Abyssinian Church, where Pastor Kevin R. Johnson received a check for $1,384. He became the full-time pastor last year after Rev. Calvin Butts died in 2022. Since he joined, the church has gained 400 new members, many of whom are under age 50, according to Johnson. After recently doing a backpack giveaway, Johnson said the funds will go into their Abbey Cares Fund to continue supporting the Harlem community.
As the tour stayed on Malcolm X Blvd. (aka Lenox Avenue) and moved downtown, Wright told DiNapoli about the history of Harlem and his personal close ties in the community through the legacy of his grandfather, Judge Bruce Wright, and father and former assemblymember in his current seat, Keith L. Wright. The walk included running into several Harlem residents whom Wright has known for years.
At the site of the new Studio Museum on 125th Street, Director and Chief Curator Thelma Gordon and Chief of Staff Terrence Phearse gave an overview of the space to the elected officials and Amsterdam News Publisher Elinor Tatum. The museum received a check for $6,528.
“These funds will support the museum’s programming, which our community will once again be able to engage with when we open on November 15,” according to a statement from the Studio Museum press office that was read at the event.
The tour continued crosstown to Lenox and Sylvia’s Restaurant, where Executive Chief of Staff Taneidra McFadden received a check of $682 that she said can go to several areas where the business needs support. Their margins have been much tighter in recent years and they hope to get additional funding to cope with challenges and uncertainties so they can keep their prices affordable for the community, provide good salaries and training, and retain staff.
“One of the challenges we’ve had is the funds. If we could get more support in the training to help us to retain [employees[, that would be really good,” McFadden said.
The final stop was next door at the Red Rooster restaurant on 138th Street, where the tour leaders presented Beverage and Service Manager German Uribe Cruz with a check for $3,396. The restaurant, named after the original Red Rooster, is celebrating its 15th anniversary this year.
Addressing the challenge of getting the word out about unclaimed funds and potential money businesses can access, DiNapoli said Wright and his office are partnering with local events such as Cordell Cleare’s Senior Citizens’ Day two weeks ago, where they informed community members about these resources.
DiNapoli encouraged small-business owners to contact Wright’s office for help in cutting through red tape and other hurdles when trying to obtain licensing and other approvals.
“This is a community that wants to support the small business, the mom-and-pop shops, the locally owned, rather than the box stores and the chains, so we have to — all of us at every level, whether that’s state or city — do all that we can to cut through red tape [and] provide access to capital through the different programs,” DiNapoli said.
For more information about unclaimed funds, visit the New York State Comptroller’s Office website.