Gracie Mansion sees 90 percent fall in donations

Gracie Mansion may suffer following Mayor Bill de Blasio’s decision to cancel the annual gala, which raises hundreds of thousands of dollars to maintain the historic property.

Since de Blasio came into office, donations to the Gracie Mansion Conservancy dropped by 90 percent last year, its latest tax filings show, according to the New York Post.

The nonprofit raised only $67,567 in contributions in the fiscal year ending June 30, 2014. That’s down from $641,140 in the previous year.

And the funding gap has meant that maintenance has suffered, with the conservancy spending just $143,634 on the property last year. That’s down from $928,429 the previous year.

Yet a spokesperson for the mayor told the Post that the galas were canceled because there was no need to collect outside funds.
“There are currently no Gracie Mansion programs requiring outside funding. For potential programs or initiatives moving forward, there will be corresponding fundraising,” said the spokesperson, Peter Kadushin. [NYP] – Christopher Cameron