A review by the county showed a more than $352K overage in grant funding.

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Erie County wants the African American Cultural Center to return more than $352,000 in grants.

A new review from the Erie County Comptroller’s Office accuses former staff and board members of pilfering and keeping poor records of where that money was going.

This is money the cultural center got from the county from 2020 to 2022, and the Erie County Comptroller says this review involves people who are no longer with the non-profit.

The African American Cultural Center is a non-profit that’s been around since the 1950s, hosting events like the Pine Grill Jazz Reunion. But, Erie County is now asking it to return more than $352,000 in county cultural grants it received from 2020 to 2022.

Erie County Comptroller Kevin Hardwick says a review found the cultural center was not able to show how that money was used.

“Unfortunately, they were unable to provide bank records, credit card statements, or any sort of financial documents. Pretty much the minimum that, that you would think they would have and that’s, you know, that’s unsettling,” Hardwick said.

The $352,000 is just some of the cultural grant money from the county during those years, but it’s more than what the grant program contract allows. Percentage-wise, the grants can’t be more than 20 percent of the group’s operating expenses.

“The number and whether we get the money back, I think that’s a decision that will be made eventually by the county legislature and the county executive. We’re just pointing out the problem. If we didn’t get all that money back, so be it, but I think we need to look into the problem, and again, I’m not here to embarrass the organization,” Hardwick said.

Since the years covered by the review, the cultural center has hired a new executive director and board. Last month, they celebrated the completion of Phase One of a long-awaited, million-dollar renovation.

Hardwick plans on meeting with the center’s new leadership next week.

“I kind of feel bad for the current board and the current director because they inherited this problem. That’s why I’ve reached out to them, I’ve exchanged voicemails with the chair of the board, and hopefully we’ll be getting together next week to, you know, figure out where this thing stands,” Hardwick said.

Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz calls the allegations very concerning saying the audit will be referred to the New York State Attorney General’s Office. He says the center did not get county funding last year, and it won’t be getting any this budget year.

2 On Your Side reached out to the African American Cultural Center on Friday and our call went right to voicemail and the mailbox was full. We also emailed the executive director and didn’t get a response as of Friday evening.