The ongoing trial of the NYC Haitian parade reveals disorder

BROOKLYN – About a year ago this time, a dispute over $600,000 in repayable funds for the 2023 New York City Haitian Heritage Parade came to a head. It resulted in Lionel Lamarre, the originator of the parade, filing a lawsuit against nine defendants, including a former close friend at whose wedding he was best man decades ago. Now, Lamarre says, he plans to subpoena more entities as he pursues the case more “aggressively.”

It remains to be seen whether Lamarre will file the subpoenas in what the defendants call a “frivolous” case that is part of a “smear campaign.” But its possibility and the responses to Lamarre’s claims are emblematic of the disorder highlighted by a Haiti Times investigating court documents, financial records and interviews with community members. The reporting raises questions about the leadership, operations and intertwined political relationships of two key defendants in particular: Little Haiti BK, Inc., the controversial nonprofit that was supposed to be the fiscal conduit for government funds to parade vendors; and restaurateur Jensen Desrosiers, owner of Anba Tonel and leader of the Haitian Powerhouse, a quasi-political group. It reveals a change underway at Little Haiti BK; potential missteps in following contracting protocols; and the precarious position of Desrosiers’ restaurant, which faces a default judgment for allegedly owing $200,000 in back rent.

For some in the community, the whole case signals misplaced priorities at best, if not ineptitude. Several said the watchdog group is too preoccupied with high-profile cultural events like the parade at a time when residents and businesses are grappling with concerns such as the fear of deportation, other adverse immigration policies and insecurity food and housing.

“Everybody’s putting on a parade,” said one prominent community advocate, who asked not to be named for fear of straining relationships.

“There are parades and dancethat’s what this community does,” said the community leader, who is not involved in the parade costume. “But we have people with real needs who need services.”

“Politics in Game” mode uncovers potential problems

For experts in nonprofit management and public administration, the mix of intersecting personalities, leadership shifts and jockeying for position is not uncommon in the city’s niche communities that rely on elected officials for support.

“This is how basic New York City politics works,” said John Mollenkopf, the director Urban Research Center at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York.

“It would be different in Park Slope or the Upper East (Side) or the Upper West Side, because it wouldn’t be a relatively less affluent immigrant community,” he said. “They’re really looking for material help, so maybe people on the Upper West Side (would go) for a museum they want to support or something like that, as opposed to a parade,” Mollenkopf said.

However, interconnected relationships can become a problem if not managed competently.

“When you start to get organizations that are very intertwined like that, there’s definitely the potential for problems,” said Thad Calabrese, a professor at New York University’s Wagner School of Public Policy. He cited transparency, governance and oversight as examples of potential issues that may arise.

Analysis of documents and interviews attests to the issues that may be at stake as the parties trade accusations. During two court appearances in July and September, Judge Nicholas W. Moyne ordered the parties to participate in discovery, the legal process for plaintiffs and defendants to submit evidence of claims or counterclaims. No substantial documents regarding the claims appear in the electronic file.

In process filed in March, Lamarre alleged that the defendants conspired with Little Haiti BK management and others to seize control of the high-profile event and asked a judge to block the June 2024 edition that the defendants were planning. In May, a judge denied Lamarre’s second request, allowing that parade to take place. A decision is pending on who should be reimbursed for the funds spent on the 2023 parade that Lamarre led.

Lamarre also said The Haitian Times in an interview this month that the defendants, along with Assemblyman Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn — a champion of the defendant Little Haiti BK — have been overriding community members’ projects for too long.

“I’m like a cancer in the Haitian community,” Lamarre said. “They don’t have the knowledge, the academic knowledge or the intellectual capacity to think or do anything. Whenever someone makes (something), they try to steal what you’re doing and claim it’s their project.”

Bichotte Hermelyn, via an email reply to The Haitian Times, said he had no comment on Lamarre’s views.

Glenda Elie, one of the parade defendants and Desrosiers’ partner, said The Haitian Times via email on Dec. 20, that Lamarre filed the lawsuit out of “spite, jealousy and greed,” then listed a litany of alleged violations over the years. In response to Lamarre’s accusation that contributors like her are stifling the community’s progress, she said that it’s people like Lamarre — and The Haitian Times to cover the suit – which harms the community.

“Your statements and comments clearly show a preference for one side of this story and I imagine it’s because your founder Garry Pierre-Pierre is as much a cancer to the community as his friends Lionel Lamarre and Mahadya Mary,” Elie wrote. in response to the email.

“Creating a frivolous lawsuit that was intended to destroy a nonprofit, a small business, and destroy the reputation of community members is certainly not a way to move the community forward,” she continued.

Pierre-Pierre, a longtime member of the community, has crossed paths with several parties to the case in various capacities, as The Haitian Times founder. In response to Elie’s invocation, Pierre-Pierre said the invocation is “unfortunate” and her statement is an attempt at scapegoating.

“The friendship between Lamarre and Jensen has gone on a longer path than (the friendship) between me and Lamarre,” Pierre-Pierre said. “That’s why they went into business together. Now that things have gone south, they (Elie and Desrosiers) want to blame others for their situation.”

Pierre-Pierre also dismissed the perception of bias.

“This type of reporting is unknown to some leaders in the community who are not comfortable facing the truth,” he said. “There is nothing personal here. We were not the ones doing business with them.”

Changing lawyers as the trial progresses

So far in the discovery process, both sides have had a change in representation. In late September, the firm that first represented Desrosiers, Elie, Pierre and their companies withdrew from the case. Citing ‘irreconcilable differences’ with the clients in his withdrawal motion, attorney Antoine Wilson did not specify the issues to protect the client-attorney privilege and avoid any prejudice to the defendants.”

In her email response to The Haitian Times, Elie declined to comment on the withdrawal.

At the time of writing, it appears from the court’s electronic files that none of the defendants have lawyers on file. However, Little Haiti BK’s new executive director, Stephanie Delia, said in an interview that the nonprofit is represented by Leandre M. John. She also spoke at length about the status of Little Haiti BK under her.

And Lamarre has retained a new attorney, Vincent Bianco, in hopes of pursuing the case more “aggressively,” Lamarre said.

“By now, the community will know that someone stood up to that corrupt system that they put in place,” Lamarre said. “And in the future, other people will say, ‘Oh, that’s what you do.’ I will take you to court if you steal my stuff. I think that will help the community.”

An appearance scheduled for December has been postponed. The next one listed in court records is March 13, 2025.

In part two of this report, The Haitian Times looks at Little Haiti BK, a key defendant in the parade case, as it undergoes a transition under new leadership.

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