Ailes Pulls Donation From Philipstown Senior Center

(This article has been updated.) 

Roger Ailes’ donation toward a new senior center in Philipstown turned out to be worth a half-million dollar disappointment.

In a stunning move that throws questions into whether a new senior center will be placed at the Butterfield redevelopment in Cold Spring, Ailes, a Garrison resident and former Fox News chairman and CEO has pulled the $500,000 he vowed to give the toward the new center.

Ailes, who resigned a couple weeks ago from Fox News amid rising allegations of sexual harassment against him, announced in the Putnam County News and Recorder (his wife Beth is the publisher) that he was withdrawing the money he pledged for the new facility after the county Legislature failed to approve a charitable donation agreement between the county and Ailes’ family. The agreement would’ve placed Ailes’ name on the facility and given his non-profit the ability to construct the inside. (More on that in article below.)

“The family said they had hoped to help the senior citizens in Philipstown but it is clear for political reasons their funding is not welcome,” the PCNR article states. “Therefore they are withdrawing the money, cancelling the contribution agreement and assigning the money to another one of their charities who can put it to use immediately. They wish all seniors, even those who came out against them, the very best.”

County Executive MaryEllen Odell said the Ailes informed her Wednesday morning after the full legislative meeting the previous night in which the deal was tabled. She believes the now dead Ailes’ donation came from the heart “and it’s a shame it was discounted in such a disrespectful manner.”

“We’re grateful for the opportunity we had with them,” Odell said. “I feel terrible for our seniors that were completely discounted the other evening.”

But Odell and most legislators stay committed to keeping the senior center at the Butterfield redevelopment. She said the county would look to re-scope the project and go over finances again.

“We’re going to get this done,” Odell vowed.

Legislator Barbara Scuccimarra, who represents the district where the new center would be located, said she thanked the Ailes for what they attempted to do. Scuccimarra said last year she and Beth Ailes went to several different senior centers in the region to research how to best provide for Philipstown seniors.

“She did a lot, her heart was in this,” Scuccimarra said. “And it’s a shame.”

Scuccimarra said stakeholders were all still committed to a center at Butterfield, and would explore different forms of funding, perhaps working with state Assemblywoman Sandy Galef and state Senator Sue Serino.

There was a senior citizens meeting following the Ailes’ announcement that Scuccimarra attended.

“I assured them that we were going to move forward and they’re happy with that,” she said. “And they trust us that we’re going to do the right thing by our seniors.”

Legislature Chairwoman Ginny Nacerino said after recent issues regarding Ailes came to light, she wasn’t surprised the charitable donation was withdrawn, but she was still disappointed.

“I would have hoped the donation, intended to help the senior citizens on the western side of the county, would have remained the focus and essence of the gesture,” Nacerino stated. “Conversely, it is those very seniors Roger Ailes pledged to support have now become ones hurt in the crossfire.”

Moving forward, Nacerino stressed the importance of a senior center on that side of the county, with the population only increasing. She did note that losing $500,000 is a substantial loss for taxpayers to absorb and “we will now have to go back to the drawing board to reassess the project to see if it’s fiscally feasible.”

Legislator Carl Albano, who is the physical services committee chairman, said he also wants to see the center at Butterfield, though he alluded to scaling it down while still working for the seniors.

Because the donation was withdrawn, Albano said it’s common sense to review the lease between the county and Butterfield developer again. He stressed he didn’t want the project to come to a stop, contrary to what he was quoted saying in an article in The Journal News which reported that he said it was time to rethink the entire project. (Albano said he was misquoted.)

“What I said is if somebody offered me property that was available, we would have definitely considered it,” Albano said. “But that was not the case.”

Legislator Dini LoBue, who was critical of the proposed deal with Ailes, pointedly said, “No deal is better than a bad deal.”