Healy sets up foundation to help needy
Thursday, November 02, 2006
By KEN THORBOURNE
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

He's mayor of Jersey City, but believes government has its limitations. He also believes charity begins at home.

With these principles in mind, Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy has launched "The Jerramiah T. Healy Charitable Foundation for a Better Jersey City," a tax-exempt non-profit, whose mission is to help needy individuals and causes within the city limits.

Incorporated over a year ago, the foundation received its official tax-exempt status in September. Its biggest fund-raiser to date took place Monday: a golf tournament at the posh Liberty National Golf Course organized by Paul and Dan Fireman, the golf club owners, and Connell Foley, the go-to law firm for developers in Jersey City.

The admission price for single golfers was $2,000 per person, and foursomes could play for $7,500, according to the organizers.

"It's simply to help people in need and causes in need inside Jersey City," Healy said last week of the nonprofit. "There are also a bunch of donors out there who would like to contribute to help good causes in the city. It has nothing to do with any political purposes."

The concept isn't new to Jersey City mayors. Bret Schundler established one, as did the late Glenn D. Cunningham.

According to documents provided by James Carroll, a Jersey City police sergeant who doubles as the Healy foundation's attorney, the charity collected $31,080 and doled out $8,398.21. This year, the nonprofit took in $200,000, gave out $127,500, and spent $65,000 on fundraising expenses, and $7,500 on professional fees - leaving $22,682 cash on hand, according to the documents. A list of donors and recipients wasn't provided.

The tax-exempt benefit of donating to Healy's nonprofit is retroactive to July 2005, when it was incorporated, an IRS spokesman said. The foundation's board has 13 members, including Maureen Healy, Healy's wife; Maria Pignataro, the mayor's press secretary; and Joseph Kealy, the attorney for the Jersey City Redevelopment Agency.

James Morley, chair of the redevelopment agency and a member of the Jersey City Library Board, is the foundation's president.

Michael Ryan, the owner of the PJ Ryan's bar and restaurant on Marin Boulevard, also sits on the board, and his establishment, according to the incorporation papers, is the foundation's official meeting place.