Health

600G health clinic in a vegetative state

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DOC AROUND THE CLOCK: Dr. Dorothy Ogundu says she works 109 hours a week, but her clinic is unusable despite help from state Assembyman David Weprin and Rep. Gregory Meeks. (
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It’s dusty, unheated and has no visible staff or patients, but this health clinic in Queens has raked in more than half a million in taxpayer cash.
The clinic is run by a Nigerian-born doctor whose political connections not only resulted in a steady stream of government money — almost $600,000 in total — but had two lawmakers writing a bill to get her off the hook for $300,368 in unpaid property taxes.
Dr. Dorothy Ogundu says she created her Angeldocs charity to improve access to health care for the poor. But the former church she turned into the Aki Life Health Center on Hillside Avenue in Holliswood was locked up tight on two visits by The Post last week. Its front door, where the business hours were listed as 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. six days a week, was chained shut with a padlock.

“I work 109 hours a week,” Ogundu, a gynecologist, claimed to The Post, saying she makes house calls and treats patients at the clinic, most of whom don’t pay.
She gave The Post a tour of the space last week, showing off the clinic’s eight examination rooms, all empty. With no money for heat, she said a portable heater was moved from room to room.
Ogundu, who is the only clinic staff member, refused to say how many patients she treats or whether she has malpractice insurance. She is no longer affiliated with any hospitals, saying she is “on sabbatical.”
The charity’s board could offer no insight. Dr. Jasmin Moshirpur, who was listed on a 2009 state document as a director, told The Post she had never heard of the charity and met Ogundu only in passing. Another member, Ruby Cormier, seemed clueless and said she did not know how many patients were treated.
Ogundu used government grant money, including a $100,000 allocation from the state Dormitory Authority, to turn the former classroom area of the church into treatment rooms. Rep. Gregory Meeks secured federal grants totaling $380,500 for renovations and programs.
A state member item from Assemblywoman Vivian Cook went to renovate a second-floor kitchen. A sign proclaims the space “Cook’s Kitchen.”
Ogundu said she holds educational programs in the former worship space. A $10,000 state grant in 2008 funded a purported program to “prepare adolescents to mature into healthy adults.”
Using the building is illegal, though, because Ogundu never obtained a certificate of occupancy, according to the Department of Buildings, which has not issued any violations.
Ogundu bought the former church building in 2005 for $1.2 million, using her own money for a down payment. But because Angeldocs couldn’t get a mortgage, she created a for-profit company to buy the property. The company took out two mortgages totaling $1,077,000.
She paid $20,053 in property taxes in 2006 and then let the bills mount until they reached $300,368 by 2010. The property was not eligible for a charitable tax break because it was owned by a for-profit.
Ogundu transferred the title of the property to Angeldocs in late 2010 and then gained a city tax exemption. But she still owes the $300,368.
“I told them this is ridiculous,” Ogundu said. “I think that the city should meet me halfway.”
She turned to her local representative, Assemblyman David Weprin, whom she said she has known from his days on the City Council and her own community involvement.
Weprin, along with Cook, sponsored a bill earlier this month to let Ogundu file for a retroactive tax exemption, refund any taxes she paid and wipe out her debt.
But after The Post last week asked Weprin’s office about the bill and Angeldocs, a spokeswoman said they would pull the legislation.
Additional reporting by Lois Weiss and Kathianne Boniello