By Madina Toure
A Yonkers company is hosting a fund-raiser for a Whitestone woman who was fatally shot by a former resident of a Bronx homeless shelter she directed.
A party and silent auction, hosted by Rienas & Brown Wealth will be held June 25 from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Rory Dolans at 890 McLean Ave., which has donated the space and the food.
Ana Charle, 36, was the director of Project Renewal’s Bronx Boulevard, a homeless shelter at 4380 Bronx Blvd. in the Wakefield section of the Bronx.
Charle was shot and killed April 27 allegedly by West Spruill, 39, a former resident of the shelter, according to Bronx district attorney’s office.
The shelter is located on Bronx Boulevard between 237th Street and Nereid Avenue near the Rienas & Brown company, which is across the bridge in Yonkers.
The goal is to raise between $10,000 and $25,000, said Josh Brown, the company’s managing director.
Brown lived in Whitestone for more than 20 years and attended PS 209, the same school which Charle’s 9-year-old and 11-year-old daughters attend. He said the event would raise funds for the girls’ college education.
“We’re doing a fund-raiser, reaching out to people who worked at her facility, her family and then ultimately with the money raised. We’re going to basically open up a college plan for the kids and also give them immediate access to the funds,” Brown said.
At the silent auction, attorneys will be giving two simple wills valued at about $1,000 each for free to anyone who bids for them. Some accountants will also provide free counseling for the Form 1040, the US Individual Income Tax Return, and restaurants will give out gift cards.
“Hopefully we can get the family to come attend as well as with the kids,” he said.
Charle was found lying on the sidewalk in front of 4366 Bullard Ave., according to the police. She had a gunshot wound to the head.
Before shooting her, Spruill allegedly tried to rape her inside her car before she fled, the New York Post reported.
Spruill was charged with murder, manslaughter and criminal possession of a weapon, according to the criminal complaint filed by the Bronx DA.
The events leading up to the shooting and Spruill’s motive were still under investigation, according to a police spokesman.
Spruill refused to come to Bronx Supreme Court last Friday, two days after he interrupted proceedings during his arraignment, according to Cesar Gonzalez, the attorney representing him.
He made a request that he wished to represent himself, Gonzalez said. The next proceedings were scheduled for this Wednesday.
“I don’t know if he will be there,” Gonzalez said. “I don’t know if further intervention from the court is going to be required.”
Bayside resident Beth Rivera, 39, said Charle’s 9-year-old daughter is in her son’s class.
“The girls’ school had a grievance counselor come and speak to the classmates of both daughters’ classes about the fact that their mother passed away and how the class and friends can help support them during this difficult time,” Rivera said.
In a statement, Project Renewal commended Charle and her work.
“Ana was a dedicated, wonderful, and loving person,” the statement read. “She worked tirelessly to improve the lives of others.”
Mayor de Blasio said he was shocked by the “horrific death.”
“The public servants at our city’s homeless shelters work tirelessly to support New Yorkers living in shelter,and ensuring their safety is of utmost importance to us,” de Blasio said.
Elected officials and community members in Wakefield called for the shelter’s closing. Councilman Andrew Cohen (D-Bronx) said the city Department of Homeless Services only assigned peace officers to the site when de Blasio’s office intervened two days after the murder, despite the request he made in February.
But DHS said additional funding was requested for the inside of the facility, not outside. When the request was made in February, the agency assigned peace officers to the site for Thursday, Friday and Sunday shifts from 4 p.m. to 12 a.m.
Last week, the city approved an increase in security funding for the site by $38,285 for fiscal year 2015 and $51,016 for fiscal year 2016, DHS said.
The agency deployed three peace officers and a supervisor after Charle was murdered. Security will continue to be available 24 hours a day, patrolling inside the facility and monitoring the outside of the building, the agency said.
The facility already has a search area which includes an X-ray machine, a walkthrough metal detector and a CCTV system covering the inside and front of the facility.
The agency said it has been in contact with the 47th Precinct, which covers the facility area, where another warrant sweep was planned this week..
IReach reporter Madina Toure by e-mail at mtour
