Lower Eastside Service Center
Legal name: Lower Eastside Service Center Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 131972876
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2009–2024
- Official website data refreshed
- Sep 2026
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- New York, NY, US
- Phone
- 212-566-5372
- Rating
- 82
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Alcohol, Drug Abuse, Treatment Only
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $17,603,901
- Expenses
- $21,197,298
- Assets
- $17,427,294
- Liabilities
- $17,779,164
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
17 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- VALERIE WALTERS (PRESIDENT & CEO)
Highest reported compensation
- VALERIE WALTERS (PRESIDENT & CEO): $467,019 total reported compensation
- CARGIL BERNARD (VP, CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER): $253,257 total reported compensation
- LOLITA SILV-VAZQUEZ (VP, CHIEF PROGRAM OFFICER): $225,313 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
To provide comprehensive addiction and mental health services rooted in love, energy, safety, and compassion, helping individuals and families affected by substance use disorder, mental illness, and homelessness.
What it reported doing in 2024
Short stay residential - $879,133 of expenses and $252,703 of revenuedual recovery services - $1,013,551 of expenses and $434,665 of revenuemedical services - $150,115 of expenses and $26,977 of revenuehiv early intervention services - $128,370 of expenses and $0 of revenuepregnant women and infants - $265,142 of expenses and $33,884 of revenuevocational services - $284,469of expenses and $0 of revenuecontinuing day treatment - $294,771 of expenses and $108,718 of revenuebehavioral health collaboration - $187,740 of expenses and $0 of revenueother - $657,215 of expenses and $96,391 of revenuemethadone to abstinence - $1,407,864 of expenses and $579,032 of revenueprogram 820 pwip - $339,980 of expenses and $37,252 of revenueprogram 820 otp - $1,002,909 of expenses and $163,161 of revenue
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
- Distribution model
- Direct operator. The filing allocates 100% of reported program-service expenses outside its grant, affiliate-payment, and member-benefit lines. This expense classification does not rule out separately announced grant awards.
The verdict
STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Expenses are high relative to revenue and some related-organization disclosures are missing.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 81
- Transparency & Controls: 81
- Accountability: 100
- Sustainability: 15
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 97.3%; rating input score 97
- Program expense ratio: 80.8%; rating input score 81
- Fundraising efficiency: Limited
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 93.3%; rating input score 93; 14th percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
- Compensation committee: Missing
- Independent consultant: Missing
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
- Written employment contract: Pass
- Compensation survey or study: Pass
- Board or committee approval: Pass
- Foreign activity oversight: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: Limited
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: No; rating input score 0
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 9 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 100
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: Pass
- Other executive compensation review process: Pass
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: -20.4%; rating input score 5; 5th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.82; rating input score 29; 29th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 1.02; rating input score 5; 5th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 8.6%; rating input score 26; 26th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 1.2% per year; rating input score 100; 15th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 1.5% per year; rating input score 100; 14th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 2.8% per year; rating input score 100; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
Details
- What they do: 10 programs and campaigns described on the official site
- Where the money goes: 97.3% of revenue deployed · 80.8% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 9 of 9 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $17.1M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $467K · 17 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 4 contractors listed · $621K reported
- Consistency: 35 of 36 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
- Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
- Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 8 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 6 filed related-organization links
- Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
- People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.
Key Signals
Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 5/100.
- High — Transparency & Controls: Related-party transparency scored 0/100.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 29/100.
- High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 5/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 26/100.
- Review — Transparency & Controls: Schedule R controlled transactions itemized did not reconcile in the filed values.