A wealthy Chinese businessman has angered homeless and impoverished New Yorkers by reneging on cash gifts promised at a lunch he held for them in a high-end Central Park restaurant yesterday.
Watch footage of the event here.
Chen Guangbio, who once tried to buy the New York Times , offered a free lunch of seared tuna and fillet mignon to hundreds of homeless New Yorkers in the banquet rooms of the Loeb Boathouse, the backdrop for such film as "When Harry Met Sally".
The millionaire, who made his fortune in the recycling business, took out newspaper advertisements last week inviting "poor and destitute Americans" to lunch in the park.
Several hundred people showed up for the lunch and Chen entertained them by singing "We Are the World," the 1985 charity hit song to fund African famine relief.
Diners were seated around dozens of round tables covered with white table cloths and set with china and fine cutlery.
Queued outside the boathouse and later standing inside were dozens of Chinese nationals in green and brown outfits that harked back to the Chinese Cultural Revolution uniform of the 1960s and early 1970s. They called themselves volunteers.
At the outset, Chen addressed criticism in China and elsewhere that he organized events for for publicity only and that he was a showoff and a propagandist.
"I have helped millions of people and would like to encourage the press to interview people who've actually received the help from me, rather than listening to those people who may be jealous, who might have a lot of negative things to say about what I have to offer," he said.
After singing and performing magic tricks, the millionaire announced to applause and cheers that he would hand out a cash gift of $300 to each diner.
However, his promise boomeranged when the homeless people who received money later told reporters that they had had to turn it over to the New York City Rescue Mission, a homeless shelter that helped organize the event.
Representatives of the organization said that they had made it clear earlier that the gift on stage was just a 'token' gesture and that the money would be donated to the shelter.
Many of the homeless people who attended the lunch were very angry.
Clarence Taylor, 52, who has been homeless for four years said he was disappointed that he would not get to keep the money.
"I'm down on my luck, I have bills to pay and that would really help me get above the ground. And it's sad," he said.
"If you're going to say you're going to give it to the people then that's what you should follow through with," said Christine Fowler, a 42-year-old who has been homeless for two and a half months.
Thomas Cargill, also 52 and homeless for nearly three years, said that he felt used.
"I felt I was used as a prop to come here and get money for the mission. We were promised that money from the beginning," he said.
Confusion reigned as the homeless people attending the lunch remained unclear on whether they would receive the cash in hand later, according to a new plan.
Chen said that he would be donating $300 to the shelter on behalf of each of the approximately 200 attendees and would even increase that donation.
Whereas, Craig Mayes, Executive Director, New York City Rescue Mission, explained to reporters that the cash received from Chen would not be handed out to individuals.
"I told Mr Chen if you give cash to homeless, some of them are going to go out and buy drugs and go and buy alcohol. It's not a good idea.
"So we're going to take his generosity and translate it into some physical need that they actually have that we can take care of," Mayes said.
The luncheon that started reasonably well with laughter and singing seemed to end in bitterness.
