Open Topics
CAIR’s Nationwide Real Estate Holdings
The CAIR Observatory has obtained and posted publicly available CAIR real estate records from the Washington, DC Recorder of Deeds. In most areas of the United States the Recorder of Deeds (or Clerk-Recorder) keeps property records at a county level. For example, we have also collected documents from the “Grantor/Grantee Search” at the Orange County, CA Clerk-Recorders office and posted them to this website.
The CAIR Observatory has searched online for property documents in dozens of other counties in the metropolitan areas of local CAIR chapters. However, we know we may have overlooked some due to human error or CAIR’s tendency to use slightly different corporate names in different localities. Unfortunately we do not have the resources to do a systematic search of every county in the United States. Many counties (and sometimes entire states) do not keep property records online and copies must be requested by mail or in person.
Therefore, we ask our readers to visit their local county governments online or in-person for documents relating to CAIR property holdings anywhere in the United States. These documents are a matter of public record and CAIR as a non-profit should expect to withstand extra scrutiny.
If you are able to download the documents in PDF format please send them to the CAIR Observatory. If you are not easily able to download the files please email us and direct us to the database where you found the records listed so we may capture them in some form. If you are able to obtain paper copies of the documents only, please scan them and email them to the CAIR Observatory. If you do not have access to a scanner you may email us for instructions on how to submit the paper copies instead. If you wish we will credit you for your contributions
CAIR Real Estate Acquisitions in Northeast Washington, DC
In the years of 2005-2006 CAIR purchased at least eight (8) residential/townhouse properties on a single block (designated Square 750) bounded by 2nd St, 3rd St, K St, and Parker St in NE DC. We have obtained public documents from the Washington, DC Recorder of Deeds detailing these transactions. CAIR purchased these properties under the name of one or more of the following three (3) associated corporations: Council on American-Islamic Relations Inc, Greater Washington LLC of Delaware, and Zahara Investment Corporation. Upon cursory observation most of these properties appeared to be derelict and unoccupied as of late 2009.
We believe it is unlikely that CAIR would have any use for these properties as they exist currently. Perhaps they were acquired speculatively for eventual resale in the then-booming real estate market of 2005-2006, but the location of all the properties on a single block suggests they may have been expecting the block to be demolished and redeveloped with more valuable structures.
In fact the block was slated to be included in a major DC redevelopment plan called “NoMA” (North of Massachussetts Avenue). The NoMA Vision Plan and Development Strategy was completed in October 2006 and submitted to the DC Council for adoption as a Small Area Plan. For example Section 3: Part 2-Infrastructure and Transportation (PDF, page 2) shows the block in question within the “Study Area Boundaries,” while Section 5: Part 2-Character Area Development Guidelines 1 (PDF, page 2) refers to it as “Neighborhood Transition Area A.”
However, the current map at the NoMA Business Improvement District (NoMA BID) website places the block in question just outside the “NoMA BID Boundaries.”
Experts in real estate, zoning and city planning are needed to explore this issue further. Contact the CAIR Observatory to get involved.
CAIR Tax Returns
At the CAIR Observatory we have collected over 100 tax documents pertaining to the CAIR national office in Washington, DC as well as nineteen (19) individually incorporated CAIR chapters (both active and defunct) spread across seventeen (17) U.S. states. As it is a nonprofit corporation, the public has a right to review CAIR’s financial information. We collected most of these documents in digital format from online resources at Guide Star and Foundation Center. Some documents necessitated a direct written request to the IRS. These arrived as paper copies and were later scanned and added to the digital archive.
There are a number of inconsistencies in these documents worth further investigation. For example, we found Form 990s from the national CAIR office for 2004-2006. While “Gross Revenue,” “Direct Expenses” and “Direct Income” related to Fundraising Events were reported for 2004 and 2005, those sections are blank for the 2006 return.
On January 31, 2010 World Net Daily reported that CAIR was delinquent in filing its 2007 and 2008 tax returns with the IRS.
Experts in taxes, accounting and non-profits are needed to explore this issue further. Contact the CAIR Observatory to get involved.