TRUSTEE EXPOSED: ABIGAIL BLACK ELBAUM
THE PROFILE
ROLE: VICE CHAIR, COLUMBIA TRUSTEE
DAY JOB: PRINCIPAL, OGDEN CAP PROPERTIES
CRIMES: SLUMLORD PRACTICES & FUNDING NYPD
THE SLUMLORD OF OGDEN CAP
Elbaum is the Co-Founder of Ogden CAP Properties. In 2013, her company was sued in a class action lawsuit, Adler v. Ogden CAP Properties, for refusing to refund tenants after Superstorm Sandy. While New Yorkers faced uninhabitable conditions without heat or electricity, Elbaum's firm fought to keep their rent money rather than provide fair rebates required by law.
THE GENTRIFIER
Elbaum sits on the board of the Mount Vernon Triangle Community Improvement District in D.C., an organization that has spearheaded aggressive "urban renewal." This is a polite term for the displacement of Black communities to make way for private developers. She isn't just a landlord; she is an engine of displacement.
FUNDING THE NYPD & ISRAEL
Elbaum is a Trustee of the NYC Police Foundation, the private "piggy bank" for the NYPD that funds surveillance tech like COMPSTAT. Crucially, she oversees the Foundation's coordination of the NYPD's Tel Aviv office, which passes hourly updates on NYC protests directly to the Israeli military.
THE NEPO BABY
Elbaum didn't earn her empire; she inherited it. She is a scion of the Milstein real estate dynasty, the daughter of Constance Milstein and granddaughter of billionaire Seymour Milstein. Ogden CAP Properties exists to manage her family's hoard of wealth, and her seat on the Columbia Board is just another accessory to her family's influence.