Singham-backed, pro-China group drops huge sum on Manhattan HQ as feds probe shadowy network

The People's Forum, a central organization within the Singham network, says it serves as a hub for more than 200 organizations and has helped coordinate left-wing protests across the U.S. since its founding in 2017.

The group hasn't publicly disclosed the address of the new building, but property records obtained by Fox News Digital show it purchased a three-story building at 137 W. 14th Street in Manhattan's Chelsea neighborhood for $5.15 million in December 2024. Sources familiar with the transaction told Fox News Digital that the W. 14th Street building is the new nonprofit's new headquarters. The details of the transaction and the records documenting the sale are being reported here for the first time. The records don't detail how the purchase was financed.

The People's Forum, which brags about publishing "over 25 revolutionary texts" and organizing "over 6,000 events," said on its website that it initially relied on support from a "generous donor" to establish its operations in 2017, but that new cash injections are desperately needed.

The narrow, mixed-use property appeared vacant when Fox News Digital visited the location on Tuesday.

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The storefront, previously occupied by a curtains and shades business, was painted black, with its signage removed, and the front windows covered by a dark tarp. The entrance doors appeared to be covered with brown paper, and a metal fire escape runs along the exterior, tan-colored facade. Property records describe the building as a roughly 2,580-square-foot lot with a footprint of approximately 25 feet wide by 96 feet deep.

"We need your help to make this urgent project come to reality," the group wrote on Friday amid a renewed fundraising drive, sharing images of the building's interior in disrepair, including exposed wires and other structural damage.

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The group previously said the decision to purchase the new building was driven in part by the need to replace its current leased space and create what it described as a permanent base that "cannot be threatened by landlords or political attacks."

The building previously sold for about $4.3 million in 2022, meaning the People's Forum paid $850,000 more just over two years later.

City records also show the building has active violations, including issues tied to elevators and the boiler system, with about $20,000 in civil penalties currently outstanding, suggesting the building requires substantial repairs.

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While the property is owned by the People's Forum, city filings show David Chung, the group's organizing director, signed a property ownership certification tied to the building in October 2025.

He has also appeared at protests where he referred to the "brutality of this imperialist system" in the U.S. and led chants of "Free Palestine," according to a video posted by the organization. In a caption accompanying the video, the group described the conflict in Gaza as a "genocide."

The group said it has "trained over 40,000 people" through political education programs, positioning the space as a central node for activist organizing.

In a video released as part of the fundraising push, Manolo De Los Santos, the group's executive director, said the 200 organizations that make up the People's Forum are "united in the struggle" for racial, gender, climate, and economic justice, with the new building aimed at playing a vital role in the group's future operations.

De Los Santos, who was born in the Dominican Republic and grew up in the Bronx, described the People's Forum as a "hub for learning and for organizing" and where "we strategize… and build solidarity to fight back."

"Your contribution isn't just a donation, it's an investment in our collective future of freedom," he said. "It's a direct act of resistance. It's how we protect spaces that allow us to organize and to win."

The People's Forum, De Los Santos and Chung didn't respond to requests for comment.

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