The Acquisition of Hudson: Third Ward
Gossips has previously mapped the properties owned by Galvan Partners LLC and Galvan Initiatives Foundation in the First Ward and the Second Ward. Today we move on to the Third Ward.
On the map below, red indicates properties currently owned by Galvan (Partners or Foundation) or, in the case of one of the properties in this ward, by T. Eric Galloway himself. Gold marks properties that at one time belonged to Galloway but do no longer. His impact on those properties ranges from virtually none--he simply owned them for a time and then sold them--to repairing and completing the restoration of a house severely damaged by fire to subdividing a grand property and thus altering the configuration of a historic neighborhood.
The concentration of properties owned by Galvan in the Third Ward is not as great as it is in the First Ward, but it is interesting to combine the two and then consider that, according to City-Data.com, the median household income in the area south of Warren Street between Second and East Court streets is among the highest in Hudson.
Given that the Galvan Foundation defines its mission as "to improve and enhance the quality of life for all Hudson, NY, residents, especially those most vulnerable or economically disadvantaged . . . ," one wonders why the Galvan real estate acquisitions are concentrated in a part of the city that seems not to be especially disadvantaged.
COPYRIGHT 2014 CAROLE OSTERINK
Mission Statements are meant to provide a general and often hazy guide to a usually lofty goal. When solid goals and objectives are missing then one pretty much knows a mission statement means nothing. As I mentioned in my comments under your February 4 posting on Galvan, their furious pace of acquisitions, the real and perceived ethical lapses of those they pay to soothe the way for them, and the hazy mission statement of their foundation combine to make a curious stew at the very least and, as some fear, a potential toxic brew at the most. Reading the articles of incorporation, bylaws of a foundation, and the state special private foundation rules (such as "self dealing" or "excess business holdings") will tell the interested person much more than reading the mission statement. A cursory glance at the Galvan Foundation grant making shows small grants to many nonprofits most of which are for "general support." "General Support" grants are very hard to come by since many foundations pursue measurable outcomes in their grant making. Those foundations link their grant making to their mission statement, goals and objectives with an aim to link measurable outcomes to change that can be replicated elsewhere. Galvan is a small private foundation that does not appear to be going that route for the most part. Nor do they have to -- they can be an ATM. Gal and Van are the only two Board Members. They have one staff person and a handy group of consultants. The Galvan Foundation does not have to expand but call it what it is: a closed shop with a lofty mission statement and no discernible goals and objectives.
ReplyDeleteGreat information, thanks.
DeleteDo you know anything about the lobbyist registry with the state? It's evidently not a requirement, but if it's only a recommended practice then why would anyone bother registering?
At least Galvan seems not to have bothered.