As we know, the Galvan Foundation purchased the former Community Theater at Columbia and Seventh streets earlier this year. In announcing its intention to acquire the building last November, Galvan expressed the intention "to develop the building as a gateway to our Depot District Initiative." Today, Galvan made public its plans for the building. The announcement, which appeared on Facebook, is quoted below.
We are pleased to announce our plans to restore the Hudson Community Theater building to create Hudson Forum. This project provides needed entertainment and economic opportunities for the entire community.
Hudson Forum is planned as a regional theater with flexible performance space and room to fit 400 seated attendees and many more for standing room only events. It is adaptable for a range of different performance, including:
- Plays
- Musicals
- Film Screenings
- Concerts
- Lecture Series
- Community Events
We are thankful for Governor Hochul and New York State's decision to support this project with a $900,000 Empire State Development Grant.
Don't we already have Hudson Hall, doing this very thing?
W H T.$K900,it's insane.How much did the previous owner purlion from the citizens of Hudson,and ever did a thing,only pawned off the building to Eric,and he gets a check from the state.
ReplyDeleteAt least this way we know the taxpayer-funded stage can't mysteriously disappear, like the Lil Deb's/Tourism Board boondoggle
ReplyDeleteI’d settle for a half decent movie theater
ReplyDeleteSickening. The rich get richer and the poor remain poor, thanks to government welfare for the very rich. With that $900,000 maybe Galvan should instead fix up and rent out all of the vacant units in Hudson that they hoard year after year! Where is the outrage?! And they are a “not for profit”?! Sickening.
ReplyDeleteAnd will they be providing apartments and jobs for the homeless? (I kid.). Where is the outrage from council members?
ReplyDeleteI want indoor pickleball
ReplyDeleteI'm thinking there will be a grand opening for this thing some day and Eric Galloway will actually appear to cut the ribbon. Maybe then we can finally see him in the flesh and throw some rotten fruit and eggs his way. B Huston
ReplyDeleteI'd like to see some progress on the mess that Galvan bought at the corner of 4th & Warren.
ReplyDeleteOr at 5th and Union, among MANY others. Listen: The building across the street from me is a Galvan building, like SO MANY others in Hudson. The upstairs apartment has been vacant for over 2 years. The downstairs unit for 2 months. I saw Eric Galloway briefly peeking inside a few weeks ago. So there they sit, 2 perfectly good apartments, month after month, year after year. They certainly never post a “For Rent” sign, they don’t advertise them. This is just one anecdotal mention, there are vacant apartments like this ALL OVER HUDSON. I’m sure that others could talk about the vacant Galvan units on their block.
DeleteKind of like those gravel trucks. You create a condition, then use that to manipulate the city into giving you what you want.
Delete5th and Warren should be made into a park. It would be nice to have something in the middle of Warren. It could also be functional and have a dog run and food truck parking and tables. It pretty much is used for both now. It would be a nice gesture to the city.
DeleteI'm sure Galvan waving goodbye would also be a nice gesture to the city.
DeleteControversial question: Why are all of Galvan’s employees Hispanic men who speak little or no English? Where did they come from? Do they live in Hudson? If you work on a Galvan property you know, when it snows outside a Galvan truck will suddenly pull up and 10 or 15 young men will pile out of a pickup to shovel and snowblow. I’ve seen it many times. They never seem to have hats or gloves or good coats, but god love them they work very hard and do an amazing job. But if Galvan actually cares about this community, why don’t they employ LOCAL workers instead of immigrants?
DeleteHypothetically speaking, if a local developer wanted to avoid paying taxes, in much the same way that Donald Trump avoided paying taxes by housing his employees in Trump Tower, couldn’t a local developer hypothetically house his immigrant employees in his vacant apartments, off the books?
DeleteAre you implying immigrants aren’t local residents? We are all immigrants, and it was immigrants who chased the original inhabitants from this land.
DeleteI think he's legitimately questioning whether Galvan's hiring practices are on the up and up, and as beneficial to the local economy as advertised in every breathlessly effusive presentation Dan Kent gives. Galvan's non-profit vehicles and equipment have been reported as working for his for-profit construction business. Seems a fair question to me, and not necessarily an attack on the immigrant community in general, and steering the conversation hard left seems a pointless diversion at best, and karma-farming grandstanding at worst.
DeleteReally Carole? In response to your comment: Don't we already have Hudson Hall, doing this very thing? I understand your reluctance to be "supportive" of the Galvan Foundation... but MORE arts in Hudson is a GREAT thing! Let's be grateful about its possible future!
ReplyDeleteNaïveté is charming in children. Adults? Not so much. On what basis can anyone conclude that 1) Galvan will finish what he started (generally he doesn’t), and 2) if he does finish, it will be better than shoddy (see all of his past work in Hudson), and 3) that if finished and not crumbling from the jump, that they will actually book acts (with no experience in the business whatsoever)?
DeleteNaïveté — looks good on kids, looks like a complete lack of experience or abject stupidity in adults.
Yes, Tom, that's right. We already have Hudson Hall doing this very thing.
DeleteWe don't have a local rec center, a commissary for small dining establishments, a bowling alley, a larger live-music venue, or any number of possible alternate uses.
In any sensible, well-managed municipality, local leaders would be incentivizing unmet community needs with large projects, and thinking about the externalities of of those projects, like parking. The fish rots from the head here, and certainly the fish has about as many neurons firing as one might suspect.
I see your point... as negative and as nasty as it is directed at me!
DeleteAnd this is a “not for profit”?!?!
ReplyDelete...until Eric Galloway decides to pay himself another 'consulting fee.'
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