Yesterday, the New York Times made the following appeal for information: "Are You Familiar With Wrongdoing Among Nonprofit Groups?" The article's opening paragraph reads: "David A. Fahrenhold, an investigative reporter for The New York Times, covers the world of nonprofit organizations. He wants your suggestions about what to dig into next." He's looking for examples of "mismanagement, deception, self-enrichment or fraud." It's an intriguing invitation.
It sure is an intriguing invitation. Thank you for this, Carole.
ReplyDeleteThe Greenberger Foundation, TSL, Hudson/Catskill Housing Coalition, Citizen Action, Galvan, The Sloop Club, Kite’s Nest, Greater Promise Neighborhood….this feels like writing a letter to Santa Claus and I’m just not sure his elves will have enough time to whittle little handcuffs.
ReplyDeleteI would encourage anyone with concerns about local non-profits to participate in this process. Perhaps if NYT understands how much abuse, misrepresentation, and self-dealing there is by non-profits in this corner of the state, and how poorly they serve their community, they'll perhaps begin more honest and less breathless coverage of goings-on in this small and very over-governed and over-taxed community.
And in Hudson the same actors are spoon feeding each other from multiple non-profit pies. It's a real smorgasbord, or is it smorgasboards.
DeleteALL YOU CAN EAT for Zero Tax Dollars
DeleteThe thing that might catch the NYTimes' eye is that Galvan is like an octopus. So many properties here in town, some non profit some not, many in horrible condition many vacant, several different owner names (some that are not disclosed on the Galvan website) and a few different addresses under those names, including 42 W. 39th 14th floor, NYC 10018 attn Adam Rizzi. It's all so bizarre and suspicious. I recently discovered that there are 10 properties in town owned by a HUDSON HOMESTEADS, LP. Sounds quaint, right? The address for that owner is the 2nd floor of Galvan's office at 252 Columbia. Every one of those properties, which are mainly one and two family residences, are 100 percent tax exempt because they apparently serve low income residents. Maybe they do, but is anyone making sure of that? I doubt it. B Huston
ReplyDeleteFYI Hudson Homesteads was a project of Columbia County Housing Resources. The buildings built in the project came under the control of Galvan Housing Resources when Galvan bailed out CCHR and took possession of all its property. That happened in 2014: https://gossipsofrivertown.blogspot.com/2014/06/stunning-news.html
ReplyDeleteThis sentence could have read
Delete"The buildings built in the project came under the control of Galvan Housing Resources when Galvan pulled off a blatant land grab, allegedly "saving" Housing Resources with an influx of $175,000 cash. Followed by HRCC's Board giving Galvan possession of the properties worth conservatively in excess of $2,000,000 along with the keys to, and control of the agency. In a final vicious gutting of the agency, Galvan Housing Resources did away with its first-time homebuyer programs. The programs which helped those very same original Hudson Homestead buyers buy their homes, taking their first step toward breaking the cycle of poverty and building generational wealth. It all makes sense when you realize that homeowners are Galvan's competition. They don't need taxpayer financed subsidized rentals.
They aren't truly HOMES if the people living in them don't own them or have the opportunity to. And the city is poorer for it, too, if the "HOMESTEADS" remain in Galvan's grubby hands and no one else ever has a chance to own them and, well, pay taxes on their HOME. This is the icky underbelly of American capitalism thanks to our friends at GALVAN who claim to be doing everything they can to improve life in Hudson. "You need a 30-room hotel and bar in the middle of town with no on-site parking. Trust us." And so it shall be done.
DeleteB Huston
Hudson Homesteads was the first "scattered site" housing project in Hudson. It consisted of ten (if I remember correctly) parcels that had landed back in the city's possession either due to taxes or because the owners had walked/moved away, or had died, and the buildings had fallen into serious disrepair. Every single one of those sites had infestations of one creature or another, which were problematic for the neighboring properties.
ReplyDeleteThe target housing population were those in the service industries, who were, pre-pandemic, "invisible" before they were deemed "essential" - it really is all about the language and who controls it, isn't it?
The number of applicants for those units was so large, that after every application was vetted for all of the usual criteria, financial, credit, criminal, etc., Housing Resources actually had to conduct a raffle.
Many of the new tenants had never had new appliances, or lived in a rental in which all the appliances worked at the same time.
The "Scattered Sites" philosophy was to NOT concentrate lower income people in one neighborhood, on one street. Before someone gets their fingers flying across the keyboard, responding in ALL CAPS "WELL, THEY WERE ALL ESSENTIALLY IN ONE DOWNTOWN NEIGHBORHOOD", yes, they were all located below Fifth Street. No housing project is perfect, nor is any housing idea perfect.
Susan
Shouldn't there be an effort to get those 10 properties back on the tax rolls? Galvan certainly won't make that effort.
DeleteOne of Hudson Homesteads' properties is 25 N. 5th, at the corner with Columbia. 2 apartments upstairs, attractive from the street, and a store front below. A retail space paying no property taxes. Why? (Also, on the Columbia side sidewalk of this property is one of the worst, maybe the worst, tripping hazard in town. Been there forever. This is Galvan)
DeleteWas that the home of Discipline Park, the longstanding business Galvan forced out of the space to put in a revolving door of tenants for higher rent?
DeleteIf a property, like the one at 25 N 5th, has apartments and a storefront rented at below market rents and in exchange is being given a pass on taxes, this rent is being subsidized by the taxpayers of Hudson. The properties exempt from rent require the city to raise taxes to cover costs, so the taxpayers are subsidizing these rents. The question then is why are local property owners in Hudson subsidizing rents? Providing low income subsidized rents is the responsibility of the Federal and State government through the Housing Authority, Section 8, etc. Passing the buck of subsidy to local government through non-profit tax exemptions is an additional tax placed on property owners by the Federal Govt., it is a targeted tax paid only by property owners. While the Feds spend trillions on killing and wars they will not even fix the teeth of people on Medicaid, preferring to have dentists pull them out and leave small communities scrambling to house low income residents. In the richest country on earth, this is really unconscionable.
DeleteAll of Galloway's differently named entities, are far beyond suspect and always have been.
DeleteIt's the people around here that keep enabling him, and seem to loose no sleep, no matter how harmful the means, that justifies their ends.
CITY
SLICKERS WHO OWNS THIS TOWN.
The Catskill Community Center
ReplyDeleteHow about this for a real head scratcher -- the GALVAN Initiatives Foundation owns the attractive and large house at 65 N, 5th Street, adjacent to and across the alley from the Armory. It was recently assessed at $440,000, and it appears one person lives there. According to county tax records, Galvan pays zero taxes on that property, technically known as 61-65 N. 5th. For what purpose could that house and lot possibly be considered tax exempt? Galvan Partners LLC bought the property in November of 2012 and transferred it to Galvan Initiatives Foundation 4 DAYS later.
ReplyDelete