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40°38′16″N 74°05′00″W / 40.637779°N 74.083359°W / 40.637779; -74.083359 (Ganas)

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Ganas

135 Corson Avenue, Staten Island
Formation	1979
Type	Intentional community
Purpose	Feedback Learning, recycling
Location	Staten Island
Membership	70-80

Ganas is an intentional community in New Brighton, Staten Island, and a partial member of the Federation of Egalitarian Communities. Ganas is an urban experiment committed to exploring applications of Feedback Learning, a group problem-solving process begun by Ganas founder Mildred Gordon. Participation in the group process is obligatory in some situations. Ganas was founded in 1979 with a group of six people, and has grown to consist of 10–12 core group members plus 60 to 70 members of varying involvement. There are three on-site businesses run by Ganas, including a bookstore-cafe. A 2006 shooting incident increased public awareness of Ganas, heightened by published allegations of sexual misconduct and arranged marriages.

History

The group that would become Ganas got its start in 1973 when founder Mildred Gordon left New York City for San Francisco's Haight Ashbury. In New York City, Gordon had founded GROW, an unaccredited school of group therapy that "turned out unlicensed group psychotherapists." Throughout 1972 GROW was the subject of state Attorney General and city fraud investigations into "fraudulent use of Ph.D.'s from unaccredited universities"; that same year, a general investigation into unregulated mental therapy in New York resulted in a push for a "'tough' licensing bill that would impose stronger standards for all mental health workers", which had been lobbied against by Gordon previously.

In San Francisco Gordon studied biofeedback which became the basis of what she termed "Feedback Learning". Gordon's own literature on Feedback Learning defines it as a simultaneously psychological and political method to help neurotic individuals make self-directed behavior changes that lead to cooperative government. Gordon met the six people who would become the original core-group of the Ganas community and incorporated the tax-exempt 501(c)(3) non-profit organization Foundation for Feedback Learning (FFL) in 1974. The new community went by the name FFL until changing their name to Ganas in the early 1990s. In the late 1970's they returned to New York and moved into a Lower East Side apartment, finally settling in Tompkinsville, Staten Island in 1979. On Staten Island the core-group shares ownership of eight houses and three commercial buildings that house their retail stores. There are about 65 non-core group residents who live in Ganas houses and cover expenses by either paying rent or working in the stores.

In May of 2006 Ganas co-founder Jeff Gross was shot outside of his home on Ganas property. Gross survived and at trial identified the shooter as Rebekah Johnson, a former member who lived at Ganas periodically until she was evicted in 1996. Johnson had unsuccessfully sued the group for fraud and sexual harassment in 2000. Johnson's attorney denied that she had shot Gross, but said that she was psychologically damaged by Ganas and sought to expose their harmful practices. She was "wrongfully accused by Gross as payback for portraying him as a brainwashing rapist and the commune as a kinky cult." In August of 2008 Johnson was acquitted on charges of second-degree attempted murder, first-degree assault and attempted grand larceny following less than five hours of deliberation by a jury.

Jeff Gross left the group after the shooting, and filed several lawsuits against both Ganas and Rebekah Johnson. Gross claimed that after requesting the group upgrade security the leadership responded by publishing his personal daily schedule in their newsletter, before then "booting" him out of Ganas in October 2007. Gross is seeking damages totaling over $20 million.

Culture

Ganas operates on four primary rules forbidding violence, freeloading, illegal activities, and non-negotiable negativity (requiring that complaints be discussed in group process or not discussed at all either in private or public). Ganas practices group marriage and "safe sex groups", which member may be partipate in after being tested for HIV

The primary focus of Ganas is Feedback Learning, an intense brand of communication designed to allow members to control their reactions to the world. Mildred Gordon describes Feedback Learning as an "indispensable day-to-day guiding experience" in which members of the community provide feedback - helpful criticism - to each other. Through daily discussions of every community member's behaviour members can learn about themselves and their motivations, gain from hearing unpleasant truths, and "accept negative information with the excitement of discovery".

Business and Financial Info

Ganas runs three stores under the name "Everything Goes" that are dedicated to the re-use and re-sale of used goods. The stores include a furniture store, a clothing store and a bookstore/cafe with a performance stage. The businesses support the community but are labor-intensive and only marginally profitable. Full time work is 35 hours a week, and wages cover all community expenses plus a $300/mo stipend. Profit sharing opportunities may be available to some members.

For most of its life Ganas' income was declared on FFL's IRS form 990 for tax-exempt organizations. Since 2001 FFL has taken in an average of $475,000 in total annual revenue, including direct public support and program service revenue. FFL's program services are listed as "Feedback Learning Skills Development" and "Interpersonal Skills Development". FFL's revenues do not include income from their "Everything Goes" stores, as those are for-profit entities. In 2007 the legal address of FFL changed from Ganas headquarters on Staten Island to Brooklyn, and the same year FFL's tax return declared only $15,550 in total revenue and $75 in direct public support. The following year total revenue fell to $2295 with direct public support of $0.

In late 2006 the core-group reorganized as Ganas Community LLC, and began a new business called Ganas Food Company LLC. Mildred Gordon continues to draw an annual salary of $40,000 as the executive director of FFL. The latest FFL tax return on file still states the organization's mission as "Research of Feedback Learning" and its programs the same as those above. However the programs list expenses of $71,722 and FFL's total revenue at -$76,427.

Controversy & Criticism

Several ex-members have made serious allegations about Ganas, including that they are a cult, that they pressure residents into sex and green-card marriages, and that they practice unlicensed psychotherapy. Founder Mildred Gordon's school GROW was in the business of producing unlicensed therapists (see History). The Ganas website states "We are not a therapeutic community" but admits that distinction is not always clear. "Ganas groups are often mistakenly thought of as personal therapy", but Mildred Gordon does not hold a professional license or even a degree. The Ganas rule against non-negotiable negativity requires members to participate in group process in situations of conflict. The 2006 shooting incident at the commune prompted questions about whether Feedback Learning might have the effect of driving some participants "insane" through invasive group examinations of their personal affairs. Ganas has dismissed its critics as "mentally unstable" and "crackpots", and opposes being described as a cult. Ganas is widely perceived by the public as a commune, although only the core-group participates in income and property sharing. The media often characterizes the Ganas tradition of multiple sexual relationships as "wife swapping."

See also

• Mildred Gordon
• Federation of Egalitarian Communities

External links

• Ganas website
• 1972 GROW controversy

References and notes

1. ^ Andrew Jacobs (November 29, 1998). "Yes, It's a Commune. Yes, It's on Staten Island". New York Times. Retrieved 2009-07-22. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help) Cite error: The named reference "commune" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
2. "Our Communities". Federation of Egalitarian Communities. February 22, 2005. Retrieved 2009-07-28.
3. "Ganas Info". Retrieved 2009-07-23.
4. ^ Kat Kinkade (Fall 1995). "Benevolent Dictators in Community". Communities Magazine. Fellowship for Intentional Community. Retrieved 2009-07-23. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
5. ^ "Ganas Community". Ganas. Retrieved 2009-07-21. Cite error: The named reference "ganas" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
6. ^ Tony Allen-Mills (06-04-2006). "New York shooting blows apart hippie commune with kinky sex on the side". London Sunday Times. Retrieved 2009-07-23. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
7. ^ Heather Gilmore (06-04-2006). "Commune Sex Shocker". New York Post. Retrieved 2009-07-23. wacky sex sessions with a shrink {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
8. "About Mildred Gordon". Retrieved 2009-07-23.
9. ^ Peterson, Iver (July 14, 1972). "Six at School Lack Degrees" (PDF). New York Times. Retrieved 2009-07-23. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help) Cite error: The named reference "six" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
10. ^ Peterson, Iver (July 15, 1972). "City to Look into PhD Use" (PDF). New York Times. Retrieved 2009-07-23. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
11. King, Seth (July 23, 1972). "Self-Accredited School" (PDF). New York Times. Retrieved 2009-07-23. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
12. Peterson, Iver (Dec 16, 1972). "Unlicensed Therapists" (PDF). New York Times. Retrieved 2009-07-23. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
13. Sherman, William (July 15, 1972). "Get Strict on Mental Health" (PDF). New York Daily News. Retrieved 2009-07-23. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
14. "Communities Directory". Retrieved 2009-07-23.
15. ^ Annalee Newitz (April 24, 2006). "Big Love on Staten Island". New York Magazine. Retrieved 2007-10-31. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
16. ^ James Barron (5 August 2008). "Ex-Member of Commune Is Acquitted". New York Times. Retrieved 2008-08-05. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
17. ^ Edgar Sandoval (4 August 2008). "Ex-commune member Rebekah Johnson cleared in shooting; guru fears for life". New York Daily News. Retrieved 2008-08-05. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
18. ^ John Annese (4 August 2008). "Staten Island commune leader: 'My life is at risk'". Staten Island Advance. Retrieved 2008-08-05. Rebekah Johnson was found not guilty on charges of second-degree attempted murder, first-degree assault and attempted grand larceny. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
19. ^ Frank Donnelly (28 May 2009). "Gravely wounded in shooting, founder sues Staten Island commune". Staten Island Advance. Retrieved 2009-07-21. Gross, who now lives in Denver, was booted out of the group in October 2007, court papers said. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
20. Heidi Singer (June 1, 2006). "My Nights in Hippie Haven". New York Post. Retrieved 2009-07-23.
21. ^ Jacobs, Andrew (06-01-2006). "Free Love, Hate and an Ambush at a Commune on Staten Island". New York Times. Retrieved 2009-07-23. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
22. ^ Lamb, Jonah Owen (05-2006). "Utopia Has a Web Site: Commune Life on Staten Island". The Brooklyn Rail. Retrieved 2009-07-23. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help) Cite error: The named reference "utopia" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
23. Farhan Haq. "'Ganas' Brings Cooperative Housing to New York". International Co-operative Alliance. Retrieved 2009-07-23.
24. "FFL 2001-2004 Tax Returns" (PDF). Internal Revenue Service.
25. "FFL 2006 Programs" (PDF). Internal Revenue Service.
26. "FFL 2007 Tax Return" (PDF). Internal Revenue Service.
27. ^ "FFL 2008 Tax Return" (PDF). Internal Revenue Service.
28. "NYS Division of Corporations State Records". New York DOS.
29. "NYS DOC Entity Information". New York DOS.
30. "FFL 2008 Compensation" (PDF). Internal Revenue Service.
31. ^ "FFL 2008 Programs" (PDF). Internal Revenue Service.
32. ^ Jeff Harrell (06-03-2006). "A look at Ganas from one who has lived there". Staten Island Advance. Retrieved 2009-07-23. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
33. Andrew Jacobs (June 1, 2006). "Free Love, Hate and an Ambush at a Commune on Staten Island". New York Times. Retrieved 2009-07-22. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)

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