Jeff Gross

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Coordinates: 40°38′16″N74°05′00″W / 40.637779°N 74.083359°W

Ganas
Formation1979
TypeIntentional community
PurposeFeedback Learning, recycling
Location
70–80

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Ganas is an intentional community founded in 1979 in Tompkinsville, Staten Island.[1] Ganas has non-egalitarian, tiered membership groups,[2] and is thus a partial member at the Federation of Egalitarian Communities.[3] The community uses a group problem-solving process called 'Feedback Learning',[4] which was begun by co-founder Mildred Gordon.[5] The community attracted press attention after a 2006 shooting incident which led to lurid tabloid headlines.[6][7] The community was founded by 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 businesses run by Ganas, including a bookstore-cafe.

History[edit]

Ganas started in Staten Island in 1979 with six founders including Mildred Gordon and Jeff Gross.[8] In 1973 Gordon left New York City where she had founded GROW,[9][10] an unaccredited school of group therapy that 'turned out unlicensed group psychotherapists.'[11] Throughout 1972 GROW was the subject of state Attorney General and city fraud investigations into 'fraudulent use of Ph.D.'s from unaccredited universities'.[11][12] Gordon went to San Francisco where she studied biofeedback which became the basis of what she termed 'Feedback Learning'.[1] Gordon met the five 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.[5][13] In the late 1970s they returned to New York and moved into a Lower East Side apartment, finally settling in Tompkinsville, Staten Island in 1979.[1] On Staten Island the core-group shares ownership of eight houses and three commercial buildings that house their retail stores.[14] 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.[15]

Culture[edit]

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).[16] The primary focus of Ganas is Feedback Learning, an 'intense brand of communication' according to The New York Times,[17] about which journalist Jonah Owen Lamb writes: 'Those new to Ganas would share their life story with the group, who would respond by picking apart their issues and deciding how those issues should be dealt with. By 'killing their buddhas,' it was felt, Ganas members could begin to take control of how they reacted to the world.'[18] 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'.[19] Mildred Gordon left Ganas in 2001 but still returns weekly to conduct Feedback Learning sessions at the commune.[18]

Finances[edit]

The 'Every Thing Goes Book Cafe' on Staten Island

Though Ganas is portrayed as a commune in the media,[1][15][18][17] only the core group participates in income and property sharing.[16]

Ganas runs three stores under the name 'Every Thing 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.[1] 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.[20] FFL's program services are listed as 'Feedback Learning Skills Development' and 'Interpersonal Skills Development'.[21] FFL's revenues do not include income from their 'Everything Goes' stores, as those are for-profit entities.

In late 2006 the core group reorganized as Ganas Community LLC,[22] and began a new business called Ganas Food Company LLC.[23] Mildred Gordon continues to draw an annual salary of $40,000 as the executive director of FFL.[24] 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.[25] The following year total revenue fell to $2295 with direct public support of $0.[26] Ganas has a real estate portfolio estimated at $10 million with holdings in upstate New York, Brooklyn, Virginia, California and Spain.[27]

Jeff Grosso Death

Controversy[edit]

Two ex-members have made allegations about Ganas, including that it is a cult,[28][29] that it pressures residents into sex and green-card marriages,[6][17][29][30] and that 'they control minds with drugs that are used by psychotherapists'.[7][29] Ganas opposes being described as a cult.[6]

2006 shooting[edit]

In May 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.[6][30] Johnson's attorney denied that she had shot Gross, but said that she was 'wrongfully accused by Gross as payback for portraying him as a brainwashing rapist and the commune as a kinky cult.'[31] Johnson had unsuccessfully sued the group for sexual harassment in 2000.[30] In August 2008 Johnson was acquitted of all charges.[6][32]

Jeff Gross left the group after the shooting, and filed several lawsuits against Ganas and Rebekah Johnson.[31][32] Gross claimed that the leadership rejected his requests that the group upgrade security, that his personal daily schedule was published in a Ganas newsletter, and that he was 'booted out' of Ganas in October 2007.[28] Gross is seeking damages totaling over $20 million.[28]

References[edit]

  1. ^ abcdeAndrew Jacobs (November 29, 1998). 'Yes, It's a Commune. Yes, It's on Staten Island'. The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-07-22.
  2. ^'Radical Culture Shock: The Desire for Community and the Need for Private Space'. Federation of Egalitarian Communities. August 14, 2008.
  3. ^'Our Communities'. Federation of Egalitarian Communities. February 22, 2005. Retrieved 2009-07-28.
  4. ^'Ganas Info'. Retrieved 2009-07-23.
  5. ^ abKat Kinkade; Mildred Gordon (Fall 1995). 'Benevolent Dictators in Community'. Communities Magazine. Fellowship for Intentional Community. Retrieved 2009-07-23.
  6. ^ abcdeJames Barron (August 5, 2008). 'Ex-Member of Commune Is Acquitted'. The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-08-05.
  7. ^ abHeather Gilmore (June 4, 2006). 'Commune Sex Shocker'. New York Post. Retrieved 2009-07-23. wacky sex sessions with a shrink
  8. ^'Community as a Path to New Social Structures and Sustainability'.
  9. ^'About Mildred Gordon'. Archived from the original on 2008-02-27. Retrieved 2009-07-23.
  10. ^Peterson, Iver (July 14, 1972). 'Six at School Lack Degrees'(PDF). The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-07-23.
  11. ^ abPeterson, Iver (July 15, 1972). 'City to Look into PhD Use'(PDF). The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-07-23.
  12. ^King, Seth (July 23, 1972). 'Self-Accredited School'(PDF). The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-07-23.
  13. ^'Communities Directory'. Retrieved 2009-07-23.
  14. ^'Ganas Community'. Ganas. Retrieved 2009-07-21.
  15. ^ abAnnalee Newitz (April 24, 2006). 'Big Love on Staten Island'. New York Magazine. Retrieved 2007-10-31.
  16. ^ ab'Visions of Utopia'. Retrieved 2010-11-10.
  17. ^ abcJacobs, Andrew; Sarah Garland (June 1, 2006). 'Free Love, Hate and an Ambush at a Commune on Staten Island'. The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-07-23.
  18. ^ abcLamb, Jonah Owen (May 2006). 'Utopia Has a Web Site: Commune Life on Staten Island'. The Brooklyn Rail. Retrieved 2009-07-23.
  19. ^Farhan Haq. ''Ganas' Brings Cooperative Housing to New York'. International Co-operative Alliance. Retrieved 2009-07-23.
  20. ^'FFL 2001–2004 Tax Returns'(PDF). Internal Revenue Service.
  21. ^'FFL 2006 Programs'(PDF). Internal Revenue Service.
  22. ^'NYS Division of Corporations State Records'. New York DOS.
  23. ^'NYS DOC Entity Information'. New York DOS.
  24. ^'FFL 2008 Compensation'(PDF). Internal Revenue Service.
  25. ^'FFL 2007 Tax Return'(PDF). Internal Revenue Service.
  26. ^'FFL 2008 Tax Return'(PDF). Internal Revenue Service.
  27. ^Maureen Seaberg; Oren Yaniv; Alison Gendar (May 31, 2006). 'Ganas: Not a cult, insists groupie'. Daily News. Retrieved 2009-07-22.
  28. ^ abcFrank Donnelly (May 28, 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.
  29. ^ abcJeff Harrell (June 3, 2006). 'A look at Ganas from one who has lived there'. Staten Island Advance. Retrieved 2009-07-23.
  30. ^ abcTony Allen-Mills (June 4, 2006). 'New York shooting blows apart hippie commune with kinky sex on the side'. The Sunday Times. Retrieved 2009-07-23.
  31. ^ abEdgar Sandoval (August 4, 2008). 'Ex-commune member Rebekah Johnson cleared in shooting; guru fears for life'. Daily News. Retrieved 2008-08-05.
  32. ^ abJohn Annese (August 4, 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.

External links[edit]

Retrieved from 'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ganas&oldid=996634446'
Deck
Born
Jeffrey Blaine Grosso

April 28, 1968
DiedMarch 31, 2020 (aged 51)
Newport Beach, California, U.S.
Other namesThe Brat, Mothra, Grossman

Jeff Grosso (April 28, 1968 - March 31, 2020) was an American professional skateboarder, skate documentarian, and web series host from Arcadia, California.[1][2][3][4]

Skateboarding[edit]

Grosso started skateboarding at the age of 5.[2] He broke onto the skateboarding scene at a young age, turning pro at the age of 12.[2] In 1982, at the age of 14, the shoe and apparel company Vans began sponsoring Grosso. A personal and professional relationship that continued into 2020 with Vans' sponsoring Grosso's popular YouTube show “Love Letters to Skateboarding.”[2] Grosso grew up skateboarding with prominent figures such as Neil Blender and Lance Mountain.[5] Grosso was one of the most recognizable skateboarders in the United States in the 1980s, known for his vert skating. He appeared in multiple classic skate videos including the Powell Peralta video Future Primitive and the Santa Cruz Skateboards video Streets on Fire.[1] Additionally, Jeff graced the cover of the October 1994 issue of Transworld Skateboarding. Grosso had his career derailed due to substance abuse and found it over by the early-mid 1990s.[6] Grosso got sober in 2005 and resumed skateboarding professionally.[2]

Jeff Gross Lab

Skateboard historian[edit]

Grosso was an unofficial historian of skateboarding, always there to share a story and insight into skateboarding with the younger generation of skaters.[2] This love of skateboard history morphed in Grosso's popular YouTube show “Love Letters to Skateboarding.”[6] Jeff described the history of skateboarding as 'so f--king muddy and grey. There is no black and white.'[5]

Anti-hero skateboards[edit]

Grosso, joined Anti Hero Skateboards in early 2011, explaining the process in an August 2013 interview: 'I'll ask, I'll shoot at the mountaintop, and maybe I'll land at base camp. Once I got the courage to call them up, or whatever, and then they were like, 'Well, we have to vote.', or whatever, 'cause they run it like a gang ... So once I found out that they all, like, voted yes ... it was a proud moment.'[7][5]

Jeff gross realtor az

Grosso made one appearance in the X Games, finishing fourth in the Skateboard Park Legends event at X Games 16 in 2010.[5]

Personal life[edit]

Grosso attended Arcadia High School where he did not graduate with the class of 1986 because a Government teacher questioned Grosso in class for wearing an AHS girls softball sweatshirt (teacher was the coach for girls softball ). Grosso said he borrowed the sweatshirt after being accused by the teacher of stealing it. The teacher was very protective of his girls on the team. Grosso has said that he got the sweatshirt from a girl whom he had spent the night with and didn't want to out the girl. Subsequently, the teacher gave Grosso and Incomplete grade for not answering him. Grosso said he never had time to do summer school and make up for it because of his skateboarding career.[8] Grosso has a son Oliver, who was born 2012.[9]

Jeff Gross Michael Phelps

External links[edit]

  • Jeff Grosso: ‘I just ride skateboards, that’s what I do’ - Interview in Huck (magazine)
Dr jeff gross

References[edit]

Jeff Gross Attorney

  1. ^ ab'Jeff Grosso - That Pool Dude'. Huck Magazine. April 1, 2020. Retrieved June 11, 2020.
  2. ^ abcdef'Jeff Grosso, legendary skateboarder from the '80s, dies at 51'. Los Angeles Times. April 3, 2020. Retrieved June 11, 2020.
  3. ^'Jeff Grosso R.I.P. 1968-2020'. Transworld SKATEboarding. April 1, 2020. Retrieved June 11, 2020.
  4. ^'Jeff Grosso, legendary skateboarding pioneer, dead at 51'. CBSSports.com. Retrieved June 11, 2020.
  5. ^ abcdEd Andrews (September 7, 2011). 'Jeff Grosso: That Pool Dude'. Huck Magazine. Huck Magazine. Retrieved September 9, 2013.
  6. ^ abZucker, Joseph. 'Skateboarding Legend Jeff Grosso Dies at Age 51'. Bleacher Report. Retrieved June 11, 2020.
  7. ^crailtap (August 29, 2013). 'On the Crail Couch with Jeff Grosso'(Video upload). YouTube. Google, Inc. Retrieved September 9, 2013.
  8. ^'You.tube Interview Jeff Grosso'. The Nine Club With Chris Roberts - Episode 85.
  9. ^'Legendary Skateboarder Jeff Grosso Dies at Age 51'. Distractify. Retrieved June 11, 2020.

Jeff Grosser

Retrieved from 'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jeff_Grosso&oldid=997369060'