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Category: #3WTotal

#3WTotal update #4: Great news! TOTAL DROPPING!

Published June 30, 2015 by Robin

Hi,

It’s been a while since the last update but GREAT news: the #3WTotal list is finally DROPPING.

Since the last update (November 2014):
•Unfortunately, a couple of new names have still been added to the list. But!
•Some people are removing their name from the list.

What!?
Here is an excerpt from an email I received this morning, from the Department of Labor:

“A conference was held at this office last week in regards to claims filed….a preliminary resolution was reached between all parties. We are currently unable to share the specifics of the pending resolution with you due to privacy concerns.”

Great, right?

Now what?
If you are a 3rd Ward instructor and you are still owed money from your 3rd Ward days, email me for the above-quoted contact from the Department of Labor.

The new total: I hope that lots of settlements are occurring with EVERYONE, members, students, and instructors, on any and all fronts. This is what you deserve!

I began tracking this total because I wanted to give visibility to every person who felt that 3rd Ward walked out on them financially. Not every person sought to collect or get their money back, and adding your number to this list was never meant to suggest anyone on it would be actively pursuing a claim. But.

Did you get paid?
I hope the now-lower total means that this visibility is making a difference, and now the project and the number must evolve. Unfortunately, settlements are often private, and I don’t want to get it wrong. So for today I will say the total is going down and will update the number once I hear back from you on this:

To anyone–members, students, instructors—who made some effort to collect—if you do not believe your name should be in the total anymore, just let me know to remove your name, no questions asked about why.

Summer
I am considering hosting an informal gathering for anyone who wants to talk about this project. Is that you? If you have any interest, let me know.

In the meantime, please keep sharing this project with people you know who might have a story or experience to share. I am continuing to research and follow interrelated stories and will keep you updated.

Stuff I’m writing lately

Thank you,
Robin

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#3W Total, Update #3

Published November 4, 2014 by Robin

What’s the total?
To date, I have received information about outstanding memberships, course fees and instructor invoices of: $72,301. This is only an estimate.

Cultural Weekly published an essay I wrote for its new column, “Art in Context.” I address the way 3rd Ward treated instructors and members as well as the ways New York City is contributing to accelerating problems that gentrification in causing around Bushwick for makers/artists. I sincerely welcome your feedback on this, in any form.

An attorney I know has volunteered to speak with any/all of the people who are owed money by 3rd Ward; her firm may end up representing some of those people who are interested in pursuing refunds and payments for their services. Email me (writing@robingrearson.com) if you’d like this contact info. If you have collected or settled in any way, I’d love to hear your story.

The #3WTotal research project has received kind support from Brooklyn/NYC media. (Thank you!) Here are a few links:
Brokelyn
Brooklyn Magazine
Village Voice
I appreciate you trusting me with your stories. I hope that by gathering this information I have helped to create a voice for this community. I am continuing to research and follow many interrelated stories that connect to the 3rd Ward story and will keep you updated. In the meantime, please keep sharing your stories and sharing this project with anyone know you who might want to contribute.

 

About this project:

#3WTotal is an ongoing research project gathering information on former “maker-education space” 3rd Ward and the debts it owes to teachers, members, students and vendors of 3rd Ward in Brooklyn and Philadelphia. If you would like to share your 3rd Ward story or experience, send an email to: writing@robingrearson.com.

To follow this project, please join the mailing list, here, or check this page. Feel free to share or forward this post using this link: http://robingrearson.com/3wtotal-update-3/.

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#3WTotal, Update #2

Published September 30, 2014 by Robin

What’s the total?
To date, I have received information about outstanding memberships, course fees and instructor invoices of: $70,573. This is only an estimate.

What’s the backstory on this number?

After 7 years, 3rd Ward ceased operations in Brooklyn on October 8, 2013, without warning instructors, members or students. (The new Philly location also closed around this time.)

Instructors received an email the next day directing them to contact Nick Alexander, the company’s CFO, with any questions about their invoices.

To date, 51 teachers who worked in 2 states have reported outstanding invoices to #3WTotal adding up to $49,447.

These invoices range from $100 to more than $6,000 and reflect up to 2 months of unpaid work.

The payments received or collected for all 51 teachers since October 8, 2013: $0.

The number of teachers who reported receiving a response of any kind from CFO Nick Alexander: 0.

At least two instructors filed claims with the Department of Labor in New York, but no significant action has been taken on their claims.

At least one instructor filed a lawsuit in small-claims court and eventually settled with Jason Goodman out of court. Jason pushed the instructor to sign a confidentiality agreement but the instructor, luckily, did not sign.

3rd Ward began a crowdsourced investment campaign through Fundrise.com on September 26, 2013, and accredited investors pledged $375,000 of investment capital before the campaign was cancelled around October 9, 2013. 3rd Ward reportedly needed a minimum of $1.5 million just to keep the doors open.

The investors and directors of the company at this time included not just founder and CEO Jason Goodman but high-profile venture capitalists, sophisticated real estate developers, tech entrepreneurs and billionaire Tony Hsieh (of Las Vegas’ Downtown Project, Zappos.com and many, many other projects).

Despite having an experienced CFO on staff, an education director with a corporate-finance background and access to guidance from a host of sophisticated investors, Jason Goodman told the Village Voice that he believed until the very end the company could be saved and that closing the doors was a decision made only at the  last possible minute. (Even though the company was in so much debt that $375,000 could not keep the lights on long enough to pay, say, the instructors.)

It’s hard to believe Jason actually believed at anytime in October 2013 that his company could be saved, given the fact that in September 2013, he was already thinking ahead…

While the fundraising campaign was ongoing and Jason Goodman claims he had no idea his company was about to close and leave many people unpaid and in limbo over refunds, workspaces and memberships, he quietly transferred his one substantial asset to his partner, Frida Kamau.

The couple currently rents three cabins in Montauk for up to $350 per night on Airbnb.

The January 2013 purchase price Jason Goodman paid for the Montauk property: $705,628. The September 2013 price at which Jason transferred the same property to his partner: $0.

The unpaid total debts reported by teachers, vendors, students and members to date: $70,573.

In March 2014, sometime after negotiations ended with at least one other potential buyer, multiple sources report that Jason Goodman moved the company’s equipment offsite and sold it himself, in cash-only deals for which he received thousands of dollars.

“If no savior comes forward, 3rd Ward’s assets—the woodworking tools, the sewing machines, the computers—will be liquidated, and Goodman says creditors, including former students, teachers, and members, will be reimbursed. The organization’s biggest creditor, according to Goodman, is a bank.”—The Village Voice, October 14, 2013.

Of the money raised from the equipment sales, the total amount instructors, members and students have reported receiving to date: $0.

About this project:

#3WTotal is an ongoing research project gathering information on former “maker-education space” 3rd Ward and the debts it owes to teachers, members, students and vendors of 3rd Ward in Brooklyn and Philadelphia. If you would like to share your 3rd Ward story or experience, send an email to: writing@robingrearson.com.

To follow this project, please join the mailing list, here, or check this page. I expect to post another update in mid-October. Feel free to share or forward this post using this link: http://robingrearson.com/3wtotal-update-2/.

One Comment

Update #1: #3WTotal

Published August 27, 2014 by Robin

Hello!

Last week I requested information about 3rd Ward’s debts. I asked instructors, members & students to share their stories. Thank you to everyone who has sent me information for this ongoing project.

What’s the total?
To date, I have received claims against outstanding memberships, course fees and instructor invoices of: $38,450. This is an estimate, and not a final total.

What else?
Brooklyn media has been supportive and encouraging and is helping spread awareness about this project. Here are some links:

Bedford+Bowery
Brokelyn
Brooklyn Magazine
Brooklyn Paper

A note on bias:
I am researching this story as a writer & a former instructor, but I do not have a financial claim. One of the stories above suggests that teachers are seeking revenge. That isn’t what the project is about for me. I’ve been a freelancer for most of my life, and it is hard to make a living when you are financially exposed to risk by your clients. This project is about collecting and sharing research, and it was probably the experience of being a freelancer that inspired me to start the project, but I’m open to hearing all views and experiences.

Communication:
Please share this project with anyone you know who might want to contribute their experiences. Confidentiality and privacy will be respected. I send project updates via mailing list, so please subscribe if you have not already. Email me with your questions or stories at: writing@robingrearson.com.

Thank you for your support.

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New “community” project

Published August 18, 2014 by Robin

I am doing some research.

No one ever reported how much 3rd Ward owes its teachers, members and students. The amount owed to any one person might be $100 here, $3,500 there. But all together, was this “community” stuck with a bill for $20,000, $50,000, more?

Who cares?

The debts 3rd Ward owes to teachers & students & members are an underreported but important part of the legacy and myth of 3rd-Ward-the-brand. Besides, when a company as large as Livestream starts name-checking “the 3rd Ward community” to rebrand itself “Brooklyn,” isn’t the community’s fate, well, relevant?

Here’s a link to the email I sent to teachers+members+students. Please forward this to someone who might want to contribute. Thank you.

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