Community Tours. A trip to Ganas an Intentional Community on Staten Island May 2023

The first week in May 2023 I visited the intentional community, Ganas, located on Staten Island. The visit was arranged by my eldest daughter who has been exploring intentional communities for the past few years looking for a place to land. 

Knowing that sharing housing and intentional community intrigues me my daughter invited me  to be a guest on the mini tour of Ganas.

Staten Island Ferry

The ferry ride was pleasant and took about 25 minutes. We boarded from Manhattan to St. George Ferry docks on Staten Island. Along the route we saw the New York skyline, enjoying the harbor breeze buffeting the Statue of Liberty with a press of others jockeying for a selfie with the lady of the harbor.

From the the ferry dock the walk was uphill about a half mile to reach the Ganas compound then another terraced climb to the majority of the homes. There are ramps but those who are mobility challenged may want to consider another community.

Ganas Basics

Formed 40 years ago, a core of folks continue guiding the vision of the Ganas community. 60 residents reside in seven turn of the century era homes on the Staten Island hillside.

The community is founded on these four principles: 

• Non-violence to people or things;
• No free rides (everybody is required to work productively or pay their expenses);
• No illegality (including illegal drugs);
• No non-negotiable negativity. This rule requires that people bring their complaints about the community or people in it in some forum where the problems can be discussed and resolved with the people involved.

Ganas Guests

We paid for our nightly room ($55). Check in was simple having prearranged our visit, being introduced as Catherine's guests. 

Once we had our keys we were given a tour of the compound, walking the garden, viewing the community kitchen and were shown to our 2nd floor room. Occupants shared a bathroom with residents on each floor of the three story home where we were guests.

Once settled we explored the area, searching out the best pizza spot on Staten Island: Denino's. A bus ride and a walk away, where we found pizza heaven and a street named after the founder.

Community Mealtime and Chores

Back at Ganas, meals are prepared in a rotation by members of the community in a well outfitted kitchen. There are many hands to perform the tasks including preparing the food, setting the buffet line and the cold food station for the salads, dressings and condiments. 

Dinner is self-serve and seating is available around the dining room, sans dining room table (a left over Covid 19 protocol)

The dinner offerings were plentiful and the conversation was comfortable, carrying on long after plates had been polished clean.

Meals are casual, served buffet style in the dining area and consist of vegetarian and carnivore options.  People came and went throughout the meal with containers to carry food back to their individual space or stayed to join the group dining together in the main dining area.

Afterwards, residents (usually 7 or 8 people) began putting away food and rounding up dishes to the dish wash area. While some helpers were vacuuming others delivered the leftovers into the central refrigerator. From that refrigerator community members are able to drop into the community kitchen to create a meal for lunch, or dinner, or breakfast from the meal leftovers. 

Community Activities

Community planning time is built into the weekly schedule: all residents are invited to attend for resolving issues and scheduling activities. There is a weekly newsletter distributed to the various homes. The week's issue included one of the resident's trip out of the country, activities, a weekly calendar and some images from the past week's projects. 

During our second night we joined several other residents in making tempeh, a process that took an hour or so once the soybeans had been soaked, drained and dried. Everyone participating had an enjoyable evening learning about the tempeh making process.

There is a pantry in every house, and refrigerators are fully stocked. Each home has separate refrigerators, freezers & cupboards for personal foodstuffs that residents do not want to share with the community.

Community members contribute a monthly fee which includes all of the above. Many residents work in NYC taking the free ferry St George Staten Island Ferry to and from Manhattan. We traveled by foot with backpacks. *Arrangements for car arrivals would probably need to be made in advance.*

For some folks, work for the community can help defray housing costs. Examples of some of the available work include maintenance projects, shopping and restocking the community larders, laundry and personal care items, bookkeeping, newsletter production, painting and gardening projects, along with a couple of community second hand stores that serve the general public.

As visitors we were able to explore the offerings of the community and Staten Island for $55 a night.  The fee included a room with twin beds, meals (we packed lunches for our day trip, using staples, food and packaging from the community kitchen). The nightly fee also gave access to wifi, toiletries, laundry use, personal necessities and an invitation to join in any activities arranged for community members.

Snug Harbor Cultural Center

It was an easy 1.7 mile walk from the compound to Snug Harbor Cultural Center and Botanical Gardens, home to the Natural History Museum. We spent a lovely spring afternoon rambling the multiple gardens and the peaceful grounds of Chinese Scholar's Garden at Snug Harbor.

Living at Ganas

Overall the visit to Ganas was welcoming and a pleasant way to spend a couple of spring days getting acquainted with this particular intentional community. 

Aging in place here. 

• One should have good mobility and no issues with stair climbing multiple floors to access their room.

• The homes are in relatively good repair, though they are older and likely slightly insulated for winter or the heat of summer. Furnaces and air conditioning units are functioning in all the dwelling places.

It is a low cost housing option for folks who work or enjoy New York life and enjoy sharing spaces with others.  The style of living is laid back. In online reviews the words hippie and commune are frequently mentioned. 

Governing: decentralized administrative responsibility and authority is a part of the inclusive management strategy.

There are virtual information sessions available to meet the residents, discuss ideas and arrange a visit to the community.