Help Save Newburgh Art Supply

UPDATE August 30th, 2024

News12 has run a piece on saving Newburgh Art Supply:

https://hudsonvalley.news12.com/newburgh-art-store-facing-tax-foreclosure-gets-lifeline-from-customers

You can find the link on the FB Page Living in the City of Newburgh.

UPDATE August 28th, 2024

Good News & Pending News. Thanks to your generous support and a personal loan, Michael delivered what he owes in back taxes to the City of Newburgh. The city is holding the funds in escrow, and a decision will be made to accept the checks at the Council Meeting on Monday, September 9th (meeting starts at 7pm) at City Hall.

I have decided to keep the GoFundMe open until September 9th to raise awareness of his situation. In the meantime, you are welcome to stop by Newburgh Art Supply to say hi and support the business.

Regardless of the City’s decision, Newburgh Open Studios 2024 is going forward as planned.

Judy Thomas

GoFundMe Organizer

ORIGINAL STORY

Michael Gabor, co-founder of Newburgh Art Supply (and Newburgh Open Studios and the Newburgh Lightbulb Project) urgently needs your help. As most of you know, Michael lost his business and life partner of 17 years, Gerardo Castro, to an illness in March of 2024.

Since being forced to leave steady employment to care for Gerardo and be by his side through his illness, back taxes were being paid through payment agreements with the city of Newburgh until the city refused to accept them. Foreclosure proceedings have commenced and the deadline for a decision by a judge is August 26. We are urgently asking the community for its help to raise funds to pay the debt to the city in its entirety by August 26.

Gerardo and Michael founded Newburgh Art Supply in 2008 on Liberty Street in the City of Newburgh at a time when investment in the city was sparse. Today, anyone who lives in Newburgh and the surrounding communities, any creative person, has likely met Michael and Gerardo and have likely been to Newburgh Art Supply for something, even friendly conversation and community. Newburgh Open Studios started out as a cornerstone event that brought the small but passionate community of artists of Newburgh together to showcase their talents.

Because of Michael and Gerardo’s work and devotion to the arts, the artists of Newburgh, and their love for the city of Newburgh, the Newburgh Open Studios tour has grown significantly. Artists have flocked to the City of Newburgh to live and to create. The Newburgh Open Studio tour continues to bring people from all over the country to Newburgh to enjoy the amazing talents that Michael and Gerardo played such a huge role to nurture.

All available options are being explored but the immediate need is to bring the taxes up to date. The consequences of foreclosure for Michael are dire. He faces losing not only the business he and Gerardo carefully and lovingly built together out of mission to the art community, but also of losing the only home he has, any equity he’s accumulated in his home and quite possibly the entire inventory of his store and his life’s possessions.

Please contribute anything you can and share this urgent fundraiser with your friends and community. Saving Newburgh Art Supply and Michael’s home is so obviously urgent for Michael and the City of Newburgh.