A Sidewalk In Need Of a Global Solution

Anyone who regularly walks near the intersection of 6th and State, especially those of us who live near there, knows what portions of sidewalks to avoid and what tripping hazards are the worst of the worst.  As with the rest of the city, there are plenty of hazards to trip a body up (or, more likely, down) near this intersection, but the sidewalk in front of 549 State might take the cake. If you must walk in front of that house, being vigilant is wise.  Perhaps unsurprisingly, the owner of that house does not live in the house.  Nor in Hudson.  Nor in New York, and not even on the East Coast.  The owner lives in Texas.  Dallas, Texas.  Or possibly India.

According to tax records, 549-551 State Street has been owned by someone named Theodore Kennedy since 2014.  The secondary name on the tax rolls is identified as SLK Global Solutions America, with an address of 2727 LBJ Freeway, Ste 806, Dallas, Texas 75234. (Yes, Ted Kennedy on LBJ Freeway in Dallas!) 

When I Googled SLK Global Solutions America, no website for the company appeared.  There are plenty of sites like Yelp and business profile sites that describe the company (information technology) and show it as having a logo that looks like a bowtie.  There is a site for SLK Software, though, which has the same bowtie logo.  By the looks of that site, if I had to guess, I would say the company is a scam or up to no good.  It's full of slick images and bland business mumbo jumbo, such as:  "ACEing partnerships with futures thinking," and "Explore resources that can help you plot your North Star to a brighter future".  However, none of the addresses on the contact page include Texas  -- just India, Singapore, 4 European countries, Cincinnati (SLK America) and Chicago (SLK Technologies).

It turns out that a huge multinational company based in India by the name of Coforge purchased SLK Global Solutions two years ago.  On its website, which looks legitimate, the company proudly claims:  "Conforge is now a billion dollar IT services company."  Included on the site's Alliances and Partners page is one of the company's many subsidiaries (offices?):  Coforge BPS America, Inc., with an address of 2727 LBJ Freeway, Suite 800 in Dallas, Texas.  BPS stands for Business Process Solutions.  

Meanwhile, far from Dallas and Uttar Pradesh, the sidewalk in front of the two-unit rental at 549 State Street in Hudson, NY remains a disgrace.  Every year it gets a little uglier and more dangerous.

At least they pay their taxes