NY Artists take legal possession of building after 30 Years!! Check Wolfart in Rotterdam...
You know, squatting is a very controversial issue here in the United States. In places such as Holland and Germany, it's not such a uncommon idea- and there are rules and regulations in place which serve to protect all interests. The funny thing is that the principal involved is the same no matter where you go: people need a place to live. Period. Sometimes, these people gather together, such as these artists in New York, and they take over buildings that are completely derelict- and they live in neighborhoods where no one would go, or which the city governments have neglected. Then these groups IMPROVE the neighborhood! They make the block they live on a safer, better place to live.
But here in the United States, we just don't seem to get that. These people are looked upon as thieves, looters- whatever.
Listen- I'm not condoning that just anyone can move into an empty space and claim it. There has to be a balance, as with all things. BUT- before you judge, think about the end result. Sometimes, it can be pretty amazing!
The NY Post article below is so incredibly negative that I'm almost tempted to just totally boycott the paper. But I love Page Six and you have to take everything with a grain of salt- and remember there are two sides to every story!
Check out the NY Post article:
SPACE INVADERS PAY DIDDLY SQUAT
CITY HANDS $5M BLDG. TO '80S ARTS CREW
By GINGER ADAMS OTIS
Last updated: 7:37 am
May 17, 2009
Posted: 2:04 am
May 17, 2009
Sometimes crime does pay.
Nearly 30 years after an eclectic group of poets, performers,
anarchists and artists illegally occupied a burned-out East Village
tenement, they've officially become a Manhattan co-op.
PAD
MEN: Residents who illegally occupied 292 E. Third St. — including
sculptor Rolando Politi (right) and poet John Farris (left) — now pay
$614 a month to live in the much-improved building, scrubbed of its
graffiti and featuring an art gallery.
Now, the NY Post make the artists look like a bunk of looney tunes- bt they are paying a mortgage- they have improved the neighborhood. Hell, the only reason all of the bankers and trendy people want to live in the East Village is because of the artists!
In Rotterdam, Dursun lives in the Wolfart Project Spaces. Same idea- and check out their neighborhood. Click on the link for more info!
Now, the NY Post make the artists look like a bunk of looney tunes- bt they are paying a mortgage- they have improved the neighborhood. Hell, the only reason all of the bankers and trendy people want to live in the East Village is because of the artists!
In Rotterdam, Dursun lives in the Wolfart Project Spaces. Same idea- and check out their neighborhood. Click on the link for more info!
Wat is Wolfart Projectspaces?
Sinds mei 2008 bestaat de vereniging Wolfart Projectspaces. Wolfart beheert een gemeenschappelijke projectruimte op de Wolphaertstraat in de wijk Oud-Charlois in Rotterdam. Samen met kunstenaars en programmamakers uit de wijk zorgt de vereniging voor een regelmatig programma met voorstellingen, evenementen en tentoonstellingen.
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