Grassroots organisations are fighting predatory development in Manhattans Chinatown
Amanda Perez
At a rally on the front steps of New Yorks city hall in June, a group gathered in support of the Small Business Jobs Survival Act (SBJSA), a bill that would give small businesses commercial lease protections across New York City. Among the attendees were employees of the New Art Dealers Alliance (Nada), the dealer Bridget Donahue, the artist Vanessa Thill and other members and supporters of Art Against Displacement (AAD), a coalition of artists and arts professionals from Chinatown and the Lower East Side.
According to Michelle Rosenberg, an artist who co-founded AAD in 2016 and who lives in a co-op in the Lower East Side, the SBJSA “offers a sliver of hope that we may be able to keep our studios and gallery businesses a little while longer” in a city where affordable studio space is near impossible to come by and commercial tenants have few rights or protections.
The SBJSA, which was introduced in 1986 and is still being debated in New Yorks city council, highlights concerns about the rampant development of Manhattan that some say has worsened under Mayor Bill de Blasio. Several new luxury developments on the Lower East Side—most notably four proposed luxury megatowers in the Two Bridges area—are threatening living and working space for thousands of residents, among them senior citizens, artists, art dealers and other small business owners.
“I want to set an example for my son that its important to care about community”
Along with other members of the coalition, AAD has lobbied in support of the Lower East Side Organised Neighbours (LESON) lawsuit, one of four lawsuits that have been brought against the construction of the towers, which they say would threaten a nearby senior housing unit, place enormous strain on the local environment and infrastructure, and lead to widespread displacement in the community. A spokesperson for the developers says that the lawsuits were without merit and that the towers would come with hundreds of affordable housing units, as well as upgrades to East Broadway station and other benefits to the area. Yet on 5 June, Judge Arthur Engoron issued an injunction against the developers until 2 August.
Members of AAD, sensitive to the reputation art communities have for being catalysts of gentrification, stress that their work is to support and learn from the vision and activism of long-standing grassroots organisations that are part of the coalition, like National Mobilisation Against Sweatshops (NMASS) and the Chinese Staff and Workers Association.
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