Page 66 - Demo

I know artists who are here becausethey actively reject the Manhattansocial scene and the marketing o fart in Manhattan. %u2014 Carol BrysA dancer moves fromManhattan toBrooklyn and findsan ideal rehearsalspace for her dancecompany. She signs afive year lease but inless than a year shereceives notice thatthe building has beensold and that shemust vacateimmediately. Shefights to hold on, butfour years and$36,000 in legal feeslater, she gives upand moves out. Thisparticular story,however, has a happyending.%u2014 Elise LongPHOENIX FALL HOME SPECIALthe City a s a cen ter for the A rts.%u201d It thenm scic se v e rs! reccm m en cistio s0 rr%u2018Ar^ im. p o rta n tly :%u2014 The creatio n of a Technical A ssistance F und, \costs of planning and developing re a l-e sta te-re la te d in v estm en ts by qualified a rts g ro u p s.\%u2014 The creation of a revolving loan fund to help finance a rts g ro u p s%u2019 real e sta te projects.%u2014 The study of zoning law s w ith an eye to m aking changes fav o rab le to a rts organizations.The only recom m endation th a t h a s been a c te d on is the creatio n of the T echnical A ssistance F und, according to DCA sp o k esm an Jim Kelly. In the fiscal y ear ending Jufie 30, the fund d istrib u ted $25,000 to six organizations: the Collective for l i v %u00ading C inem a, the D ouble Im ag e T heater, T h e a te r in A ction, D an W agner and D a n cers, th e H arry F oundation, and the H a rb o r S h ak esp eare F estiv al.This y e a r the fund h as $50,000 to give out, an d th e re will be th re e application d ead lin es %u2014 S eptem ber 15, J a n u a ry 15 and A pril 15.%u201c The fund is designed for a p p lic a n ts who hav e found space th a t is affo rd ab le but ina p p ro p ria te ,%u201d K elly said. %u201c The g ra n ts are to help pay for arc h ite c ts, legal fees and o th er costs associated w ith m ak in g the sp ace w o rk ab le.%u201d The fund cannot, he said, s e n d e e e ith er young groups or those looking for sp ace, although the TAF hopes to hire a re a l e sta te consultant this fall who will counsel groups on w here to look for space.An entirely se p a ra te an d politically m ore volatile problem is th a t of living and w orking sp ace for visual and p lastic a rtists.Som e 1,600 people %u2014 m ost of th e m a rtists %u2014 now live in Brooklyn lofts, according to figures com piled by the B rooklyn Loft T enants A ssociation. The g re a t m a jo rity of these a re in m an u factu rin g and h eav y com %u00adm e rc ia l zones in G reenpoint, W illiam sburg, F ulton F e rry , and Sunset P a rk . The resid en ces of n early 1,000 of th ese loft dw ellers a re illegal.BOARD G R A N D FA TH ER ED SOM EThe issue of illegal loft ten an cy in B rooklyn cam e to a head in J a n u a ry , when th e B oard of E stim a te p assed legislation allow ing for the %u201c g ra n d fa th e rin g %u201d or afterth e-fact legalization, of som e illegal lofts. The legislation legalized only those loft te n a n ts who live in buildings in c e rtain d esig n ated a re a s th a t w ere a t le a s t 45 p e rcen t re sid en tial a s of D ecem b er 1981.This %u201c 45 p ercen t ru le ,%u201d a s it c a m e to be know n, w as an am e n d m e n t by Borough P re sid e n t H ow ard G olden, who sa id it w as esse n tia l to p reserv e the m a x im u m possible sp ace for B rooklyn%u2019s tra d itio n a l m an u factu rin g in terests.B ut th e B rooklyn Loft T enants A ssociation and its su p p o rters %u2014 who a re now challenging the B oard of E stim a te resolution in co u rt %u2014 a sse rte d th a t th e City has o v e re stim a te d the need for m an u factu rin g sp ace and is in fact m ore in te re ste d in clearin g the w ay for co m m ercial office developers such a s D avid W alentas, who h as ren o v ated se v eral Fulton F e rry buildings to be occupied by th e S tate Labor D e p a rtm e n t and o th er non-m anufacturing ten an ts.City studies show th a t B rooklyn lost 5,500 m a n u factu rin g jobs in 1985 and 30,000 m a n u factu rin g jobs over the p a st decade.In testim ony before the B oard of E stim a te in Ja n u a ry , D eputy M ayor for E conom ic D evelopm ent A lair Tow nsend noted th a t 10 m illion of B rooklyn%u2019s 77 m illion sq u are feet of in d u strial space lie vacan t.(Phoenix/Kirk Photo)%u201c The fa c t is,%u201d sa y s M onte D avis of the BLTA, %u201c th e re is no sign of a m anu factu rin g resu rg en ce. Space is going begging in the N avy Y ard, w here you have subsidized h eat an d electricity. D avis said th a t if the B oard of E stim a te resolution holds up, m an y of th e buildings from w hich the 100 affected loft te n a n ts would be evicted w ould have v a can cy ra te s of 40 p ercen t. %u201c And I don%u2019t think th a t a building th a t%u2019s 40 p ercen t v a %u00adc a n t is a v iable building.%u201dF ro m th e point of view of B rooklyn%u2019s g o v ern m en t officials, th e loft g ra n d fa th e ring decision has nothing to do w ith how m u ch m a n u fa c tu rin g sp ace m a y or m a y not be v a c a n t in Brooklyn. It w as a com %u00adprom ise betw een tw o com peting in terests, th ey say.%u201c The g en eral level of in d u stria l developm en t is not the issu e,%u201d said R aym ond Levin, a special a ssista n t to Borough P resiD em onstration W ill Bring A tten tion To P roblem s O f L o ft TenantsAs th e legal b attle betw een th e City, illegal loft te n a n ts and landlords who are a ttem p tin g to evict th e ir a rtist te n a n ts continues, costs for all sides a re escalating. To a d d re ss th is financial problem , A rtists for A rtists, a join v en tu re of the B rooklyn Loft T enants and the I/rw er M an h attan Loft T enants a re co-sponsoring a fu n d raiser th a t includes the p articip atio n of 150 a rtists and g allery ow ners with an end goal to raise $500,000.in e tu n araisin g e rto n is laiung m e torm of an exhibition th a t opened a t th e C harles Cowles G allery, 580 B roadw ay, on S eptem ber 25 and w Jl be followed by an auction of the w orks on O ctober 14. The event rep re se n ts an organized outcry by a r %u00adtists who are protesting th e ir escalatingre n ts and City housing policies th a t in Brooklyn alone th re a te n to displace a rtists living in the G reenpoint, W illiam sburg, Fulton F e rry and Sunset P a rk m an u fa c tu ring d istricts. R esponse from the N ew York a rt com m unity has been extensive with w orks by a rtis ts Roy L ichtenstein, R obert R auschenberg and J a sp e r Johns donated to the show as well as w orks by lesser known a rtists.%u201c F o r loft te n a n ts in Brooklyn, the law suit h as just Degun,%u201d say s Bill Nogosek, one of the p a rticip an ts in the fundraising project. %u201c We need to raise m oney to continue the legal b attle s,%u201d he says. O rganizers began to w ork on the event back in April, and according to Nogosek, m an y a rtists turned out willingly to support the effo rt. %u201c It isrem in iscen t of the a rtists strik e in th e 1%0%u2019s ,%u201d he explains. %u201c M any people who donated w ork had th e ir own h o rro r stories to tell of housing p roblem s in New York C ity.%u201dF o r Brooklyn resid en ts in p a rtic u la r, funds ra ise d from th e event will help cover the costs of a law suit th a t seeks to o verturn a B oard of E stim a te decision last D ecem ber concerning loft te n an ts ind e s ig n a te d a r e a s n f R r n o k lv n T h e R n a rHvoted to legalize th e residences of ten an ts who could prove a 45 p ercen t occupancy since 1981 in buildings zoned for m a n u fa c %u00adtu rin g . %u201c Brooklyn people have an im - m e u ia te d a n g er from th a t vote,%u201d N ogosek say s. Loft te n a n ts affected by th a t vote are being p ro tected by a te m p o ra ry re strain in go rd e r th a t blocks city agen cies from evicting loft te n a n ts in B rooklyn C om m unity B oard a re a s 1, 2, an d 6.The auction will be accom panied by ano th er exhibit com prised solely of B rooklyn a rtists and entitled %u201c E ndangered S pecies.%u201d %u201c The show will show case a n u m b er of a rtists who m a y becom e illegal if the B oard of E stim a te vote is upheld,%u201d explains Nogosek. The exhibit will be held a t the P uck Building on O ctober 14,15 and 16 with roughly 80 a rtists p articipating.The auction will be held a t th e Puck Building a t Houston and L afay ette Sts. on O ctober 14 a t 8pm. A dm ission fee is $20. F o r m ore inform ation on the event call 212-219-9524. - LIZ KOCHPage fa, PHOENIX, Section October 9, 1986