475 Kent - fighting to save it

Perhaps like many of you, I have had several friends displaced by the city since the evacuation of 475 Kent. Despite a lot of hearsay, about 100 or so of the tenants have banded together to fight and save their home and in many cases their studios and livelihoods. The NY Times has a pretty good article here on the displacement and the history of the efforts of the tenants to reclaim this lost building into a home and the new struggle to keep it. Remember these are not some random collection of jaded hipsters, but real people- real cultural producers.

And if you are in a fighting mood contact the mayor's office with the following.

Please show support for the artists living at 475 Kent Street.

Online Petition here or write the Mayor:

Please email your letter to the Mayor at:

mike@cityhall.nyc.gov

mbloomberg@cityhall.nyc.gov

___________________

Here is a sample letter:

To:

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg

City Hall

New York, NY 10007

USA

Dear Mayor Bloomberg,

My attention has recently been drawn to the problem of the artist's building at 475 Kent Avenue in Brooklyn, New York.

You are certainly aware by now that over 200 artists are in danger of losing their homes and workplaces permanently - which usually spells financial ruin in a community already subjected to considerable risk.

In the spirit of the cultural tradition that has long prevailed in this great city, I urge you to do everything you can to help the artists return to their professions immediately and to foster our common creative capital.

image: artist/resident Simon Lee