ABC No Rio, a Home for Anarchist Artists, Rises Again on the Lower East Side

Eighteen years ago, the people of ABC No Rio bought their building from the city for a dollar. A decade later, it was demolished. Now, finally, the famed Lower East Side anarcho-cultural center is breaking ground on a new building — at its original address.

“If you had told us that this group of anarchist artists was going to raise this amount of money and make this happen, and somehow the city kept its word and transferred ownership of the building to us, and then the city comes in and gives us all the money we actually need to finish the project — who would’ve thought that would happen?” said Eric Goldhagen, the co-chair of ABC No Rio’s board.

The collective-turned-nonprofit will now begin an 18-month effort to build an energy-efficient “passive house” at the 156 Rivington Street site. Since the original building’s demolition in 2016, ABC No Rio has been “in exile,” hosting programs at different cultural centers across the city.

The new ABC No Rio building will also include a photo darkroom, screen printing facility, small press library and gathering spaces for the community — all to honor its original use as a hub for artists. In its heyday, the cultural center hosted hardcore punk shows, a silkscreening studio and a free zine library.

Punks, artists, old-timers and city officials joined the ABC No Rio board. for the official groundbreaking ceremony, which was kicked off with music from the brass ensemble the Hungry March Band.

Commissioner of Cultural Affairs Laurie Cumbo congratulated the collective’s director Steven Englander on his persistence in the face of rising construction costs, highlighting the Department of Cultural Affairs $21 million contribution to the project, a majority of the construction costs.

“This space is so important in this very moment because now more than ever, we need your creativity, we need your ideas, we need your solutions,” said Cumbo.

‘Power of Communal Action’

ABC No Rio was founded in 1980 after a group of artists squatting on Delancey Street staged The Real Estate Show , an exhibition addressing New York City housing and land use policies. Though the police quickly shut down the show, the artists entered negotiations with the city to occupy one of dozens of empty properties in the neighborhood.

They settled on the Rivington Street building, which had a broken neon sign that originally read “ABOGADO CON NOTARIO,” but the only letters that worked read “ABC NO RIO,” giving the collective its name.

Becky Howland, one of the original ABC No Rio founders, became choked up while sharing her remarks, marveling at the multigenerational community that kept the collective going for more than forty years.

“It’s a testament to the power of communal action,” Howland said.

Assemblymember Harvey Epstein (D-Lower East Side) said his first touchpoint with ABC No Rio was as a law student in the 1990s when he was a legal observer at an ABC No Rio action in the early 90’s.

“This is the neighborhood about fighting and rebuilding,” said Epstein, a lifelong Lower East Side resident. “This building is going to come back environmentally stronger and serve this neighborhood we all care about.”

Despite the current friendly relations between ABC No Rio and local politicians, longtime members continued to harken to the collective’s anti-establishment origins during the celebration. Many referenced the eviction attempts the organization faced under former Mayor Rudy Giuliani in the 1990’s.

Longtime member Seth Tobocman cites this turbulent history as the reason ABC No Rio has lasted as long as it has.“It’s a result of the fact that the people who worked on the defense of No Rio have ten years of experience of having our asses handed to us,” said Tobocman, referring to the Giuliana-era evictions of other squats like the infamous pair on 13th Street .

Jenna Freedman first became involved with ABC No Rio in 1992 through a civil disobedience training she attended in the space, though she then lost touch with the group for many years. Eventually, Freedman not only found her way back to the collective, but even hosted her wedding rehearsal dinner at 156 Rivington in 2005 with her now-husband, board co-chair Goldhagen.

“We’ve been talking a lot about what this could look like going forward,” said Freedman. “There’s currently four generations volunteering, and it’s nice to imagine, what’s the fifth?”

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