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One of Manhattan’s earliest high-rise buildings in downtown New York is gradually coming to an end as owners evict all of its early occupants that had become a landmark for the city’s art scene.
“Everyone has lived here for more than a decade,” artist Molly Crabapple told USAnews about the 128-year-old building once called the ‘Diamond Exchange’.
She and other residents were evicted from their homes after the contract was terminated last month.
The 10-storey building, erected in 1894, in recent years has become a “Mecca” of private arts, a residential center of creativity and their extensive network of friends and collaborators.
In her large apartments the residents had created a community of their own even though they were not as famous artists as those of the Chelsea Hotel or Factory.
“It was a magical building. “Nobody thought there would be so many artists in the middle of the financial zone,” said Crabapple, who has lived in the 300m2 apartment with her partner, illustrator Fred Harper, since 2010.
“We were very close to the whole building, I feel lucky to have had the experience.”
Life for the residents here was advantageous as long as it lasted, as they had a whole corner of New York City for themselves at lower than average prices. They did not complain about negligent owners refusing to repair most of the problems or, according to some, sometimes stealing their works.
The building was sold in January for $ 9.5 million, and the new owners allowed contracts to expire for most of the artist residents, while the rest were sent eviction letters giving only minimal notice time.
But at least the former residents already have their memories.
During the protests on ‘Wall Street’ in 2011, the building turned into a kind of “unofficial press center” for the protesters who were expected by the residents, recalls Crabapple .
“I will always miss him,” says the former resident Crystal Thompson. “I am lucky to have lived there, the conditions were horrible but the art was great.
The producer and her husband often organized art evenings at their home on the third floor, often with image projectors in the empty parking lot or on the site of the adjoining building.
The eviction was a sudden blow to many residents.
They say it’s the same story of buying the building and the new owner takes them all out. “You pay the rent for 15 or 20 years and in three months you have to collect the loot because a property speculator thinks he can make more money from the building,” says Crabapple. “It’s just greed that is driving people away.”
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