Counter Institution , livre ebook

265

pages

English

Ebooks

2018

Écrit par
Nandini Bagchee

Publié par
Fordham University Press

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265

pages

English

Ebook

2018

Lire un extrait

Obtenez un accès à la bibliothèque pour le consulter en ligne En savoir plus

Publié par

Fordham University Press

Date de parution

10 juillet 2018

Nombre de lectures

EAN13

9780823279289

Langue

English

Poids de l'ouvrage

138 Mo

In the midst of current debates about the accessibility of public spaces, resurfacing as a result of highly visible demonstrations and occupations, this book illuminates an overlooked domain of civic participation: the office, workshop, or building where activist groups meet to organize and plan acts of political dissent and collective participation. Author Nandini Bagchee examines three re-purposed buildings on the Lower East Side that have been used by activists to launch actions over the past forty years. The Peace Pentagon was the headquarters of the anti-war movement, El Bohio was a metaphoric "hut" that envisioned the Puerto Rican Community as a steward of the environment, and ABC No Rio, appropriated from a storefront sign with missing letters, was a catchy punk name that appealed to the anarchistic sensibility of the artists that ran a storefront gallery in a run-down tenement. In a captivating discussion of buildings and urban settings as important components of progressive struggles in New York City over more than a century, Bagchee reveals how these collectively organized spaces have provided a venue for political participation while existing as a vital part of the city's civic infrastructure. The "counter institution" explored in this book represents both a conceptual and a literal struggle to create a space for civic action in a city that is built upon real estate speculation. The author reveals the fascinating tension between the impermanence of the insurgent activist practices and the permanent but maintenance heavy aspects of architecture. The actors she vividly describes-the war resisters, the Puerto Rican organizers, the housing activists, the punks and artists-all seized the opportunity to create what are seen as "activist estates," at a time and in a place where urban life itself was under attack. And now, when many such self-organized "activist" buildings are imperiled by the finance-driven real estate market that is New York City, this book takes stock and provides visibility to these under recognized citizens' initiatives. Counter Institution is an innovative work that intersects architecture, urban design practices, and geography (cartography) on the one hand, with history, politics, and sociology on the other. It is a must-read for anyone interested in the history of activism in New York City and how the city can inspire and encourage political engagement. Through its beautifully illustrated pages-where drawings, maps, timelines, and photographs underline the connections between people, politics, and space-readers will discover new ways to imagine buildings as a critical part of the civic infrastructure and a vital resource for the future.

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Publié par

Fordham University Press

Date de parution

10 juillet 2018

Nombre de lectures

EAN13

9780823279289

Langue

English

Poids de l'ouvrage

138 Mo

Counter institution

a c t i v i s t e s t a t e s o f t h e l o w e r e a s t s i d e

n a n d i n i b a g c h e e

E M P I R E S TAT E E D I T I O N S A N I M P R I N T O F F O R D H A M U N I V E R S I T Y P R E S S N E W YO R K 2 0 1 8

All drawings, timelines, and illustrations by autor Nandini Bagcee unless oterwise noted.

his project was made possible troug support from te Independent Projects category of te Arcitecture + Design Program at te New York State Council on te Arts wit te support of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and te New York State Legislature. Van Alen Institute served as te ﬁscal sponsor.

All rigts reserved. No part of tis publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mecanical, potocopy, recording, or any oter—except for brief quotations in printed reviews, witout te prior permission of te publiser.

Fordam University Press as no responsibility for te persistence or accuracy of URLs for external or tird-party Internet websites referred to in tis publication and does not guarantee tat any content on suc websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate.

Fordam University Press also publises its books in a variety of electronic formats. Some content tat appears in print may not be available in electronic books.

Visit us online: www.empirestateeditions.com www.fordampress.com

Library of Congress Control Number: 2018933429

Printed in Canada         First edition

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The bibliography for this book can be found on the web at https://fordham.bepress.com/nysh/3.

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INTRODUCTION

In recent years, questions about te importance of public space ave surfaced as demonstrations and occupations ave visibly reentered te civic imagination. Current debates about public space in cities, or te lack tereof, focus mainly on open and accessible places of assembly—tat is, parks, squares, and streets. Te concept of a pysical commons in sort supply and igly monitored by police and cameras is undoubtedly problematic to te formation of discur-sive practices. However, tere is anoter kind of space tat is just as critical to democracy—one in wic te nature of public participa-tion is negotiated, coordinated, sustained, and developed into productive propositions for political action. Tis space is te office, worksop, or building were activist groups meet to organize and plan wat often appear to be impromptu acts of political dissent and collective participation. In te many debates about te public spere, tis less visible domain of participation as not yet garnered ade-quate attention.Counter Institution: Activist Estates of te Lower East Sideexplores te istory and potential of suc private-public spaces troug a study of select buildings tat ave been appropriated and adapted by politically oriented citizens and nonprofit organizations in New York City.

COUNTER INSTITUTION

Public institutions play a critical role in te way cities are structured. In te ’70s and ’80s, as federal funding for public programs was systematically dismantled, New York City’s civic infrastructure was seriously compromised. he closing of scools, ospitals, parks, and playgrounds; te end of te federally funded public ousing programs; te deinstitutionalization of mentally ill patients; and te cutbacks in funding for te arts adversely aﬀected life in te city. To compensate for te retreating welfare state, many New Yorkers organized to pursue alternative types of collective action. his activity took many forms. Artist collectives, guerrilla gardeners, social activists, and various advocacy groups converted city-owned and semi-abandoned proper-ties into places tat fostered civic participation and encouraged self-organization. he termcounter institutionrefers to tese insurgent,

COUNT ER I NST I T UT I ON

grassroots eﬀorts tat provided direct deliverables and generated alternative forums of empowerment to communities under pressure from an unfortunate set of circumstances. he concept of an “institu-tion” encompasses an organization wit a set of covenants and te building tat ouses suc an entity. his book examines te dual identiﬁcation of institutions as bot administrative and pysical structures by underscoring te istory of actions and activity witin te buildings. In doing so,Counter Institution: Activist Estates of te Lower East Sideaims to igligt te importance of suc pysical space not simply as a backdrop but as a crucial aspect of social move-ments witin te city.

ACTIVIST ESTATES

Witin te Lower East Side, networks of counter-institutions, altoug not precisely linked, form an association troug activism. An examination of political activism around war, ousing, and social justice tat ave informed social reform eﬀorts in New York City provides te context for analyzing tree activist-run buildings selected for tis study. hese tree structures are an oﬃce building used by anti-war and social justice advocates, a large abandoned scoolouse run as a Puerto Rican community center, and a tenement building tat was converted to a collectively run art center. hese tree case studies represent tree diﬀerent but overlapping political constituencies tat emerged in New York City in te ’70s. Fiscal crisis and te temporary devaluation of real estate during tis period allowed ad oc citizen undertakings and social advocacy groups to establis control over semi-abandoned buildings and properties.

his book argues tat te use of tese buildings by activists over te past ﬁve decades is tied to te ﬂux of political and economic events aﬀecting te city and te nation. he provocation of te pilosoper Henri Lefebvre tat te city is an oeuvre, a work, a collective creation, is extended ere to apply to buildings tat act as repositories of te collaborative actions of its inabitants. By examining ow properties and buildings ave been used as a base by social movements to launc a critique of te city and te nation, tis book explores te important and often unrecognized ways in wic “activist estates” ave contrib-uted to te civic realm. Wile te buildings are not in temselves agentic, tere is, witin social movements, a practice to co-opt space and ascribe to it a symbolic carge by naming a building or a place. he tree buildings discussed in tis book were eac named accord-ingly: te Peace Pentagon was te eadquarters of te anti-war movement; El Boio was a metaporic “ut” tat envisioned te

INTRODUCTION

COUNT ER I NST I T UT I ON

Activist Estates: Three Buildings in the Lower East Side. Illustration by Nandini Bagchee.

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