Our Future

In 1997, our tenancy issues with the City of New York were favorably resolved and presented ABC No Rio a tremendous opportunity. The Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) offered to sell us our building at 156 Rivington Street for one dollar if raised the money to rehabilitate the building and dedicate it to community use.

In the summer of 2003, we met with HPD officials to discuss our plans. We proposed breaking our project into phases, and they added that they would be willing to begin the city review process before we had all the money in place. The review process (ULURP – Uniform Land Use Review Process) concluded in December 2005. On June 29, 2006, we acquired title to the property on Rivington Street.

Envisioned for the site is a multi-use community and arts center with photo darkroom, silk-screen printshop, zine library, computer center, expanded space for art, music, performance, educational and community activities, and meeting and office space for ABC No Rio and other organizations.

Our New Building

ABC No Rio’s new facility has been designed by local architect Paul Castrucci. It features a planted facade suggestive of the utopian vision of the Lower East Side described by Peter Lamborn Wilson in Avant Gardening, and will be constructed in line with our environmental politics, utilizing sustainable design principles. You can read more of the details here.