Thursday, September 12, 2024

Construction watch: 156 Rivington St., home of ABC No Rio

Foundation work continues at 156 Rivington St., where the new ABC No Rio building is being built at the site of its previous home between Suffolk and Clinton on the Lower East Side. 

On July 16, several city and local elected officials, along with a handful of activists and other members of the collectively run arts organization, took part in a ceremonial ground-breaking ceremony on the lot. 

The environmentally friendly new structure, designed by architect Paul Castrucci, will include a computer lab, print shop, dark room and a zine library, among other amenities. (Find more details here.) The City is contributing $21 million to the project through the Department of Cultural Affairs

According to an August feature at ArchPaper, "ABC No Rio's board hopes to complete construction across two phases, and construction is slated for completion in 2027." (Hyperallergic has a new article on the ABC No Rio here.)

Before the July groundbreaking, we had heard very little about the project since the summer of 2020, when DOB signage arrived on the plywood, showing an anticipated completion date of spring 2022. ABC No Rio first unveiled plans for a new home in March 2008. 

Its four-story building, said to be in disrepair, was demolished starting in March 2017, putting ABC No Rio's programming into "exile" at other arts organizations around the city.

Director Steve Englander shared a Facebook post in December 2019 addressing the latest setback at the site: "After excavating additional test pits to confirm existing conditions at one of the adjacent properties, we determined a redesign of our foundation and support of excavation plans was required." (Demolition of the Streit's Matzo Factory next door and the subsequent construction of the new condoplex on the site complicated ABC No Rio's plans.)

He also stated then: "We know that progress with the new building has seemed slow, but please be assured, we are moving forward. It's been tough, and we're glad that you've had our back."

Previously on EV Grieve:
At ABC No Rio's last HardCore/Punk Matinee on Rivington Street (for now) 

3 comments:

  1. A dark room? In the age of digital, why do you want a darkroom?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Looking forward to this being completed. Have a lot of memories from the old building.

    ReplyDelete

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