Report: Drama on 13th Street as family of actress Rosario Dawson looks to buy affordable housing

544 E. 13th St. near Avenue B is one of the 11 formerly abandoned East Village buildings that the city sold to tenants for a $1 via a deal brokered by the Urban Homesteading Assistance Board (UHAB) in 2002. Under the terms of the deal, the tenants were to bring the buildings up to code.

However, as The Villager reported in October 2015, the conversions of No. 544 as well as 377 E. 10th St. between Avenue B and Avenue C were stalled. The city reportedly chipped in $1.78 million for the renovation work.

Under the terms of the UHAB deal, the original homesteaders are given the chance to buy apartments at a low price, "but have to earn no more than $53,450 a year and the home must be a primary residence, according to the city," as the Post reported on Sunday.

No. 544 has reportedly been the site on an ongoing feud between two factions, "one of them led by Isabel Celeste Dawson, the mother of actress Rosario Dawson, who grew up in the building," per the 2015 Villager article. At the time, members of the Dawson family, Isabel, her brother Nicky Scott, Isabel’s ex-husband Greg Dawson, and son Clay were in line for four units in the renovated building. (The Dawsons arrived at the building in 1986.)

On Sunday, the Post reported that the four members of the Dawson family along with a longtime friend will be getting the homes, which doesn't sit well with some of the other original homesteaders who point out that Rosario Dawson has an estimated worth of $16 million.

Per the Post:

“She’s supportive of her parents. I don’t understand why she hasn’t acquired housing for them elsewhere so these units could be for New Yorkers in need,” said Annie Wilson, one of the building’s founding homesteaders.

Another resident chafed, “This is low-income housing. They’re not supposed to be profiting from anything to do with it.”

And...

Adam Leitman Bailey, a lawyer who represents the Dawsons and some of the other residents, said he had reviewed tax returns for all of the residents and they qualified to buy the apartments.

“I can guarantee you that none of them are wealthy,” he said.

The Post piece has a lot more of the accusations and sordid details. You can read the whole piece here. Ditto for the 2015 Villager article here.

'Kids' today: 20th anniversary T-shirt and skateboards

"Kids" turns 20 this July ... and ahead of the reunion festivities next month at BAM ... Supreme has released a special edition series of skateboard decks and shirts for the film that introduced us to Chloë Sevigny and Rosario Dawson...

Dangerous Minds today published the news release from Supreme about the items:

This year marks the 20th anniversary of Larry Clark’s debut film, KIDS, the portrayal of NYC youth’s escapades in the early 90’s. Some were offended by the raw and anarchic world Larry Clark documented, for those that weren’t, the film became an important document of the time, place and culture.

Through photographing skaters in NYC, Larry Clark came to meet the film’s writer, Harmony Korine and star, Leo Fitzpatrick. The rest of the cast was pieced together with a variety of downtown New York characters including original Supreme team riders Justin Pierce and Harold Hunter. It is a testament to KIDS cultural impact that it resonates today just as much as it did in 1995.

To commemorate the 20th anniversary, Supreme is proud to release a collection of items featuring stills from the iconic film KIDS. The Collection will consist of a Hooded Sweatshirt, Long Sleeved T-Shirt, two graphic T-Shirts, and three Skateboards.

Here's a look at the stuff available to buy starting tomorrow ...



... and to round out your Business Casual wardrobe this summer...





"Kids" was filmed, in part, around the East Village... and it opened at the Angelika on July 21, 1995...

A look at the 'Heroines of the Lower East Side'

Been meaning to check out the completed work on Centre-fuge Cycle 13, the rotating outdoor gallery/construction trailer here along East First Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue.

All the art this time is by Lexi Bella … for a collection titled "Heroines of the Lower East Side" … as part of the first Lower East Side History Month.

Aside from the more recognizable portraits of Debbie Harry and Rosario Dawson … Bella honors the Russ Daughters (of Russ & Daughters fame) …



LaMama founder Ellen Stewart …



Educator Catherine Ferguson, who founded the first Sunday school in New York City …



Hell-cat Maggie, "who fought alongside the Dead Rabbits and other Five Pointers against rival nativist gangs from the Bowery" …



… Lexi also paid tribute to her daughter Roxy, as BoweryBoogie pointed out…



Find more info about Centre-fuge here.

Debbie Harry, Rosario Dawson and other 'Heroines of the Lower East Side'

Work continues on Centre-fuge Cycle 13, the rotating outdoor gallery/construction trailer here along East First Street between First Avenue and Second Avenue.

Unlike previous cycles, No. 13 is a solo effort by Lexi Bella … in a collection titled "Heroines of the Lower East Side" to coincide with the first Lower East Side History Month, which kicks off on Thursday (BoweryBoogie first reported on this back on April 18).

There are some familiar faces so far …





… and LaMama founder Ellen Stewart …



The murals should be completed by Thursday.

Find more info about Centre-fuge here.

--

And sort of an accidental shot…

Photo of the week

I love this shot that appears in The East Villager this week by J.B. Nicholas. The caption: "Rosario Dawson, standing next to Speaker Sheldon Silver, couldn’t restrain her enthusiasm at the groundbreaking for the new Lower Eastside Girls Club headquarters."

I was trying to think of a funny headline for it, but, well, ended up with Photo of the Week. D-

Dawson's cheek

From Page Six today:

Mohawk-wearing Isabel Dawson charged back into the East 13th Street squat this week where she raised her daughter, Rosario Dawson, to change the locks on a unit where she lived two years ago. The squatter who now lives in the apartment is livid, and other residents say they want Isabel gone because she bullies for space. A spy says she shouted at the tenants, "I'm not embarrassing my daughter! This is a squat, I can live here."

Interestingly, the Post did not put quotation marks around the word "squat" like they did on their last story on this matter.

[Photo by Roger Wong/INFGoff.com via the Post]

Rosario Dawson's mom wants to return to 13th Street

From Page Six today:

The mother of "Sin City" actress Rosario Dawson is trying to move back into the East 13th Street tenement she turned into a "squat" 25 years ago -- but the tenants don't want her as a neighbor.

Isabel Dawson moved out of the building two years ago, having feuded with the other occupants of the "squat." Rosario's father, Greg Dawson, who is separated from Isabel, still lives in the tenement along with her handicapped uncle.

Isabel -- who broke into the abandoned tenement with Greg when they were both 21 (and Rosario was 6) and installed plumbing and electrical wiring -- feels she's entitled to move back in, despite all the bitterness from past squabbles. Residents say they are scared.

And what's with the "quotation marks" around "squat?"

[Photo by Roger Wong/INFGoff.com via the Post]

My own worst enemy

LES native Rosario Dawson, age 15 when she was asked to star in "Kids."

In 2006, you moved to L.A. Do you ever miss the Lower East Side?
Sometimes, but my old neighborhood has changed. When I visit, they probably think of me as yuppie scum. I think, Young urban professional — yes, that’s me. When did I become the enemy? (The New York Times Style Magazine)