As reported on ABC 7 Eyewitness News and EV Grieve, Lower East Side and East Village tenants from several buildings and multi-building coalitions came out on Sunday April 7, 2024 to hold elected officials and landlords accountable in the midst of budget negotiations.

"We are already facing harassment from greedy landlords who refuse to make repairs and then try to evict us when we stand up for ourselves," said Sharfman Coalition tenant Irene Metaxatos. "Albany leaders should reject out of hand any changes to the rent stabilization law that would recreate the system rife with harassment and fraud that drove so many of my neighbors out of the building in the past." 

Our LES community joins with other communities that have been mobilizing all across New York State.

Just a few days later, over 40 State lawmakers came out with a unified statement rejecting the landlord lobby's bid to roll back the 2019 Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act.

The lesson is this: when tenants fight, we win.

But we're not done yet. We need to keep flexing our power.

If you have walked around the East Village/Loisada neighborhood recently, you may have noticed some illuminated sculptures hovering overhead...

The Guardians is a series of illuminated birdlike sculptures assembled from recycled sneakers and other materials by artist Mark Wilson Jr. and lighting designer Miguel Valderrama which will be placed at a dozen locations across the East Village/Loisaida neighborhood to highlight stories of community protection and care.

This is a project spearheaded by FABnyc in partnership with Cooper Square Committee, and supported by the Commercial District Lighting Grant created by the NYC Department of Small Business Services to fund nonprofit organizations to address commercial district needs for lighting improvements through creative lighting installations.

ABOUT THE GUARDIANS

Mark Wilson, Jr, (artist) is a self-taught sculptor and installation artist using found objects. After playing football at the University of Cincinnati and earning a Master's degree in Applied Behavior Analysis, Mark picked up art as a therapist. He marries the unveiling of African American heritage with Afrofuturism to establish instruments for liberation. Repurposing often hidden narratives such as the Tennessee Rifles and Harlem Hell Fighters. Mark Anthony fuses Afro indigenous influences with history to assemble sculptural guides. He seeks to use charged materials that are familiar to self or family as adornment. ​Mark Anthony Wilson Jr has exhibited at The Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art, participated in residencies at The Elizabeth Foundation for Arts and Worthless Studios, and received support from Black Artist Fund, Seattle Arts & Culture, LAAMS NYC, and 757 Street Art. He serves as co-facilitator for the LES Young Artists of Color Fellowship ​at FABnyc.

Miguel Valderrama (lighting designer) creates work with a focus on a constant exploration of lighting as a medium in different and changing environments and unconventional spaces. He has been an active theatrical lighting designer in New York City for the last fifteen years, working regularly with Latinx theaters and directors. He served as the director of lighting for the BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn Festival 2012-2018, for Photoville 2015-2021, and for Teatro Stage Fest 2009-12. Miguel is a professor of Lighting Design at the the department of Entertainment Technology at the New York City College of Technology – CUNY. Originally from Columbia, Miguel is a long time resident of Umbrella House on Avenue C in Loisaida.

Fourth Arts Block (FABnyc) is a team of artists and organizers working to preserve, strengthen, and grow the cultural vibrancy of the Lower East Side. FABnyc works in partnership with the community – bringing artists and arts strategies to fight physical and cultural displacement, build collective power and collaboration, increase equity and access to cultural resources and public space, and support local resiliency and community health. FABnyc has a member network of 45 cultural organizations located throughout the Lower East Side. FABnyc supports members through community gatherings, professional development, workshops, peer shares, collective programming, and advocacy.

There are nine sculptures already installed, with three more coming soon...find the locations of all 12 on our website below.

The Cooper Square Committee is seeking submissions of artwork from LGBTQ+ artists and art students for a Pride Month exhibit on the theme “No Place Like Home.” We plan to host an opening reception in our gallery loft space on Monday, June 3, 2024. 

To submit artwork for consideration, email art@coopersquare.org and let us know the title and dimensions of the art pieces you are submitting for consideration, and share a link to your artist portfolio or Instagram. Deadline is April 19, 2024. If you wish to make the work available for sale, we charge a very modest commission of 15%.