ABC No Rio Gets Mucho Dinero
The against-all-odds LES mainstay, artist collective ABC No Rio, is back on top with news of money coming in for their rebuilding costs. Three years ago the deed of the Rivington Street tenement that's housed the group for 30 years, was sold to them for $1 by the Department of Housing Preservation and Development. Soon after they were told they'd need about $2.4 million to rebuild what was beyond repiar, and now the NY Times reports that $1.65 million has come in. Last week "the Manhattan borough president, Scott M. Stringer, and City Councilman Alan J. Gerson allocated $1.65 million for a new building. Mr. Stringer arranged for a capital grant of $750,000, citing ABC No Rio’s resilience and cultural value. The rest of the money came in the form of a grant of $450,000 from Mr. Gerson’s discretionary budget, which was matched with another $450,000 by the City Council. The money will be controlled by the Department of Cultural Affairs." Demolition is slated to begin around next Spring.
