We're Not Alone

Our friend Bill writes to inform us that we are not the only impressive but oppressed arts institution:

I read with chagrin your message about certain developers not only trying to evict you but also trying to muzzle your right to free speech on your blog. I'm an artist who lived and worked for over 15 years at the 111 First Street building (aka The Art Center) in Jersey City. During our last 4 years there, we spent a great deal of time organizing ourselves to fight eviction. Our landlord, a part owner of the WTC and a billionaire, threw the kitchen sink at us in order to make our lives as miserable as possible. His tactics included hiring Jersey City cops to patrol the building complex and arrest tenants whenever possible; an arson; vandalism to tenants' cars; mass demolition of empty studios engendering unhealthy conditions for all tenants still in the building; and an attempt to get us to cease and desist making ANY references to him on our website or we would be sued. Although we finally lost our fight to avoid eviction and were forced to leave the building on Febuary 28, 2005, we still managed to fight off his control-freak tendencies and have kept our website open with the help of our lawyers. With the demise of 111 First Street, Jersey City lost the largest concentration of artists in the State of New Jersey to high-end development, profiting only the developer. Despite all our efforts to convince city officials and others that people in the Arts are also developers, developers of culture, they ultimately turned a deaf ear and a blind eye. At its peak, the 111 building housed over 120 artists. When we went to court, there were barely 50 of us left. Unfortunately, our experience is not unique; it's shocking how ubiquitous this practice is now throughout the country, if not the world. It is said that "money talks and bullshit walks." Not anymore. "Money and bullshit walk and talk together." Good luck on fighting The Plague.
Regards,
Bill

Read more about it here. Solidarity!