Counter Institution: Activist Estates of the Lower East Side

ISBN-13: 9780823279265 / Angielski / Miękka / 2018 / 264 str.

Nandini Bagchee

Opis

Counter Institution is a history of three re-purposed buildings in the Lower East Side -- Peace Pentagon, ABC No Rio, and El Bohio -- that have been used by activists as their headquarters to launch various actions over the past forty years. The author shows that these collectively organized spaces provide a venue for political participation and are a vital part of the civic infrastructure of the city. At a time where many such self-organized "activist" buildings are imperiled by the finance-driven real-estate market that is New York City, Bagchee takes stock and provides visibility to these under-recognized citizens' initiatives. The book is addressed to a general audience interested in the history of activism in New York City, as well as an academic one (historians, architects, urbanists, activists and artists). It has a strong visual component and drawings, maps, timelines and photographs are used to underline the connections between people, politics and space.