CMU School of Drama


Thursday, October 16, 2014

A home for creativity in East Harlem

Crain's New York Business: Getting past the notoriously selective co-op boards at fabled buildings like 740 Park Ave. or the Dakota appears to be a breeze when compared with nabbing a home at El Barrio's Artspace PS109 in East Harlem.

Some 53,000 people applied for one of the 90 apartments in the decommissioned school, which is in the last stages of being converted to affordable housing for artists. Less than 0.2% of them will secure a space. That ratio puts the acceptance rates at snobby co-ops to shame.

3 comments:

Unknown said...

AThis is really neat! We've all heard the horror stories of the high rent in NYC, so knowing that locals are trying to push against high rental fees is quite exciting. Granted I won't be able to get a place in this renovated school building, there is a chance that another opportunity will arise. It'd be so cool to live with other artists. Freshman year dorms were terrible because they were with a bunch of random people that may or may not have the same interests as you. To actually live in a place with other artists would be such an inspiration. I think I would be inspired just being around a bunch of people that are as dedicated to art as I am.
I also just think that this a really neat place to live! It is a great use of already build buildings. A lot of times when people plan to "renovate" they mean tear down and build something else. This school probably holds a lot of history for a lot of people, so it is nice for them that it won't get torn down.
Plus it'll be like living in school dorms! But with other artists!!

Keith Kelly said...

The acceptance rate for this school is .2% a fraction so small that only 90 people will get the opportunity to afford this housing. I heard of similar housing programs like this before that provide housing to artists at a much more affordable rate so they can become established. Pittsburgh has an artists housing similar to this along with other cities. Artists are constantly looking for inspiration and living together would create some amazing energy. I would love to be apart of a community like this one day where I could live with people of similar interests.

Albert Cisneros said...

Artists residencies are one of the most unique housing experiences in a city. It would make me nervous to live with so many artists, but the idea of subsidized housing for people in the creative industries is a step in a way to bring people back into cities. Having studied housing units like this, I have realized that they are important in a process that is trying to "re-attract" residents into the downtown areas of a city. There have been similar houses proposed for downtown pittsburgh, which could be a great way to boost the culture and economy of the city. Would I live in one of these artists' residencies...probably not, but the intentions are good.