From the Exhibition: Andrew Castrucci & Bullet Space: An Art Squat in the 1980s & ’90s

Andrew Castrucci, “S.O.S.” poster, 1994

Andrew Castrucci, “S.O.S.,” 1994, silkscreen print, 24″ x 36″, signed by artist.

Castrucci’s poster captures a major turning point in the East Village housing struggle: in 1994, members of the New York City Council made public their plans for the city to seize three squatted buildings on East 13th Street. After a brief legal and media battle, a riot squad forcibly evicted 31 squatters.

Though the 13th Street squatters’ continued appeals failed to secure their claim on the property, the city in 2002 handed over 11 East Village buildings to their homesteading occupants—among them, Bullet Space.

Attention: the president, the governor, the mayor. We don’t want another violent confrontation. 200 people are threatened to be evicted from the squats of 13th Street. We don’t want another “move” eviction. 10 years of blood and sweat went into the rehabilitation of these buildings which the city ignored and left to decay. It’s pointless to remove 200 people and throw them out into the streets to replace them with people from the streets. Please listen to our pleas before it’s too late!

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From the Exhibition: Andrew Castrucci & Bullet Space: An Art Squat in the 1980s & ’90s