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SoHo's
revolution fron cheap manufacturing region to bohemian homestead to
playground of the chic and wealthy is being mimicked in other
neighborhoods throughout the city and beyond.
The area first drew attention after Mayor John v. Lindsay succeeded in
striking down the most outrageous of Robert Moses' notorious urban
renewal projects-a proposal to link the the East River bridges and the
Holland Tunnel by carving an east-west expressway through Broome Street.
Voters, academics, and politicians all eventually agreed that tax
revenue from the garment industries on Broome was essential and the
Renaissance-style building s of what many began to call SoHo were
sturdy, handsome, and ultimately habitable.
SoHo's low rents and spacious studio lofts initially attracted artists
searching ample work, and they began discreetly moving into the area.
Although residing in a light manufacturing zone was illegal, landlords
turned a blind eye. But as more and more "illegal" lofts materialized,
legalization became inevitable. A precedent already existed in the form
of a 1961 law which had set aside a small number of lofts for "Artists
in Residence", no more than two per building in certain city zones,
mostly outside outside of SoHo. But in the area with the greatest number
of resident artists, some of whom had lived there for almost ten years,
laws slowly changed to accomodate more and more of then legally. At
first, only those working in the visual fine arts could aquire living
and work spaces; in 1968, the state legislature amended the law to cover
the performing and creative arts, excluding only commercial artists,
such as graphic designers. Finally, in 1971, a series of legal solutions
resulted in SoHo's designation as the first mixed use zone for artist
housing. Only larger lofts were reserved for light manufacturing, and
occupancy automatically became legal.
Concurrently, an Artist Certification Committee was formed to ensure that
SoHo housing went only to aartists; thus, the reflexive element of the
law began to reinforce SoHo's privileged status
Overseen by the Department of Cultural Affairs, this twenty-person
committee, composed artists and housing officials, demanded hard proof
that prospective residents were artists. The committee often examined
slides or other works samples, making their determination without regard
to personal taste but always on the lookout for rank amateurs who knew
nothing of their supposed craft. Although the the committee, which still
function today, has no enforcement power, de facto enforcement has
fallen to banks, which demand affidavits before issuing mortgage loans.
the Neighbouring NoHo aarea became designated mixed-use in 1976 and
Tribeca soon followed, although non0-artists and artists alike could
live there. Galleries, boutiques and restaurants began to sprout up, and
soon the area developed into the high price fashion mecca of today. |
