This blog will document the renovation of a small apartment in New York’s East Village, more specifically, Loisaida. I’m not a professional designer, but I know what I like. The apartment is in a “homestead” building, meaning it was torched and abandoned by the landlord in the 70′s like so many in the neighborhood and became city property. A group of families seized it to renovate it and live here. That was 30 years ago. Originally we were squatters; once we forced the City’s blessing, we became Homesteaders. It took us 12 years to finish rebuilding from the beams and the brick. I’m the mother of two who have grown up here. Not a lot of work has been done to the place for 20 years. It’s time to refresh.
Hello, my name is John D’Isselt, i’m a writer from the Bronx. I’m a student at Mercy College and I’m quite interested in the history of Alphabet City and the Lower East Side and I believe your feed back would be quite helpful. Im actually a struggling creative writer, my first story is set in alphabet city, just to give you a little background on myself. i would be quite interested in discussing some of the past history of the neighborhood and some of what it is like to have lived there.
Hello John, thank you for reading. I would be happy to discuss and help you if I can. It would be good to email me at loisaidanest@gmail.com