Image source: https://www.villagepreservation.org/2021/05/06/celebrating-chino-garcia-co-founder-of-charas-el-bohio/
| Country | United States | |
| City | New York (Lower East Side) | |
| Name | El Bohio/CHARAS – A Contested Community Center | |
| Date | 1977 | |
| Description of the project | The building of the former Public School 64 was made into a community center, known as El Bohio/CHARAS, beginning in 1977, led by the community organizations Adopt-a-Building and CHARAS. The grass-roots transformation of the unoccupied building was part of the Lower East Side’s reclaiming and revitalization by community members. El Bohio became a thriving space for arts, culture, fitness, and youth activities. In the words of the website Place Matters, “[El Bohio’s] special significance is in its identity as a public building, dedicated to the revival of community and of cultural survival.” El Bohio/CHARAS is currently fenced off and not used as a community center; its status is actively contested. It was auctioned off my Mayor Giuliani to a developer 16 years ago, and has been the focus of activism to return it to community use. |
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| Urban Co-Governance | Moderate | |
| Enabling State | Moderate | |
| Pooling | Moderate | |
| Experimentalism | Weak | |
| Tech Justice | Moderate | |
| Project Website | ||
| References, sources, contact person(s) | Read more about the struggle to return El Bohio / CHARAS to community members at the links below: http://www.sohojournal.com/content/Save-Landmarked-former-PS-64CHARAS-El-Bohio,
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/01/nyregion/fight-over-charas-community-center.html |
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605 East 9th Street, New York, NY
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