Artists Fear Displacement as ChaShaMa Forced to Vacate Studios
The organization will lose half of its studio spaces to a tenant who wants to expand their footprint in the Brooklyn Army Terminal building.
A venerable arts organization that provides subsidized studios to artists is losing half of its space inside the Brooklyn Army Terminal, displacing dozens of artists who have worked in the city-run facility for nearly two decades.
New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) officials told ChaShaMa in August to empty out its 20,000-square-foot wing on the third floor of Building A by the end of October to accommodate a neighboring tenant that wanted to expand its footprint into the area. (ChaShaMa and the city both declined to provide the tenant’s name.)
The Midtown Manhattan-based nonprofit, which manages 107 studios between two buildings at 140 58th Street, is currently negotiating with the city to lease another part of Building B, which would add 70 new studios and consolidate its presence at the former military supply base.
But the move will displace 29 artists, ChaShaMa says, many of whom have been renting space from ChaShaMa in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, since 2007. The nonprofit asked tenants to pack up their materials before October 12.
