Last Tuesday, we visited the Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space in Alphabet City. While there, we had the opportunity to meet and learn from Bill Di Paola, one of the original co-founders of the museum, and a long-term resident of the East Village. Bill shared with us not only the importance of the East Village’s history, but of preserving and sharing it. As gentrification devours New York City at rates faster than ever before, it has become more important than ever to remember the predecessors who’s hard work has done so much for the neighbourhoods we now love, before they were considered safe or taken care of by the city. Di Paolo spoke largely on the 70’s crisis in Manhattan. Having studied urban development and the history of NYC at CityTERM in the Spring of 2016, this was a topic that I felt rather familiar with. What I found most interesting was how Bill tied not only community gardens but large scale parks to the activist efforts of the 70’s, and as being some of the last living evidence of their work. I found particularly interesting footage Bill shared showing how Brooklyn Bridge Park – now an immensely popular greenway, one that I frequent and love – began as a protest garden! Bill’s message of the importance of sharing the history of reclaimed space truly resonated with me when I saw this footage as it allowed me to realize how easily we can enjoy the hard worl of others without being aware of it.
