ABC No Rio

ABC No Rio is a collectively run nonprofit arts organization rooted in the Lower East Side’s squatter, activist, and alternative-art movements. It was established in 1980 after the eviction of the Real Estate Show, an artist-organized exhibition that had occupied an abandoned building to criticize New York City’s treatment of vacant and distressed property. Following negotiations with the city, the organizers received access to a building at 156 Rivington Street, where the new center took its name from the surviving letters of a damaged neon sign that had once read “Abogado Con Notario,” or “lawyer and notary public” in Spanish. Rather than operating as a conventional gallery or arts institution, ABC No Rio was conceived as an art-making and community space. Its structure has been based on a collective of relatively autonomous collectives, allowing different groups to manage projects while addressing building-wide issues through shared meetings. This model supported activities that were often marginalized by mainstream cultural organizations, including experimental exhibitions, political art, self-published zines, photography, screen printing, community computing, food distribution, performance, and independent music. The organization became especially associated with its Punk/Hardcore Collective. Beginning in December 1989, ABC No Rio hosted regular Saturday afternoon punk and hardcore shows after CBGB stopped presenting its long-running Sunday matinees. The organization sought to create an all-ages environment that rejected racism, sexism, homophobia, machismo, and violence, and it generally booked independent bands rather than acts associated with major labels. The venue consequently became an important part of New York’s do-it-yourself music network. It also hosted COMA, a Sunday evening series of free jazz, improvisational, and experimental music organized by saxophonist Blaise Siwula. Other long-running activities included a zine library assembled in part from the collection of the former Lower East Side radical bookstore and infoshop Blackout! Books, a silkscreen studio, a photography darkroom, a public computer lab, art exhibitions, educational programs, meetings, and community-oriented projects such as Food Not Bombs. These activities reflected ABC No Rio’s broader aim of creating an accessible space in which artistic production, political organizing, and neighborhood life could overlap. The organization’s relationship with its building developed through a prolonged legal and administrative process. In 1997, New York City agreed in principle to sell the property to ABC No Rio for one dollar, subject to fundraising, code compliance, renovation, and the departure of squatters living on the upper floors. After the residents left over the following years, those areas were adapted for public and artistic uses. The city revised the renovation requirements and timetable several times, but in 2006 it completed the sale for one dollar under conditions requiring the organization to continue raising funds for redevelopment. ABC No Rio then planned a purpose-built, multi-use arts center designed by architect Paul Castrucci. The proposed facility included a darkroom, screen-printing workshop, small-press and zine library, computer center, expanded exhibition and performance areas, educational and community spaces, offices, and meeting rooms. The building was designed to meet the rigorous Passive House energy-efficiency standard. ABC No Rio vacated the Rivington Street building in July 2016 before demolition and construction, while its programs temporarily moved to other venues. The zine library relocated to the Clemente Soto Vélez community center, and punk performances moved to Brooklyn during the redevelopment period. Construction of the replacement facility formally began with a groundbreaking on July 16, 2024. The planned four-story art center is intended to restore the organization’s programs at its original location, with projected completion in January 2026. In April 2025, Allied Productions, Inc. co-presented “ABC No Rio 45 Years” with the organization at the Emily Harvey Foundation in New York. ABC No Rio therefore remains an active example of an artist-led, politically engaged cultural institution whose identity is tied to collective governance, independent art, do-it-yourself music, and Lower East Side community history.

ABC No Rio emerged from the Lower East Side’s late-1970s combination of urban disinvestment, abandoned housing, squatting, and an expanding alternative-art scene. The neighborhood had suffered from long-term neglect by absentee landlords, while artists and community organizers were developing informal cultural and political networks in and around vacant buildings. This environment produced the Real Estate Show, a 1979–1980 project organized by Colab and other artists. The exhibition occupied an abandoned property at 123 Delancey Street and used art to challenge city land-use practices that left buildings empty until they became attractive to developers. The Real Estate Show opened on January 1, 1980, but the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development closed it shortly afterward. Negotiations with the city led to the organizers receiving use of 156 Rivington Street. That building became ABC No Rio. The name came from the fragments of a burned-out neon sign in the storefront window; the original Spanish wording had referred to a lawyer and notary, but only the letters “Ab C No rio” remained visible. From its beginning, ABC No Rio was intended to differ from a hierarchical gallery or museum. The founders described it as a place for making art and undertaking projects that might not be possible in a conventional gallery. Its collective structure gave individual project groups considerable autonomy, while a building-wide collective handled shared responsibilities. The arrangement supported an unusually broad mix of visual art, political activity, music, publishing, technical workshops, and neighborhood organizing. During its early decades, ABC No Rio developed facilities and projects including an exhibition space, a zine library, a darkroom, a silkscreening studio, a public computer lab, and a Food Not Bombs kitchen and collective. The organization also became a venue for experimental performance. Its most prominent music initiative was the Punk/Hardcore Collective, which began regular Saturday matinees in December 1989. The series followed the end of CBGB’s Sunday hardcore matinees and aimed to provide a safer and more inclusive alternative. Shows were all-ages and emphasized independent bands whose work did not promote racism, sexism, homophobia, or related forms of exclusion. ABC No Rio also hosted COMA, an ongoing Sunday program of free jazz and improvisational music organized by Blaise Siwula. The zine library became another defining resource. It incorporated material formerly held by Blackout! Books, a radical Lower East Side bookstore and infoshop, and developed into a substantial archive of self-published political, punk, and DIY art materials. The collection was later featured in the 2014 exhibition “Zines + the World of ABC No Rio” at the Center for Book Arts. The organization’s building was the subject of a lengthy property and redevelopment process. In 1997, New York City agreed to sell 156 Rivington Street to ABC No Rio for one dollar if the organization could raise the funds needed to renovate the property, bring it up to code, and clear the upper floors of squatters so the building could serve public purposes. Over the next several years, approximately ten residents, including a young family, left the building. Their former living areas were adapted for the zine library, Food Not Bombs, screen printing, computers, and other artist uses. The city repeatedly altered the scope, cost, and sequencing of the renovation. In 2004, the parties agreed that the work could be divided into phases, with the transfer occurring once ABC No Rio had the resources for the first phase. The sale was completed on June 29, 2006, for one dollar, while the organization retained the obligation to fund the remaining redevelopment. After acquiring the property, ABC No Rio planned a new multi-use arts center. Architect Paul Castrucci designed a building intended to include a photographic darkroom, screen-printing facility, small-press library, computer center, exhibition and performance areas, educational and community rooms, offices, and meeting spaces. The design was intended to meet the stringent Passive House standard and to use substantially less energy than required by the applicable state code. The original building hosted its final shows during the summer of 2016. ABC No Rio then vacated the site for demolition and construction, and the various collectives found temporary homes. Its zine library moved to the Clemente Soto Vélez community center, while punk events moved to Brooklyn. During the rebuilding period, ABC No Rio also collaborated with organizations including the Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space. Steven Englander served as director from 1998 until his death in 2024. On July 16, 2024, ABC No Rio broke ground on the new four-story arts center at the original Rivington Street location. The projected completion date was January 2026. In April 2025, Allied Productions, Inc. and ABC No Rio presented “ABC No Rio 45 Years” at the Emily Harvey Foundation, demonstrating the organization’s continuing cultural activity while its permanent facility was being rebuilt.

• 2025

  ABC No Rio 45 Years exhibition

  [1]ABC No Rioen.wikipedia.org

  Allied Productions, Inc. co-presented a commemorative exhibition with ABC No Rio at the Emily Harvey Foundation in April.

• 2024

  Groundbreaking for the new arts center

  [1]ABC No Rioen.wikipedia.org

  ABC No Rio broke ground on July 16 for a planned four-story facility at its original address.

• 2016

  Original building closes for redevelopment

  [1]ABC No Rioen.wikipedia.org

  ABC No Rio vacated the Rivington Street building after its final summer shows so that demolition and construction of a replacement arts center could proceed.

• 2014

  Zines + the World of ABC No Rio exhibition

  [1]ABC No Rioen.wikipedia.org

  The Center for Book Arts presented an exhibition drawing on ABC No Rio’s zine collection and its history of radical self-publishing.

• 2006

  ABC No Rio acquires 156 Rivington Street

  [1]ABC No Rioen.wikipedia.org

  The city completed the sale of the property to ABC No Rio on June 29 for one dollar, with continuing redevelopment obligations.

• 1997

  City agrees in principle to a one-dollar property sale

  [1]ABC No Rioen.wikipedia.org

  New York City agreed to sell the Rivington Street building to ABC No Rio for one dollar, subject to renovation, fundraising, code compliance, and the departure of squatters.

• 1989

  Punk and hardcore matinees begin

  [1]ABC No Rioen.wikipedia.org

  ABC No Rio began hosting regular Saturday punk and hardcore matinees in December, creating an all-ages platform for independent bands.

• 1980

  ABC No Rio is established after the Real Estate Show

  [1]ABC No Rioen.wikipedia.org

  Following the closure of the Real Estate Show, New York City provided use of 156 Rivington Street to the organizers, creating the space that became ABC No Rio.

A collectively governed, accessible, anti-commercial arts and culture center connecting experimental art, independent music, radical publishing, DIY production, and community activism.

• Music programming · 1989

  Punk/Hardcore Collective

  ABC No Rio’s long-running independent punk and hardcore program began in December 1989. Its Saturday matinees were designed as all-ages events and emphasized bands that did not promote racism, sexism, homophobia, or related exclusionary attitudes. The series became a major expression of the organization’s DIY and community-oriented cultural policy.

• Experimental music programming

  COMA

  COMA, short for Citizens Ontological Music Agenda, was a weekly Sunday evening series of free jazz, improvisational, electric, acoustic, and free-form music. Organized by saxophonist Blaise Siwula, it provided a platform for experimental performers outside conventional commercial music venues.

• Archive and library

  Zine library

  The ABC No Rio zine library contains decades of self-published material, including radical political writing, punk publications, and DIY art zines. A substantial portion of the collection came from the former Lower East Side bookstore and infoshop Blackout! Books. The library temporarily moved to the Clemente Soto Vélez community center during redevelopment.

• Artist production facility

  Silkscreening studio

  The silkscreening studio supported independent printmaking and collective art production. It formed part of the organization’s broader commitment to accessible tools and facilities for artists, activists, and community projects rather than the presentation of art alone.

• Community activism

  Food Not Bombs project

  ABC No Rio hosted the New York City Food Not Bombs collective, linking the arts center to volunteer food distribution, anti-militarist activism, and mutual-aid organizing. The project was one of several initiatives that extended the organization beyond conventional cultural programming.

• 2025ABC No Rio 45 Years

  New York City

  A commemorative exhibition co-presented by Allied Productions, Inc. and ABC No Rio at the Emily Harvey Foundation in April 2025, examining the organization’s four-and-a-half decades of collective arts and community activity.

  Outcome. The exhibition marked ABC No Rio’s continuing cultural presence during the reconstruction of its permanent facility.

  Source

• 2024

  Begin construction of a new four-story arts centerStrategy

  Background

  Following years of planning and fundraising, ABC No Rio sought to rebuild at its original Lower East Side location.

  Action taken

  The organization broke ground on July 16, 2024, for a facility designed to restore and expand its arts, music, library, workshop, educational, and community programs.

  Aftermath

  Completion was projected for January 2026, subject to the progress of construction.

  Source

• 2016

  Vacate the original building for constructionStrategy

  Background

  The existing Rivington Street structure could not support the organization’s planned expansion and redevelopment without demolition and replacement.

  Action taken

  ABC No Rio left the building in July, moved the zine library and music activities to other locations, and continued collaborating with outside organizations during construction planning.

  Aftermath

  The organization operated without its permanent building while pursuing a new facility designed for exhibitions, music, publishing, workshops, and community use.

  Source

• 2006

  Acquire and redevelop the Rivington Street propertyStrategy

  Background

  After years of negotiation with New York City, ABC No Rio pursued ownership of its longtime building so it could secure a permanent base for collective arts and community programs.

  Action taken

  The organization accepted the property for one dollar and undertook the obligation to raise funds for phased renovation and eventual replacement construction.

  Aftermath

  The acquisition enabled planning for a purpose-built, multi-use, energy-efficient arts center, but also required a prolonged redevelopment process.

  Property purchase price. 1 (June 29, 2006)

  Source

• 2025

  ABC No Rio 45 Years exhibition presented in New York[1]ABC No Rioen.wikipedia.org

  Campaign

  Allied Productions, Inc. co-presented an exhibition marking ABC No Rio’s forty-five-year history at the Emily Harvey Foundation in New York City.

• 2024

  ABC No Rio breaks ground on replacement arts center[1]ABC No Rioen.wikipedia.org

  Other

  The organization began construction of a planned four-story arts center at its original Rivington Street site, designed to support exhibitions, music, publishing, workshops, and community programs.

• 2016

  ABC No Rio vacates its Rivington Street building for redevelopment[1]ABC No Rioen.wikipedia.org

  Other

  ABC No Rio left its longtime building before demolition and construction of a new facility. Its collectives continued in temporary or partner venues, including the Clemente Soto Vélez community center and Brooklyn music spaces.

1. 1ABC No Rioen.wikipedia.org
2. 2ABC No Rio official websiteabcnorio.org