"It wasn’t uncommon for artists to afford rent without wealthy patrons before developers and high-rises took a chokehold of Manhattan. They gleefully lived and worked where they slept, mostly in lofts, even if it was technically illegal. A new book is opening the curtains to the last creative residential sanctuaries left in the city. Photographer Joshua Charow’s
Loft Law: The Last of New York City’s Original Artist Lofts, newly released on Damiani Books, captures a fading way of life. Since the 20th century, as manufacturers departed neighborhoods such as Soho and the Bowery, artists moved into these industrial spaces. They set up homes and studios in these spaces illegally, while building vibrant communities. In 1982, loft-living was widespread enough that city enacted the Loft Law, recognizing their occupants as legal tenants, with the bonus of regulated rent. ..."
Carmen Cicero, Bowery
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