Brooklyn (NY): Skull Squat defense ongoing

For the past week, squatters and friends have defended Skull Squat in Brooklyn from shady developers and their goons attempting to break-in, lock out residents, and demolish the building. After forcing entry three days in a row with hammers and angle grinders, the developers have been turned away for the past two days by dozens of punks, anarchists, neighbors, and friends. The building has been squatted for six months by six black, brown, and white transgender anarchists.

The developers, two persistent and violent Israeli-American brothers, do not own the building. They forced long-term residents out years ago, allowed the building to deteriorate, and are hoping to reclaim it once it is foreclosed upon. They convinced the police of their claim to “management” with dubious work permits, who allowed them to break in and hurt those trying to defend the squat. Both their purported lease and permits have been found invalid by several civil authorities. [Read More]

Durban (South Africa): Abahlali to march against state repression, threats and assassinations

Friday, 4 October 2018
Abahlali baseMjondolo press statement

On Monday 8 October Abahlali baseMjondolo will march against repression in Durban. There will be solidarity protests in Cape Town, Johannesburg and New York. Since our movement was founded in 2005 we have faced waves of repression including assault, arrest, torture in police custody, organised campaigns of slander, the destruction of our homes, death threats, the murder of our members during protests and evictions, and the targeted assassination of our leaders. The price for land and dignity has been paid in blood. [Read More]

A call for the self-representations of autonomous projects

The SqEK network of researchers and activists meets in Barcelona, Spain, May 21st to 25th, 2015. We present there an exhibition of posters and information presentations from and about autonomous spaces, from the squatting, occupation and disobedient movements. This show will go on to the USA in September.

We call for posters and presentations to be sent by post (please contact for address), or by digital file so that we can print them out on site.
[Read More]

U$A: A Squatter’s Last Stand at a Condemned Bronx Barn

Note from mainstream press

Mark Stagg, a Westchester County developer, has become one of the busiest builders in the Bronx, with an ability to overcome various obstacles to his many projects.

Last year, he hired Adolfo Carrión Jr., a former Bronx borough president, to join his company, the Stagg Group, to help work with local officials. The developer owns and manages 1,200 units in the Bronx, a combination of market-rate rentals and affordable units, and has plans to add about 2,500 more units.

But one current project has proved frustrating, not because of a zoning snag or community opposition, but because of a colorful, combative 76-year-old man who has been squatting on the property.
[Read More]

New York City: Lower East Side documentary on the battle of East 13th Street with the NYPD

Lower East Side squatter history remains a fascinating, if not controversial chapter in the book of New York’s life. So much so that there is even a museum dedicated, at least partially, to preserving the cultural significance of the bygone movement – the Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space.

One upstart filmmaker hopes to capture the essence of the war between squatters and the city of New York in the last three decades. Anytime, Baby! is the result of that quest, an independent documentary on the subject through the lens of one particular battle that was endemic of the times. That of 545 East 13th Street. [Read More]

New York City, USA: Shelters Not So Sweet: A Letter to the Editor of the New York Post

For the last two weeks, the New York Post has been running a bunch of really inflammatory articles about how shifty homeless people are coming to this city for supposedly luxurious free shelter accommodations. Obviously, this is totally ridiculous – anyone who has ever stepped foot inside a shelter knows they’re awful. But the Post doesn’t care about the truth; they just want to scare & stir up conservative readers who already think homeless people are a public menace.

So PTH member Maria Walles wrote a letter to the editor, saying “If you think homeless people are living it up in the shelters, you can take my spot there.”

Surprise, surprise, the Post didn’t run it. But we don’t need them. WE ARE THE MEDIA. Here’s Maria’s letter.

[Read More]

New York: Solidarity with Casablanca

Today at noon activists in solidarity with the struggle to reclaim Casablanca Social Center in Madrid gathered in front of the Spanish Consulate on East 58th Street in Manhattan, New York City.
Met by a squad of police, the activists engaged passersby and members of the Spanish Consulate on their lunch break. After an hour the activists made an attempt to enter the premises but were told thet they were barred from the building! Our lawyer attempted to negotiate … but we were told we would be arrested if we persisted …
[Read More]

United States: Initial actions in solidarity with Oakland rebels

Several immediate actions that we know about have taken place in Minneapolis, St. Louis, Atlanta, New York City and Seattle in solidarity with the rebels in Oakland, hundreds of whom were arrested and many injured during a long series of clashes with the police on January 28. More actions have been publicly announced, others may take place unannounced; we will of course continue to post any actions that take place in the coming days.

Much love and war to the Oakland rebels.
We are with you.
[Read More]

New York City: An interview with Rob Robinson from Picture the Homeless and Take Back the Land Movement

Published in “Brisbane From Below” n°1 (Brisbane, 2011).

Could you tell us a bit about yourself and how you became involved with Picture the Homeless?

No problem. I became involved with Picture the Homeless after spending 10 months in a NYC shelter. I was advocating within that shelter for better maintenance conditions, adherence to rules and better food. The director advised me to take my work to a higher level and I joined something called the New York City Coalition for the Continuum of Care (NYCCCoC). This group makes up 33% of the vote on how some 60-80 million USD are spent on homeless services. Picture the Homeless had access to the email list of (NYCCCoC) and I started to receive emails about the work they were doing. I showed up at a housing meeting in November 2006, liked what I heard and became a member. [Read More]

New York city: Organizing for Occupation

Hi people,

NYC Organizing for Occupation – O4O – having an inaugural event…

Flyer’s here.

info at commonlawnyc dot org

New York City Sells 11 Buildings to Squatters for $11

NYC Gives 11 Buildings to Squatters
U.S. National – AP | Tuesday August 20th, 2002

NEW YORK (AP) – The city has sold 11 apartment buildings on the Lower East Side for $1 a piece to a nonprofit developer, which will turn them over to squatters, many of whom have lived there illegally for years. [Read More]

New York City: Interview with Steven from the ABC No Rio

The ABC NO RIO has been one of the most famous squats in New York City, located in the lower east side.
For further informations about the ABC and about New York please visit their homepage at http://www.abcnorio.org!

Can you give me a general overview of the squatting situation in New York in the past thirty years? Squattting, rent-strikes, communtiy gardens …

I only have knowledge of the NYC scene for the past 15 years, predominately of the Lower East Side. Although I’m sure there were squats in the sixties and seventies I’ve never met any person who participated. Rent was cheap (relatively) back then, and the dereliction and abandonment that characterized many urban areas in America was just beginning.
(For further info on this process, which we call “Spatial Deconcentration” I refer you to article of same name by Yolanda Ward; if you do internet search on Yolanda Ward you’ll find it.) [Read More]