Fourth Arts Block To Hold Groundbreaking Celebration 5/21

Fourth Arts Block (FAB), a coalition of cultural and community organizations, is kicking off more than $16 million in capital improvements to the East 4th Street Cultural District at a Groundbreaking Celebration on Wednesday, May 21st at 11:30am.

The Groundbreaking will be held outside La MaMa's Annex building at 66 East 4th Street between Bowery and 2nd Avenues, and will include a short program of presentations, performances and recognition of key supporters. Presenters include Ellen Stewart from La MaMa E.T.C., FAB's Executive Director Tamara Greenfield, and playwright Paul Rudnick. Rod Rodgers Dance Company and Teatro IATI will perform short dance and theater excerpts.

Councilwoman Rosie Mendez, former Councilwoman Margarita Lopez, Borough President Scott Stringer, Commissioner Kate Levin of New York City's Department of Cultural Affairs, and Dr. Mary Schmidt Campbell, Chair of New York State Council on the Arts will be recognized for their leadership and support.

In October 2005, the City sold eight properties to the block's arts tenants for $8, and officially designated the block a Cultural District, one of only two in New York and the first in Manhattan. From the first Yiddish theater in New York to the launch of the Off-Off-Broadway movement in the 1970s, East 4th Street represents more than a century of focused artistic activity and social activism. Today, FAB's arts groups serve 1,200 artists each year and reach local and international audiences of more than 200,000 people.

La MaMa's Annex building is the first of seven improvement projects to go into construction in the Cultural District, transforming approximately 35,000 sq. feet of vacant space into active cultural use. Other projects to start this Spring and Fall include: New York Theatre Workshop's new "green" scenic and costume shop; block wide façade and streetscape improvements; and building renovations and upgrades to four multi-arts facilities.

As the district's leadership organization, FAB is working to preserve and advance the district's dynamic artistic environment by developing the properties into permanent homes for the arts, leading centralized projects that provide a model for sustainable development, directing marketing and promotion efforts, and supporting the capacity of its members. 

FAB's members include: Alpha Omega Theatrical Dance, Cooper Square Committee, Cooper Square Mutual Housing Association, Creative Time, Downtown Art, Duo Multicultural Arts Center, La MaMa E.T.C., Millennium Film Workshop, New York Theatre Workshop, Rod Rodgers Dance Company, Teatro Circulo, Teatro IATI, Works in Progress, and WOW Café Theatre. 

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