On Thursday, December 12, 2024, surrounded by biological and chosen family, ABC No Rio director Steven Englander drew his final breaths.

Steven left us just 18 months before he would have had the chance to see ABC No Rio open the doors to our new community arts center - a project he dedicated his life to making happen. We are determined to secure the funding to make Steven’s dream a reality. 

Steven first came to ABC No Rio in the late 1980s and served as co-director from 1989 to 1991. In 1994, he returned to successfully spearhead No Rio’s eviction defense, a multi-pronged approach that included legal maneuverings, protests, and direct action. 

Three years later, the City of New York stopped its eviction attempts and made an unprecedented offer–if the artists and activists of ABC No Rio could raise the money to renovate our century-old tenement building, the city would sell us the building for $1. To many, it seemed an impossible feat.

Steven took on that challenge with dedication and verve, transitioning from volunteer board member to the center’s sole staff person. Just as he had spent the past three years working to save No Rio from almost certain eviction, he devoted the next 27 years to ensuring that 156 Rivington would remain our permanent home and furthering its mission of remaining an inclusive, community-run arts space of oppositional culture. He opened No Rio’s doors to projects, collectives, and organizations that otherwise would not have found outlets or homes–and helped encourage countless activists, artists, technologists, and musicians. 

In 2016, ABC No Rio razed our weathered building to make way for our brand new, eco-conscious four-story community arts center. In July 2024, after years of setbacks caused by rising construction costs and delays exacerbated by the pandemic, ABC No Rio finally held our long-awaited groundbreaking ceremony. Construction is now underway; as of last week, the initial concrete foundation has been poured which is one of the final stages before the structure gets erected.  

We are so close to realizing Steven’s life work, but we still have a way to go. 

While you, our community, have helped us secure much of the funds to get us this far, we are still in need of additional funding to complete the building. As reported in the news, the building is projected to cost around $21 million. Thanks to the numerous grants, city funding, the very generous support of a few anonymous donors, and all of your fundraising efforts, we have been able to cover a significant portion of the costs. However, we still need to raise over $1 million to ensure the building’s completion. This is why we are again asking our community, you, for help to realize this goal. This includes but is not limited to, LEED Passive House certification, insurance, architecture and engineering re-design, legal fees, and fitting out an empty building when phase one of the building is complete. 

In honor of Steven, we are starting this funding campaign  to help make ABC No Rio, and Steven’s legacy, live on for generations to come. Any donation, big or small, will help us open the doors to our permanent home to inspire and nurture the next generations of DIY artists, dreamers, and co-conspirators. 

Please help us realize Steven’s life vision by donating today.

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