Destroying the Arts Center; An Art District Devoid of Artists and a Community's Struggle for Respect.

JERSEY CITY REPORTER, JANUARY 7, 2005

According to the terms of the agreement, several months of back rent will be waived by the owner and $35,000 will be paid to the attorneys representing the tenants.

Now many of the 70 remaining tenants of the building, who packed the courtroom of Superior Court Judge Fred Theemling last week, will have to scramble to find new live/work spaces similar to the ones they are leaving behind. But even though the agreement may have ended the protracted struggle between the tenants and the owner over saving the historic landmark as an arts complex, there are other legal battles to be fought. The owner has a lawsuit pending against the city over the designation of the Warehouse Historic District, which includes the 111 First St. building. The district would impede the owner from his plans to demolish the building and build a structure that would go beyond what is allowable. And there's also a hearing in March in State Superior Court over the demolition of the entire building.

But for tenants, their biggest issue is to find new space to create art.

Filling the void are the thoughts of how they were abandoned by the city in their most desperate moment and how they could have prevailed in their fight.

The aftermath

Many of the tenants who walked out of the old Brennan Courthouse on Monday afternoon were tired, dispirited, and had harsh words for the landlord and the city.

"What Lloyd Goldman did was bad enough," said artist Bill Rodwell. "You could have expected that from him. But it was also Mayor Jerramiah Healy who did in the tenants of 111 First St. Deciding not to give his support when it was needed, Healy making comments in the press that the city was not going to spend taxpayer money to buy the building, as if we were looking for just money. We were looking for the city to face up to a first-class bully."

Healy said last week that this was "a tenant-landlord situation" and if the city had to intercede every time tenants and landlords were in a dispute, especially in terms of money, then the city would be on the brink of bankruptcy.

Other tenants said they were let down not just by Healy but also by their council people who led the fight to save the building. They said that Junior Maldonado and Mariano Vega were less visible recently. But the pair had been the staunchest supporters of the tenants and had helped to push for the Powerhouse Arts District and the Warehouse Historic designations being passed last year in the City Council.

One unnamed tenant could barely speak to a reporter because she was too upset about what was happening. "I feel exhausted and relieved, happy to leave that situation," she said. "Jersey City government made a great mistake because they didn't step up to the plate. They are missing out business-wise, and you are not going to make as much money as having an arts complex."

111 First St. was always a popular stop during the city's annual Artist Studio Tours, a place full of huge lofts and even bathrooms that were decorated with art.

Councilman Vega, at an event last week, said he was disappointed at the news and that the tenants' presence will be missed. But on the question of whether he and other city officials should have done more, Vega wondered what else the city could have done. "The city had to make a difficult decision," he said. "Mayor Healy was looking at this from a legal standpoint and it would have cost about 30 million dollars to purchase the building. There just aren't those funds available to do so."

Both Healy and Vega said the city will defend the Powerhouse Arts the Warehouse Historic district designations, both of which the lawyers for Goldman have promised to contest in court.

For Rebecca Goyette, one of the remaining tenants of 111 First St., it's a situation that she will look back on with sadness. "I spent most of 2004 in a courtroom," she said. "It was very draining. Even more draining is that it's a big disappointment to lose my family, and I can only describe my fellow tenants in this building as family, since we were a tight-knit community."