Displaced Artists Make Their Way Back Home to Williamsburg

NEW YORK—The residents of 475 Kent Avenue in South Williamsburg, Brooklyn, mostly artists and musicians, have begun to return to their lofts after the building was closed for a number of fire department violations about three months ago, the New York Times reports.

Firefighters declared the building a fire hazard in late January when they found a small bakery and piles of matzoh grain, which the fighters claimed could explode, in the basement. They also found the standpipe and most of the building's sprinkler system inoperable. Residents were given only a few hours to evacuate, and a girls' yeshiva next door was also closed.

In the ensuing months, a number of residents decided to help their landlord, Nachman Brach, clean up the building by clearing debris, fixing broken doors, and even gathering data for an updated floor plan in order to help speed up the installation of a new sprinkler system.

The artist and musician residents have just now begun to return, though some moved away permanently in the interim. The building still faces potential problems, however, as Brach still does not have a residential certificate of occupancy; the building is zoned for manufacturing use.

Videographer Eve Sussman and a number of other artists expressed concern about the difficulty of finding affordable living and working spaces in New York. "The next battles are much more difficult," said Sussman. "New York State and the city government need to be getting behind creative practitioners so that our foundation isn't eroded by big developers."