475 kent avenue

The threatening wheat silo that prompted the Fire Department to vacate the 200-odd residents of 475 Kent Avenue in Williamsburg on Jan. 20 has been removed, but occupants of the de-facto artists' colony are still displaced from their homes and those with studios in the building cannot work.  read more »

In last week's Observer, we covered the backstory and the slow slog back for the residents of 475 Kent Avenue, the quasi-converted commercial Williamsburg building where tenants were booted into the cold by the FDNY in the wee small hours of Jan. 20. Firefighters said the building was unsafe because of a matzo wheat in the basement and broken standpipes.  read more »

We reported in today's paper about the travails of the 200-plus tenants booted late last month from 475 Kent Avenue (and about how Williamsburg in general has become an inhospitable place for artists, so much so that many are migrating to Ridgewood, Queens).

Brownstoner reports today that the tenants--a collection of artists, some of whom had been living in the old commercial building for years--may not be able to return home for months.  read more »