By now you’ve probably heard of the Brooklyn Trailer Park Commune. They were evicted from their warehouse space by the FDNY. Upon being pushed out, they took up residence in an abandoned lot which was an old RR siding lot off of the old Bushwick Freight Yard (currently leased by the NY&A RR to Kings Lumber, who receives rail cars of bricks and lumber).
This eviction seems to have been completely illegal. Kings lumber knew who was living on their land – that is – if it’s even their land. So far as i can see the trailers were on a plot that used to be an old railroad siding that has not been in use for decades. This siding was probably never formally abandoned, but if it was – the rights of ownership most likely go to adjacent property owners.
Of course, some idiots say ‘the commune people should follow the law’ – Ridiculous. it appears in this case they did, and that those who booted them off the property – Kings lumber and the NYPD – did not. But hey, why not beat up on the weirdos? It’s a sick sad NYC tradition. Then again, animal torture (?) isn’t something we like here, either.
The last press article merely stated the trailers were now on the street while the commune folk tried to find a place to store them. We just happened to come across these trailers one evening on the Greenpoint waterfront. Claims that the trailers were damaged when removed from the lumber yard seemed unfounded. All looked to be in good shape for their age.
What will become of these trailers, no one knows. With no residents and no private land to place them, I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re sold off.
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I had a friend that was one of the first guys to move into the trailer park spot… we chilled there the very first night as the guys were still building out alot of the space…
It was a very cool space, tried exploring around the building… the backyard was pitch black and the roof, but never made it back… Deffinatly some redneck mid-america hippie stuff… It was cool, I wasn’t a hater… only thing that kept running through my mind is… none of the people that lived there actually worked… I guess that’s where differance of opinion comes in between myself and these types… they put so much time, money and and effort into projects like this… but where do they get money to get by day to day… hustling DYI silk screen t-shirts on a merch table for your band doesn’t really explain it…
I wished I got to see it while they were in the warehouse. never bothered to seek it out. For all my snark I can’t hate on the concept much – NYC shouldn’t be all about government approved apartment living. Killing stuff like this just kills the soul of this town that much more.
some of these cats have to have some kind of backing. some money saved up from parents, grandparents, something…
It takes a certain nomad mindset to live knowing you might get kicked out of your home on a moments notice – no matter how humble that home is. what’s funny is there are a few people living in RVs all around NYC, and no one really notices. They just drive a little here and there so no one catches on.
I was always curious what was up with this RV that parked under the BQE on Park Ave and Grand Ave in Brooklyn, last I was around there was over the Summer… throught someome lived in it, but when I looked in the window it was filled with pigeon shit and there were pigeons nesting in it and smelled horrible just walking near it… it was there for along time and not sure if it’s still there.
Sounds nasty. I haven’t been over there in awhile myself.
I know there was one fairly well known guy in a van in tribeca. There’s 2 queens rvs I’m thinking of – one is usually by the piano factory, and there’s another that parks near the cemeteries – that one seems to move around every now and then.
I’ve known a person or two in the UE world that specifically bought cars they could have an air mattress in the back of for road trips. (usually toyota matrixs). Then there’s Sleazy, who hops freights and disappears for years at a time… I wish I did more shit like that when I was younger.
Yeah, I noticed the guy in Tribeca… off the west side hwy on clarkson he’d always be out there cleaning up around it or doing something… don’t think he’s there anymore or prolly just moved it.
As a trailer park resident I can’t help but try to dispel some of the hearsay- plenty of trailers were damaged, that’s why you only see eight out there in greenpoint as opposed to, say, 20. A few we can’t move at all, one was stolen, and a few have been put in storage by the few friends we have with empty lots.
In response to a comment below by ‘Fresh Paint NYC’, I have to say that our backing comes from rent money paid on our warehouse, and that rent money comes from, you know, having jobs. Have there been residents in our year-and-a-half existence that don’t work for a living? Of course. But they don’t tend to stay long, it’s not an easy lifestyle. The main reason we do it is to have very large common areas for events and studio space.’What a lot of these articles don’t mention is that the trailers were all behind a huge warehouse we are still renting to this day, albeit just as art and recording studio space.
I was living in one of those trailers. Just want to ask folks please not to speculate about our employment status. I myself have a job and work very hard at it.
One other thing is – that guy beheading the chicken was not one of us. He was the lead singer of this really obnoxious punk band that played there once. We had no idea he was going to do that. We didn’t even know he had a chicken with him when he came over. We have chickens ourselves but it was not one of ours, I’m glad to say. They ate the chicken so at least it wasn’t a totally meaningless act.
Thanks for the article. The trailer park was rad. Hopefully another incarnation will happen soon. Stay DIY, NYC!
i actually saw the add several months ago and was very intrigued. i am heading to nyc for a few months to visit the city, connect with artists and learn some skills and was very inspired by this way of living as it gives people like me a chance to create and live in a space that would otherwise not be affordable or accessible to someone like me. if anyone knows if there are still places for rent there or similar to that, please let me know – thanks.
I figured the chicken was going to end up as food.
I hope something like this pops up again, though I think it might need to be in a rented lot where the city agencies can be better kept at bay.
I have no idea about living spaces but there’s a lot of studio spots you can rent for relatively cheap that would expose you to other creative types. Madagascar Institute I believe still has cheap classes/space. As for living, there is no cheap rent in NYC, unless you want to be in the ghetto or really creative. I’d seriously consider a van or rv. In fact it’d probably be a really good way to get to see different areas of NYC before committing to move into any proper. Drawbacks like internet access can be accommodated in internet cafes, places with wifi, etc. You can rent an address/po box in stores. Biggest expense would be fuel and where to fill up on water (can probably tap a hydrant somehow if you really get stuck). Probably really hot in the summer and cold in the winter – but it would beat being in a warehouse or backpacking around hobo style.
If not for your writing this topic could be very cnovoluted and oblique.
Just like your sex life eh, spam boy?