FAB | 70 East 4th Street

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70 EAST 4th STREET

70 East 4th Street was once a saloon at the turn of the century, serving the neighborhood's German population. The building has gone through many hands in the past hundred and twenty years. Up until the mid-1990s it was the neighborhood site office for NYC's Dept. of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD). Since then, the 4 story, 8,000 sq. ft. building, has been vacant. Behind 70 E. 4th St. is a vacant lot that extends to E. 3rd St.

A Youth Arts Center will be created at the currently vacant 70 East 4th Street with Downtown Art and Alpha Omega Theatrical Dance Company as the resident companies. Alpha Omega will open a dance studio and offices on the ground floor; Downtown Art will open a 70-seat theater, rehearsal studio, cafe/lounge for teens, study space, art workshop, and offices on the upper three floors. The vacant lot at 19 E. 3rd Street, which is attached to the property, will allow for future expansion.

Downtown Art has been working with neighborhood youth to make theater since 1996. The company’s expanded programs at the new building will focus on ‘arts and entrepreneurship.’ Just as participating teens are not only artists at the theater, but also managers and producers involved with every aspect of the theater’s operations; so, too, will Downtown Art’s new programs combine creative and business experience. Downtown Art plans to launch a cafe/lounge that will be open afterschool and weekends, managed by teens, which will sponsor youth-organized events such as a spoken word series, music series, and open mike. The theater and cafe will be ongoing; additionally, a variety of short-term projects will be created each year in response to interest from teens – projects which combine learning opportunities in artistry and enterprise, such as creating an e-zine, organizing a film festival, opening a photography exhibit, etc.

Alpha Omega Theatrical Dance Company was founded in 1972 with the purpose of expanding opportunities for minority choreographers and dancers. The company provided low cost and free dance classes to youngsters on the Lower East Side of Manhattan and later expanded to include children citywide. Alpha Omega continues to provide dance classes, performances and outreach initiatives at several New York City schools and maintains the Alpha Omega Young Adult Workshop for advanced students to train as pre-professionals and to work as apprentice with the professional performing troupe. The troupe, which developed from the Young Adult Workshop, is known as Alpha Omega Dance.

Alpha Omega’s space at 70 East 4th Street will be utilized seven days a week to conduct youth classes and performances, professional classes, the pre-professional Young Adult Workshop and Company rehearsals. Classes will be offered in ballet, modern, jazz, traditional styles and drumming. Our permanent space will strengthen our commitment to young artists and increase our capacity to reach many more. We will provide hundreds of youth year round with an atmosphere in which their self-esteem, social skills and talents are encouraged. Our goal through community outreach and affordable programming is to engage the involvement of students, parents, and the local community.

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Fourth Arts Block
61 East 4th Street, New York, NY 10003
Contact: Tamara Greenfield, Executive Director
(212) 228-4670