Spraying an Abandoned Building on 10th Street

On an especially cold November day, artist William Power stood before a wall on 10th street with a can of spray paint.

Wearing a gas mask and working in front of a camera capturing time-lapse footage, William carefully added shadows and wrinkles to the image of a Puerto Rican flag draped over the shoulders of an older, bearded man.

William was the first artist on that November day to begin spraying the long stretch of wall that was the backside of a 130,000 sq. ft. abandoned school building. The old man that William was painting was Carlos “Chino” García, the Puerto Rico-born co-founder of CHARAS/El Bohio, a famous community organization formed in the 1970s and active in the Lower East Side.

Over the course of the day, other artists joined William in spraying the wall. One week later, Thrive artists had painted eleven murals on the building’s backside.

Danielle Mastrion painted a mural of Lower East Side icon Angie Hernandez.

“This mural is a tribute to her,” Mastrion said. “I love doing portraits, but I really love doing portraits of strong, important women. In this neighborhood, a lot of the women really held it down and held it together.”

CHARAS (whose name is a combination of the founders’ first names) is a legend among community organizations in Manhattan’s Lower East Side. At its height, it confronted a multitude of social issues.

In 1979, CHARAS moved into the abandoned school building on 10th street, establishing “El Bohio” or “The Hut.” El Bohio became a center of arts, aid, housing, film screenings, festivals, organizing, and much more.

In 1998, the building was put on auction. In 2001, CHARAS was evicted. To this day, the building stands empty and falls more and more into disrepair with each passing year.

The idea for the murals came from David “Daso” Soto, founder of the Piragua Art Space and son of Angie Hernandez. Partnering with the Piragua Art Space and Loisaida Center, Thrive artists brought Daso’s idea to life: the resulting murals stand not only as a celebration of CHARAS’ legacy but a reminder of what has been lost in the community and what needs to be restored.

Before any murals could be painted on the wall, the wall had to be power cleaned and sprayed with a primer. One November weekend, Thrive staff and volunteers cleaned up the stretch of wall and its surrounding area.

After the wall had been cleaned and primed, it was divided into 11 sections. Each section was dedicated to one artist.

Then the work began! Despite the cold, our artists came out to honor CHARAS’ legacy in the Lower East Side. After one week, the murals were completed.

In her mural, Marissa Molina showcased the Hispanic presence and liveliness of the neighborhood.

“I chose to make my character represent the area. I wanted to do something that was vibrant, positive, and had a strong personality—what I feel represents the energy of Loisaida.”

Nico Collazo, with a nod to the Puerto Rican population of the Lower East Side, chose to center his mural on a Taino boy who is creating his own world with a paintbrush. The Taino people are very prominent in Puerto Rican culture. Collazo also infused other cultural elements, including graffiti.

Collazo, who is Puerto Rican, said coming to the Lower East Side and using his talents on the mural was like painting with family.

Check out the finished work below!

Thank you to our artists, volunteers and partner organizations for such incredible work! We are excited for similar projects in the future.

As this mural was in progress and following its completion, several local residents commented on its significance and the difference it made in the neighborhood.

The Thrive artists were proud as well.

“It’s cool to see something that has been dormant for a while being revitalized,” said  Collazo.

“We have had a lot of people stop by and thank us for beatifying the wall, for bringing it back to life,” said Molina.