CORY REYNOLDS | DATE 4/25/2024

The Strand presents Joshua Charow in conversation with Wendy Goodman for the launch of 'Loft Law'

Thursday, April 25 at 7 PM, the Strand Book Store presents documentary filmmaker and photographer Joshua Charow in conversation with Curbed and New York Magazine design editor Wendy Goodman on his debut photobook, Loft Law: The Last of New York City's Original Artist Lofts. This event will be hosted in the Strand Book Store's 3rd floor Rare Book Room at 828 Broadway on 12th Street. Ticketing information here.

Envied by artists and apartment hunters alike for their wide windows and open floor plans, New York City’s lofts were once manufacturing centers in the late 19th and early 20th century. As urban densification pushed industry into the suburbs, these buildings were left empty. Looking for cheap rents and ideal studios, artists struck bargains with landlords to live and work in commercially zoned spaces. By the 1970s, these same artists faced eviction as their landlords embraced the new wealthy clientele that seeped into neighborhoods such as SoHo, Tribeca and the Bowery. Enacted in 1982, Article 7-C of the Multiple Dwelling Law, better known as the “Loft Law,” allowed artists to obtain legal occupancy and rent stabilization. After discovering a map of the protected buildings, documentary filmmaker Joshua Charow embarked on the ambitious project of documenting them. Over two years, he rang hundreds of doorbells, interviewing over 50 artists still living in these lofts, and photographing them in their spaces, alongside their works in progress and the unique modifications they have made to the lofts to meet legal standards. This timely untold story paints a portrait of a bygone era of New York’s downtown art scene.

Artists include: Ken Jacobs, Flo Jacobs, Loretta Dunkelman, Katherine Liberovskaya, Phill Niblock, Gerald Marks, Martine Mallary, Michael Sullivan, Carmen Cicero, Joseph Marioni, Carolyn Oberst, Jeff Way, Chuck DeLaney, Joe Haske, Kimiko Fujimura, Steve Silver, Noah Jemison, Sumayyah Samaha, Bob Petrucci, Claire Fergusson, Gilda Pervin, Curtis Mitchell, Ellen Christine, Marsha Pels, Betsy Kaufman, Jennifer Charles, JG Thirlwell, Alex Locadia, Winkel, Anne Mason.

Joshua Charow is a documentary filmmaker and photographer based in New York City. His projects aim to unveil unseen stories and subcultures across New York City. Charow has directed and shot documentary films for the New York Times, Time magazine, Amazon Prime Video and Hulu.

Wendy Goodman is Curbed and New York Magazine’s design editor. She began as the magazine’s fashion editor in 1984 and began writing the “Design Hunting” column in 2007. She is the author of The World of Gloria Vanderbilt and May I Come In? and co-authored Tony Duquette with Hutton Wilkinson.

Joshua Charow and Wendy Goodman on 'Loft Law'
Thursday, April 25: 7 PM
Strand Book Store
828 Broadway 3rd Floor, Rare Book Room
New York, NY 10003
Order tickets here