Umbrella House

Umbrella House is a Housing Development Fund Corporation in New York City's East Village, at 21-23 Avenue C.[1]

This article is about the building legally known as Umbrella House HDFC. For the building in Sarasota Florida, see Hiss Residence.
Umbrella House
General information
Address21-23 Avenue C
Town or cityNew York, New York
CountryUnited States
Coordinates40.721294°N 73.980917°W / 40.721294; -73.980917
Completed1899 (1899)
Design and construction
ArchitectMichael Bernstein
Website
www.umbrellahouse.nyc
Squatting in
the United States
International context
Legal acquisition
Principles
Programs
Solution frameworks
Housing and justice
Notable squats

History

Umbrella House was constructed in 1899, under the Old Law Tenement provisions, by architect Michael Bernstein.[1]

In the 1980s, a group of squatters moved into the building shortly after the Tompkins Square Park Riot.[2] The building was derelict and had a leaky roof; the squatters joked that they needed umbrellas inside, hence the origin of the nickname "Umbrella House." While the roof has since been repaired, the nickname has been maintained through the display of umbrellas on the building's facade.[1]

Squatters were evicted during a 1995 police raid. Umbrella House residents took their case to court, where a judge ruled in their favor under the law of adverse possession and they were allowed to return to their homes.[1]

In 2002, Umbrella House was one of eleven squatted buildings sold to their residents for one dollar per buildings, in a deal organized by the Urban Homesteading Assistance Board (UHAB). UHAB assisted with conversion of the house into a Housing Development Fund Corporation; it is now officially a cooperative known as Umbrella House HDFC.[1] It contains 18 units with approximately 32 residents.[2]

Rooftop Garden
The rooftop garden of Umbrella House, 2018.

More recently, residents of Umbrella House have constructed a 820-square-foot garden on the roof of the building.[3] Since its inception in 2012, the garden provides fresh herbs and vegetables for the building's residents.[2]

See also

References
  1. Dana (2011-06-14). "Umbrella, Umbrella!". GVSHP | Preservation | Off the Grid. Retrieved 2019-11-15.
  2. Moynihan, Colin (2015-07-17). "Umbrella House: East Village Co-op Run by Former Squatters". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-11-15.
  3. ""From Ruin to Renewal", Photos of Umbrella House, Its Residents and Urban Farm". Viewing NYC. 2015-07-23. Retrieved 2019-11-15.
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