Artists Against the Expressway

If you live anywhere in lower Manhattan, no doubt you have heard about the Envision SoHo/NoHo planning process, which aims “to examine key land use and zoning issues in the two neighborhoods and seek community input to develop strategies to both honor SoHo/NoHo’s history and ensure the continued vitality of the neighborhoods.” SoHo is historically an artists’ neighborhood, so one would assume “community input” includes input from artists, but this is not the case. There are no artists in the Process Advisory Group that is to "help develop recommendations to inform the future of SoHo and NoHo." This must change if the planning process is to be legitimate.

The idea for the Lower Manhattan Expressway, or LOMEX as it was known, which was to run the length of Broome Street, was first put forth in the 1930's and gained support in the 1950's and 1960's and would have razed most of what is now SoHo and Little Italy.