new writings, unedited

Looking up at the building, it looks like any other place on the lower east side. Just a 6 story apartment building, older, but refinished. There is a garden next door, a community garden, but that only adds to the real estate value. A secure green space. A space that is saved and protected, that will never be a vacant lot again, or bring money to one guy behind a desk in an office with his hands in the pie.

The building used to have gardens on either side of it, and vacant space where men used to work on cars. They used the electricity from the light post a lot of times, and spoke in Spanish. I had a problem with my battery one day and went over with a few beers. I mean it was only getting the crud off of the terminals and testing the battery, but the interaction and street trade was what doesn’t exsist anymore, now.

The building was my home for a while, and the apartment I had was one that was made out of love. A man named hymie and his wife were expecting a baby. He did construction, and I imagined every day went home and worked to make that apartment beautiful. With all of the amenities, sove, tu, he had even built a crib into the wall.

A lot of other spaces in that building were full of sketchiness. Drug dealers, gun dealers, prostitutes, craziness. People with far too many dogs, till their spaces reeked of shit they didn’t clean up, or dropped out the back windows.

Hymie and his wife moved though. There was an impending eviction on the place, and that wasn’t good for a newborn, I heard they moved to long island. From what they left in the apartment, I got a sense of knowing them. I hope they are doing well. Their baby would be 10 about now.

The building was owned by the city, like a lot of squatted buildings, and was fixed up by its residents. Since the 80’s. for years there have been the trials of having a community in such a large building, not to mention, surrounding it.
And what I mean by community, is that people live and are neibors with each other. And there are fights, and conflicts, and resolutions, and more arguments. People are in all stages of their lives, people young and old, people wanting a different and better quality to their lives, with hope for the future, and then theres people who are just surviving , battling their own demons, and perhaps aint making to tomorrow. And then theres people in the middle, going day to day, each end of perspective pulling in each direction.

art work

My art is available for sale, and shows.
Feel free to contact me:

Natania Nunubiznez

802 349 0205 cell
802 767 1124 home

natania.nunubiznez@gmail.com