Earlier this year, we told you about the 100 Gates Program, an initiative pairing street artists with businesses on the Lower east Side to beautify the neighborhood. The Lower East Side BID and Billy Rohan (who came up with the idea) won a $30,000 grant from the city to paint the roll-down gates of 100 local storefronts. Time for an update.
According to project manager Natalie Raben, 22 gates have been transformed so far with with another 30 in the pipeline. Over the weekend, TLD contributor Tim Schreier checked out Buff Monster’s work in progress at Bondy Export Corp. on Canal Street. Tonight, Ryan Collier begins a mural outside the popup space miLES operates at 103 Allen St.
Raben said she’s made a concerted effort to create “street art pockets” throughout the neighborhood, areas where the murals are concentrated. There are clusters on Orchard Street just above Delancey Street, Delancey Street to the east of Orchard, Broome Street west of Ludlow Street and Hester Street east of Allen Street. Another priority has been collaborations with other organizations. That’s happened on an informal basis with the Audubon Mural Project, which is focused in Harlem (look out for those bird murals soon!). If you are a business interested in taking part in the 100 Gates Program, you can contact the LES BID here.
