Muste Gets Cruzed

The A.J. Muste building, at 339 Lafayette at Bleecker Street, has been completely covered from head to foot in green plywood. This weekend, the plywood was plastered with the apparently anti-Trump slogan Ted Cruz uttered at the Republican National Convention: "Vote Your Conscience!"

This is courtesy of luxury real-estate developer RFR.



Until recently, this building was known as "The Peace Pentagon." It was home to several activist and social justice groups, including The War Resisters League, Granny Peace Brigade, Global Revolution, Paper Tiger TV, and The Socialist Party.

The Muste Institute originally bought the building in 1978, providing affordable space for these and many other groups. Unable to afford expensive repairs, they sold it in 2015 for over $20 million, and moved to Canal Street, bringing their tenants with them. A documentary is in the works about the move.


August 2015

I always liked this low brick building, seeing its windows full of social justice slogans, especially as the neighborhoods around it changed so radically. It was a holdout, and we need holdouts. And we need holdouts that makes themselves--and their resistance--visible.

This is not quite the same thing.

Anyway, soon it will be demolished and replaced with (most likely) another luxury condo box with luxury chain stores on the bottom.