You are reading

Local Arts Non-Profit Purchases Two Buildings in Long Island City

Flux Factory announced Friday that it has bought its headquarters at 39-31 29th St. in Dutch Kills (Photo: Google Maps)

Nov. 23, 2021 By Michael Dorgan

The operators of a Queens-based arts non-profit have purchased two premises in Long Island City.

Flux Factory, a group that works with emerging artists from across the city, announced Friday that it has bought its 39-31 29th St. headquarters, which is located in the Dutch Kills section of Long Island City. The organization currently operates out of the two-story space that it has been leasing since 2009.

The group also announced that it has purchased space in a new development that is part of the Hunters Point South mega development. It has bought space on the ground floor of the South Tower at Gotham Point, a two-tower development that is going up at 57-28 2nd St. The non-profit will be calling the space “Flux IV.”

The terms of the two deals were not disclosed.

Representatives of the Flux Factory said the purchases will help sustain the organization’s core programs, exhibitions and collaborative opportunities with other artists. The acquisitions were funded by the City, via allocations provided by Council Member Jimmy Van Bramer, the Queens Borough President’s Office and the Dept. of Cultural Affairs.

Nat Roe, the executive director of Flux Factory, said the purchases represent major milestones for the non-profit since it has looked to buy its own premises for years.

Flux Factory was founded in Williamsburg in 1994 and moved to Sunnyside in 2002 due to rising costs. In 2009 the organization then moved to its 29th Street location.

“We’ve constantly faced the threat of displacement, compromising our ability to support and promote artists most effectively,” Roe said.

The Dutch Kills building is 9,000 square feet and its acquisition will ensure the non-profit continues to host its “artist-in resident” program. This program provides artists with the ability to live on site while they develop their creative work.

The space consists of 16 private studios and 8 common workspaces for art production. It also includes a 1,400 square foot gallery where residents develop art exhibitions across a wide range of disciplines such as painting, poetry, literary, spoken word and sound art. The building also includes living space.

Meanwhile, the Flux IV location will be 3,000 square feet in size and is scheduled to open next summer. It will serve as a satellite space for the organization.

The non-profit said it will be able to expand its operations further into Queens through the Flux IV space. The new location will include a gallery and workspace for artists. 

Since it was founded, Flux Factory has hosted more than 300 artists-in-residencies from around the world and more than 700 exhibitions.

Flux Factory has purchased space on the ground floor of the Gotham Point South Tower, the shorter of the two towers by the Newtown Creek. Gotham’s North Tower is the taller building on the right (Rendering courtesy of VUW)

email the author: [email protected]
No comments yet

Leave a Comment
Reply to this Comment

All comments are subject to moderation before being posted.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Recent News

Queens Public Library hosts conversation with Astoria author on borough history

Borough history geeks will want to mark Tuesday, April 4, on their calendars for the Queens Public Library’s Queens Memory Project online talk with Astoria author Rebecca Bratspies. The processor at CUNY Law in Long Island City will discuss her new book, “Naming Gotham: The Villains, Rogues and Heroes Behind New York’s Place Names,” and take a deep dive into the lives of the people for whom many Queens places are named, some of which have become synonymous with congestion, recreation or culture.

“Queens is the most diverse place on the planet. That diversity is our greatest strength. Our patchwork of unique neighborhoods has welcomed successive waves of immigrants, each adding incredible foods and traditions to our vibrant civic life,” Bratspies said. “Yet it is striking how few of the names that grace Queens’ major infrastructure actually reflect that diversity. By tracing the lives of the people whose names have become New York’s urban shorthand for congestion, recreation, and infrastructure, Naming Gotham offers readers an accessible way to understand the complexity of multiracial, multicultural New York City.”

Mayor aims to streamline leadup to city’s public review process to better attack affordable housing crisis

Long before the cement trucks begin lining up on Tom Seaver Way and shovels hit the ground on the ambitious Willets Point project across from Citi Field, touted as a transformational endeavor that will bring a 25,000-seat soccer stadium and 2,500 affordable homes to the Iron Triangle, it must first go through the city’s arduous public review process known as Uniformed Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP).

The largest 100% affordable, new construction housing project in four decades will be scrutinized by the Department of City Planning, local community boards, the borough president and Borough Board and the City Council before it ever lands on the desk of Mayor Eric Adams.

Parks Department launches new maintenance initiative to address cleanliness in public greenspaces in Queens and throughout NYC

With temperatures rising and days growing longer, the NYC Parks Department has launched a new maintenance initiative that will deploy 240 newly hired full-time staff to address cleanliness in city parks during peak days and hours.

The so-called “Second Shift” will collect trash and litter and mitigate graffiti at 100 hot spots in 62 parks across the five boroughs. The additional shift will operate from Thursday to Sunday in the evening hours to create cleaner parks while also fighting the scourge of rats — a frequent target of Mayor Eric Adams, who announced the new program in November as part of his “Get Stuff Done” initiative.

Middle Village school encouraging students to walk to school on National Walking Day

P.S./I.S. 49 in Middle Village school is encouraging its students to walk to school on April 5 in celebration of National Walking Day.

According to the school’s Parent/Teacher Coordinator Christina Chiaramonte, the initiative started when she learned about National Walking Day from a local parent and thought it would be a fun idea for students. Additionally, she said the effort could potentially help to alleviate vehicular traffic around the perimeter of the school, creating a safer environment for students.

Hero cops from Queens’ 105th Precinct perform life-saving CPR on 15-month-old baby

A pair of police officers from the 105th Precinct in Queens Village performed life-saving CPR on a 15-month-old baby in Brookville earlier this month, according to the NYPD.

Police responded to a 911 call regarding an unconscious baby at a residence near 226th Street and 146th Avenue in Brookville just after 2 a.m. on March 8. The baby’s family was present at the time of the incident and made the 911 call, according to a police spokesperson.