Told with rare archival footage from the 80s and 90s, SURVIVAL WITHOUT RENT follows a vibrant community of artists and activists on New York’s Lower East Side as they take over abandoned buildings.

SURVIVAL WITHOUT RENT

by Katie Heiserman

  • $30,000.00

    Goal

  • $0.00

    Raised

  • 49

    Days to go
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, United States (US)

Project Synopsis

On May 30, 1995, New York’s mayor Rudy Giuliani sent an armored tank down East 13th Street to evict a community of squatters and arrest dozens of protestors. Survival Without Rent follows a vibrant community as they illegally take over abandoned buildings in the 1980s and form a haven for artists and activists. Told with rare archival footage and oral histories, the film provides a glimpse into the anti-capitalist world on New York’s old Lower East Side.

The film premiered at Big Sky Documentary Film Festival in 2025, and screened at DOC NYC, Ji.hlava IDFF, Rooftop Films, and more. It received a special jury mention at the Athens International Film + Video Fest, and won Best Short Documentary Short at the Chicago Underground Film Festival. It was supported by Chicken & Egg, the New York State Council on the Arts, American Documentary, UFO, and the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation.

ALL DONATIONS ARE TAX-DEDUCTIBLE

All contributions to UnionDocs are tax-deductible. If you wish to donate outside of this campaign via ACH or check, please include “Survival Without Rent” in the memo line and complete the pledge form. For mailing checks, kindly send them to the following address: UnionDocs 352 Onderdonk Ave Ridgewood, NY 11385