Steven Mark Englander, a historic Lower East Side artist and longtime director of the squat-turned-nonprofit ABC No Rio, died in Manhattan on December 12 at the age of 63 , due to a rare lung disease he has been battling for more than a decade. . Among other accomplishments, Englander is known for leading ABC No Rio’s fundraising efforts to secure the property for a dollar after city officials threatened eviction for decades.
The organization announced Englander’s death, saying he died “comfortably, painlessly, and surrounded by the two things he relied on for survival – his family and the ABC No Rio community.”
Englander was born in Chicago on June 11, 1961, and grew up in Racine, Wisconsin. In 1980, he moved to New York City to study film at New York University and soon joined films such as dark circles Magazine, Libertarian Book Club, and Anarchist Switchboard. He was introduced to ABC No Rio through Matthew Courtney’s Wide-Open Cabaret show in 1987, the nonprofit’s new director, Gavin Marcus, told us, He “occasionally took to the microphone to express his anarchist writings and reflections.” allergic.
Known for his collaborative spirit, fairness and honesty, Englund served twice as director of the arts group – first as interim director in 1990 when director Lou Ancierno teamed up with fellow ABC No. Rio members travel to Hamburg, Germany for an exhibition 10 years and 7 days Held at the Künstlerhaus to mark the group’s 10th anniversary. This position evolved into a joint directorship with Ancierno, which lasted until 1991, when Englund resigned due to leadership differences. In 1994, he stepped into leadership again when ABC No Rio faced increasing threats of eviction from city officials.
“when [ABC No Rio] Englund was cast as comic book artist and ABC No Rio member Frye (Ellen Orr) in January 2011.
In 1995, Englund met his life partner, ABC No Rio activist, author and photographer Victoria Law. While they were serving on the collective board, they were offered the city the opportunity to purchase the apartment building at 156 Rivington Street for $1 if they could raise the funds to pay for the renovations. In 1997, he became ABC No Rio’s only paid staff member, spearheading the organization’s fundraising efforts from a desk on the building’s top floor in a hallway between the computer lab and the screen-printing shop, which was “always bustling with people. The flow of people in and out,” Law told allergic.
“People would go upstairs to the bathroom and stop and say hello, or sometimes random people would walk in and say, ‘What is this building?'” recalled Law, who described Englund as someone who “lived People who thrive in it.” That collective environment. “
Cartoonist and squatter rights activist Seth Tobocman met Englander in the mid-1990s, a time of uncertainty for both the organization and its Rivington address. allergic He was “impressed by how many different people came together to defend ABC No Rio”. He attributed the group’s success in acquiring the property to Englander’s organizational skills and his “ability to reach out to different people and make them feel respected, included and heard.”
Englander’s role changed in 2016 when ABC No Rio was finally forced to vacate its deteriorating space, with its various facilities (including a magazine library, screen printing studio and exhibition space) scattered across the city Each administrative district.
“He’s still the director, but doing things in exile is different than being in the midst of people coming in and out, volunteers using the facility, random people saying, ‘What is this weird building with an unlocked door? There are these weird things everywhere Art?” Law said.
Although Englander’s health continued to deteriorate over the past year, he continued to work to restore ABC No Rio’s physical space until his final days. At the end of August, construction finally began on the group’s long-awaited four-story building, which is expected to be partially open in mid-2026.
“I think it’s a testament to his willpower… that he hung on long enough for this groundbreaking thing to happen and kept going. This was his life’s work,” Law said.
Englund is survived by two brothers, a sister and his daughter.
