 Named after the respected Puerto Rican poet, the Clemente Soto Vélez Cultural and Educational Center (CSV) was established in 1993 with the mission of nurturing and developing Puerto Rican and Latino arts in the Lower East Side.
In 1993, Edgardo Vega Yunqué, Nelson Landrieu and Mateo Gómez, all of whom are actively involved in the Latino arts community of New York City, founded CSV. At the time, Teatro La Tea, established by Landrieu and Gómez, was the only functioning theater in the building that now houses CSV. Less than a year later, after much hard work and payment of an outstanding debt of over $30,000, the devoted trio acquired the lease to the City-owned building, on 107 Suffolk Street, from Solidaridad Humana, a community-based education and human services organization.
CSV is located at 107 Suffolk Street, between Rivington and Delancey Streets; it is the foremost architectural landmark in that part of the Lower East Side still known as Loisaida (as opposed to the East Village, the area above Houston). The Dutch Neo-Gothic building is a former public school (PS 160) constructed in 1898 by the Board of Education of the City of New York. By the mid seventies the building had ceased to serve as a public school and during the early eighties it became Solidaridad Humana, a revolutionary community-based comprehensive bilingual education program that carried out a visionary "Literacy in Spanish" teaching effort. Solidaridad Humana began in 1971.
In 1984 it established itself at 107 Suffolk Street until the early 90's. It can be said CSV continues, albeit in a more cultural vein, Solidaridad Humana's legacy of commitment to the Puerto Rican/Latino community.
The Struggle For A Permanent Home For Latino Culture As with most Latino arts centers and organizations throughout the country, CSV has struggled against many odds to keep its doors open. Lack of funding or benefactors and patrons to support Latino arts programs present hardships. Nevertheless, the space is steadily being improved with the intent of making CSV a focus of Latino art and culture in New York City.
As a public building that is owned by the City of New York, the CSV facility has been placed on the auction block on numerous occasions. This has placed the growing cultural and educational center in peril of displacing the resident theater, arts companies and artists. Such a situation would render them homeless. Nevertheless, each time the building was placed on auction block, CSV has fought hard and strong, and with the help of artists from across the city, has triumphed. The artists support the maintenance of a center that openly embraces Puerto Rican/Latino art and culture.
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