The city’s chainsaws and sledge hammers arrived on June 15 and, in just a few hours, the devastation was complete. The frontage of 188 Allen Street in Manhattan’s Lower East Side was forever scrubbed of art, a thriving makeshift art gallery replaced by a few insignificant parking spots.

The destruction of the shed in front of the former Cheese Grill did more than rid the block of one of Manhattan’s countless street-side dining spaces. It was the end of a brief, shining moment in the history of art in New York City, an unprecedented period of creativity, community and jollification. 

Watching that day was SacSix, the dynamic polyhedric artist and organizer who curated shows at what came to be called The 188 Allen Street Gallery during its six months apotheosis. Also on hand was Kris Hull, the street art pianist, who accompanied the demolition exercise with an appropriately mournful piece, Chopin’s Nocturne in C Sharp Minor.

“What SacSix did at 188 Allen was so special and so different because he supported artists who otherwise had no toehold in the system. The world has been forever made a slightly better place.” – Kris Hull @pianisterrant

“It was a beautiful moment,” SacSix told UP Magazine, reflecting on 188’s many triumphs and its ultimate demise. “It brought a lot of attention to the art community, there was a mixing and mashup of cultures, it brought a lot of artists and other people together. You can’t really replace 188 Allen Street Gallery,” he said.

Once the Cheese Grill closed in the spring, there was little hope the gallery could be saved from the city’s wrecking crew. But while 188’s star shined just briefly, it burned white hot, especially on Thursday nights when new shows opened. Those were the nights for which the gallery will be best remembered, when hundreds of artists, art lovers and passersby shared the sidewalk and an impenitent appreciation of locally created art.

“188 Allen was literally everything to me, both as an artist, and as a man. I am forever grateful for 188 Allen and for SacSix.They might have knocked down the building, but they can’t knock down the man behind it, the one and only SacSix, a good man that I love dearly.” – @rendawriter 

The adventure began just about a year ago, in July, 2022, when SacSix and Cheese Grill owner Emik David forged an agreement to hold the first pop-up event in the restaurant’s dining shed. The show featured work by SacSix, @0h10m1ke, @clown_soldier2021, @sold.out.art.show, @dirtcobain, @consumerart, @jkejake and others.

“I curated that first group art show and it was very successful. At the time, it was operating as a pop up art gallery where, on a weekly basis, anyone, an artist or a group curator, could rent it out and do their own show,” Sacsix said.

“For me the experience was amazing. I feel at some point it became the house of street art and also the place where there was always something happening on Thursday nights. Allen Street Gallery was the ideal example of community exchange and an artist hub.” – @calichoart

There were several other successful events at 188 that summer, including one curated by Ohio Mike that drew some dodgy publicity from the New York Post, which sought to portray the event as an example of everything that is wrong with dining shed culture in the city.

David, the Cheese Grill’s owner, called the gallery a “public good” that provided the neighborhood with “an opportunity to give something to our creative community: a store front space a local artist, fashion designer or entrepreneur can take over for a few days and let the public experience their work.”

Authorities didn’t see it that way: “Dining spaces are required to be used for one purpose – dining – and we are following up with this business to remind them of this rule,” said DOT spokesperson Vin Barone.

“The New York Post featured me when I curated #0H10M1keandfriends at 188 Allen St.,” Ohio Mike said. “The photo did not include my name or anything about the artists, only about how the shed was illegal. Classic New York Post and emblematic of our doomed-to-fail but not-to-be-miss DIY art shows there”

“188 Allen St. was a rare example of extreme generosity and mutual support in the art community. SacSix, the Cheese Grille and all participants boosted each other up for the good of the whole group.” –  @akivalistman

SacSix agreed that 188 probably was doomed from the outset, but he was determined to give it a go and to keep showing art there for as long as possible. 

“In the fall, it started falling apart in terms of the space and the direction it was going. In December there was a beer pong table, a foosball table and a shitty couch in there and people stopped curating art shows. I spoke with the owner and convinced him that I could turn that back around in January,” he said.

After that, 188 entered its salad days. There were shows by @lexibellaart, @jimtozzi, @phetus88, @akivalistman, @thelivinginstallation, @rendawriter, @goober_gabe, @degrupo, @calichoart and @robertblanco, @frank_ape and @coolman_coffeedan and others. One particularly noteworthy one-shot show was a performance by the uniquely talented dancer @lethairdown, who creates abstract art as she performs by applying paint to her feet and hands.

“I adored 188 Allen Gallery as a safe, creative place where local artists can share their works and get connected. SacSix offered me an opportunity to do my one-night solo exhibition in the Allen Gallery, and it was such a beautiful experience.” – @lethairdown 

During the spring, hundreds of artists were able to show their work as part of group shows including Ladies First to mark Women's History Month in March, an April show dedicated to 4:20, Paper Money and the anti-Artificial Intelligence show called A-nt-I in May and ONLY PRINTS in June. 

“Each show in itself was epic in its own way. While it was the same space, same square footage, each show had its own feel. They were all incredible, each one was unique and each one was epic,” SacSix said.

Through those months, SacSix said the job of running 188 Allen was all consuming, taking up far more of his time than any full-time job he ever had. His load was lightened a bit when the 188 team expanded to include the Gallerina, @madebymiriamg, a student at Pratt School of Design. She said she just happened to attend one of the shows at 188 when Sacsix was looking for a helper.

“It was like a flame and artists from all around NYC were drawn to it. Big, huge, giant shoutout to SacSix for busting his ass to curate the dopest, most diverse and badass art shows in NYC.” – Ian Cinco

“Before working at 188 Allen Street, I wasn’t part of any art scene here in New York. SacSix and the rest of the artists welcomed me into the art community with open arms and this experience has helped me grow so much as an artist and a person,” she said. 

Despite the demands of the job, SacSix said running 188 Allen was rewarding work. He learned a lot, he said, and he was able to offer opportunities to artists who may never have been in a show before. He was also cheered by the way the gallery brought in a diverse group of artists from a range of disciplines.

“It was all about the community. One of nicest compliments I received was when someone said 'no one’s ever been able to bring the graffiti and street art communities together like this before.’ I was able to bridge that gap between hard graf artists and muralists and wheat pasters and everyone else,” he said.

“188 Allen Street was more than an art gallery. It was a rally! You knew you would run into a friend there! I am sure SacSix is cooking up something new.” – @displaybydelphine

While 188 Allen is history, SacSix expressed confidence that the solidarity it helped spawn in the art community is not. “It’s a pretty tight group, we’ve just never had one place people could count on. 188 was that place,” he said.

“The location itself was priceless. We know we can’t replace it, but it’s such a special community. We’re looking…” he added.