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(c)2006 kristian buus.
The battle in Broadway Market - On the Inside.
Broadway Market is a street in Hackney, London E8.
Over the past 6-7 years gentrification has taken its grib on the East of London. With gentrification comes new landlords and higher rents. Hackney council sold off many of their properties end of1990s- and Tony Platia who had run a small cafe, Francesca's -at 34 Broadway Market - found himself with a new landlord. He was evicted from the cafe he ran for 30 years in the summer of 2005 by the new owner Roger Wratten. End November and a group of locals took over the cafe in an attempt to prevent demolition of the premises, as much an attempt to save the their local cafe as to protest against a development they found out of control.
88 days later the ocupation was brought to an end by the Metropolitan Police on the 23 Feb. The cafe is now a hole in the ground fenced off with razor wire and covered with metal and cctv cameras.
The cafe was partly demolished in December after a first eviction but the local occupiers rebuild the premisses, putting up a roof and a new front. The space was tiny and rough and baricaded from the inside most of the time - and occupied all the time. These portraits werer taken up against the barricaded door, showing some of the occupiers. During the occupation the Mayor of Tony Platia's home town in Italy visited to give moral support, - hence the nicely painted walls.
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