By the summer of ‘91, less than seven months after putting up the tipi, The Hill’s character had changed dramatically. A drug dealer had infiltrated the tight-knit community that until then had felt like family.

The racial makeup of The Hill was changing. Whereas once the community was a model of diversity, now racial and ethnic tensions were developing.

The drug trade brought violence and a constant parade of people. Total strangers began asserting themselves and claiming a stake to The Hill. Once someone even walked up to Nick and said, “Can I help you?”

The drug dealer Spencer and his crew – collectively known as Panama – were now King of The Hill. Spencer was a soft-spoken, middle-class looking, athletic and drug-free Black man who presented himself as a caretaker, a guardian... a doctor. And to a degree his gaslighting worked on Nick and Gabriele.

There were now two conflicting beacons on The Hill – the tipi and the Panama hut. But did the former give cover to the latter? And why didn’t Gabriele and Nick just leave?

#conceptualart #guerrillaart #homelessencampment #homeless #nychistory #1990s #activism #drugs #addiction

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