Whether you regard Stoke Newington's Jazz club, The Vortex as a 'community hub' or the early indicator of a previous phase of gentrification will probably depend on how long you have lived in the area. The Vortex itself recently re-located to the 'piazza-style'+surveillance cameras yuppie playpen Gillet Square, one of the Mayor of London's 100 public spaces. Nonetheless, this news about the venue's occupation announces yet another potent symbol of Hackney's existing communities' fight against corporate, state-sponsored environmental and economic zombification - so called 'regeneration'. Awake ye restless undead, arise

Stoke Newington's newest old venue, The X-Vortex, is re-opening this
Saturday 20th (daytime), all welcome to come down and find out more.

Below is a draft text of a leaflet we'll be distributing around the
area:

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On Sat 7th Jan some local people along with others occupied 139-141
Church Street. Previously the home of the famous Vortex jazz club the
building is set to be demolished by the notorious Richard Midda to
make way for a Tesco Express or Starbucks on the ground floor with
luxury apartments above.

Whether Tesco or Starbucks this development highlights the continued
erosion (and unique character) of Church Street as a community hub,
where corporate logos increasingly dominate as the cost of living in
Hackney escalates beyond the means of most ordinary people. Again and
again rich property developers and the overwhelming power of capital
determine our social, living and cultural needs - as with the eviction
of the original Vortex private greed always wins out against community
need.

Social centres are a means of people to come together to create,
conspire, communicate and offer a collective challenge against this
domination.

Stoke Newington has always had a rich radical tradition; the Angry
Brigade once living in Amhurst road, Mary Wollstonecraft, writer
philosopher and early feminist, working in Newington Green as well as
the London social centre (The Radical Dairy) occupied round
the corner in Kynaston road. We hope to continue this tradition.

The idea of social centres is not only to occupy social space but
create a critical visible presence in the community where people can
engage with radical ideas and events and encourage participation in
creating those events.

Already planned for this social centre are a regular café, cinema and
jazz nights and well as an exhibition space and events, benefits. We
intend for to be a meeting space for all manner of local campaigns as
well as political meetings. We invite you to participate and
contribute to the success of the new social centre as a radical way of
organising ourselves......
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