Bread + Butter Socialism: A History of Finnish-American Co-ops

In New York City, co-ops today are more known for their strict (and some would argue overly discriminating) boards with price tags that can reach in the millions of dollars, but the origins of the cooperative housing model are actually more proletarian.

The Alku was built by a group of Finnish socialists, part of the once-vibrant Finnish community that lived in the neighborhood. But the story of this building and the dozens of Finnish-built co-ops that followed it, have largely been forgotten.

Read the full article at Open City