Here we go. Per the Massey Knakal listing:
The residential rents currently average $1,700/month, which is about 20% below current market levels providing great upside. With the exception of one RS unit, all apartments are FM, making it possible to improve unites [sic] and increase rents in the short term. The theater is on a month to month lease, so this could be a prime investor or user opportunity.
The theater in question is, of course, Under St. Marks, which has operated here as an experimental spot since the 1970s. The space is currently operated by the Horse Trade Theater Group. (We have an email out to them about all this.)
Investment properties (the asking price is $5.75 million) and experimental theater spaces certainly don't seem to go hand-in-hand ... making this potentially bad news down the road for Under St. Marks... and another loss for the neighborhood's creative spirit.
17 comments:
One theater may be dying which is very sad. Another one is opening on Ave A and neighbors are in outrage.
While the situations are different it is amazing to think in the 70s when this opened - were people up in arms?
@ anon 8:35 am
Was actually thinking the same thing.
terrible to hear this. i'm convinced that massey knakal is pure evil....
and neighbors are in outrage...
We're not.
@Grieve Why were you thinking the same thing?
Nobody was/is in an "outrage" about UCB, stop being dramatic. It was the dumb sign they were annoyed by.
I think it's nice they're opening the theatre - though there is a difference between the extremely typical and corny UCB crowd and Uner St Marks.
the 1970's were very different from the present.
there was massive landlord abandonment, and there were vacant lots where landlords were waiting for re-zoning (mostly along third avenue).
and, more important - landlords could not charge the exorbitant rents they do now, especially for commercial units.
and let's not forget the massive expansion of nyu and other colleges that eat up expensive dorms and apartments.
this would be so terrible I don't even want to think about it. If there's anything in the village like TUSM, I don't know where it is.
Sorry. That was a half-assed comment that didn't reflect what I was thinking.
I was thinking about the 1970s part ... and what the neighbors thought of a new theater opening in their building.
Nonononono. Unacceptable. This place is a second home for me. Real, honest creativity is hard enough to find in the city these days, and USM is one of the greatest spots I know. It would be a very serious loss to the community.
This is AWFUL! if this theater gets taken from the community so much art and expression will be lost.
As Bob Dylan once said, "Money doesn't talk, it swears."
I don't know what I would do without the Theater Under St. Mark's. The place holds 5 years of memories for me, and countless more for others. My first legitimate performance in NYC was at this theater, and every Tuesday night, some of the most inspiring and talented people in the alternative theater scene rockout that little blackbox theater.
There's got to be something we can do. A petition? Anyone who's been to Penny's, at the very least, would agree there's a multitude that would do a lot to save the theater. Not to mention the fans and crowds that pack the place every other night of the week. There has to be something we can do, the theater is a vital part of the neighborhood's culture, as well as many people's lives!
Let's wrack our brains here, crew. Power.
Horse Trade also runs the Kraine Theater and The Red Room Theater on East 4th St., so losing this space is not going to put them out of business.
I'd hate to lose the space, but having directed there in the past, I'm well aware of its limitations... there are much better spaces in the neighborhood.
Damn, I haven't been there in months..Like the Mars Bar, I better go and have fun while it lasts..very depressing.
WAWAWA Upright Citizens Brigade has red curtains and is lasvicious.
OH no not our experimental theatre.
Whatever.
This is all the same generation of baby boomers that whine about the loss of their neighborhood that sold out themselves long ago. What goes around comes around.
Gee,how come no one was grievin' when the st.marks theatre around the corner on 2nd was pulled down?
There was a St. Marks Theatre on 2nd Avenue? Or do you mean Theater 80? Anon's lack of specificity has confused me even though I think I know the answer. Come on, type like an adult.
Post a Comment