Photos by Stacie Joy
On Friday, the Department of Transportation issued a "Termination" notice for the curbside dining structure outside Theatre 80/William Barnacle Tavern on St. Mark's Place — just two days after a court-appointed bankruptcy trustee locked the longtime owners out of the premises.
The flyer states that this is the third Notice to Correct. The owners have 48 hours to remove the structure and the tables and chairs, or the city will do it and charge the business...
Several readers-residents shared the above notice, pointing out that it seemed cruel to issue this two days after the court-sanctioned removal of owners Lorcan and Genie Otway. It also showed a remarkable steely precision by the DOT, not known for staying on top of the multiple unused or abandoned streeteries around the neighborhood.
As previously reported, the Otways have been battling in recent years to save the space, which houses Theatre 80, a 199-seat theater, the William Barnacle Tavern and the Museum of the American Gangster.
The two-building property is set to be sold off to satisfy a $12 million loan that is in default via Maverick Real Estate Partners. As The Real Deal reported: "New York-based Maverick, led by David Aviram, has a reputation for aggressively buying up the troubled debt of real estate landlords — big and small — before raising interest rates to as high as 24%," which happened here.
The Otways have a three-week window to raise the rest of the money owed (some $6 million) ... and hope for an angel investor.
New York City's Department of Cultural Affairs has also reportedly supported the theater's survival efforts. The office has already expedited granting a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) status to Historic 80 Saint Marks Inc., opening them up to various grants.
More than 7,000 people have signed a petition to save the historical space between First Avenue and Second Avenue.
Updated: There is a GoFundMe here.
13 comments:
In all your reports on Theatre 80 you put up a link to a petition that has now gotten quite a few signers. My question is this... has the petition actually been sent to the governor or anyone else who may be moved by it to change the status ? If it was sent has there been any response from anyone about it ?
You're delusional if you think that the governor would bail out a failed home and a bar owner. The theater is a separate issue, it should be handled by theater people.
Also, that outdoor shed was always empty, the bar has closed now, so what's the "cruelty" here exactly? I praise the transportation department for the quick action.
My guess would be that the trustee, who has been giving the Otways the most difficult time, dropped a dime here.
That shed is the least of their problems. Actually by now it's not their problem at all anymore.
The irony is that I can list at least four more dilapedated "dining" sheds that should have come down months ago; but the DOT is "johnny-on-the-spot" in this unfortunate situation.
It sounds like you don't need a petition with 7,000 signers, you need 7,000 people to donate $1,000. Petitions are nice but do not cancel debts.
Of course, the policy failures that caused this high debt to begin with (it sounds like a mortgage gone very awry) are now in the rear view mirror, and shouldn't have happened, and that's something that deserves a petition too.
DOT needs to start charging building owners for removing sheds. If my building puts a bag of garbage of recyclables on the sidewalk at the wrong time, we get a fine. They're removing mini houses and no charge ?
The posted notification clearly states that if the owners don't remove the structure, the city will do so and may charge the owners for the cost of doing so.
I would suggest rather than a petition that likely will not do much - people actually raise money if they are interested in helping.....
Unbelievable.
DOT does nothing about crap restaurant shacks, even with repeated complaints - but goes after this one.
Anonymous 4/10 6:53 AM - the Theatre 80 issue is much more than just bailing out a "failed home and bar owner". Theatre 80 is an East Village icon and one of the last family owned and operated off-Broadway theaters which is housed in two historic 1830's townhouses. It has a rich cultural history where many famous musicians and actors performed. There are many hand and foot prints in the sidewalk in front with great names like Gloria Swanson, Joan Crawford and Myrna Loy.
It also had currently housed the Museum of the American Gangster. In the basement is the entrance to a now closed tunnel that was used to transport bootleg liquor underground to 14th Street during Prohibition.
The entire building should have been declared a landmark. Sad that we will be losing this important part of East Village history to greedy developers.
They should all be gone, and place like lil Frankies and Rosies and Bolton watt that think they own busy sidewalks need to be fined.
Interesting that all the anonymous comments, whenever there is positive reporting on our situation, are always anonymous and in the same voice. If I were the readers of this, I'd ask who has a bug up their nose about the Otways. For example, who may be in court with them, claiming that they have a ten year oral lease. A lease as invisible as the name of those who write anonymous comments about a "failed home" or saying the shed is "unused" when neighbors know that even during the winter our patrons have enjoyed drinking outside. People who stand behind what they say put their names on paper, just as people who make a solid deal do so in a writing. I am thankful for these anonymous comments as they give me an opportunity to clarify a number of issues, such as the fact the tavern was on the list of world's best bars. It was the shut down by government and lack of protection by the State which brings us to this moment, and even the anonymous poster knows this.
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