Prepping Theatre 80 for its next chapter on St. Mark's Place

Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy 

Workers began prepping 78-80 St. Mark's Place, the historic theater building just west of First Avenue, for its next chapter at the storied address. 

On Wednesday, a dumpster arrived outside Theatre 80... and workers were spotted hauling out items from inside...

First, here is a quick recap of what has happened here in recent years. 

During a bankruptcy auction in May 2023, business and life partners Ori Kushnir and Sivan Lahat, residents and former commercial tenants (Foxface) of the building, reportedly put in the highest bid at $8.8 million. 

The previous longtime owners, Lorcan Otway and his wife, Genie Gilmore Otway, were ordered off the property by a court-appointed bankruptcy trustee in April 2023. (You can read more background here and here.) The Otways lived in an apartment at the address that also housed Theatre 80, the William Barnacle Tavern and the Museum of the American Gangster. 

Howard Otway, Lorcan's father, bought the venue in 1964. (The buildings here date to the mid-1840s.)

The renovation plans

In an email, Kushnir explained that they're preparing the building for asbestos abatement, removing broken appliances and furniture, old carpets, paperwork, etc. No construction is taking place. 

"Once that's done, we plan comprehensive renovations with sustainability, housing, accessibility and preservation in mind," said Kushnir, who currently operates Foxface Natural on Avenue A with Lahat. 

He outlined several goals they aim to achieve, all currently pending approval: 

• Improve the layout downstairs so that the bar can be expanded back to its original size (it was cut in half when Theatre 80 was built in the late 1960s, Kushnir said. 

• Create a total of at least seven legal apartments. ("As things stand, there are only two legal apartments in the whole building," he said.) 

• Repair the facade, roofs, and back wall and improve insulation to reduce heating and cooling energy needs. 

• Make the bar, theater, and first-floor apartments ADA-accessible. 

• "Preserve the theater as a public venue and retain key elements of the facade, such as the blade sign that has seen many names," Kushnir said.

And the big question: Are any commercial tenants lined up for a post-renovation building? 

"Not yet," Kushnir said. "We spoke with several theater companies but haven't found the right fit." 

The building's past lives include a Prohibition-era speakeasy, a bar-cabaret in the 1930s-1940s, a jazz club in the 1950s, and, starting in 1967, an Off-Broadway venue where "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown" debuted in March 1967. From the 1970s through the early 1990s, a revival movie theater often showed double features. 

Kushnir shared this photo from the mid-1960s...