Greenpoint’s Brooklyn Bazaar To Close In November Of 2019

The scuttlebutt about the venue known as Brooklyn Bazaar being up for sale had been going on for a couple of months already and while some of the performers I knew in our region felt it would be business as usual until the lease expired whenever that was set to go…the news began to circulate just a short time ago about the venues closure next month. Take a look at the Official Statement that has been posted on some of the reporting outlets.

brooklyn bazaar logo

Presenting The Full Statement On The Matter From Brooklyn Bazaar:

“After 3 years and thousands of shows, events, fundraisers, benefits, podcasts, weddings and everything in between, Brooklyn Bazaar’s stay at Polonaise Terrace is coming to an end. We are extremely bummed to announce that Brooklyn Bazaar will be closing its 150 Greenpoint Ave location at the completion of our current lease, which expires on November 30, 2019. We have tried endlessly to negotiate a new lease extension and term but the landlord has been ridiculously unreasonable, with their final offer only being a month to month extension – which makes programming (from tours to weddings) and operation essentially impossible”.

STATEMENT
So NYC real estate once again gets to kick us to the curb. Joy. “I guess this is what you get when you keep convincing yourself that signing short term leases are a good idea. We were naive enough to actually (foolishly) think that this time would be different, this time the landlords would be reasonable, this time they’d work with us…but nope, surprise! I know I’ve said this before but this city (particularly the private real estate sector) really, really makes it tough for independent venues and businesses to survive, let alone succeed. OK, sure NYC lost it’s soul years ago and I get that, but being a native New York kid, it’s extra frustrating to see your city eat it’s own over and over and over again. I mean this is literally like fucking Groundhog Day for us. But it is what it is.”
-Belvy Klein & Aaron Broudo, Co Owners, Brooklyn Bazaar LLC

THIS WAS A GOOD RUN
It would take forever and a day to go through all the amazing stuff we’ve had here these last 3 years. But we’ll take a quick shot. From punk institutions like Black Flag and GBH to genre breakers like Princess Nokia and Laura Jane Grace to comics like Michael Che, Dave Atell, Gilbert Godfrey and Jeanne Garaffello, Brooklyn Bazaar always (happily) pushed the envelope.

It’s been awesome to see local bands like Hank Wood and Show Me The Body grow into powerhouses. Awesome to host super cool markets like Oddities year after year. Barely (just) pulling off opening night with Clap Your Hands Say Yeah! Walking this eerie (pre renovation) , dilapidated shell of a space and knowing instantly A Place To Bury Strangers were born to play Halloween here. Constant benefits and fundraisers during the age of Trump were a given. It was always special hosting legends like The Chameleons, Agnostic Front, Lydia Lunch, Dagnasty, Christian Death, Cockney Rejects, Eyehategod or The Adolescents. Always great getting to see some of our favorite bands of the last 10 years like The Bronx, Priests, Daughters, The Spits and Marked Men just bring the house down. Podcasts with GWAR. Sold out festivals like Black & Blue Ball and Skankfest. Amazing 3 floor DJ takeovers like The Lot Radio, Emo Night Brooklyn and Jonathan Toubin’s Soul Clap…there’s just so many awesome memories. Shit, Belvy even had his wedding party here, so saying goodbye gets extra personal and painful.

THANK YOU
We want to thank all the rad bar staff, sound techs, door people, bookers, security, food operators and promoters who helped make this incarnation of Brooklyn Bazaar so special and memorable – you guys are all incredible and none of this could have happened without you. Will Brooklyn Bazaar return with another large scale space in Brooklyn? Probably. But this will be the last short term lease this company ever signs. Lesson learned. We have a killer run of final shows and events through November 30 as well as hosting a new burger pop-up here for these last 8 weeks.

THE FUTURE IS BRIGHT
We will continue operations at Riis Park in Rockaway for years to come, both on the boardwalk and with the immense Bathhouse Lodge hotel and venue project, beginning construction later this coming winter. We also will be opening a restaurant and bar in McCarren Park, with McCarren Parkhouse slated to break ground in summer 2021. There are multiple other potential projects and opportunities on the Brooklyn Bazaar radar as well. Stay tuned.”

*** end of transmission ***

PiercingMetal Thoughts: This news comes pretty much on the tail of the news that Manhattan’s Playstation Theater was closing its doors in late December and as you know, clubs like B.B. King Blues Club and Highline Ballroom have already gone away. Music like the former Roseland Ballroom (now some kind of highrise apartment building) these are very likely never to return as landlords of our Metropolis continue to chase live music away from our city. I only just went to the Brooklyn Bazaar for the Hammerfall show and while my experience there that night was lackluster it was more based on the times, the being exhausted and not easy to get the work done properly. We did love that it existed and served a wide grouping of fans an assortment of cool shows and experiences. As I close this announcement up I wonder what you readers think about the whole thing. Chime in down below in the comments section.

Official Website: http://www.bkbazaar.com

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