News from CBGB (or the Fat Lady Begins To Sing)

On August 30th, when news of CBGB losing its lease was all over the newspapers and TV, Mayor Bloomberg came out in public support of saving our club. He called it a New York institution and vowed to do whatever he could to help us. He said he would mediate a lease deal between CBGB and its landlord… or if that failed, he would help find CBGB a new location, still in New York City, so that CBGB would live on.

So the mayor made a good pro-CBGB speech for the press and was photographed holding a “SAVE CBGB” shirt. It was good news for a day and was all over the local papers and TV news. I’m sure that what he did may have won him a few voters and may have helped his image a little.

But what did the mayor actually do to help CBGB?
Nothing.

So what’s going on with CBGB right now?
Here’s the update for everyone that has been asking. Some people think our problems are over and the club was saved. Others believe we’re already closed. Here are the facts.
Our lease expired August 31st, 2005. We are still open for business and putting on shows… but without a lease. We are paying double rent while we stay without a lease while our landlord is taking us to court to evict us. We don’t know how long we can hold him off in court… months? Weeks? Days? It could happen at any moment. We have been trying to (literally) buy time in the hopes that the Mayor or city council will step in and keep their promise to try and help us. So far, it seems, the mayor does not care and has never had any interest in honoring his promise. I’m sure he forgot all about us right after he handed the shirt back to his aide and went on to the next subject.

What can the mayor do?
CBGB has always been a good tenant and neighbor. We always paid our rent and we have no violations. The community board wants us to stay and local businesses take advantage of the customers we bring in to the neighborhood. Our landlord, The BRC (Bowery Residents Committee), relies on millions of dollars given to them each year from the city to run their outreach program. The BRC, in fact, has a surplus of money. They have more money coming in then going out. The mayor and the city government have leverage over the BRC… if they wanted. Unfortunately, the mayor doesn’t care.

What can you do?
Write the mayor. Ask him (politely) to keep his promise. Write your local newspaper. Ask them whatever happened to the mayor’s promise to save CBGB.

We are hanging by a thread and fighting to buy time for him to keep his word. As long as the mayor does nothing, all we can do is postpone the inevitable.


Write the mayor:
The Honorable Michael R. Bloomberg
Mayor of New York City
City Hall
New York, N.Y. 10007

Or fax:
(212) 788-2460

Or here’s an email link:
http://www.nyc.gov/html/mail/html/mayor.html
Be polite… but let him know you vote.