Page 63 - Demo

PHOENIX FALL HOME SPECIAL\- , ' t v , ' ' 5 f c 'Space Chase Lands Artists In BrooklynP a r t One of this se rie s looked a t the changing a r ts scene in B rooklyn and how th is borough w as beginning to com pete w ith M an h attan fo r recognition a s a n a rts m icrocosm . W hile it w as a t tim e s difficult to g et d e a le rs and a r t critics a c ro ss th e B rooklyn B ridge, it h a s not been difficult to g e t quality a r ts groups on th is side of the riv e r.W hile the B rooklyn pioneers have se t up shop an in creasin g stre a m of a r ts groups an d a rtists com e to B rooklyn looking fo r affordable sp ace. W hile it is not a s easy to find a place to live an d w ork in B rooklyn a v a st n u m b er of a rtis ts still hope for p rim e sp ace to develop into an a rtis t%u2019s h aven. P a rt Two of this series ta k e s a look a t how the changing re a l e sta te clim ate h as affected the flight fro m M an h attan to B rooklyn, and who h as succeeded.BY A RTH U R K R O E B E RThe tale is a sad , y et fa m ilia r one: a young and am b itio u s d ancer, fresh out of college, m oves to N ew York an d se ttle s in th e only p a r t of M an h attan sh e can afford%u2014 the Low er E a s t Side, in am ong d ru g d e a le rs and d erelicts. She founds a d ance com pany, produces a concert, and loses thousands of dollars in the process.To save m oney, she m oves into h e r boyfriend%u2019s a p a rtm e n t on 10th St. in P a rk Slope. On th e c o m e r of Seventh A venue and N inth S treet she locates a 40-by-60-foot loft%u2014 ideal a s re h e a rsa l space fo r h e r d ance com pany. She signs a five-year lease a t $1000 a m onth, but in less th a n a y e a r she receives notice th a t the building h a s been sold and th a t she m u st v a c a te im m ediately.She fights to hold on, but four y e a rs and $36,000 in leg al fees la te r she gives up and m oves out.This p a rtic u la r story, as it tu rn s out, had a happy ending %u2014 E lise Long, the d ancer, joined forces with four other people and bought an old soap factory n e a r the G ow anus housing project. U nder th e collective title of th e G ow anus A rts E xchange, th e group is legally converting the building into a co m m ercial co-op w ith five lofts housing tw o dance com panies, a painting studio and a c a rp e n try shop.R E A L ESTATE A PR O B LEM B ut for those m a n y a rtists w ithout Long%u2019s reso u rces a n d ingenuity, re a l e sta te %u2014 how few sp aces a re av ailab le a n d how few people can affo rd th em %u2014 has becom e an alm o st obsessive topic of lam en tatio n . B rooklyn ow es its burgeoning a rts com %u00adm unity larg ely to th e skyrocketing re n ts of M an h attan lofts an d p erfo rm an ce sp aces. B ut with its own re a l esta te boom under w ay, B rooklyn is no longer th e prom ised land, and m an y a rtis ts fe a r th a t the sa m e forces th a t undid th e com m unities of young a rtists in SoHo, T rib eca and C helsea a re a t w ork here.F o r perform ing a r ts groups hoping to relocate or begin in Brooklyn, the lack of available p e rfo rm an ce and re h e a rsa l space is a critical problem . A lthough the old m an u factu rin g d istric ts of F ulton F e rry and W illiam sburg a re well-endow ed w ith lofts suitable for a rtists, th e re a re few buildings w ith unobstructed spaces suitable for th e a te r or dance p erfo rm an ces.M any dow ntow n a re a groups eith er lack space or h av e had to fight to get it. E lise Long only found h e r soap facto ry a fte r a tw o-year h u n t during which d eais on two o th er buildings fell through, an d she described th e A rts E xchange building as %u201ctotally ra w %u201d %u2014 thousands of dollars of renovation, including the installation of a new roof, w ere req u ired to m a k e the building usable.SOM E G RO U PS UNFORTUNATE O ther groups h av e not been a s fortunate. The B rooklyn D ance C onsortium still h as noJim Minden and Caroline Cole pose with some of the artwork Jim has painted, in their loft in Fulton Ferry. (Phoenix/Kirk Photo)p e rm a n e n t space a fte r se v e ra l y e a rs in the B rooklyn YMCA. T he T helm a Hill P e rfo rm %u00ading A rts C enter, th e leading p erfo rm an ce series fo r B rooklyn%u2019s black d a n c e rs and m u sician s, is still a cen ter w ithout a space a fte r 10 y e a rs of o peration an d recognition by m a jo r funding sources such a s the New York S tate Council on the A rts: it uses th e K litgord A uditorium a t N ew York Technical College for m ost of its concerts. M usicians of B rooklyn Initiativ e, a young group of w ell-established jazz m u sician s, still has notdecided w here it will hold 10 of its 15 scheduled co n certs in the 1986-87 season (five w ill be held in St. A nn%u2019s C hurch).B url H ash, who h a s produced the C elebrate B rooklyn series of p erfo rm an ces in P ro sp e c t P a rk for eight su m m e rs, says a perfo rm in g a rts c e n te r seatin g betw een 75 and 500 people is essen tial to %u201c c re a te a geographic identity for B rooklyn a rtists. I w ant a place h e re w here people can crossfertilize, w here in one w eek you can have th ree d an ce con certs and th en two newm usic concerts. We%u2019ve got ta g e t out of the ch u rch b a se m e n ts.%u201dSo fa r H ash %u2019s idea is ju st a d re a m , but the p ra c tic a l difficulties of m ak in g it real w ere illu stra te d by the B rooklyn A cadem y of M usic%u2019s sch em e for a %u201c p erfo rm in g a rts d istric t%u201d aro u n d the A cadem y building in F o rt G reene.BAM HAS LDCBAM c re a te d a Local D evelopm ent Corporation in 1983 to help c re a te th is district, and th e LDC a t once convinced th e City%u2019s P ublic D evelopm ent C orporation to purch ase tw o old vaudeville houses on Fulton St., th e S tran d and M ajestic th e a te rs. The S tran d w as supposed to be renovated by the fall of 1985 and w as to house the offices and re h e a rsa l sp ace for one o r two a r ts groups %u2014 th e Tw yla T h arp d an ce com pany, the L a u ra D ean D ancers and the St. Luke%u2019s C h am b er E nsem ble w ere all m entioned as possible ten an ts.In S e p tem b er of 1986 the S tran d renovations a re still incom plete and not one lease h as been signed, according to BAM LDC spokesm an N orm an M acA rthur. L ester Bowie of M usicians of B rooklyn Initiative (M O BI) and L a rry Phillips, d ire c to r of the T helm a Hill center, both say they have neg o tiated w ith PDC for 18 m onths for space in th e S tran d , w ithout success. M acA rthur w ould not com m ent fu rth e r on the sta te of the S trand beyond saying th at renovations a re now scheduled to end in late fall.As for the M ajestic, H ash said he app ro ach ed BAM officials w ith a p lan to conv e rt it into a 300-500 se a t m ain auditorium w ith th re e or four sm a lle r studio spaces seatin g about 75 people. %u201cBut BAM had bigg e r id e a s,\M ajestic will be renovated into a single la rg e th e a te r and will first be used forB r itis h H ire n tn r P p tp r R rn n lr%u2019e a H a n ta tin n o fthe Indian epic \BAM officials declined to com m ent.H ash sees BAM%u2019s handling of the %u201c perforC o n tin w d on Pa.w 4A performing arts center seating between 75 and 500people is essential to create a venvrnnhic anti tv fnr w U i ' ' %u2014 j VX .Brooklyn artists. I want a place where people can crossfertilize, where you can have both dance and music concerts.Elise Long in her space at Gowanus. (Phoenix/Kirk Photo)October 9, 1985, PHOENIX, Section II, Page 3