NYC Small Venues Under Threat, Mayor’s Investigation Declares
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and Julie Menin (Commissioner of the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment) have announced the results of a study of the music industry’s economic impact on the city. The study found that the music industry generated $21 billion in total economic impact in 2015. It declared, “New York City’s music ecosystem is healthy and thriving.” But, among its other findings, the study showed that “the city’s local artist communities—composed of up-and-coming musicians along with the small venues, the collaboration spaces, and all of the resources that support and nurture talent, including music education institutions—are most vulnerable to current economic and industry trends.”
Statistics showed that 23 percent of New York’s smaller venues (below 500 capacity) have closed in the past 15 years. As of 2015, only 17 small-capacity venues operated in the city. According to the study:
The reasons for these closures—the rising real estate prices, zoning pressures, increasing operating costs and financial risks, noise complaints, and licensing problems that small venue owners face—are, if anything, more acute and more worrisome today. A high concentration of closed venues have been located in areas like the East Village and Williamsburg—neighborhoods whose burgeoning popularity has been matched by burgeoning rents, and where the creation of new residential units has amplified quality-of-life disturbances. While new venues in the outer boroughs are opening their doors, music label and talent executives contend that it will be difficult for these spaces to replicate the concentration of talent and the level of community of the city’s historic music clusters.
Earlier today, Brooklyn venue Shea Stadium announced that it is temporarily closing. In a statement, the Shea Stadium Family explains, “After increasing pressure from the local authorities it’s no longer sustainable for us to continue to operate the way we have over the past 8 years.” They add, “Continuing to stack up the inevitable, and frankly expensive, fines while having to navigate the vast bureaucracy of NYC is no longer feasible for us.” Read the full post below.
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