(CelebrityAccess News Service) — The world-famous Bottom Line in New York's Greenwich Village, that has seen a diverse repertoire of artists ranging from Jerry Garcia to Norah Jones to Dolly Parton to Bruce Springsteen to Miles Davis to Talking Heads and countless other music luminaries grace its stage, is facing eviction. The club, housed in a building owned by New York University, owes $185,000 in back rent from 2000. The University claims it needs the building and space and has filed court papers to take back possession. A hearing is scheduled for next week.
The ever expanding NYU would use the space for large classrooms rather than for commercial purposes. The Bottom Line's rent is $11,000 monthly, about half what commercial rates should be, according to NYU. While the case goes to court, the Bottom Line is also looking for backers.
In a plea to the public, Alan Pepper and Stanley Snadowsky, the club's owners and operators for the past 30 years, issued the following statement:
"The doors may soon close on a 30 year legacy. The Bottom Line has been presenting live music since February 12, 1974, and is owned and operated by Allan Pepper and Stanley Snadowsky, who have been friends since childhood. The Bottom Line is unique because it is a "mom & pop store" amidst a crowded field of conglomerates and corporations. Our main commodity in the club has always been and will always be the music. The Bottom Line has always been, and still is, run by Allan & Stanley, who take a great pride in what they do. They always have and still love the music."
"The problem is as follows: Even before the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, the nation was already feeling the downturn in the economy. Our business, along with so many other small businesses, has not been able to recover since the tragedy of September 11th. Attendance to shows has declined. In addition, our customers are feeling economic stress, our bills have been multiplying, and we have found ourselves substantially behind in our rent. Our landlord, New York University, has started eviction proceedings."
"During our negotiations with New York University to resolve this situation, the Bottom Line has presented several different proposals to pay our past due rent, while at the same time keeping current with a new, higher rent proposed by NYU. Unfortunately, NYU has not been open to negotiating a long-term solution to our mutual problem. We want to pay off our debt to NYU, but to do so we need to remain in business. To stay in business, we need a promise from NYU that, if we pay off the rental arrears, they won't evict the Bottom Line."
"Unless we can sway NYU to give us this basic assurance, we won't be able to take the steps necessary to save the Bottom Line. If you'd like to help, here's what you can do."
"Let NYU know how important the Bottom Line is to the metropolitan area and what a loss it would be if the city was downsized by another landmark – particularly if you are an alumnus/a of NYU. Send a note to John Beckman assistant vice president of the Office of Public Affairs at john.beckman@nyu.edu or Lynne Brown, the VP for University Relations and Public Affairs at NYU at lynne.brown@nyu.edu. Please send us a copy at SaveBLT@aol.com – and please forward this message to your friends."
"Please support The Bottom Line now. Do not put off
seeing a show today because we may not have a tomorrow."
Allan Pepper and Stanley Snadowsky
The Bottom Line–Bob Grossweiner and Jane Cohen
