Bottom Line: Brooklyn's Where It's At For Venues?
There was an interesting piece in the Times yesterday about how the owner of the legendary Village venue The Bottom Line is looking to open a new spot in Brooklyn. A few years ago, the Bottom Line’s owner, Allan Pepper, was booted from his 4th Street space (pictured above) by his landlord, NYU, for failing…
There was an interesting piece in the Times yesterday about how the owner of the legendary Village venue The Bottom Line is looking to open a new spot in Brooklyn. A few years ago, the Bottom Line’s owner, Allan Pepper, was booted from his 4th Street space (pictured above) by his landlord, NYU, for failing to pay back rent; Pepper has since started scouting Brooklyn for a place to open another Bottom Line with an adjacent pub. The story is chock-a-block with great quotes about how Manhattan is “dead to live music” and Brooklyn is a better bet for the intersection of art and commerce. In Manhattan I’ve found that it’s really about dollars and cents, say Pepper, and even when you attempt to talk to people that you think could understand on some kind of aesthetic level what you’re trying to accomplish, I haven’t got the same reaction that I’ve got with Brooklyn. We still make the trip across the East River for a lot of concerts (and we’ve liked some of the Manhattan venues that opened this year, like Terminal 5 and the Highline Ballroom), but it’s not surprising that the island’s crazy high real estate values and ever-increasing corporate homogeneity mean more and more venue operators are eying Brooklyn.
A Fabled Club Seeks an Encore in Brooklyn [NY Times]
Photo of the old Bottom Line space by fotemas.
Thanks for plugging my new salon, Shear Incompetence, 1:26.
you showed up at 8pm for the (sold-out) Ween concert that was supposed to start at 8pm? What a dumbass.
this guy is clueless. leave the Brooklyn venues to the williamsburg club owners who run Luna Lounge and the music hall of Williamsburg or even Union Pool.
Terminal 5 a good venue?!!! Terminal 5 should be avoided at all costs. I showed up at 8 for a Ween concert (doors opened at 7) only to wait in a 45-minute line in the freezing cold while 2 sub-human bouncers checked every ID. The city should shut them down for shear incompetence.
While I would love to see more Brooklyn venues for live music, I agree with 9:42. The Bottom Line only booked artists long past their prime and whose musical styles had faded ages ago. Reviving that formula in Brooklyn would be like opening a large club featuring only big band music.
Oops. 10:41 again. Both spots are on the corner of DeKalb and Venderbilt Ave. I meant.
On Washington, you have a dentist’s office, which isn’t for rent : )
Venues, clubs and restaurants come and go in Manhattan. Always have and always will. Not a new phenomenon.
He should look at Cellar’s old spot on DeKalb Ave. or it’s owners second place, across the street. (THe bar used to be called Erik’s but Tommy Sellers turned it into a private club). Both places are on the corner of DeKalb and Washington Ave.
That Navy Yard Bar down on Flushing would be a great spot too.
While I share 9:43’s suprise that there are no greedy landlords here, I would be thrilled to have a significant music venue in my neighborhood. Maybe a new space would inspire an interest in some newer music, too.