A RAY OF
BK venues hail passage of ‘Save
Independent movie theaters like the Nitehawk qualify for grant money under the newly passed Save Our Stages Act.
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COURIER L 2 IFE, JANUARY 8-14, 2021
BY BEN VERDE
After shutting their doors
nearly 10 months ago, the owners
of Brooklyn performance
venues hope the recently
passed ‘Save Our Stages Act’
included in the federal stimulus
package will provide them
with the funds they need to
reopen in the post-vaccine future.
The bill, introduced in
the Senate by Minnesota
Democrat Amy Klobouchar
and Texas Republican John
Coryn, provides $10 billion in
crucial funding for independent
music venues, cinemas,
and theaters — some of the
industries hardest hit by the
pandemic across the country
as they’ve had fewer opportunities
to stay open. Qualifying
businesses can receive
a grant equal to 45 percent of
their gross revenue for 2019,
with a cap at $10 million.
“This grant funding will
ensure recipients can stay
afl oat until reopening by
helping with expenses like
payroll and benefi ts, rent and
mortgage, utilities, insurance,
PPE, and other ordinary
and necessary business
expenses,” said the National
Independent Venue Association
in a statement.
Brooklyn venues hope the
funds will help keep them
afl oat until they are able to
reopen and help them with
whatever additional costs
they will encounter when that
time comes.
“It’s a life vest for sure,”
said Scott Koshnoodi, coowner
of the Gowanus venue
Littlefi eld. “It buoys us until
we know a little bit more
about when we can open.”
With vaccination efforts
operating at a snail’s pace, it
remains unclear when New
York City venues will be able
to reopen, and what capacity
they will be able to operate at
once they do. Koshnoodi predicts
a transitional period
when audiences will be allowed
in small groups, but it
remains to be seen whether
the public will be willing to return
to enclosed spaces before
herd immunity is reached.
“There’s that next phase
of ‘okay, we can open’ but the
duality of when we can be 100
percent, and when does the
public have 100 percent confi
dence in coming out again,”
he said. “That’s the next
step.”
Littlefield has stayed
open so far thanks in part
to Paycheck Protection Program
funds from early in the
pandemic, and to Parklife, a
large outdoor space around
the corner from the venue
where they have been able
to serve food and drinks,
and briefly host performances
before New York
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