COURIER LIFE, JUNE 5-11, 2020 15
OUR ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO THE BOROUGH OF KINGS
BY BEN VERDE
Two months into the state’s stayat
home order, Brooklyn’s clubs and
music venues are relying on philanthropic
fundraising and bank loans to
stay alive as they face an uncertain future,
where they will likely be the last
businesses to reopen as part of the New
York’s phased reopening plan
“We have another year of hardship,”
said Olivier Conan, the owner of
Barbès in Park Slope, which has drawn
music lovers to its bustling backroom
for 18 years.
Conan said he doesn’t expect concerts
to be up and running in any capacity
until Spring 2021 at the earliest
— which is a projection shared by live
music behemoth Live Nation.
“That year of hardship is going to
kill my business,” he said.
To soften the blow, many venues
have turned to online fundraisers,
where regulars and devotees have
chipped in signifi cant amounts — including
to Barbès, which has raised
over $28,000.
“That has been the one thing that
has really kept us alive,” Conan said.
Nearby venues the Bell House and
Union Hall have raised over $37,000, according
to their owner, who was forced
to lay off 50 staff members since the
pandemic began.
“We’ve received some really generous
donations from folks,” said Jim
Carden. “That was a big big help.”
Venues have also qualifi ed for the
federal government’s Paycheck Protection
Program, which was designed to
help them continue playing their employees
— although that has presented
entirely new sets of challenges.
One of the many requirements in
the program mandates that most of the
money be used for payroll within eight
weeks — but restaurants and bars who
do not operate as take-out and delivery,
such as music venues, currently
have no use for their staff, leaving their
hands tied to satisfy any payroll requirements.
“It’s a bit of a frustrating endeavor
to try to bring people back when there
is no work,” Carden said.
Making matters worse, the money
they are allowed to use for non-payroll
costs is often not nearly enough to cover
the massive operating costs these venues
pay — even while remaining closed
and generating no revenue.
Barbés received $7,700 from the federal
government, which Conan said
is certainly welcome, but only puts a
small dent in the roughly $20,000 in his
monthly expenses.
While the venue’s smallness and independence
from any large network of
clubs has long been a source of pride for
the Sixth Avenue watering hole, their
lack of resources now threatens their
existence — as, Conan said, they are
“too small to save.”
“It’s kind of the opposite of the airline
industry or the banking industry,”
he said. “The only thing we have is a
reputation.”
Until music can start up again, he
is looking at offering to-go cocktails at
some point, and hopes the city will allow
bars like his to spill out onto the
street and sidewalk for safe open-air
dining and drinking.
When reopening fi nally does become
a possibility, venue owners say
they are looking at multiple possibilities
for keeping both audience members
and performers safe — like at the Bell
House, which has considered shorter
shows, decreased capacity, and double
shows to help maximize revenue.
“We would make it work,” Carden
said.
Until such a time comes, venues are
dealing with the toughest crisis they
have ever faced — one that many of
them may not make it out of.
“I’ve been doing this for 18 years,
and I’ve always chosen to have a business
model that was not making that
much money. We were always on the
verge of losing it, always in trouble fi -
nancially, but still we managed to
make it work,” Conan said. “That’s not
enough anymore.”
Keep the
sound on
Local music venues
turn to supporters
for help amid crisis
WILD NIGHTS: The Slavic Soul Party Brass Band plays the backroom at Barbés in 2013. Photo by Ayano Hisa