Your support has helped get Croman to reduce that rent hike--temporarily. Now Vivaldi needs us to back up the support with cash so they can keep going.
Yesterday, the owner of Vivaldi gave the following update on the cafe's Facebook page:
"Here’s the latest: my last discussion with the landlord was yesterday, 11/16. My next meeting with him is on Monday. He is willing to come down substantially from his asking price of $16,000/- per month, but only for the first year. Even if he comes down to $9,000/- or $10,000/- It is a huge rent escalation. The fair market rate in our area is $100/- a sq. ft. So, the rent for 685sq. ft. that we have, should be $6,850/- per month. After 6 meetings with the landlord, I know this is not going to happen.
After almost 4,500 signatures, so far, on our petition, I know you are with me in keeping Caffe Vivaldi alive. I drive my determination and strength from you. Our solution is to renovate and sound proof Caffe Vivaldi and extend the live music playing hours and fully utilize the space in the daytime. If we succeed in doing that, I am confident we can meet the increase in rent in the range of $9K-10K the first year."
Vivaldi has put together a team of architects and builders, but renovations are expensive, so they've started a donation drive. You can visit their website to make a donation via paypal--and help keep a Greenwich Village institution from vanishing.
Related:
Save Caffe Vivaldi
Jones Street
i have to hand it to them for fully embracing social media to get the word out. hope that they can survive the hikes...
ReplyDeleteSo even if you're ok for the first year, what do you plan on doing in the second year once the rent gets bumped up?
ReplyDeleteHave you looked into Kickstarter to raise some funds for the work? Because you're looking to increase artist exposure, I think you would find a very responsive audience.
ReplyDelete