Oct. 16, 2019 By Allie Griffin
The Brooklyn Bazaar, a large event space and banquet hall, will close at the end of November after its owners were unable to extend their lease.
Events will take place at the three-floor 150 Greenpoint Ave. venue through Nov. 30, according to its owners who issued a statement on Facebook. The establishment will then close.
It’s not the first time Brooklyn Bazaar has had to shut its doors. In 2015, when it was called the Brooklyn Night Bazaar and located at 165 Banker St., the landlord raised the rent and they were force to move. The 23,000 square foot space was then leased to BMW.
A year later, the operators moved into 150 Greenpoint Ave, home of the Polonaise Terrace banquet hall.
The building, however, was put on the market in April for $11.75 million. Meridian Capital, the listing broker, is marketing the space as a redevelopment opportunity with the potential to house a hotel, retail space, banquet hall, or community facility.
Co-owners Belvy Klein and Aaron Broudo compared the venue’s repeated misfortune to the movie Groundhog Day.
“I know I’ve said this before but this city (particularly the private real estate sector) really, really makes it tough for independent venues and businesses to survive, let alone succeed. OK, sure NYC lost it’s soul years ago and I get that, but being a native New York kid, it’s extra frustrating to see your city eat it’s own over and over and over again,” Klein said in a statement. “I mean this is literally like…Groundhog Day for us. But it is what it is.”
The bazaar put on thousands of shows, events, fundraisers, benefits, podcasts and weddings during its three years at Polonaise Terrace. It was known for hosting a variety of acts including concerts from local artists and genre-pushing musicians, comedy shows, live podcasts, art fairs and more.
Despite the venue’s success, its co-owners were unable to cut a deal to renew the lease.
“We have tried endlessly to negotiate a new lease extension and term but the landlord has been ridiculously unreasonable, with their final offer only being a month to month extension – which makes programming (from tours to weddings) and operation essentially impossible,” Klein said in the statement.
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