(TV) Fwd: LATER UPDATE = Fate of The Bottom Line (NYC)

[robin dunn <rdunnrn@yahoo.com>]

http://1010wins.com/topstories/winstopstories_story_296150956.html
> 
> Judge Withholds Decision On Bottom Line
> 
> Save the Bottom Line
> 
> Oct 23, 2003 5:59 pm US/Eastern
> (1010 WINS) (NEW YORK) Once again dancing away from
> extinction, The Bottom
> Line received another reprieve Thursday when a
> Manhattan judge reserved
> decision on an effort to evict the historic
> nightclub.
> 
> Civil Court Judge Donna Recant, after a hearing
> between the club and landlord
> New York University, said she would take up to a
> month to issue her decision.
> That gives the owners of the nearly 30-year-old club
> and NYU another chance to
> reach a deal.
> 
> "If I can buy them more time to structure a deal,
> then I'll be happy," said
> Bottom Line attorney Mark Alonso before the judge
> offered the two sides
> another opportunity to do just that.
> 
> If no deal is reached, the judge can order The
> Bottom Line to pay its back
> rent of more than $190,000 and leave its Greenwich
> Village home. Or she could
> decide the case belongs in another venue, and NYU
> would have to refile.
> 
> She could issue her order any time in the next 30
> days.
> 
> For The Bottom Line, there were new pledges of
> financial assistance for
> beleaguered owners Allan Pepper and Stanley
> Snadowsky. Rocker Bruce
> Springsteen and Viacom President Mel Karmazin
> pledged several hundred thousand
> dollars for the preservation and renovation of the
> club, the owners said.
> 
> The interest was personal for Springsteen, who
> played a series of 10
> unforgettable dates at the club in 1975.
> 
> "As a musician, as a citizen and as one who loves
> New York City, I sincerely
> hope that a solution can be found that allows The
> Bottom Line and Allan and
> Stanley to continue their important, valuable work
> for many years to come,"
> Springsteen said in a statement posted on at
> www.savethebottomline.com.
> 
> Snapple and Sony were two other corporate sponsors
> who stepped up to help the
> club, Pepper said. Sony proposed selling a
> collection of classic performances
> from the 400-seat club as a fund-raiser.
> 
> The hearing followed a month's delay in eviction
> proceedings to let the two
> sides negotiate. But no agreement was reached, and
> both sides were back in
> court just four months before the club's 30th
> anniversary.
> 
> According to Alonso, the sticking point remains that
> NYU wants to double the
> rent under a new lease. He called that proposal
> "extortionate and irrational,"
> although the current rent is about half market
> value.
> 
> The lone witness was NYU director of real estate
> management Robert
> Lichtenstein, who testified that the club's owners
> were behind in their rent
> by $190,171.89. The current rent at the club is
> $11,250 a month.
> 
> Lichtenstein testified that Pepper repeatedly failed
> to follow through on
> promises to pay up.
> 
> "It was uttered from the mouth of Allan Pepper on no
> less than six occasions
> to me," he testified.
> 
> NYU released an Oct. 15 letter from its attorney,
> Martin Meltzer, accusing
> Alonso of "bad faith" negotiations. "I find your
> behavior in this matter
> nothing less than shameful," Meltzer said.
> 
> In June, the club faced eviction after falling
> behind 17 months in rent. But
> attorneys for the club and NYU agreed to postpone
> eviction proceedings with an
> eye on signing a new lease.
> 
> Under a temporary agreement, satellite radio network
> Sirius posted $185,000 in
> escrow to cover the debt in the event a new lease is
> reached.
> 
> If the two sides can't agree, the money will be
> returned to Sirius. Currently,
> the nightclub operates on a month-to-month lease.
> 
> The Bottom Line has hosted legendary nights of music
> over three decades, with
> performers from Springsteen to Miles Davis playing
> in the intimate room.
> 
> Reports of its possible demise prompted an
> outpouring of support, from its
> many thousands of guests to performers like
> singer-songwriter Jimmy Webb and
> Tony Award winner Marc Shaiman.
> 
> () MMIII Infinity Broadcasting Corp. All Rights
> Reserved. This material may
> not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or
> redistributed. The Associated Press
> contributed to this report.)
>
================================================================
> Paul Pearson


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