It’s been a long year for the Brooklyn Mirage.
The East Williamsburg live music venue may be starting down a new path after the building’s owner has filed for a demolition permit for at least some of the venue, part of a bigger space called Avant Gardner.
A demolition would cap a tumultuous series of months — ones that included canceled shows, bankruptcy filings and overrun renovation costs.
The application is for a full demolition of 32,000 square feet. The overall complex is roughly 80,000 square feet and estimated cost is $1.5 million, according to the permit application. Avant Gardner did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Troubles for the Brooklyn Mirage and Avant Gardner started in 2023, after two separate incidents of patrons being found dead after attending the venue. (The venue said the deaths were tragic but denied responsibility.)
But the party kept going until earlier this year, when the venue closed for a slate of renovations. The company set a May 1 opening date and booked a summer full of shows.
Instead the venue was silent. The venue failed to meet its inspection deadline and the buildings department yanked its temporary occupancy certificate, Brooklyn Paper reported.
Although the Mirage applied for the permit every year, the buildings department told Brooklyn Paper the latest edition of the venue not only didn’t meet permitting guidelines, it was flat out unsafe.
“DOB had numerous objections to the performance space, both safety related and technical in nature, that prevented the project from being code-compliant and safe enough to open for the public,” a DOB spokesperson told Brooklyn Paper. “This wasn’t a question of red tape, but rather a list of legitimate issues with the constructed space.”
Avant Gardner fired its CEO and replaced him with Gary Richards, who is also known by his DJ alias Destructo. Adding to the drama, BKMag published the eyewitness account of an eavesdropper who overheard Richards telling his dinner companion at French restaurant Per Se that the company was struggling to find a buyer.
Avant Gardner’s parent company filed for bankruptcy in early August. It reported $153.3 million in funded debt obligations, according to Bloomberg.
Richards blamed the financial troubles on the loss of the Mirage and aggressive lenders, with some advancing the company $20 million to stay afloat, according to Bloomberg. The company said it was working with the buildings department on a remediation plan.
Most recently, Avant Gardner has proposed a settlement with creditors, Law360 reported. An affiliate of the company’s lender is slated to purchase the venue’s assets after no other qualified bids were received, according to bankruptcy documents.
A hearing to approve the sale is scheduled for Oct. 22.
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