Two Trees Management has donated a 5,000-square-foot theater and performance venue at the base of 110 Livingston Street, a residential building in Downtown Brooklyn. The recipient of the theater space is ISSUE, an independent organization that sponsors and curates programming in collaboration with local and international artists.
Alternatively referred to as 22 Boerum Place, the venue will be known as ISSUE Project Room.
“We’re pleased to donate the ground floor space of the 110 Livingston building to ISSUE Project Room, ensuring a theater for experimental multidisciplinary artists in the heart of Downtown Brooklyn, the borough’s bustling cultural hub,” said Kate Gavriel, cultural affairs director at Two Trees Management. “Especially now, obtaining sustainable performance and workspace for artists, musicians, and cultural nonprofits is a severe challenge in Brooklyn, and we’re glad to help ISSUE grow and thrive in New York City.”
With the support of former city council member Stephen Levin and New York City Mayor Eric Adams, the donation will assist in advancing an ongoing, city-managed renovation project. The scope of work includes upgraded acoustic and theater systems including a new green room and recording studio, a lobby with box office, concessions, improved mechanicals, and HVAC systems, and space for back-of-house and administrative offices.
In the November 2021 financial plan covering the 2022-2025 fiscal period, the city allocated an additional $1 million toward the capital project. Total allocations hover around $9 million from the Department of Cultural Affairs, the Office of the Brooklyn Borough President, and the New York City Council.
Details surrounding the timeline and anticipated completion of repairs were not shared in the announcement of new ownership from representatives.
“ISSUE’s ownership of the space cements founder Suzanne Fiol’s vision for a permanent home for experimental music and performance,” said ISSUE board chair R. Luke DuBois. “On behalf of the ISSUE board of directors, we are thrilled to share the news that ISSUE now holds the deed for the theater at 22 Boerum Place; this allows the organization to be an enduring fixture for risk-taking work by both emerging and established artists in Brooklyn, and enables ISSUE to finalize our renovation.”
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How nice.
I think a little more detail is in order here. 110 Livingston is more than just “a residential building in downtown Brooklyn”. It’s a McKim, Mead & White building originally built by the Elks and occupied for many years by the NYC Board of Education. The donation of the theater space to ISSUE has been in the works since about 2005.