#setup kcw

Onetime and Setup KCW - 155 First Avenue between 9th and 10th St. East Village NYC (2001)

"The renovation of Theater for the New City came at a great cost to its relationship with the community in 2000 when Mayor Rudolph Giuliani sold the air rights above the theater (which the city had retained) to a developer. TNC was at that time in default of a loan borrowed against a pledged grant from the Manhattan Borough President's Office, which never materialized. The City put a lien against TNC in 1997 and unable to find a major donor to pay off the $519,634 lien, TNC was forced to agree to the construction of a 12-story tower above their space in order to have the lien forgiven. The deal included an extension on the theater's mortgage and gave the theater a seat on the condo's board. Being taller than the 6-story tenement buildings prevalent on the Lower East Side, the condo tower was seen as a threat to the character of the neighborhood and construction in 2000 took place amidst protest. The tower became even more of a controversy when the developer hired non-union workers to build the tower."