Downtown speakeasy put on back burner in lieu of other projects
Photo by Joanne Beck
If you’ve been laying out your shanty town outfit in preparation for The Bowery’s opening this fall, there may be time for more shopping.
Property owner and entrepreneur Ken Mistler said this week that he’s been busy with other properties in New York City the past month and has in the meantime put his speakeasy venue on ice.
“That’s on the back burner,” he said Thursday.
He has no plans to resume work on the project for quite some time, he said.
Batavia Showtime has been out of commission for a few years now, as Mistler has been renovating the downtown space. His plans for a movie theater-turned-live entertainment bowery seemed to be ramping up during a city Planning and Development meeting this past May.
He described the environment for one of his latest ventures as a gritty, edgy shanty town vibe offering live musical artists and comedy acts, reminiscent of “the oldest street in Manhattan,” with light industrial Big City shanties of the mid-1800s.
The place would include a take-out pizza shop for food service to The Bowery and whole pizzas to-go for customers. Mistler had contractors ready to go, he said, and the building had been gutted at that point. He looked forward to an opening within the next six months, he had said.
During City Council’s Sept. 11 business meeting, the group agreed to sell Mistler a portion of 6 Alva Place for $1,466 that was owned by the city. It was property within Mistler’s theater and overhead marquee also located at 6 Alva Place, known as Batavia Showtime Inc.
Mistler intended to develop those parcels for The Bowery and had offered to purchase a small section of property at that address. Council agreed by a vote of 9-0.
Since the city's planning meeting, funding came through for the Carr’s Reborn project, which is downtown property along Main and Jackson streets owned by Mistler and partner Pete Zeliff. That is a work in progress, Mistler confirmed.
