Saving some favorite NYC places through online campaigns
The boarded up windows and For Rent signs are all over the place in Manhattan’s Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The boarded up windows and For Rent signs are all over the place in Manhattan s Hell's Kitchen neighborhood, where restaurants are closed and businesses shuttered. Nearby, the Broadway theaters are all dark.
But the economic darkness brought on by the coronavirus pandemic has had a few bright spots: A couple of well-loved venues have received financial boosts to help them make it through, thanks to online fundraising campaigns and even a telethon.
Married couple Tom and Michael D’Angora, who live in Hell's Kitchen, first started a GoFundMe campaign on behalf of the West Bank Cafe/Laurie Beechman Theater.
It raised more than $340,000 after a streaming telethon that included performances by many of the Broadway actors and singers who frequent the West Bank Cafe.
“I’ve spent some of my most delicious, my most insouciant, my most important times right here," celebrated veteran actor Andre De Shields, who was performing in “Hadestown" before the virus hit, said during the telethon, before handing venue owner Steve Olsen a check. “We don’t want this lovely piece of heaven on earth to ever go away."
“We were a couple of weeks from really running out of money, and going out of business," Olsen said prior to the campaign.
But now, he's optimistic the venue he opened in 1978 can stay open until indoor dining and live performances return to the city.
Since then, the D'Angoras have started another campaign for jazz club Birdland, raising over $180,000. Owner Gianni Valenti predicted he would be able to stay open until the pandemic is over.
It's “very heartwarming to see the response we’ve had," Valenti said.
“I read through the list of people and I just love the fact that they care about Birdland, about the music and about what it means to New York that we all keep it going and hopefully down the road we’re back to normal,” he said.