NYC's 3-Legged Dog Experimental Theatre Group Faces Eviction for Outstanding Rent

According to the New York Times,The Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) is threatening the downtown theatre group 3-Legged Dog with eviction from its Greenwich St location. The eviction process could begin as early as today, May 17 if 3-Legged Dog doesn't pay over $306,000 in back rent and interest.

In 2002 the group signed a 20 year lease for the Greenwich St space, after loosing their former space on West Broadway during the September 11 attacks. The rent for their new space is $21,666.67 a month.

According to The Wall Street Journal arguments are being made that the MTA itself is partially responible for the theatre group's inability to pay because the building required significant work when the group moved in. As a result 3-Legged Dog used its own finances to remodel the space. 3-Legged Dog's artistic director Kevin Cunningham also sites that foundations began withdrawing their support as a result of the recession.

Jeremy Soffin, a spokesman for the MTA said "I don't know how anyone can justify letting this tenant rack up hundreds of thousands of dollars in back rent at a time when state cuts and deteriorating tax revenues have forced the M.T.A. to lay off station agents and cut service."

3-Legged Dog and the MTA are currently negotiating a possible payment plan to avoid eviction.

3-Legged Dog Media & Theater Group, an experimental media and theater group was founded in 1994 to produce original works in theater, performance, media, installation and hybrid forms. Since its inception, 3-Legged Dog has performed and exhibited at the Kitchen, the Ontological, PS 122, La MaMa, the Signature Theatre, the Venice Biennale, and at their home, 3LD Art & Technology Center.

For more information on 3-Legged Dog visit http://3leggeddog.org/mt/

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