Brooklyn DIY venue Shea Stadium has had a tumultuous 2017; after being shut down by cops on January 20 and 21, they shut down for two weeks and relocated a bunch of shows - most of their upcoming calendar. The venue quietly reopened on February 13, a little redecorating included, but announced they'd be temporarily closed once again on March 9. Today they've launched a Kickstarter campaign to reopen permanently and legally. From the campaign:

We want to make Shea a completely legal, 100% permitted venue to protect its future.

Starting in January 2017 Shea began receiving a series of violations related to the legal use, zoning and licensing of our building. Some shows were interrupted, some were shut down and as a result, many were moved to other venues. There were no vacate orders given and our building was not condemned or deemed unsafe; we chose to shut down preemptively to prevent racking up more expensive fines and risking more serious repercussions.

A variety of governmental & political factors threaten the existence of spaces like Shea. We had always treated the possibility of a shutdown as inevitable but as we stare down the insanely powerful forces that stand between us and full legalization, we now know we owe it to the community to continue despite a long road ahead.

Shea is one of the last institutions of an entire generation of DIY music venues in New York City. Over the years we've been saddened to see our peers in all ages artist-run spaces like Death By Audio, Market Hotel, 285 Kent & Monster Island Basement have to shutter their doors due to a wide range of circumstances beyond their control...

You'd help Shea pay for:

renovations to pass inspection by the Dept of Buildings, FDNY & Dept of Health ($20,000)

architect fees for drafting plans & filing permits ($13,000)

fire safety training ($1,000)

health & bar permits ($7,000)

legal fees ($14,000)

Shea needs your help and we have no doubt the community will do what it does best: when one of us falls, we pick each other up. The show must go on, and it will with your help. Donate now and do your part in preserving all ages community spaces in NYC.

Sincerely,

Adam, Nora, Luke & the Shea Stadium Family