Culture Chronicle

The Joyce Ponders New Sites
The New York Times - July 27, 2010
By Robin Pogrebin

The Joyce Theater, the pre-eminent presenter of dance in downtown Manhattan, is facing an uncertain future. With the expiration of its lease in Chelsea approaching and a promised move to ground zero still remote, the group has been forced to consider alternative sites where it might have to move after 35 years on Eighth Avenue.

"The timing is so difficult because we can't really tell when we'll be there," Linda Shelton, the theater's executive director, said of the World Trade Center site. "As it gets closer to 2016, the timing downtown becomes more important to us." The Joyce's 35-year lease in Chelsea expires in 2016, and theater officials say the landlord is seeking to charge them nearly market rent for the space, which they now lease for $1 a year and a commitment to maintain the building.

The Joyce Theater Foundation, which presents dance, had planned to continue operating at its 500-seat Chelsea space even after expanding into a new 1,000-seat theater at ground zero. (It also has a 74-seat space in SoHo). But now Joyce officials are compelled to make contingency plans because there has been little progress downtown, where the most optimistic forecast would have construction begin in 2014. For the full article, click here