UPDATE: 3/4/2024 – according to brooklynvegan.com, while Greenpoint’s Saint Vitus Bar remains temporarily closed, a GoFundMe has been launched to provide aid to venue staff. It was launched by Jim Carroll, a bartender at Vitus and he writes: “Hello, my name’s Jim Carroll and I work as a bartender at Saint Vitus Bar in Brooklyn. As many of you may know the venue was recently shut down by the Department of Buildings due to circumstances outside of the staff’s control. As the owners try to remedy this and get the establishment open again the bar, door, production and sound staff are left without income for an indefinite period of time.”
Carroll adds: “The bar staff relies heavily on tips from the patrons that come to the shows and events at the venue. The production staff depend on the doors being open and there being shows and events in general. Unemployment is an option for some but not all. With the venue doors closed we’re left to scramble at an already slow time of the year.”
Carroll concludes with: “This goal is a projection of what the staff is losing out on over the month of March and what we’ve already lost in February. A reopening is unclear and will probably go well beyond this point. Whatever is raised will go 100% to the staff (with the exception of any taxes and fees) to help them with rent, bills, and the high cost of living in nyc. This is not to raise money for the bar to get its doors back open. Also, if anyone has any employment/gig opportunities send them our way! Hopefully see you all again soon!”
Meanwhile, shows scheduled at Vitus continue to be moved to other venues and the full calendar can be found on on their site.
The Instagram post says: “On Friday 2/16 in the middle of a scheduled show, the DOB shut down all operations at Saint Vitus. We are saddened and deeply frustrated by the circumstances and are working to remedy the situation as fast we can. This closure is temporary, but we want to address everything that directly affects our community of artists and fans alike. Please be patient as we work through this, and thank you for your continued support. Love & hails, Team Vitus.”
The post adds with: “We are announcing venue changes for the immediate upcoming calendar as they come in. We are sorting each show in chronological order-artists are already in contact with our team and will be updated ASAP, and public announcements will also be rolled out shortly. You will not need to do anything if you have an advance ticket, just keep an eye out on the email associated with your DICE account and our Instagram for continued announcements.”
The post continues with: For now, do what you do best: show up to see live music. Buy your ticket in advance. We are continuing to announce Vitus Presents shows at our partner venues, and again, will reopen for business as usual as soon as we are able to. We’ll be rolling out ways to support our onsite staff who have been affected by this closure soon, and if you want to help on that front, continue to let us know. Our online merch store was unfortunately undergoing a relaunch when this occurred, but we’re working on next steps. Watch this space for updates. If you live in Greenpoint, reach out to your local representatives and let them know how much SV matters to you. We deeply appreciate everyone who has reached out, posted in support-even worn our merch out in solidarity.”
Photo Credit: Aldi Victoria
Leave a Comment