NEW YORK – Wearing masks, comedian Jerry Seinfeld joined New York senator Chuck Schumer at the Gotham Comedy Club on 23rd Street in New York’s Chelsea neighborhood Sept. 13 to stand up for the “Save Our Stages Act.” The comedy club, where Seinfeld got his start in comedy, is one of many live entertainment venues on the brink due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
“We’re probably a couple weeks from going out of business completely,” said venue co-owner Paul Italia, of the club founded in 1996 on 22nd Street, which then moved to its current location in 2006, in a report on CBS News. The venue normally sells more than 1,000 tickets a week and employs a staff of 65, but has been limping along with a skeleton crew preparing and selling food since March.
The Save Our Stages Act would provide as much as $10 billion in federal funding via SBA grants to struggling businesses involved in live entertainment. The National Independent Venue Association (NIVA) is pushing for both the #SaveOurStagesAct and the #RestartAct, with more information at www.saveourstages.com.
