um
04-18-2018, 06:43 PM
It seems high NY rent is the reason for the upcoming closing of BB King's in New York.
I think there are other BB King's in other states but I think only the one in NY is closing.
I have lived in the neighborhood all my life and BB King's became a part of the " New Times Square" back in the late 1990s when the area was undergoing major renovation. I actually never went in there to see any show except once very recently in 2016 when I saw the next-to-last time that David Cassidy performed there. It seemed to be a place in which a lot of aging former well-known musicians performed as well as some fairly well known musicians and singers. It just had an atmosphere to it. Of course my experience there is that you are required to buy a drink or food to sit in a certain area and it is quite costly, but it was a place in which you could tell that some of the wait staff and the bar tenders themselves may be struggling singers, musicians, comedians etc. At the entrance there is a glass show-case from which you can buy some T-shirts or sweat shirts featuring the names of old time Rock bands such as the Ramones, or the Rolling Stones etc, or other "Rock and Roll" items such as bracelets, ear rings and rings in the shape of guitars, or skulls etc. Whenever I take notice walking by the entrance doors, there seems to be a young female sitting by the glass show case waiting for someone to buy something. At times it seemed that the particular young women working there must themselves be struggling musicians with studs through their noses and tattoos. Of course they could just be college students earning a bit of money by trying to help the venue make money by selling memorabilia, souvenirs, and such.
I think reality-show comedian Ralphie May did one of his last acts there too soon before he died.
It is sad but I just wonder what will be done with the venue. It is a place for an audience and a stage. Will it be turned into a movie theater? Will some other management take over and use it as a music-performance venue but under a different name?
I would also worry that with certain businesses and venues closing at Times Square, will it again become the crime-ridden desolate place it was in the 1970s?
There was some history to the 42nd Street area ( between 7th Avenue and 8th Avenue) that I was not aware of until quite recently. There was a theater there that was closed down for decades. Then when the "New Times Square began to be built" the shell of the building was physically moved from the corner of the street to the middle of the street (using big construction equipment) so as to still keep the old building in tact, but to also build a new building in the place where it used to be. The old theater was the one in which Abott and Costello began their comedy career.
https://www.timeout.com/newyork/news/times-square-venue-b-b-kings-blues-club-grill-is-closing-down-041718
https://www.billboard.com/articles/business/8347122/bb-king-blues-club-nyc-closing-rent-times-square
https://www.billboard.com/articles/business/8347122/bb-king-blues-club-nyc-closing-rent-times-square
I think there are other BB King's in other states but I think only the one in NY is closing.
I have lived in the neighborhood all my life and BB King's became a part of the " New Times Square" back in the late 1990s when the area was undergoing major renovation. I actually never went in there to see any show except once very recently in 2016 when I saw the next-to-last time that David Cassidy performed there. It seemed to be a place in which a lot of aging former well-known musicians performed as well as some fairly well known musicians and singers. It just had an atmosphere to it. Of course my experience there is that you are required to buy a drink or food to sit in a certain area and it is quite costly, but it was a place in which you could tell that some of the wait staff and the bar tenders themselves may be struggling singers, musicians, comedians etc. At the entrance there is a glass show-case from which you can buy some T-shirts or sweat shirts featuring the names of old time Rock bands such as the Ramones, or the Rolling Stones etc, or other "Rock and Roll" items such as bracelets, ear rings and rings in the shape of guitars, or skulls etc. Whenever I take notice walking by the entrance doors, there seems to be a young female sitting by the glass show case waiting for someone to buy something. At times it seemed that the particular young women working there must themselves be struggling musicians with studs through their noses and tattoos. Of course they could just be college students earning a bit of money by trying to help the venue make money by selling memorabilia, souvenirs, and such.
I think reality-show comedian Ralphie May did one of his last acts there too soon before he died.
It is sad but I just wonder what will be done with the venue. It is a place for an audience and a stage. Will it be turned into a movie theater? Will some other management take over and use it as a music-performance venue but under a different name?
I would also worry that with certain businesses and venues closing at Times Square, will it again become the crime-ridden desolate place it was in the 1970s?
There was some history to the 42nd Street area ( between 7th Avenue and 8th Avenue) that I was not aware of until quite recently. There was a theater there that was closed down for decades. Then when the "New Times Square began to be built" the shell of the building was physically moved from the corner of the street to the middle of the street (using big construction equipment) so as to still keep the old building in tact, but to also build a new building in the place where it used to be. The old theater was the one in which Abott and Costello began their comedy career.
https://www.timeout.com/newyork/news/times-square-venue-b-b-kings-blues-club-grill-is-closing-down-041718
https://www.billboard.com/articles/business/8347122/bb-king-blues-club-nyc-closing-rent-times-square
https://www.billboard.com/articles/business/8347122/bb-king-blues-club-nyc-closing-rent-times-square