As its failure to open sent owner Avant Gardner into bankruptcy, the Brooklyn Mirage was plagued by safety issues and far from “show-ready,” as it had claimed.
On May 1, the day the Mirage was set to reopen, it was structurally questionable and not up to code, according to the Department of Buildings. Three months and dozens of canceled shows later, very little has changed.
“The way all this has unfolded is quite unfortunate,” said DOB commissioner James Oddo in an Aug. 5 statement. “But let’s be crystal clear: [DOB] did an outstanding job of protecting New Yorkers from entering a structure that was unsafe.”
A renovation gone wrong
With an open roof and a capacity of about 5,000, the Brooklyn Mirage closes each winter and reopens in the spring, often with a slightly different look