{"id":121277,"date":"2026-02-03T14:20:11","date_gmt":"2026-02-03T14:20:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/121277\/"},"modified":"2026-02-03T14:20:11","modified_gmt":"2026-02-03T14:20:11","slug":"demolition-of-troubled-brooklyn-mirage-to-proceed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/121277\/","title":{"rendered":"Demolition of Troubled Brooklyn Mirage to Proceed"},"content":{"rendered":"

City records show the DOB signed off on a plan to completely dismantle the ill-fated venue, which never reopened after a massive renovation last year.<\/p>\n

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The Brooklyn Mirage is set to be demolished starting next month. Photo by Paul Frangipane<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\"\" by Brooklyn Paper<\/a><\/p>\n

by Kirstyn Brendlen, Brooklyn Paper<\/p>\n

Full demolition of the Brooklyn Mirage has been approved and is set to start early next month as a battle over its future continues in bankruptcy court.<\/p>\n

City records show that the Department of Buildings has signed off on a plan to completely dismantle the ill-fated venue, which never reopened due to safety issues after a massive renovation last year.<\/p>\n

According to a notice circulated by Brooklyn Community Board 1, work is expected to start on February 2 and wrap up in April or May.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not clear whether the other two venues at the Avant Gardner complex, the Great Hall and Kings Hall, will be affected, though there are no upcoming events listed on the company\u2019s website.<\/p>\n

\"\"A Mirage show in 2023. Photo by Chris Lavado\/ShoreFire Media<\/p>\n

But the next steps for the Mirage are unclear.<\/p>\n

Avant Gardner, its parent company, filed for bankruptcy<\/a> last fall, citing massive financial issues caused by its failure to open the Mirage for the 2025 season. The company had spent months and millions of dollars building a \u201cNew Mirage,\u201d which DOB inspectors never cleared for occupancy after uncovering serious structural and safety issues<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Gary Richards, the CEO of Avant Gardner, said at the time that the bankruptcy would serve as a \u201crestructuring,\u201d and was a \u201cviable path\u201d to stabilize the Mirage and move forward. Earlier this year, Brooklyn Magazine <\/a>reported that nightlife brand Pacha would broker a deal to purchase Avant Gardner and reopen the Mirage as \u201cPacha New York.\u201d<\/p>\n

But a group of Avant Gardner\u2019s creditors \u2014 people who are owed money and hoped to be paid back in bankruptcy proceedings \u2014 have pulled their support for the bankruptcy deal, as was first reported by Bloomberg Law<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In court filings, the creditors accused Axar Capital Management, a major lender that had been set to take over the venue, of secretly brokering a sale with a third-party buyer, presumably Pacha.<\/p>\n

\"anThe exterior of 140 Stewart Avenue in the summer of 2023. Photo by Paul Frangipane<\/p>\n

The creditors claimed the deal was kept secret from them and from the court and would \u201cundermine\u201d an agreement previously reached by Axar, the creditors and debtors.<\/p>\n

That agreement included a contingent value right, or CVR, that would allow the creditors to participate in the post-sale Mirage and make their money back if the business turned out to be \u201cwildly successful\u201d and allowed Axar to recoup part of their investment.<\/p>\n

Axar\u2019s \u201csecret\u201d deal, the creditors claim, was \u201cstructured to avoid payment on the CVR,\u201d which could mean the creditors would not have the opportunity to make their money back.<\/p>\n

In court documents filed on January 26, Axar said the creditors were \u201cunreasonably withholding\u201d approval of the CVR agreement. The lender said it has become \u201cincreasingly clear\u201d that the business is unlikely to generate enough cash to trigger payment on the CVR, especially in light of the costs of renovating, reopening and running the Mirage.<\/p>\n

Axar has asked the court to formally rule that creditors were acting unreasonably and allow the settlement and sale to go forward, and is awaiting a response.<\/p>\n

Editor\u2019s note: A version of this story originally ran in Brooklyn Paper. Click here<\/a> to see the original story.<\/p>\n

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