BUFFALO, N.Y. (WBEN) – A popular Buffalo comedy club wants the government to help out similar venues that have stayed closed amid the pandemic.
Comedy clubs are one of the few industries in New York State that has never been able to operate, even when the coronavirus curve flattened over the summer. Governor Andrew Cuomo is also not allowing music venues to open, leading to concerns that popular venues in Western New York could shut down due to a lack of shows.
"We've never asked for help and we're not ones to ask for help right now," Brad Grossman, a partner of Helium Comedy Club, said. "We were the first ones to close. We closed right when (Comedian) Mike Birbiglia was in town. He had sold out the entire weekend and we had to close and haven't opened since."
Grossman acknowledged that now is not the best time for comedy clubs to reopen due to the soaring coronavirus rates in Buffalo and Western New York.
"If you want us to stay closed, we're in for it," Grossman said. "We're all into safety. We have clubs open around the country right now.
We're operating five other clubs right now safely since June. I have backpack sprayers with hospital-grade disinfectant in our clubs. Total social distancing, six feet between tables. If New York is on the rise…I have to respect that. I'm not a science guy, I'm a comedy guy."
But he worries about the long term implications that New York will forget about the cultures and the art scene as a result of the pandemic. That's why he joined the National Independent Venue Association (NIVA), an organization lobbying for specific relief legislation for venues.
Artpark, Babeville, Borderland Music and Arts Festival, Buffalo IronWorks, Mohawk Place, and others are among the local venues who are also in NIVA.
"90 percent of independent venues in the country, without additional support, are going to close," Grossman said. "Unfortunately, PPP doesn't necessarily work for us because we can't open. It's really tough for us to spend those dollars to pay our rent and labor to do online things. But it doesn't produce income."
Grossman said there's a bill in Congress but New York is "not hearing it".
"I think Cuomo has about $4 billion that he has to figure out where to spend before New Year's," he said.
Other states are allowing comedy. Some comedians have even held shows at drive-in theatres. Helium Comedy Club in Buffalo even tried having outdoor shows, though their shows were axed in the planning process.
"We were going to utilize our parking lot that's attached to the venue and that was still was not (deemed) to not promote safe social distancing, which in part we understand," Shawn Eckert, General Manager at Helium Buffalo, said. "We took our 270 person showroom and maxed it out at 100…They just keep saying the same reason, yet when restaurants reopened we thought we'd fall in line with them."
Grossman said the window of opportunity was missed now that we've reached the colder temperatures.
"I worry about Buffalo," Grossman said about the comedy scene. "Unfortunately, we haven't been top of mind. I've been in touch with some great council people in Buffalo, just talking about remember us. Remember what culture brings to this city. We've had a number of great comics come out of Buffalo."
