Cracking The Code

Certainly Catherine Peila, the executive director of [Dance New Amsterdam], would prefer to be speaking about her company’s upcoming fall season, with its intriguing international residencies and support for artists in residence. But DNA’s focus this summer has been on survival and financial realities, with the threat of imminent eviction overcome, for the moment, as well as complex, difficult negotiations with city agencies as well as Fram Realty, the organization’s landlord in Lower Manhattan at 280 Broadway.

DNA, which owed substantial back-rent payments, faced an eviction deadline of July 14. Press accounts of its situation, and an outpouring of dance community support, led to a July 13 meeting between DNA, its legal representatives, Fram Realty and local elected officials. Described as “cooperative and positive,” the meeting led Fram to postpone eviction proceedings, setting an Aug. 26 court date.

DNA’s situation is complex, and potential solutions have led Peila to become expert on a variety of intricate and overlapping city agencies and real-estate regulations. The building at 280 Broadway, where DNA occupies two floors, is owned by the city—specifically by the Department of Citywide Administrative Services. “Fram Realty is the tenant of the city, and we are a subtenant of the city,” explains Peila, who took on her present position two years ago.

“The elected representatives came to the table and requested that the landlord make a real effort to re-negotiate the lease,” Peila says. “Fram Realty is trying to make the best effort they can. We have to have another sit-down, but this time we have to figure out a strategy—if they’re willing to work with us. But the city has to come to the table, and is refusing. And this is what we have to figure out. Is there any way that the DCAS is going to come to the table? This is why Assemblymember Deborah Glick and Councilmember Margaret Chin have requested that the mayor come and address this issue. This is about politics, about inter-agency dealings. The Department of Cultural Affairs was trying to help as best they could.”

The sale of part of 280 Broadway by the city to a real estate firm was set up in 1996, and DNA (which was founded in 1984 as Dance Space Center) moved downtown in 2004. “The city had funding to help revitalize the area, so they offered funding for Dance Space Center, to help them move into this space and renovate it,” Peila says. “The city is saying that Fram cannot sell off part of their lease to DNA, so that we can get a tax abatement, which would help us with our rent.”

One option Peila would like to explore is a plan to condo the DNA space. “If Fram actually owned the building, we would condo the space; DNA would purchase our percentage of the space. I think people don’t quite understand that there are five or six different elements going on to ensure that we actually stay around. The eviction is just one part of this problem. I would think we have to take it out of landlord-tenant court for it to become the issue that it really is, which is a public good issue.”

DNA’s space includes six studios and a 130-seat theater where it presents weekly performances. The two floors bustle with activity, with classes and rehearsals occupying the studios from early morning until 10 p.m. “We employ 250 people a year, in part- and full-time positions. And we affect another 400 people involved in the arts with money for jobs. We commission artists, we hire artists, we hire faculty and we have staff here,” Peila notes. She has cut DNA’s expenses by $700,000, slashed its deficit and taken a substantial salary cut herself.

Although the recession has taken its toll—the number of students has remained consistent, but they take fewer classes per week, and international students have shortened their stays—Peila feels “we’re one of the better models out there for a nonprofit. We have constant inflow of money from our classes and our rental program from our performances.”

The upcoming fall season’s opening event, part of DNA’s International Series, is a collaboration between three highly regarded African artists. In Art/Family/Our Lives: I Ka Nye, which will be performed Sept. 9 through 12, choreographer/performers Nora Chipaumire (from Zimbabwe) and Souleymane Badolo (from Burkina Faso) join forces with Ghanaian master drummer Obo Addy. The world premiere, the culmination of an extended DNA residency by the artists, will be accompanied by a multimedia gallery installation.

That is just the start of a varied performance series that Peila has assembled. But of late, real estate matters occupy her focus. At the time of this interview, Fram had offered to lower the arrears, which DNA could pay off over 96 months in small portions. Crucial meetings and negotiations lay ahead as the Aug. 26 date neared. “I think we’re going to continue moving forward; there’s no option,” Peila says. “We have to come to some sort of agreement that’s feasible for everybody.