Gallery Conversion Underway for Old Living Room Space on Ludlow Street
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The former Living Room space is amidst conversion to a dry use. After the failed bid by exiled drag bar Lucky Cheng’s to take 154 Ludlow Street, the Hell Square address is now forsaking nightlife altogether. Construction has already begun on the artsy replacement; a plywood shed and curbside dumpster are now part of the landscape.
Recently-issued construction permits on file at the Department of Buildings reveal that the 23,250 square-foot establishment is to become an unidentified art gallery. The mezzanine portion of the space will apparently act as an “accessory office” to the showroom.
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Meanwhile, the Living Room now operates a much larger performance space in Williamsburg, having opened there in October 2014. The intimate venue was forced from its longtime Lower East Side home due to high rents in December 2012, yet limped on a month-to-month for almost another year. At one point, co-owners Jennifer Gilson and Steve Rosenthal considered moving the establishment to 173 East Second Street, but were roundly rejected by neighbors and Community Board 3.
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