G.V.S.H.P. The Gathering of the Tribes building.

The battle between Gathering of the Tribes and its landlord rages on.

Yesterday the founder of the art space at 285 East Third Street, Steve Cannon, was served with a formal “10-day notice of termination” for “continued use of the premises as an office and art gallery, which is contrary to the lawful usage permitted by the certificate of occupancy for the building.”

The document (below) goes on to cite a violation from the Department of Buildings, as well as parties that have “disturbed the quiet enjoyment as well as affected the safety of other tenants in the building” as other reasons for the notice. Read more…

A housing court judge ruled last week that the eviction of Gathering of the Tribes should be settled in State Supreme Court. The decision led the founder of the homegrown art and performance space, Steve Cannon, to express guarded optimism that he could reach an out-of-court settlement with his landlord, Lorraine Zhang, because the scope of the case now goes beyond a standard eviction proceeding. Ms. Zhang had no comment on the latest development in the case, which hinges on the validity of a written agreement she signed when Mr. Cannon sold her the East Third Street building that houses Tribes in 2004.

Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation. The Gathering of the Tribes building at 285-287
East Third Street.

The blind poet behind Gathering of the Tribes is on the hunt for a wealthy benefactor who will buy his building on East Third Street near Avenue C — a move that would, in theory, stop his pending eviction.

In an e-mail forwarded to The Local, Steve Cannon urged his supporters to spread the word that his landlord, Lorraine Zhang, wishes to sell the building.

“Ultimately, what we were told was Lorraine wants to get rid of the building,” wrote Mr. Cannon. “Is there a possibility of any interest in investing/buying the building and making it all Gathering of the Tribes and getting someone to run it?” Read more…

Ruth Spencer Steve Cannon, founder of Gathering of the Tribes.

An eviction notice has been served to Gathering of the Tribes, but the revelry will go on at least until the end of the month.

Steve Cannon, the founder of the eclectic art collective on Third Street, has a bash planned for tonight and Jan. 14. The announcement comes less than a week after the landlord, Lorraine Zhang, told Mr. Cannon he would have to leave his headquarters by Jan. 31.

“I’m not going to stop what I’m doing, I’m going to see how I can fight her,” Mr. Cannon said of his landlord.

Ms. Zhang isn’t backing down either, and it seems likely the litany of complaints that she and Mr. Cannon have against each other (which are long standing) are bound to be aired in court. “I do what I got to do as a landlord to protect my other tenants,” Ms. Zhang said today. “He doesn’t clean up the backyard for weeks after he uses it. He left me no choice. He doesn’t own the property.”

Tonight’s party commemorates the final night of the “Where Am I” exhibit, which takes inspiration from Mr. Cannon’s blindness. The next exhibit, “Zero, Infinity and the Guides” showcases “archetypes present in the inner life” of artist and CUNY student Erin Cormody. “These eight paintings also portray the phases of the moon. Also, she paints the ‘words’ of an internal universal voice, which wants to share the paradox of truth,” according to a press release.

G.V.S.H.P.

After defying his landlord’s repeated requests to stop holding events at A Gathering of the Tribes, Steve Cannon,who founded the homegrown gallery in 1991, has received a notice ordering him to vacate his East Third Street live-work space by Feb. 1. The gallerist, who said that he had neglected to sign a new rent agreement in part because he is blind, has vowed to prevent yet another disappearance of an eccentric art space.

“I’m going to fight her,” Mr. Cannon said of his landlord. “I don’t think she has a leg to stand on.” Read more…

G.V.S.H.P. The Gathering of the Tribes building.

The landlord of Gathering of the Tribes says she will now make good on her longstanding threat to send the freewheeling artistic space into exile.

The relationship between Steve Cannon, the blind poet who founded Tribes, and his landlord, Lorraine Zhang, seems to have been contentious virtually from the moment he sold the building at 285 East Third Street to her in 2005 for $1.2 million.

The space regularly hosts gallery openings and music shows; a magazine is put together there, as well. But all the foot traffic, artistic exploration and revelry comes at a price Ms. Zhang says she can’t afford.

“My attorney is going to send him a notice that he must remove all the events from the building or remove himself,” she said. Read more…

The Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation 285-287 East Third Street. Preservationists would like to see it landmarked, and a local poet would like to keep holding events in it.

It’s been 10 months since the building housing Gathering of the Tribes was put on the market, and the relationship between the artistic space’s founder, Steve Cannon, and his landlord is as tense as ever.

The latest dispute revolves around the regular art events organized by Mr. Cannon that take place at the federal-style townhouse on East Third Street.

“He’s made assurances that he wouldn’t do anything that would disturb other tenants in the building,” said Simon Chow, a partner of the building’s landlord. “If other people are complaining about noise, am I supposed to give him consideration over the tenants in the buildings?”

Mr. Cannon countered that only one person in a neighboring building had complained about the noise. Nevertheless, he said, the landlord, Lorraine Zhang, had threatened him with eviction. Read more…