Tax Lien Is Costing Crown Heights Its Black Heritage: Protesters

CROWN HEIGHTS, BROOKLYN — Pouring rain and a stormy court battle didn't stop supporters of a Crown Heights black cultural institution from spreading their message: Save the Black Lady Theatre.

Father and son theater operators Clarence and Omar Hardy on Monday huddled outside a housing court in downtown Brooklyn to bring attention to a convoluted legal saga that threatens to permanently close their establishment.

They spoke to news cameras, pressed flyers into hands of passersby and held up signs decrying what they claim amounts to fraud and cultural erasure. The theater has been shuttered by authorities based on another party's disputed claim to the property.

The Hardys claim they're the rightful owners of the property at 750 Nostrand Ave., where the theater has operated for three decades. It hosted live stage plays, concerts, movie screenings, classes and became a vital hub of black culture and activism.

But like its former sister theater The Slave Theater in Bed-Stuy, the now-lucrative property was eyed by developers.

The Hardys say they were never notified about a tax-lien foreclosure auction that put the deed in the hands of a company called 750 Nostrand 123 LLC.

There was a $23,000 lien on the property, according to city property records. The company bid $3.5 million on the property and received a deed in 2019, the records state.

But the Hardys fought back, kicking off an ongoing court battle. Their hopes after an apparent early victory were dashed on Dec. 30 when marshals locked them out of the building on a court order.

Sherese Parris, the theater's artistic director, said they were given 30 days to clear out the building — which is packed with artwork, murals and heirlooms.

"They're trying to erase us from history," she said. "You're asking us to take away 30 years in 30 days."

The people who rallied to support the Hardys on Monday held signs stating, among other things, "Black History Is Not For Sale." They made clear the fight is as much over protecting a cultural institution in the path of development than it is about arcane and arguably questionable legal tactics.

For 10-year-old Kwesi Stokes, the theater is one of his favorite places. It's a place where he remembers watching the documentary "New Panther: A Call For Action" and always feels a good energy.

"They can't make us walk past it like it's nothing," he said.

Nola Asantewa, co-founder of Save Our Property NYC, said it's all-too-common for black property owners in Crown Heights and Bed-Stuy to have their properties scooped out from under them. She said tax lien sales and transfers have worked against long-standing community members.

"It's been designed to cripple black homeownership in the community," she said.

Omar Hardy said a judge on Monday denied their court order. He plans to take the case out of housing court and pursue federal legal action.

"We do not stand for it, we will not stand for it," he said.

Representatives for 750 Nostrand 123 LLC couldn't be reached for comment.

The theater's supporters started a Change.org petition. Donations can be made here and through a GoFundMe started by Equality for Flatbush, which also helped organize the Monday event.