EAST VILLAGE — The Bowery Poetry Club is writing what could be its final chapter with a farewell party Tuesday night prior to its planned renovation and conversion into a shared performance space.
Rumors have swirled about the decade-old club's fate ever since a plan to close the venue and eventually reopen it jointly with TriBeCa burlesque club Duane Park were revealed earlier this month.
Bowery Poetry Club owner Bob Holman said he is expecting to reopen the club in October alongside Duane Park at the 308 Bowery location, even through a contract is yet to be finalized and some employees have expressed doubts about the revamped art space's future.
The tentative space-sharing agreement with Holman's friend and Duane Park owner Marisa Ferrarin could see the burlesque club use the space Tuesday through Saturday each week, with Bowery Poetry Club operating on Sundays and Mondays.
"The Bowery Poetry Club will continue to serve the world poetry," Holman wrote in an email to DNAinfo.com New York. "By moving ourselves into the New Bowery we will now be sustainable."
However, staff at the venue questioned whether the Bowery Poetry Club would ever live again at the location.
"As for us, we are the last of the Mohicans," said one staffer at the club who declined to provide his name, as a fellow colleague agreed. "As far as we are concerned, this place is closing."
The party Tuesday night will include performances from regular acts such as Sean T. Hanratty and the Mighty Mighty and A Brief View of the Hudson. Holman himself will not be in attendance, as he is currently on a trip to Wales.
Duane Park has been located at 157 Duane St. for 25 years, and both clubs are hoping to save on rent under the agreement.
Holman confirmed that his current staff would have priority when interviews begin for the new-look location.
