Bankrupt Venue Brooklyn Mirage Seeks New Name, Demolition

Following months of renovations leading up to a supposed grand reopening that never happened, last month it was reported that the bankrupt Brooklyn Mirage had plans to demolish part of their sprawling East Williamsburg venue. But the Mirage's parent company Avant Gardner, who fired their CEO amid the botched reopening, isn't backing down just yet. BKMAG reports that Avant Gardner is seeking to rebrand the space with a new name, and they're asking employees for ideas.

In an email one Mirage employee provided to BKMAG, the company writes: "As we enter the next chapter of our venue’s journey, we’d love your input on a new name for the entire complex—one that will replace the ‘Avant Gardner’ moniker." Avant Gardner is also the name of the larger complex that houses the Mirage. The email also says, "Please note that our current logo will remain the same." The anonymous employee expressed confusion about the email, saying they felt like they were kept in the dark about what was actually going on behind the scenes mid-transition and the future of their job.

To make matters even more confusing, that aforementioned demolition apparently isn't going as planned, either. For context: The Brooklyn Mirage announced last December that they'd be spending millions on security-related improvements, after an incident in 2023 where two concertgoers left separate shows there and were later found dead in the nearby creek. But the Mirage didn’t meet the city’s inspection deadline in time for their scheduled reopening and was forced to cancel numerous shows as a result.

Now, the NYC Department Of Buildings says they're missing certain documents needed in order to approve Avant Gardner's application for demolition. Considering the company's reputation working with the city, there's no telling when the demolition will actually happen.

For shits and giggles, here's a list of venue names Avant Gardner employees have suggested ("Brooklyn Mirage" is still on the table for some reason):

Alter Phase
Annual
Anu Start
As You Are
Atrium
Aurion
Beatwerk or Beat Werk
Bkln Modular
Bklnode
Bklnova
Brooklyn Hauz Complex
Brooklyn Proper
Brooklyn Reverb
Brooklyn Rhythm
Brooklyn’s Nightlife
City Oasis
Club USA
Current
Da Block
Dance Garden
Everything Different
Evolution
Fractal Sounds
Fractured Sounds
Fractured Systems
Frame
Gainstage
Groundline
Hauz Collective
Klausthaus
Liminal District
Mersive Hauz
Messerole Meadows
Mirrored Bk
Neon Brooklyn
New Dimension
NYDF (New York Dance Factory)
Orion’s Grove
Perennial
Post Moderna
Sndwerk
Social Experiment
Sound Gardner
Sub Wolf
The Block
The Brooklyn Colesium
The Brooklyn Mirage
The Brooklyn Nightingale
The Brooklyn Veil
The Starlight
The Vanguard
The Veil
Trifecta Bkln
Urban Echo
Vanta Lucent
Vanta Lume
Vanta Nova