City Ballet Media Suite Collecting Dust Since 2009

Even after a $107 million renovation, a part of New York City Ballet’s David H. Koch Theater sits unused? That’s right.  A media control room, which was planned to help increase audience attendance, make footage easily accessible on-line, and aid the company in recording performances for archives and broadcasts, has been collecting dust since 2009, according to The New York Times.

The lack of use is reportedly due to labor negotiations between the stagehands’ union and theater management on payment issues. According to City Ballet officials, some terms were reached by both sides at the end of the summer, but not all. The most pressing issue has to do with whether or not the stagehands’ union will share in revenues generated by products, such as podcasts, live broadcasts, etc., created through the use of the facility.

Katherine E. Brown, City Ballet’s executive director, predicted the company could begin using the room for archiving in January. But, for now, the media room remains in the dust.