2013
Neighbors asked how to help
An April 2013 appeal recalled that close to 300 people in the Gramercy community had joined The Players through the Gramercy Park Block Association. With members expressing concern for the club’s future, the Block Association circulated a petition seeking a special meeting and changes in management oversight.
Later that year, the Block Association shared reporting about both Gramercy arts clubs adapting to a changing cultural landscape. These earlier notices place the hopeful 2014 leadership update within a longer campaign for an institution’s survival in its historic home.
The Players occupies 16 Gramercy Park South, a townhouse closely connected to the neighborhood’s theatrical history. In March 2014, the Block Association described the club’s survival in Gramercy as a major preservation concern, linking the institution to founder Edwin Booth and his statue in the Park.
The Block Association’s account thanked club volunteers, members working on financial review and planning, and local reporters who had followed the institution’s difficulties. It framed the campaign as an effort to keep a cultural neighbor in its historic home.
The March update welcomed Arthur Makar as president and a new leadership team with a turnaround plan. The Block Association expressed renewed optimism about the club’s future.
