This afternoon Bushwick Daily was surprised to see the Observer and Gothamist reporting that East Williamsburg maker’s hub 3rd Ward appears to have abruptly closed shop on its members.
Coworking space members have received no information about the halt of events, but the woodworking, metalworking and photo studios, in addition to classrooms, have been shut down since last night. A disgruntled member posted on 3rd Ward’s Facebook page yesterday afternoon, expressing dissatisfaction that a class he had scheduled to attend that evening had been cancelled on short notice:
Elsewhere on the Facebook page, a link to a page on the 3rd Ward site with information for those interested in investing in the space now appears to be dead.
3rd Ward has touted the JOBS, or Jumpstart Our Business Startups act, as an instrumental part of a recent fundraising effort (and it’s worth noting that the Securities and Exchanges Commission, the branch of the federal government that administers the JOBS act, is not one of the agencies that’s had any furloughs as a result of the government shutdown).
The Observer directs us over to 3rd Ward’s page on Fundrise.com, where it’s stated that the company was seeking investors in an attempt to raise 1.5 million dollars in a campaign that ends two days from now in order to continue operating after having invested in the development of its Philadelphia location. Gothamist tells us that after a former 3rd Ward employee sent in a tip that the company was going to be making some major spending cuts back in July, 3rd Ward’s founder Jason Goodman assured Gothamist in an email that the company remained robust. A public fundraising effort over the past month has included email blasts entreating 3rd Ward’s supporters to invest in the LLC, the last of which proudly declared that the company had already raised $350,000 towards the cause. Bushwick Daily tried calling 3rd Ward to speak to someone there about the situation; like The Observer and Gothamist before us, 3rd Ward did not respond to our calls, but we were able to get a hostess at 3rd Ward’s in-house restaurant Fitzcarraldo on the line, who told us that they will be open this week.
So is this sudden shuttering an indicator that 3rd Ward is throwing in the towel on raising $1.125 million in the next two days? Will 3rd Ward, which has been perceived as an exemplar of the great things the North Brooklyn arts community is capable of since its opening seven years ago, be closed hereafter? We wait to hear more news.
Can you shed some light on the 3rd ward situation for us? Drop Bushwick Daily a line at emilieATbushwickdailyDOTcom.