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YORKTOWN — Though he didn’t intend to speak at the town work session, Barry Liebman found himself at the table with the Town Board on Tuesday, March 9.
Town officials were discussing their concerns regarding the lease for the Yorktown Stage at the Yorktown Community Cultural Center.
Although the terms of the lease were discussed at a July 28, 2009 town work session, Liebman said, the town never signed off on the lease agreement.
“I submitted it five times,” he said. “No one ever signed it. No one ever called me.”
The discussion was held in July because the Yorktown Stage has to book shows more than a year in advance, he said.
Liebman said he had an agreement with the former Town Board to operate under a five-year lease, paying $1,800 per month for the next three years, and $2,000 per month the following two years.
He said he had been the one who proposed raising his rent. In 2009, he paid $850 per month.
“I told the board that in these economic times, you need to double my rent,” he said.
Liebman, director of Yorktown Stage for the past 12 years, said when he began using the space at the YCCC, he didn’t pay rent. Over the past decade, he has poured over $100,000 of improvements into the building, including new lighting, rugs and some seats, he said.
Town Supervisor Susan Seigel said she wanted to review the history of the matter and several issues, including security, sub-leasing and access for repairs, and meet with the town’s legal counsel before moving forward.
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