A live music venue in Horseheads, NY has decided to permanently close its doors to the public for reasons out of their control.
“The L,” which operates out of the Journey Church has been an attractive venue for a multitude of shows in the same space where the church holds services.
A variety of events were offered by The L, including musical concerts, martial arts performances, film festivals, comedy, and fashion shows. As reported by WETM18, the main reason for the disappointing shutdown is the sheer volume of noise complaints the venue has caused over the years. It has also been reported that a large reason for closing stems from the church’s reduction in its tax-exempt status. The L is organized by third-party organization, iMatter, a non-profit foundation which has been facilitating events with the venue since its creation in 2021.
Given the situation with the Town, the reduction of our property tax-exempt status, the multitude of noise complaints, the difficulty and expense of mitigating the noise issues and the strain on our people caused by putting on the “L” events, there is no way that we can continue to host The “L” at our facility at the conclusion of the 2023 season’.
Given these facts, the effort required to memorialize an agreement with iMatter seemed to me to be better placed elsewhere.
From an October 30 email to Town of Horseheads Attorney John Mustico from Reverend Kevin O’Shell, interim senior pastor at the Journey Church, home of “The L”
With these unfortunate circumstances, members of the Horseheads community are saddened and let down. Some speculate there are other motives behind the owner of the venue.
Joey Lanzillotto, booking agent for the venue said via a post on Facebook that he hopes no one else is “duped” by the “criminal hiding behind his holy facade,” in reference to the owner and his motives. He also said “All good things must come to an end, but I’ll never forget seeing everyone pack this room and truly experience the venue this area has deserved for so long. I truly appreciate everyone who supported this vision. We love you all. We’ll be back.”
Many other members of the community have voiced their opinions on the WENY News Facebook page explaining that the closure of the venue is unreasonable and “a win for the Karens,” suggesting NIMBYism is at play in the closure of The L in Horseheads. A good number of commenters have stated the noise complaints are nothing short of falsehoods, and that The L has done more for their community than the church itself.
With the closure of The L, Horseheads is now a town without a single music venue. The nearest one is Tag’s Summer Stage, 10 miles away in Big Flats. Aside from Tag’s Summer Stage, there are practically no other venues in the Southern Tier, leaving the population in this region of the state without a home for rising artists and regular, accessible live music throughout the year.
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