Forest Hills Art Cafe Launches GoFundMe To Keep Live Music

FOREST HILLS, QUEENS -- Rene David Alkalay opened his organic cafe in Forest Hills four years ago to give struggling musicians a free space to play - and it worked. The cafe grew famous among both patrons and local artists for its open mics, jam sessions and other live music events.

Now, all those events are in danger of being shut down. They require a handful of licenses - ones Alkalay said he can't afford.

Alkalay said he recently heard from a trio of performing rights organizations that threatened to take legal action if he didn't get the proper licensing for his "live music events."

The organizations - American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, Broadcast Music Inc. and the Society of European Stage Authors and Composers - are meant to help songwriters get paid for their music, but Alkalay said his cafe at 71-60 Austin St. doesn't charge any money for the events.

"They said I couldn't play any music unless I was licensed to do so," he told Patch. "Why they're bothering with a small cafe like ours is beyond me, because we're barely paying our bills."

Representatives from ASCAP, BMI and SESAC were not immediately available for comment.

On Monday, Alkalay launched a GoFundMe campaign with $2,000 goal to cover fees for the lowest level of licensing from the three agencies - around $500 apiece. Anything extra would go toward costs of "equipment and services" for organizations that help put on the performance events, he said.

He knows a couple thousand dollars doesn't sound like much, but said it's becomes "a bit of a hardship" for the cafe already struggling to pay its rent, employees and other monthly bills.

"It's not like we're making a profit," he said. "We're barely covering expenses."

So far, the campaign has only raised $36, but Alkalay hopes it will pick up speed. If not, he'll be forced to can the cafe's live music shows, he said.

"I would have to tell musicians they can't play," he said. "That's something I would hate to do. It would be heartbreaking to do that."

The Red Pipe Cafe hosts around 6-8 musicians per week, along with open mic sessions, poetry slams and an art exhibit every three months. It's exactly the vision Alkalay, a musician himself, had in mind when he opened the 30-seat cafe in the Spring of 2014.

"I felt that all these places were getting rid of live musicians," he said. "My feeling was, you know, what happened to real people?"

Shortly after opening the cafe, Alkalay put out word that the cafe would offer local musicians a free space to play in. Artists flocked to the space, he said. He admitted hosting the live events hasn't always been financially easy - performers take up space that could be used to seat customers - but insisted it's been worth the cost.

"I didn't want just another coffee shop," Alkalay said. "I want to create a community space."

And up until now Alkalay said he's never had a problem doing that. He was never asked for any kind of licensing for the music events.

"I didn't even know we were doing anything that we weren't supposed to be doing," he said.

Lead photo via Google Maps.