Markowitz allocates $1M for arts space

Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz allocated $1.1 million late last month for renovations at Issue Project Room, a non-profit arts space at 110 Livingston Street. The arts space is in a building owned by developer Two Trees Management, which purchased the property from the Department of Education six years ago to develop it into a condominium. Two Trees was required to give 5,000 square feet to a cultural group for 20 years in a rent-free lease. Issue Project Room won the bid only to find that the space would need $2.5 million in renovations. Suzanne Fiol, Issue Project Room’s founder and creative director, said the group wants the space to be an avant-garde Carnegie Hall.