3-Legged Dog theater group staves off eviction; Sen. Squadron helps Lower Manhattan media and theater group reach accord with landlord

The 3-Legged Dog Media and Theater Group has a new spring in its step after reaching a deal with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), the landlord for the group's 80 Greenwich St. headquarters, that cancels pending eviction proceedings.

Under the terms of the agreement by October, 3-Legged Dog will pay rent arrears accumulated since June, and will pay previous arrears, starting next February, over the coming three years. The accord also calls for the MTA to forego payments of more than $50,000 in back rent, due to construction costs that 3-Legged Dog incurred modernizing the space, which is part of the structure that houses the Battery Parking Garage.

 "We owe this victory to Dan Squadron," said Kevin Cunningham, 3-Legged Dog's executive director. He said that the New York State Senator took the lead in persuading the MTA to come to terms with the group. "We only had to tell him what was happening, and he sprang into action." Mr. Cunningham said that since May, when the MTA first began eviction proceedings, "the Senator has been directly involved, working the phones personally, in some cases several times each day." Mr. Cunningham also credited the Lower Manhattan law firm of Hughes, Hubbard, which agreed to represent the company on the eviction and several other, related problems, without charge.

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