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Bushwick circus school The Muse in dire straights after being stiffed by client

Bushwick’s The Muse, a sprawling circus venue in an impossibly high-ceilinged industrial building at 350 Moffat St., is once again fighting to keep its space. The Muse was displaced from Williamsburg back in 2014 when Vice Media took over the building it shared with music venue Glasslands, and had a funding emergency last August when proprietors alerted the venue they had 20 days to make $15,000 worth of space upgrades and permits –crowdsourced funding averted that crisis,

Now The Muse is having money woes once more: a client who rented space from The Muse for a full month, “decided to just not pay their bills, leaving us in a really big bind,” Muse founder Angela Buccinni says in a video for the venue’s current crowdfunding campaign, up now on Indiegogo. As well, the Muse hired what turned out to be an unlicensed architect to help them change their certificate of occupancy in accordance with the Department of Buildings and are now in costly legal proceedings.

“It’s really terrible to be taken advantage of, and I feel really supported by the community right now,” Buccini says in the video, choking up, “but we do have an immediate need where we can’t make September’s overhead, rent or salaries without your help.”

The Indiegogo is seeking to raise $30,000, and has so far raised approximately $6,000. Rewards include handmade hair accessories, tote bags, circus hot shorts, and rigging essentials. The Muse also hosted a fundraiser on Tuesday at the House of Yes.

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