3rd Ward is closed. What’s next for teachers, members?

As the New York Observer reported, Brooklyn DIY and art space 3rd Ward suddenly shuttered last night, with no warning. It’s a stunning turn of events for the space, which had managed to be successful enough to spread the gospel of Brooklyn DIY to a branch in Philadelphia. But now it’s gone forever, and you might have some questions about membership refunds, where to take classes now and what’s next for the building. We’ve got some answers.

Why can’t I get a refund on my membership?
The worst thing about this for anyone who didn’t actually work for 3rd Ward is that in their letter to members explaining the closure, they mentioned there would be no refunds for member. Do you have any chance at getting a refund anyway? Well, no. Since 3rd Ward went bankrupt, bankruptcy law says that their biggest creditors get paid back first, and individual members are pretty low on that list. Even if you had the idea of forming some kind of class action membership Voltron for everyone to get a piece of their debt back, the odds are you’d lose money on attorney fees to fight over the scraps of what’s left after the being creditors get paid. So…just consider this a sunk cost, sorry.

UPDATE
Two places have stepped up to offer members burned by this discounts on their own classes.
-Brooklyn Central is offering 25% off of their own classes for any 3rd Ward member who’d like to take one. All you need to do is email them a picture of your 3rd Ward member ID and they’ll send you a discount code.
-Co-working space The Yard is also offering discounts for burned 3rd Ward members, with a 20% discount on their co-working space
-For anyone who signed up for 3rd Ward classes through CourseHorse, listen up: the site is giving full credit, good for any other course you can find through their site, to anyone who signed up for a course they can no longer take. If you email them at hello [AT] coursehorse.com you can claim your credit.

Are there still good places to take classes or do work in Brooklyn?
Yes, absolutely. We’ve got a roundup of classes to take right here, that includes places like the Brooklyn Kitchen, Brooklyn ARTery, Brooklyn Brainery and more. While 3rd Ward closing sucks, it’s hardly the end of your opportunity to learn new skills, and a lot of these classes come cheaper than 3rd Ward anyway.

And if you still have a hankering to drink and do art, you’ve got a couple options. The Brooklyn Bead Box, last seen in our roundup of drink and draw classes is still still going, as is the Living Gallery with their $10 drink and draw events every Wednesday. But the New York branch of Dr. Sketchy’s Anti-Art school has bit the dust as well, and is having one last class coming up on October 20. So uh, just a bad time overall when it comes to drink and draw.

And now that 3rd Ward’s co-working space is gone, maybe it’s time to branch out and do work where god intended it to happen. No, not coffee shops and libraries, but bars with wifi! We’ve got a big list of places that open early enough for you to hit up after you’ve been at the coffee shop in the morning, and a couple on there can even do double duty as your coffee shop and bar.

What if I’m a teacher who still wants to teach?
Good news! The Brooklyn Brainery doesn’t want to see some kind of knowledge vacuum happen, so they’re putting together a matchmaking service that will pair willing 3rd Ward teachers with places that need teachers. Just go to their site, give them your name and any information you can provide about your teaching experience and they’ll send you information about places looking for teachers as soon as they’ve got a good list built.

What’s going to happen to the building?
The good news about the closure, if there is any, is that 3rd Ward didn’t own the building they inhabited. That means that even though they’re leaving, it doesn’t mean more ugly condos or a Wal-Mart is coming to Bushwick. One group of former 3rd Ward members are trying to save their space (but not 3rd Ward’s management) with a grassroots group called Save 3rd Ward, while the building’s landlord has sounded a note of sympathy to the artists in the space. We’ve reached out to both for comments and will update this if we hear anything new.

So is Brooklyn, like, over?
No