Love's Jazz and Art Center Changes Hands
By Dawaune Lamont Hayes
The City of Omaha will no longer be working with the nonprofit in charge of the Love’s Jazz and Art Center (LJAC). After operating for 15 years, the LJAC’s lease has expired and the city is choosing to turn over management to the North 24th Business Improvement District, according to a press release from October 8, 2020.
The decision to end the lease with North Omaha Love’s Jazz, Cultural Arts and Humanities Complex, Inc, came after what the city says were violations to the lease agreement that the center be used as a “jazz, cultural arts and humanities museum and performing arts complex and for no other purpose.”
Specific events called into question include a birthday celebration, TopShottaBdayBash, hosted in the facility in 2019 during Native Omaha Days where police were called at 1:40 a.m. NOISE spoke to LJAC Board president, Timothy Christian, who said there were discussions with the city following that particular event which concluded in the board ceasing event rentals and submitting a calendar of events monthly to city administrators for approval. The building has been closed since March due to COVID-19
Ernest White and Christian, both members of the board, said they learned about the change in leasing just before the media and were “surprised” by the news.
Though they were not enthusiastic about the decision, they said they don’t want to force people to choose sides because the building is meant to be a place for everyone, but expressed concern with the lack of communication with more community stakeholders.
“If you want to take a measure of how the community feels then I would go on Facebook because when you talk about ‘stakeholders’, you're not talking about community stakeholders you're talking about community leaders. And there is a difference. Community leaders certainly have their viewpoints and they're entitled to them, but that doesn't necessarily mean that their viewpoints reflect the viewpoints of the community at large,” said White.
Facebook message from community member
Facebook comments revealed confusion and anger about the situation. One person wrote, “Damn shame!!!! But this is why we have to buy and not rent bc they can take whatever they want when they want.” We followed up with that individual, who chose to remain unnamed due to possible conflicts with their employer, “White ppl will always take from you what you do not 100% own. They are trying to buy up North Omaha, raise rent payments, and put stipulations in our community. If We don’t ban together and buy up buildings in our community we will be left with nothing.”
“This is not a point of gentrification when the BID represents 240 property owners from Meredith to Cuming,” said LaVonya Goodwin, president of the North 24th Street BID, “If we want to see a restored North 24th Street, it’s time we hold one another accountable.”
LJAC board was leasing the building at 2506 and 2510 N. 24th Street for $1 for 10 years with an extension of five years added in 2015. The city expressed concern with the board’s ability to maintain the facility and become a sustainable organization despite significant sponsors including Nebraska Arts Council, Mutual of Omaha, and Wells Fargo listed on their website. The North 24th Street BID will now lease the building for $1 for 10 years starting this month.
Christian and White said they wished there would have been more collaboration between the board, city, and the community-at-large so there would have been a cohesive awareness, rather than shock. Both recommend surveying to get a better understanding of how people feel about the center and its uses.
Documents from the City of Omaha state that the LJAC board rejected a proposal for the center to share space and expenses with the North 24th Street Business Improvement District in the spring of 2020, when the lease was ending, and that another plan was not submitted. Christian confirmed that the city’s plan was rejected because it was seen as “all or nothing” and that the board did have a plan for fundraising and programming as of April 2020, according to internal documents shared with NOISE.
Preston Love Jr, the son of the building’s namesake, was never a member of the LJAC board. He asked to be on the board in 2006, and several times after, but did not receive an offer to join. “I wasn’t involved in the organization,” said Love, who supports the center, “I demanded to be in the loop and now I am. The Love’s center failed because of poor management and operations. That doesn’t mean the people are bad, the business just failed.”
“The community needs to have a cultural center and upscale venue…”
– Preston Love Jr.
“Love’s Jazz is an important part of North 24th Street’s history and we want to help preserve that legacy,” said Mayor Jean Stothert in a statement. “We are confident that that the [BID] will provide the opportunity for Love’s Jazz to once again celebrate music, education, and the legacy of North Omaha.”
Christian emphasized the former board’s desire to work with everyone involved, “We're not against anyone. We just want to be at the table and have done what we could to try to work with people. And I would hope that folks would include us and allow us to be able to work together, really, that's the main thing. We need collaboration and we need unity and that's extremely important.”
According to Goodwin, due to COVID-19, talks about programming in the space are on hold, and the BID’s focus is to prepare for winter, “Our first priority is to secure the building for the winter, there are no utilities running. It is still very early in the process, all these things need to be responsibly considered.”
Love, who is also a write-in candidate for Senate said, “The community needs to have a cultural center and upscale venue, the Love’s center was that and needs to continue to be.”
Note: Preston Love Jr. is the fiscal sponsor for NOISE through Black Votes Matter Institute of Community Engagement.
Correction: Conversation with the LJAC Board and City of Omaha took place in 2020, not 2019 as originally stated.
