With an open roof and a capacity of about 5,000, the Brooklyn Mirage closes each winter and reopens in the spring, often with a slightly different look<\/a>. Because the venue only runs for a few months at a time, it operates under a Temporary Place of Assembly Certificate of Occupancy (TPACO), which it re-applies for every year, records show.<\/p>\n Last spring, the Mirage announced a massive renovation<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n The venue would be rebuilt \u201cfrom the ground up,\u201d then-CEO Josh Wyatt said in March, with massive screens, new sound equipment, a larger dance floor, \u201copera-style balconies,\u201d and a 90-foot performance area with a roof rigging structure that could support up to 400,000 pounds. The design was to feature a massive prefabricated wood structure that would stand 65 feet tall and 197 feet long.\u00a0<\/p>\n When the Mirage canceled<\/a> its reopening hours before doors were slated to open, it first seemed to be a temporary delay.<\/p>\n \u201cWe want to be clear: the venue is show ready and the New Mirage has been built to exacting safety, structural, mechanical and technical specifications,\u201d the venue said in a since-deleted Instagram post. \u201cHowever, we were not able to meet the final inspection deadline today.\u201d<\/p>\n Behind the scenes, things were more dire. Two days earlier, DOB had revoked the venue\u2019s TPACO.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n \u201cThe project was filed as a temporary structure but did not meet the criteria to be one,\u201d an agency spokesperson said. At the time, the venue didn\u2019t meet standards for a temporary or permanent structure.<\/p>\n But that was only the tip of the iceberg.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n \u201cDOB had numerous objections to the performance space, both safety related and technical in nature, that prevented the project from being code-compliant and safe enough to open for the public,\u201d a DOB spokesperson said. \u201cThis wasn\u2019t a question of red tape, but rather a list of legitimate issues with the constructed space.\u201d<\/p>\n DOB inspectors found that the structure hadn\u2019t been engineered to stand up to wind or seismic activity. The steel truss over the stage, which had been designed to include heavy-duty bracing, was not built to plan and was instead unbraced, leaving it less stable.\u00a0<\/p>\n There weren\u2019t enough automatic fire sprinklers or exterior exit stairwells in the oft-crowded, multi-story venue; and its frame was built with materials like engineered strand board, which is not properly fire-rated, instead of heavy timber.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Mirage also didn\u2019t meet accessibility requirements. Building code requires at least one accessible route to all portions of the building and to the accessible bathrooms, and the venue didn\u2019t include that route.\u00a0<\/p>\n DOB also noted a \u201cgeneral failure to provide required number of toilet facilities.\u201d\u00a0\n<\/p>\n \u201cFrom [Mirage\u2019s] questionable footing to the large truss at its zenith, from its cantilevered mezzanines to its exterior walls, it was potentially unsteady, combustible, illegal, and no place to put 6,000 people,\u201d Oddo said.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Brooklyn Mirage did not return request for comment.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n Several of the Mirage\u2019s construction permits have been \u201con hold\u201d since May, records show. On May 20, the Mirage said in an Instagram post that it was \u201cmaking great progress towards opening our doors.\u201d Two days later, Avant Gardner fired<\/a> Wyatt as CEO and brought in Gary Richards to replace him.\u00a0<\/p>\n![\"brooklyn](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/3_BrooklynMirage2025_Stage.jpg\")
A rendering of the renovated Mirage, with layers of balconies and large screens on the walls.Image courtesy of Brooklyn Mirage<\/p>\n![\"avant](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/08092023_PF_The_Brooklyn_Mirage_19-scaled.jpg\")
The exterior of the Mirage, as seen from Stewart Avenue in 2023. File photo by Paul Frangipane<\/p>\n