East Williamsburg Club Will Welcome DJs, Drag Kings and Snake Chamers

If you’ve seen the Williamsburg episode of the satirical “What’s the 311?” web series, you know locals are bummed about all the venues that’ve closed: “Shea Stadium… Wreck Room… the White Castle on Metropolitan, when will it stop?” Well, here’s some good news: A pair of party promoters are putting down roots and opening a new multipurpose venue in East Williamsburg.

When it opens at 167 Graham Avenue next month, Eris will be the brick-and-mortar incarnation of the same-named party production company run by Jon Corbett, a local DJ, event producer, and self-declared Professional Troublemaker, and Galatea Stone (nee Elise Domyan), a burlesque performer turned producer. They’ve been “secretly” outfitting a two-floor, 2,300-square-foot space that used to belong to an Art Deco-style theater and then a church (“The Love Chapel”) before the building was converted to rentals. When it’s finished, Eris will boast a bar and dance floor, stage and green room, an art gallery, a basement tea room, and– all-important for EDM heads– a Funktion-One sound system.

Eris will be “a place where you dance to a DJ on one night, see tassels twirl at a burlesque show the next night, then come back on day three for an art exhibition and a beverage in our basement tea lounge,” according to its Indiegogo page, which is aiming to raise $12,500 for the venue’s completion. (Among other things, it needs a fireproof stage curtain.)

In the past, Eris has thrown trance-music parties at The Paper Box, Pacha, Santos Party House, and even on a “secret yacht.” A flyer for their Tenth Orb party promised a “cuddle puddle lounge, body painting, hoop performers, live art and more.” With the new venue, the company is hoping to expand into “DJs and dance parties, burlesque, drag, circus, dance, theater, live bands, interactive experiences, art exhibitions, and other exciting events.” They’re also aiming to support local visual artists with a grant program ($4,500 of the Indiegogo money will be earmarked for grants) and space for rehearsals, classes and workshops.

Aside from throwing parties and DJing under the name Affection, Corbett is a law school student who, in 2015, sued the TSA over its mandatory body scans and, in 2017, sued the Flash Factory nightclub after its security guards allegedly groped him and Domyan during a search. Here, the couple is hoping to create “a welcoming environment that champions local artists from a diverse range of disciplines, be they DJs or painters, drag kings or snake charmers.” Presumably, there won’t be nude body scanners at the door.

The owners of Eris admit, on Indiegogo, that there’s plenty left to do if they’re going to meet their Sept. 8 opening date, “including permitting, licensing, meeting fire/safety codes, and construction.” (A liquor license is still pending, according to the State Liquor Authority’s website.) You can read more here.