Singer Páll Óskar has called upon city hall to step in and save the nightclub NASA from being torn down and replaced with a hotel.
As reported last January, NASA will be demolished in June, to make way for a hotel. Pétur Þór Sigurðsson, who bought the building some time ago, told RÚV that the manager of the club has for a long time now been in arrears on the rent. He says he did not terminate the lease, but met with the manager to discuss the financial situation. He has given her until June 1 to try and get matters sorted.
Torfi Hjartarson, who sits on the planning committee for the Leftist-Greens in Reykjavík city hall, has said that the city could simply buy the building, or rent it, and thereby save it. Páll Óskar agrees, as this is his solution to the NASA question.
“I believe the best solution in this area is to let NASA stand and continue its work,” he writes in part. “The government and the city should buy the property, and ensure the continuing artistic and cultural work that goes on there. The Architectural Heritage Committee should protect the house inside and out.” He calls Pétur’s hotel plans “one of the largest and worst environmental and cultural disasters in the history of Reykjavík”, adding that there are no shortages of hotels in downtown Reykjavík.
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