FURTHER INTO THE FYRE
Tfor the long Hall. the “penniless” former longtime partner of Webster Hall co-owner has hired attorney to intervene in the club’s $35 million deal to sell the 131-year-old music venue to the teams behind Barclays Center and Bowery Presents.
Marshall, who was in a relationship with Ballinger for 40 years and has two grown sons with him, hopes to have money from the deal tied up in escrow until she’s provided for.
“My husband has left me penniless,” Marshall told us in a statement. “I have no job or way to support myself. I have been sick for a long time and have no health insurance. I have experienced hunger daily and been forced to beg for food at a charity for the past four years!”
Marshall claims her house is in foreclosure because she can’t pay her taxes, and her internet service has been disconnected.
Complicating the matter is the fact that Ballinger and Marshall, both Canadians, had a common-law marriage in Canada, according to Gilden. The lawyer plans to go into Manhattan Supreme Court on Friday and ask for a $25,000 advance to keep his client afloat before palimony proceedings commence. Gilden hopes the New York courts will recognize Ballinger and Marshall’s union, even though common-law marriage was abolished in this state.
Ballinger and his family took over Webster Hall in 1989, though it’s been an East Village institution since 1886. Elvis Presley and Frank Sinatra have recorded in the 2,500-personcapacity venue, which has also seen performances by Guns n’ Roses and Metallica.
Ballinger, who says he was working on his farm when we called, tells us he’s heard nothing about a lawsuit, hasn’t hired a lawyer and is surprised by the allegations.
“This has been going on for years,” Ballinger said, telling us that he’s on the books as an “employee” of the club these days. Ballinger added that he doesn’t “want to say anything bad about anyone,” but insists this situation is far from cut and dried. “The fat lady hasn’t sung on this one yet,” he said. The Fyre Festival mess is heating up. On Monday, Mic.com released emails it says were leaked by a “source” close to the failed musicfest that opened and closed on April 27. One correspondence has two supposed “organizers” lamenting that the festival didn’t have enough toilets and that their catering company had pulled out. “No one is eating therefore no ones (sic) pooping,” one of them joked. Fyre festival organizers are being sued by several concertgoers who claim they were duped. Fyre’s rep didn’t comment.