Phoenix owner launches piano marathon to keep gallery, music hall, offices open

September 22, 2026 | By Lee Kahrs | Correspondent

Joseph Pensak is hoping to play his way to solvency, one note at a time.

The co-owner of the Phoenix Gallery & Music Hall, Waterbury Studios and The Hesterly Black Gallery at 5-7 Stowe Street says he and his wife Anna Black will have to close the spaces on Oct. 1 if an ongoing dispute with the building owner can’t be resolved. 

Joseph Pensak and Anna Black are owners of The Phoenix Gallery & Music Hall at 5-7 Stowe St. in Waterbury. With their dogs Immy and Louie on Monday. Photo by Gordon Miller

In the meantime, Pensak began playing piano at 9 a.m. today in a 24-hour marathon to raise awareness of the gallery’s plight and raise some money to keep the doors open.

The situation involves the building at 5-7 Stowe Street, rented by Pensak and Black’s business, AMPS, LLC. They sublease space in the two-story building to the nonprofit contemporary music organization TURNmusic, furniture maker TR Risk, and several other tenants, including an architectural design firm and several art and wellness practitioners.      

The building owner is Whitehill Invention Five, LLC, a company led by Mark Myers Mermel, a co-owner of the Radio Vermont Group that operates WDEV and its affiliated radio stations from the adjacent building at 9 Stowe Street. 

Mermel’s real estate company purchased both of the Stowe Street properties in September 2025 from the previous longtime owner, the Ken Squier Family Trust. Mermel and business partner Scott Milne took ownership of the broadcast company following Squier’s death in 2023.

Pensak and Black have been renting space in the 5-7 Stowe Street building since 2022. They opened The Phoenix gallery and music venue in June 2023.

Nine-month dispute

Nine months ago, on Dec. 22, Mermel notified the tenants via certified mail that he was terminating their leases effective Jan. 21. Mermel stated that Pensak and Black were in default of their leases due to back rent owed and in violation of numerous lease terms, citing “persistent underpayments,” late charges, 12% interest, and “additional property taxes” due on the rental spaces, as well as staffing and signage issues, and subletting without “landlord’s prior written consent.”

Mermel also stated in the letter that Pensak and Black owed, “all remaining base rent and additional rent for the balance of the term, beginning 30 days from the date of termination beginning 30 days from the termination date through the scheduled expiration” of the leases. The upstairs lease runs through October 2027 and the first-floor lease ends April 30, 2028, according to court documents.

All told, Mermel is seeking over $200,000 in what he says is unpaid back rent, as well as all of the future rent due on the lease until that end date.

In response, Pensak and Black filed a complaint in Washington County Superior Court in January and were granted a stay of eviction by Judge Daniel Richardson, along with a restraining order against Mermel.The suit detailed that despite Mermel’s claims, Pensak and Black could prove that they paid rent from October through December but Mermel did not deposit their rent checks.

In their suit, Pensak and Black described harm they could experience as a result of the leases being terminated, including the ability for themselves and their tenants to do business, loss of income for those operating at the building, and their ability to continue as an event space.

That is what Pensak says could happen on Oct. 1 if the case isn’t resolved soon, because they rely on the rental income from subleases in order to operate. 

Upstairs at 5-7 Stowe Street are another gallery space and offices for several small businesses. Photo by Gordon Miller

Slow progress

The case has proceeded slowly in civil court this year, with a request from the court in the spring to pursue mediation. That failed to resolve the matter and Pensak and Black say it cost them $900. 

In August, Pensak and Black added to their suit, claiming Breach of Contract/ Lease Provisions Regarding Subletting, after they said Mermel refused to approve a new subleasing tenant in May. That prospective tenant, a licensed massage therapist, ended up finding space elsewhere, Pensak said, and the space remains empty. He said he and Black now have another subleasing tenant moving out of the building on Sept. 30, and he fears that Mermel will refuse to approve a new tenant for that space as well.

That loss of rental revenue, coupled with the legal fees associated with the case, have rendered Pensak and Black on the verge of closing, they said.

“As of Oct. 1, we will lose $1,060 in rent a month,” Pensak said. “We won’t be able to pay October rent.” Should that be the case, Pensak said he worries that the landlord would bar all of the tenants from using the building. 

Pensak said that monthly amount is in addition to the $300 per month in rent that they have been losing since June after Mermel refused to approve the massage therapist interested in the upstairs sublease. 

Pensak and Black’s original complaint included six counts: Breach of Contract/Lease, Tortious Interference with Contractual Rights, Wrongful Eviction, Nuisance/Interference with Quiet Enjoyment Covenant Under Both Leases, Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress, and Injunctive Relief. 

In court in March, Mermel agreed to withdraw the December eviction notice and he agreed to mediation on the merits of the case. He also agreed to comply with the restraining order for the duration of the litigation. 

Attempts at mediation failed, Pensak said, because Mermel and his attorney refused to agree to any proposed compromise or resolution.

“Now, he’s quite successfully ignoring the court, which expressly told (Mermel) to stop interfering with these people’s business,” Pensak said. “We are not monied people. We don’t come from money. The fact is, we set up our business model for the upstairs rental studios to subsidize an art space open to the community.” 

Waterbury Roundabout reached out to Mermel and his attorney, A.J. LaRosa, with MSK Attorneys in Burlington, for an interview about this case, but LaRosa declined. “We don’t discuss matters pending in litigation. Thank you,” he replied in an email.

Black is an attorney with Stackpole and French Law Offices in Stowe, and she and Pensak are being represented by attorney Greg Nagurney in Burlington.

It’s unclear what the reasons are for Mermel’s attempts to remove the building’s tenants. Neither communications with Pensak and Black nor court filings shed light on what his future plans might be for the property. The prominent Stowe Street building stands out on the busy corner with Main Street given its two-story colorful “Phoenix Rising” mural, a tribute to Waterbury’s recovery after 2011’s Tropical Storm Irene destruction. 

In Pensak’s view, however, three things are clear. “Number one, that we’re not in default,” Pensak said. “Number two, that we are very good tenants, and three, that he is denying our ability to make money on our property, which we pay rent for.”

Joseph Pensak upstairs in a vacant studio space available for rent but needing landlord approval. Photo by Gordon Miller

Community support

Pensak and Black’s complaint filed in state court included dozens of letters of support from Waterbury business owners, community members, artists and tenants, as well as endorsements from artists and arts community members from around Vermont.

UVM music professor Kyle Saulnier, who performs at The Phoenix, wrote: “The Phoenix is not only a performance space; it is becoming a cornerstone of Vermont’s local creative economy and is a gathering place that strengthens community connection and vitality. Its loss would cause significant harm to artists, neighboring businesses, and the broader cultural life of Waterbury and the State of Vermont.”

Anne Decker owns and operates the nonprofit TURNmusic, which has made its home in The Phoenix space. 

“The Phoenix provides more than a venue—it offers a welcoming, intimate, and flexible home where listening, dialogue, and artistic risk-taking can flourish,” she wrote in her letter of support. “Together, TURNmusic and The Phoenix transform the gallery into a vibrant space for performance, education, and community gathering, lowering barriers to music that is often perceived as distant or inaccessible.”

Visual artist Hannah Morris from Barre shows and sells artwork at The Phoenix Gallery and at Treehouse, Pensak and Black’s sister business across the street that hosts a record store and co-working office space. “These businesses are important conduits for my income as an artist. They are also critical components of a strong arts community that I benefit from being a part of—where artists can meet each other, connect, and foster the kind of relationships that keep an arts community thriving. A strong arts community fosters a healthy and growing local economy – something that is desperately needed in so many Vermont towns and cities,” Morris wrote.

Waterbury resident Sonja Lunde works as executive director of the University of Vermont’s Fleming Museum of Art. She wrote about the value of The Phoenix to its community, calling it an “economic driver and cultural touchstone” in Waterbury. “Cultural spaces like Phoenix are not luxuries; they are essential infrastructure for a healthy, connected community. The long-term vitality of Waterbury depends on places like this,” she offered.

Midday on Tuesday, Phoenix Gallery & Music Hall co-owner Joseph Pensak plays the piano inside the Stowe Street gallery. Photo by Lisa Scagliotti

Action through music

Pensak began playing piano at The Phoenix at 9 a.m. on Tuesday with the goal of playing for 24 hours until 9 a.m. on Wednesday. He said some musician friends were planning to come by to keep playing to allow him short breaks and time to speak with attendees.

In a Monday announcement on social media before the marathon, Pensak suggested how supporters could help. “Please come and buy art and/or rent our space for your upcoming party/event or give toward our October rent payment so we aren’t forced into default.”

Regardless of how the October rent situation plays out, Pensak and Black say they will see their legal action through, although they would prefer to settle the matter short of going to a trial. 

“Even if we win, damages are awarded after the fact, so I don’t know what the future holds here,” Pensak said. “If we can sell some art and have people support our business, that’s all we need. And it’s not just us we’re fighting for; it’s for all the small businesses in Waterbury who could go away because of one guy, and it’s all because he wants to win.”

As of midday on Tuesday, Pensak was at the piano inside The Phoenix with passersby stopping in to chat. Katarina Lisaius, a Democratic candidate for the state House of Representatives for Waterbury’s district, was there inquiring about the space for a campaign meet-and-greet event. Pensak said several others had been by so far with similar questions. 

As Lisaius left, musician friend Paul Boffa strolled in to offer words of encouragement. “This is an ordeal,” he said to Pensak. “But this place isn’t going anywhere.” 

Pensak said he’s heartened already by such feedback. He shared that he had already received an inquiry from a corporate customer in Boston interested in purchasing one of artist Mary Lynne Burke’s paintings currently on exhibit. Multiple pieces in the collection bear price tags in excess of $10,000. 

“We’re going to make this happen,” Pensak said as his fingers continued to play a melody on the TURNmusic Steinway.