J-Air forced to relocate
Jewish community radio station J-Air is hoping for a last-minute reprieve after being told it needs to vacate its Oakleigh studios by the end of the year.
JEWISH community radio station J-Air is hoping for a last-minute reprieve after being told it needs to vacate its Oakleigh studios by the end of the year.
As The AJN went to press, the station’s management were optimistic they may be given a three-month extension by their landlords amid concerns there wasn’t enough time to find alternative premises from which to broadcast.
According to the owners of the Dandenong Road property, J-Air’s managers were informed four months ago that they would have to leave by December 31. But the management say they only received a formal vacate notice at the beginning of last week.
Station founder and manager Robert Bontschek told The AJN relocating complex broadcasting equipment, much of it custom-installed on the premises, is not a straightforward process, and much of the work was done on the assumption J-Air could remain there for a further three years.
Around $80,000 worth of building materials was donated to improve the Oakleigh studios’ infrastructure, which includes acoustic enhancements, air conditioning and some eight kilometres of installed cabling.
However, according to the landlords there were never any discussions about the station having the premises for such a long period. A spokesperson said J-Air had only ever signed a 12-month lease for the premises in April 2014 – for which the station was to pay a peppercorn rent – and that had expired about 18 months ago. He also said they had offered the station an alternative location in Dandenong, but were told it would be too far.
Stressing that they now require the premises for their business, he added that J-Air was made aware from the outset that the landlords might need the space back.
In his report to the J-Air AGM on Sunday, station president Sean Meltzer described the December 31 deadline to move as “daunting and demoralising”, adding, “We have no funding for relocation, we have no premises to go to … we may have to go off the air temporarily.”
Meltzer told volunteers at the meeting the news “has disrupted the plans of J-Air by bringing forward by about three years plans for a purpose-built and permanent home for the station”.
PETER KOHN
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