A small bar in a shopping center which often hosted bands on its stage, Ground Zero opened in the late 1990s and was located at 1894 Newbridge Road in North Bellmore, New York. As noted by a Village Voice article penned by Under The Volcano founder Rich Black, Ground Zero leader Eric Weiss was "a seasoned veteran of the music industry" who had worked with "bands like Electric Frankenstein and The Misfits," "run the Florida punk label Kado from his Bellmore home, published a fanzine" and also fronted and played guitar for the band Rocket Blast Fury. The venue "regularly" allowed "kids of all ages to see hardcore and punk bands."
Among the notable artists who had graced the stage of Ground Zero, which appears to have closed in 2001, were Allister, New Found Glory, Brand New, Bayside, ASOB (featuring Jeff Rosenstock), This Year's Model (featuring Neil Rubenstein), Poison The Well, From Autumn To Ashes, Keepsake, Stretch Armstrong, Glassjaw, Shutdown, Piebald, Showoff, and Errortype:11 (featuring Arty Shepherd).
Still from the filming of the documentary Bellmore: The Unscene:
Brand New live at Ground Zero:
Sources:
https://bellmoretheunscene.blogspot.com/2010/05/ground-zero-closes-72801.html
https://www.setlist.fm/venue/ground-zero-bellmore-ny-usa-43d75f8f.html
https://www.villagevoice.com/making-noise-in-bellmore
https://www.tourdatesearch.com/tourdates/artist/1127/taking-back-sunday?p=78
https://www.reddit.com/r/brandnew/comments/1n31w4/brand_new_partial_set_ground_zero_2000/?rdt=64224
https://www.longislandrap.com/2021/08/bellmore-unscene.html
https://www.instagram.com/waterpistolmusic/p/DBdug2GJQNV
Researched by Darren Paltrowitz on April 13, 2025.