At Players Club, Money Woes Sour the Mood They were supposed to be the grown-up club on the block. As crisis after crisis hit the National Arts Club, the 124-year-old Players, which stands next door on Gramercy Park, seemed to hum above the fray. But now a crisis has come to the Players. The club has had to borrow nearly $2 million from a member to stay afloat, and has had to sell one of its two John Singer Sargent paintings and put the other up for sale to restore the crumbling facade of its building and pay a tax bill dating to 2010. Losses for the fiscal year that ended in April 2011 came to $448,853. Services have been cut, and members have been hit with a $500 increase in annual dues and a $450 assessment. "The club is hemorrhaging money," said Doug Gerbino, a member who resigned from the board of directors in December 2010 in protest over the way the Players was managed. There's an ensconced, stubborn management that's brought on financial problems, and an aura of fear that if you stick your neck out, you'll be ostracized. The Players was founded in 1888 by the actor Edwin Booth to promote the theater and other arts, and has counted Mark Twain, Ernest Hemingway and Humphrey Bogart among its members. While the club names Ethan Hawke and Angela Lansbury as current members, most who belong are much less famous. John Martello, the executive director since 1993, acknowledged the problems. As he spoke at midday last week, the club was nearly deserted, because it has stopped serving lunch most days and closed the bar before 4 p.m. "Every club in New York is having problems these days," he said, adding that the sale of the paintings, which he expected to bring in $2 million, was essential to pay off some bills due immediately. The club's income, mainly from dues, has long failed to cover its expenses, he said, blaming the board and the membership for ignoring this discrepancy. The club needs 1,000 members to break even, he said; after a membership drive, it has 625. But some members say the problem is Mr. Martello. "Extraordinary measures like selling historic assets, loading down members with special assessments and dues increases would not be necessary if management were doing a better job," said James Larocca, a former board member. At the club's annual meeting on Tuesday, several members complained about a lack of communication from management. Most members interviewed spoke only off the record or on background, for fear of discipline from the club board. They complained of inside dealing among the members of the executive board. The club's two vice presidents sell insurance to the club, and the brother of one vice president has been assigned to oversee the restoration of the facade, which is expected to cost $650,000. Others said that Mr. Martello squandered opportunities to rent out rooms for functions, instead allowing favored parties to use the rooms free or for nominal fees. "We'd get calls from networks wanting to shoot there, and we couldn't because Martello gave the room to someone for no charge," said Dennis Davies, who was Mr. Martello's assistant until he was fired last July. Mr. Martello said he charged standard rates for room rentals. He said that the insurance policies through the club's two vice presidents, James Fenniman and Ann Vellis, were advantageous to the club, and that Mr. Fenniman's brother, Thomas, who is overseeing the restoration, had worked for the club since before James Fenniman was a member. Mr. Martello, who earned $121,765 from the club last year, according to tax filings, also produces and acts in plays, and teaches a twice-weekly class for the New York Film Academy that meets in the club's dining room at no charge. "He put in plenty of two-hour days," said Andrea Maulella, who was Mr. Martello's assistant from 2001 to 2006. Mr. Martello said that he put in long hours on club business, often working evenings and weekends. "I don't feel I'm cheating the club," he said. And he drew a distinction with the neighbor to the west. "There's conflict at the club, no question," he said. But it's not fractious in the way of the National Arts Club. Meanwhile, at that club, the ousted former president, O. Aldon James Jr., remains under investigation by the Manhattan district attorney and the state attorney general for his financial practices, among other things. Mr. James maintains his innocence, and recently broke off negotiations that would have settled the charges without the possibility of prison, Mr. James and his lawyers said. The club seeks more than $2 million from Mr. James for using the club's property and checkbook for his own benefit. The club's current president, Dianne Bernhard, said it had spent $923,900 in legal fees in the last year, largely in litigation to get rid of Mr. James. Mr. James said he did not intend to pay. "I'll throw the money off the roof of the building before I give it to them," he said.