Playhouse

104 Middle Neck Road,
Great Neck, NY 11021

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Showing 1 - 25 of 87 comments

wally 75
wally 75 on February 21, 2021 at 1:06 am

THANKS FOR THE UPDATES

robboehm
robboehm on February 16, 2021 at 5:06 pm

The process was taking so long I thought it would fall down by itself.

EsseXploreR
EsseXploreR on February 14, 2021 at 8:46 am

The theater has been demolished.

robboehm
robboehm on October 20, 2020 at 7:38 pm

The saga continues. At it’s August meeting the Trustees gave the developer an additional two months to obtain a demolition permit due to the pandemic. A build permit must be obtained within six months.

robboehm
robboehm on December 20, 2019 at 3:24 pm

On and on. There was a public hearing on the proposal for the theater site on December 9, 2019. Will see what comes of that.

robboehm
robboehm on August 9, 2019 at 3:29 pm

At a Trustees meeting on July 8th the developers offered an amended plan. They were given 6 months to get a demolition permit and a building permit. There will be a public hearing in October. The developers expressed concern, as well they should, that the never ending deferred dates are ridiculous. This project has been in the works for a decade.

robboehm
robboehm on December 12, 2018 at 4:01 pm

Last reference I found on this was that, in June 2018, the Village Trustees had given the developer extended time to get the necessary permits. Due to some mumbo jumbo the original ones were no longer valid. Members of the Historical Society requested that the lobby portion be retained in the new structure to honor the history of the building.

This redevelopment is eventually going to equal the lead time for Long Island Rail Road access to Grand Central Terminal and completion of the Second Avenue Subway in Manhattan.

VintageBry
VintageBry on March 18, 2018 at 7:51 pm

So sad as I grew up in that theater and the Squire across the street. What a blown opportunity to reinvigorate the strip in Great Neck. Really tragic to see this happening but it was inevitable as the place turned into a political football and constantly fumbled.

https://theislandnow.com/great_neck/plans-outlined-first-playhouse-great-neck/

robboehm
robboehm on March 1, 2018 at 3:37 am

There will be a public hearing on March 12, 2018 re amendment of the zoning to accommodate residential and retail on the site. The Board of Trustees indicates there is no environmental impact. So much of the Great Neck Estates meeting agendas are not readily available on line. Presume nothing has yet been decided on demo. Approval of the zoning change would seem to be the first step.

robboehm
robboehm on February 25, 2017 at 11:32 pm

Tabled again until March 13th.

robboehm
robboehm on February 3, 2017 at 2:36 am

Demolition is on the agenda for the February 13, 2017 meeting (like that will ever happen).

robboehm
robboehm on September 19, 2016 at 3:18 pm

In August the matter was deferred until September 7th. On that date it was deferred until October 10th. The building will fall down from neglect before they vote to demolish it.

robboehm
robboehm on July 27, 2016 at 3:29 pm

At the July 11th meeting the subject of the Playhouse demo was deferred to the August 8 meeting when it will probably be deferred to the September meeting when it will be deferred to….You get the picture.

robboehm
robboehm on June 20, 2016 at 4:04 pm

The fate of the theater continues to be tabled at each meeting. The building will fall down of it’s own volition at the rate things are going.

robboehm
robboehm on March 17, 2016 at 8:37 pm

Matt do you have any interior photos? I understand there were a number of dressing rooms, too.

Matt Lambros
Matt Lambros on March 17, 2016 at 8:29 pm

It doesn’t really matter. There’s nothing left inside the auditorium.

robboehm
robboehm on March 17, 2016 at 7:58 pm

At the March 14th meeting the matter of demolition was tabled another month. So what else is new.

robboehm
robboehm on February 16, 2016 at 7:38 pm

According to the agenda for tonight’s Great Neck Plaza trustees meeting the matter of the Playhouse demolition is to be tabled until the March 14th meeting. On and on. Delays without resolution. If this continues like the plans for the Lynbrook it will be 2030 or so before anything happens.

dallasmovietheaters
dallasmovietheaters on November 3, 2015 at 12:00 pm

The $450,000 Great Neck Playhouse was launched by Irving Lesser in 1925 with organist Billy Lent at the Wurlitzer. In just its first year, the playhouse tried out 29 different out of town runs. Ring Lardner and Charlie Chaplin had inaugural season tickets. For the tryout world premier of “The Play’s The Thing” by Franz Molnar on October 21, 1926. guests at the Playhouse included George Cohan, Eddie Cantor, the Marx Brothers, and Irving Berlin. Other supporters included W.C. Fields and F. Scott Fitzgerald.

In 1927, Katherine Hepburn would be fired from her first live stage leading role while at the Playhouse, an event she long recounted. Other stars on the stage in its formative days were James Cagney, Claudette Colbert, Melvyn Douglas, Clark Gable, Ruth Gordon, Helen Hayes, Katharine Hepburn, Leslie Howard and Barbara Stanwyck. Though films were mixed into the Great neck Playhouse menu, United Artists took on the theatre in the 1930s to change the business model to film-centric purposes.

robboehm
robboehm on September 15, 2015 at 2:49 pm

Since the Board wouldn’t give approval to the demo unless there was a detailed plan addressing the affect on traffic during the process the owners hired a traffic engineer. That report is nearing completion. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

robboehm
robboehm on June 14, 2015 at 8:46 pm

The oft postponed hearing is now postponed indefinitely. Now, there is also the additional wait for the Nassau County Department of Public Works to weigh in on a proposal to cut off access to Middle Neck Road from Maple Avenue during the demo. Middle Neck Road is a county road.

If this goes on much longer the building will just fall down of its own accord.

robboehm
robboehm on April 18, 2015 at 2:13 am

There is still talk about preserving it. Just what is left to preserve after all this time? Anybody been in there lately?