Comments from Jeffrey1955

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Jeffrey1955
Jeffrey1955 commented about RKO Keith's Theatre on May 1, 2009 at 11:14 am

davebazooka, thanks for that link — great story. Nice to see the mainstream press giving it some attention. I think the text deserves to be posted here to be part of the record, in case that link ever disappears:

Queens preservationists hoping for reel deal on RKO Keith’s movie theater

BY Nicholas Hirshon
DAILY NEWS WRITER

Friday, May 1st 2009, 10:52 AM
Preservationists who want to buy a shuttered Queens movie palace are hoping its debt-saddled owner will lower the $24 million asking price to cut his losses – or even donate the structure to them for a tax break.

Representatives of Brooklyn developer Shaya Boymelgreen insisted he “would not consider a sizable reduction” on the price tag nor making a donation of the historic RKO Keith’s theater in Flushing.

But far-flung fans of the landmark movie house – who want to transform it into a multicultural performing arts center – think Boymelgreen may change his mind, given a host of publicized financial woes.

The Israeli business newspaper Globes reported Monday that Boymelgreen was nearing a debt-rescheduling deal with his firm’s largest creditor, Mizrahi Tefahot Bank, because he can’t afford an upcoming $2.4 million interest payment.

Globes also reported that Boymelgreen investors are expected to convert part of their bonds into shares, diluting Boymelgreen’s 89.8% stake in the company.

Boymelgreen brass told Globes that a bondholders' agreement was pending, but wouldn’t disclose details. Boymelgreen’s daughter, Bassie Deitsch, who is the group’s marketing director, refused to discuss the Globes story with the Daily News.

“He’s got so many problems,” said Flushing-raised comedian Ed Tracey, founder of the Friends of the RKO Keith’s Flushing. “If you look at what he owes, it’s almost better for him to donate it.”

Jerry Rotondi, a preservationist who is advising Tracey, figured the cash-strapped Boymelgreen would drop the price for the theater, which opened in 1928 and closed in the late 1980s.

“I don’t think he particularly cares who he sells it to as long as he gets the money,” Rotondi said. “My gut feeling is right now – it’s more than a gut feeling – is that it’s overpriced.”

ReMax broker Erez Daniel, who is representing the RKO Keith’s with colleague Kwan Cheung, said the two have fielded calls from potential buyers hoping to turn the perennial eyesore into everything from a mall to a 200-unit condo to a movie theater.

Daniel questioned the legitimacy of Tracey’s group, which plans to incorporate and earn nonprofit status. But Daniel said he remains “open-minded to all ideas.”

“If the right person will be coming in and will be interested in restoring the theater, nothing would make us happier,” he said.

Boymelgreen bought the theater from scandal-plagued landlord Tommy Huang in 2002.

Jeffrey1955
Jeffrey1955 commented about Ridgefield Playhouse on Apr 27, 2009 at 11:26 pm

Wait — a possible reprieve?

Old Ridgefield Playhouse could become a museum
By Susan Tuz
STAFF WRITER
Updated: 04/27/2009 08:40:50 PM EDT

RIDGEFIELD — A new idea might save the old Ridgefield Playhouse on Prospect Street from demolition.

At least that’s what some residents are hoping.

Community activist John Papa came up with the idea of establishing a Ridgefield history museum, and the old playhouse is a possible site for it.

The building is owned by the Ridgefield Library, which originally planned to use it to expand library.

But when the library board of directors learned the extent of its deterioration and the cost of renovations, it decided the building should be razed.

Since that plan was reported in January, concerned residents have worked to persuade the library board to save the structure.

“I think it’s a terrific idea to have a museum in town,” said Marion Roth, executive director of the Chamber of Commerce. “But the old playhouse building belongs to the Ridgefield Library, and this shouldn’t go to the court of public opinion until the library board has a chance to consider it. It is a private building.

“But if a portion of it could be devoted to the history of the town,” Roth continued, “that could be tied into the library and would be good for everyone.”

Roth said she was approached by “someone who is putting the idea of a history museum together.”

Chris Nolan, executive director of the library, confirmed rumors it was Papa.

Papa declined comment Monday, saying only that he was “talking to a lot of people about a lot of ideas."
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He added that he wanted to "make sure things were done right.”

Nolan said Monday the board had just responded to Papa’s request for a meeting to discuss using the building for a museum. A time and date has not been be set.

“It’s a great idea. It’s wonderful. There’s a lot of great ideas out there right now for the building, but the question is, who would pay for it?” Nolan said. “There’s a lot of great ideas, but there has to be dollars. The question is, who would be assuming the costs?”

The building at 25 Prospect St. was added to the state Register of Historic Places in a decision reached March 4 by the State Historic Preservation Council.

It was accepted for its contribution to the streetscape and its Colonial revival-style exterior. The interior was remodeled to be used as a bank several years ago.

Contact Susan Tuz

at

or (203) 731-3352.
The old Ridgefield Playhouse

Ridgefield Library, which owns the 25 Prospect St. building, has been asked to consider having it used as a Ridgefield museum rather than demolishing it.

It was built in 1939 as a movie theater.

In the 1970s, the interior was remodeled for use as bank.

The library bought it for $1.5 million in 2000 to use for expansion.

In January, the library board decided the building should be demolished due to deterioration and its $200,000 annual upkeep cost.

In March, it was added to the Connecticut Register of Historic Places.

Jeffrey1955
Jeffrey1955 commented about RKO Keith's Theatre on Apr 14, 2009 at 4:42 pm

Yes, as Ed Solero posted above on Feb. 16, 2003, the theater survived until 1986.

Jeffrey1955
Jeffrey1955 commented about Cross River Cinema on Apr 7, 2009 at 10:03 pm

I could swear that I posted information about this theater a couple of years ago, and my posts have disappeared…

Jeffrey1955
Jeffrey1955 commented about Whitestone Drive-In on Apr 7, 2009 at 8:07 pm

The toll was 25 cents when the Bronx-Whitestone Bridge (as it is officially known) opened in 1939. I suspect it was still the same in 1951.

Jeffrey1955
Jeffrey1955 commented about Fine Arts Theater on Apr 4, 2009 at 11:22 pm

The shopping center looks more desolate than ever. JoAnn’s fabrics remains as the lone “major” tenant, other than a laundromat, and it appears to no longer be restocking its shelves and has cut back its hours. It’s amazing it’s been nearly two years since my last comment above, and nothing has happened. I did read somewhere that there had been a plan to demolish the whole place and build a Lowe’s home center here, but they wound up building Lowe’s over by the (ironically) AMC Loew’s multiplex a short distance away — the same theater that made this one close.

Jeffrey1955
Jeffrey1955 commented about RKO Keith's Theatre on Apr 4, 2009 at 11:09 pm

Wo! Sorry — since CT wiped out all the automatic notifications about responses to selected theaters, I haven’t gotten a single message. I just decided to check in here and found this!

My comment on 8/14/08 was in response to the article linked to by Lost Memory directly above it. I just checked and the link still works. It’s an article in The Real Deal, a real estate industry publication, from 05/29/08: “Massey Knakal lists RKO site in Flushing for $31 million” and all it says about the mortgage is: “Boymelgreen took out an additional $13.4 million mortgage against the property in April, according to city property records. The company did immediately not return calls for comment.” Scroll up and click on Lost Memory’s 8/14/08 link to see the full story, or try this: http://tinyurl.com/cjfz6b

Jeffrey1955
Jeffrey1955 commented about RKO Keith's Theatre on Mar 20, 2009 at 7:09 pm

Thomas, that is one heck of a good video! Really well done.

Jeffrey1955
Jeffrey1955 commented about RKO Keith's Theatre on Mar 14, 2009 at 5:31 pm

Ed, you’ve done a fantastic job. Sorry I wasn’t able to make it down to the meeting.

Jeffrey1955
Jeffrey1955 commented about Eagle Theater on Mar 13, 2009 at 1:09 pm

It appears from the Fair’s website that they haven’t so much switched from Bollywood to Kung Fu, as added Kung Fu while continuing with Bollywood (in addition, I assume, to their adult fare?)

Jeffrey1955
Jeffrey1955 commented about RKO Keith's Theatre on Feb 13, 2009 at 12:09 pm

Street View on GoogleMaps for 368 Bleecker gives no clue as to what might be inside the storefront. But it does seem like an incongruous place for a fountain of that size to have been located!

Jeffrey1955
Jeffrey1955 commented about RKO Keith's Theatre on Feb 11, 2009 at 9:34 am

In the comments to the “Queenscrap” post from last May that Warren linked to above, it is obvious that there’s a Committee to Save the RKO Keith’s Theatre of Flushing Inc. that has been in existence for 25 years and is headed by a Jerry Rotondi. Has he ever posted here?

There are also posts both there and here talking about the impossibility of preserving and using the theater based on the millions it would cost, even though other communities have successfully completed similar projects and made revitalized theaters the centerpiece of downtown rejuvenation projects. Though the current economy would seem to make such a prospect even less likely, has anyone considered the possibility of applying for economic stimulus funds? I’ve heard those are supposed to be available for “shovel-ready” projects — and one would think that refurbishment of the existing theater, based on the original plans, would be a lot more shovel-ready than that pie-in-the-sky condo/office tower thing. What could be a more appropriate stimulus than something that creates jobs and revitalizes the major Flushing crossroads?

Jeffrey1955
Jeffrey1955 commented about RKO Keith's Theatre on Feb 8, 2009 at 8:05 pm

Thanks, SWC, for a great post.

Jeffrey1955
Jeffrey1955 commented about RKO Keith's Theatre on Feb 4, 2009 at 9:46 pm

SWC, I tried looking on your site for that photo but couldn’t locate it. Was hoping maybe it was in higher resolution there… I can’t make out what that sign says because it seems to break down as you blow it up.

Jeffrey1955
Jeffrey1955 commented about Ridgefield Playhouse on Feb 3, 2009 at 1:05 pm

The plot thickens… (finally!)

Some Ridgefielders want old playhouse saved
By Susan Tuz
Danbury News-Times
STAFF WRITER
Updated: 02/03/2009 12:31:44 AM EST

RIDGEFIELD — An impassioned open letter from Ridgefield business owner Suzanne Brennan to the town’s first selectman and the board of directors of Ridgefield Library to save the old playhouse from demolition is being circulated by e-mail.

“I urge you to please demonstrate a commitment to preserving this architecturally, historically and artistically significant link to our past,” Brennan tells Rudy Marconi, Peter Coffin, and the library’s director, Chris Nolan, in an open letter she is circulating by e-mail.

“While saving some of our beautiful old buildings may not make dollars and cents, each time one is demolished a bit of history is wiped away forever and another disconnect between generations takes place,” Brennan wrote.

First Selectman Rudy Marconi, who has boyhood memories of the building, agrees it should be saved, and Coffin, the chairman of the library board, said he is not immune from “sentimental feelings” about Ridgefield’s old buildings because he also grew up here.

Originally built in the 1920s as the Ridgefield Playhouse, the structure had live shows for a time and later began showing silent movies. It remained the town’s only movie theater through Marconi’s and Coffin’s childhoods.

The library board decided last week that Prospect Street building, which most recently housed Webster Bank, should be torn down. When the library bought it in 2000, it was to be part of a library expansion, with a cost of $1.5 million to
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preserve its facade.

With the recent downturn in the economy, the expansion has been put on hold, and taxes and upkeep on the building are some $200,000 annually, Coffin said.

Since stories about the demolition decision ran The News-Times and the town paper over the weekend, Marconi said, “I’m hearing from both sides at this point, those who think it’s an old, deteriorated building and should be torn down and those residents who want it saved.

“I’m 100 percent opposed to demolishing it. Once that building is gone, it’s gone forever.

“That’s where you went to go to the movies,” Marconi recalled. “That’s where I went with my family to see ‘The Sound of Music.’ As you looked down Prospect Street there were some wonderful old houses. Not one of them is left today.”

A town “changes as it grows,” he said, but “change needs to be controlled. That street has changed so much. Let’s not lose the last original remaining building.”

Coffin said Monday the board has “spoken to our donors, our advisory board” and fiscal reality requires that the building be demolished.

He said the board’s responsibility is to keep the library operating and providing free services to residents. The playhouse building is a drain on scant resources.

“We can’t have someone come in to lease the building for 20 years and commit to putting in the money needed to renovate it. We’re trying to stay true to our mission.”

Coffin, an architect, said the building is in “bad shape” and the library will need to expand where it sits at some point.

“I understand the sentimental argument to preserve the building,” he said, “but it really doesn’t trump our fiscal responsibility to the library and the residents of the town.”

Contact Susan Tuz
at
or (203) 731-3352.

Jeffrey1955
Jeffrey1955 commented about RKO Keith's Theatre on Feb 3, 2009 at 7:45 am

Warren, that introduction has been there for over seven years, and you’ve been posting here just as long — why the sudden need to debate?
(And yes, Google puts the address in the wrong spot; if you click on Street View that’s obvious. But if you move the Street View icon to the Main St. intersection, you can see the theater clear as day.)

Jeffrey1955
Jeffrey1955 commented about Ridgefield Playhouse on Jan 30, 2009 at 11:36 pm

It appears that’s it for the building; it’s to be demolished, according to the News-Times (which includes a current photo that you can view at http://tinyurl.com/bso4s5, though I don’t know for how long — but again fails to mention that it was ever a theater!) for no other reason than they don’t know what else to do with it:

Ridgefield Library to demolish previous Webster Bank building
By Susan Tuz
STAFF WRITER
Updated: 01/30/2009 11:58:46 PM EST

RIDGEFIELD — The Ridgefield Library board of directors plans to demolish the old Webster Bank building it purchased in 2000.

The space was to be part of a library expansion, but the economic downturn has put the expansion on hold.

The bank building’s upkeep and needed renovations would burden the library budget, according to the board.

“The decision was made for financial reasons after several months of carefully researching” alternatives, board treasurer Peter Authier said in a prepared press release.

The building was only partially renovated in the past last eight years, and Webster Bank, which leased it, moved out in November.

To rent the building to a new tenant would require a minimum $300,000 in capital improvements, the board said. And the cost to prepare the building for library use would be more than $1.5 million.

Because mortgage payments, utility costs and taxes would be some $200,000 annually, the board thinks tearing the building down is the best decision. The demolition is being arranged, but no date has been set.

The need for more library space is still considered pressing. In the past year more than 308,000 items were loaned out, and the number is increasing, said board chairman Peter Coffin. There are days when more than 1,400 people use the library.

“The library board is committed to meeting the needs of the townspeople in a fiscally responsible manner,” Coffin said in the press release. “We will be ready with the best plan possible when the time is right.”

Contact Susan Tuz

at

or (203) 731-3352.

Jeffrey1955
Jeffrey1955 commented about RKO Keith's Theatre on Nov 20, 2008 at 12:18 pm

Actually, by doing a Find On This Page search, I located the reference above — posts on Sept. 9 & 10, 2006, mostly by Francesca, indicating that Abel met his espionage contact in the RKO Keith’s in 1954. Scroll up and you’ll find more.

Jeffrey1955
Jeffrey1955 commented about RKO Keith's Theatre on Nov 20, 2008 at 12:13 pm

Aha! There IS info on that page, under Related Photos. Apparently this is part of a set of photos related to the arrest of Rudolf Abel for espionage in August 1957. I’ll have to check further, but I vaguely recall that he used the RKO Keith’s as a meeting place (in fact, there may even be reference to this in one of the millions of posts above; probably easier to just look it up…)

Jeffrey1955
Jeffrey1955 commented about RKO Keith's Theatre on Nov 20, 2008 at 11:53 am

Is there any info on WHY that particular photo appeared in Life?

Jeffrey1955
Jeffrey1955 commented about Arion Theatre on Oct 27, 2008 at 5:49 pm

While we’re at it, the description at the top of the page should probably be changed. It says “it is now a Genovese drugstore” — but there ARE NO Genovese drugstores anymore. Genovese was taken over by Eckerd; Eckerd was taken over by Rite Aid. So you could say it is now a Rite Aid drugstore… but with the way things have been going, it would probably be safer to just say “it is now a drugstore”!

Jeffrey1955
Jeffrey1955 commented about RKO Keith's Theatre on Sep 25, 2008 at 2:11 pm

Here, once again, is the color-challenged scan of a slide taken outside at my I.S. 61 graduation in 1968. (And I have no idea how to get the image to show up here):
http://tinyurl.com/3eha6n
Yes, there were pictures taken inside. Unfortunately, when I looked through them I discovered, to my dismay, that they were all closeups of people sitting in seats, or distant shots of people on the stage, with the background entirely dark — no visible architectural details. It’s been a few years since I checked, so I will look through them again just to be sure, but I think I would have posted them if I’d found anything decent.

Jeffrey1955
Jeffrey1955 commented about RKO Keith's Theatre on Sep 18, 2008 at 8:19 pm

Hey, how did you get that photo onto the page? Do we now have the capability to post photos directly?

Coincidentally, I was just reading about a proposal for Philadelphia’s historic Boyd Theatre:

PHILADELPHIA, PA â€" A local developer says he has a deal in place to buy the Boyd Theatre and plans to make it the centerpiece of a $95 million hotel and entertainment complex. Hal Wheeler of ARCWheeler expects to close the deal with current owner Live Nation by November 25, and intends to build a 30-story, 250-room hotel to the west of the theater.

Live Nation would book live entertainment into the theater about 60 nights a year, leaving it available for other events the rest of the time. Broadway-type plays would not be part of the plan, as the hotel would be built on land that was to be the site of a stage house for the Boyd under a previous proposal.

Wheeler’s development proposal, like Live Nation’s earlier plan to turn the Boyd into a Broadway roadhouse, would restore the theater to its original art deco glamour. But the project’s scope is far more ambitious, and aims to transform the 1900 block of Chestnut Street from a retail backwater into a Center City nightlife destination.

So it’s not impossible to restore & preserve a theater if the community and the developer understand how valuable it is. Unfortunately, the Boyd project is apparently waiting for the state to kick in a huge chunk of money, and in the current economy that’s probably unlikely — even moreso in New York, which depends on Wall St. But that also means nothing is likely to happen in Flushing for a while, and once the economy recovers, maybe somebody will finally see the light?

Jeffrey1955
Jeffrey1955 commented about Eagle Theater on Sep 8, 2008 at 7:36 pm

No A? A!

The second photo is even more interesting. “Call 205-2800”? Must be the Bollywood version of “Dial M for Murder” — or, more likely, “Transylvania 6-3000”.

Jeffrey1955
Jeffrey1955 commented about RKO Keith's Theatre on Aug 14, 2008 at 11:40 am

Boymelgreen took out an additional $13.4 million mortgage against the property in April? And people wonder why there’s a sub-prime mortgage crisis!