Help Save the Bengies!

posted by Patrick Crowley on March 23, 2004 at 10:18 am

BALTIMORE, MD — Gregg Anderson alerted us to the fact that Baltimore’s Bengies Drive-In Theatre has an important zoning hearing on Thursday. If you live near the Baltimore area, please consider attending the meeting to show your support for the theater!

From the Bengies newsletter:

“Dear Great Patrons of the Bengies Drive-In Theatre,

In order to save the Bengies Drive-In Theatre, I must act upon my agreement to purchase the property it sits upon. I must take the zoning of the property and change it from residential to commercial, so that I can set other things into place to generate enough income to support the mortgage.

I have put this request in to Baltimore county, Maryland, and the first of 2 PUBLIC hearings is set for this coming THURSDAY, March 25. It is a public hearing that will be HELD AT 7PM at PARKVILLE HIGH School. [THERE WILL BE A SECOND PUBLIC HEARING LATER THIS SUMMER] Both hearings are VERY important to our cause.

This hearing is part of the process to change the zoning and put what we need to do into place to ensure the future of the Bengies Drive-In Theatre.

What I would like is for as many of our regular patrons as possible to come to this meeting to show how much support the drive-in has, to encourage the county to allow this change and secure the Bengies (finally) as a CONTINUING operational landmark WITH A BRIGHT FUTURE.

Without the zoning, I would have to say that the chances of the Drive-In continuing past the current agreement is practically NONE.

Why? Because the Drive-In on its own, even though we do well, cannot support the mortgage for the high price that the land is worth. I need to put other things in place (all of them commercial in nature) in order to generate more income to pay for the property.

Without that, I do not see (short of a miracle of winning the lottery or a huge benevolent gift) how I would ever be able to pay for the property. so, without the zoning, our days are finally numbered to extend only to the end of the current lease agreement, which expires in 2006.

HOW CAN YOU HELP? You can help simply by coming to this meeting, and at a point in the hearing, you will be asked to stand up and show your support for this zoning issue.

The more folks who show up, the better the chances that the county will grant this needed zoning.

Thank you for your continued support of the Bengies Drive-In Theatre.

The Bengies opens for its 49th season on April 9, 2004!

Sincerely Yours,

D. Edward Vogel
Owner/Operator"

Bengies website
Video clip about the Bengie (Quicktime, Real, WindowsMedia)