South Bay Cinemas
495 Montauk Highway,
West Babylon,
NY
11704
495 Montauk Highway,
West Babylon,
NY
11704
3 people
favorited this theater
Showing 51 - 75 of 166 comments
This has been in the works since 2016!!!!!Long Island has been losing theatres right and left. What are the odds that if and when they finally open it anyone will go? Theatres that were viable prior to the pandemic either closed on the spot or, when reopened, found no business. This has been off line for 6 years.
There are major construction delays everywhere
The only positive news is that the dumpster and the Bobcat are no longer on site. They haven’t totally finished the fascia in the reimagined box office space, the windows are still semi covered in brown paper (although that seems to be falling down of its own accord) and there is still a trench from the front of the building to the sidewalk and two piles of dirt. For whatever reason the high hats in the marquee were lit. So much for a projected Spring opening. Stayed tuned for my next report which will be early July.
No new update on their Facebook page. Went by today. They have finished reframing and enclosing the tiny box office area. It would seem that all the windows to be replaced have been installed. They are now covered with brown paper. The trench and the pile of dirt in the front of the theatre are still there. Behind the fencing there is a dump truck and a small Bobcat. Stay tuned for the next exciting chapter of a waste of time and money since, if it ever opens, it won’t survive. A number of well established Long Island theatres did not survive Covid. They either closed on the spot or couldn’t successfully reestablish.
Yes, in time to celebrate the 100th anniversary of V-E Day…!
There is still a large dumpster on the property and a large pile of sand in the front of the building behind the fencing. However, the fencing is now closer to the building.
Through the brand new windows they’ve installed you can see metal studs and pink insulation.
They’ve also removed the original box office and are now installing new metal girders. Looks like the new lobby will be smaller than the old.
Memorial Day?
ridethetrain - part of the Lynbrook delay was ousting tenants in the building. And they were unable to acquire one privately owned building which they built around. I suspect part of the village approval was related to the absence of parking.
@robbohm The Lynbrook project was proposed in 1995 by United Artists Theatre Circuit, they were originally going to expand the Marlboro and Bayside locations which never happen. Lynbrook took almost 25 years to finally happen. With all the political bs with the village, it took forever.
The Paramount in Stapleton, Staten Island had a long renovation that ended unsuccessfully.
From the time Regal announced it was going to level the Lynbrook and build a new theatre on the site took quite a bit of time. Interestingly there is not much of a difference in seating capacity from the old theatre to the new 9 story building which replaces it.
I am now wondering what the longest “renovation” of a theater has been and whether this would be the winner of that distinction.
They closed in 2016 for a renovation to be completed in 2017 and now they are going to open in the Spring of 2022. Time will tell on that. Because of the length of time closed, Covid and the popularity of streaming what are the odds that this is going to be viable?
Since this is a leased property curious to know when the current lease is up.
From the theatre owners as of today post on Facebook: Hi Folks Just to let all of you know, work is still coming along. The seats have arrived! We are still targeting a late Spring opening in time for the summer releases. To those of you that have been asking questions to us in our mailbox…. Here are some common answers… 1) We will announce about 4-6 weeks before opening when we are looking to interview for staffing 2) There will be online ticket sales 3) There will be birthday party & theater rentals available but we cannot book anything right now till we have a locked in date. As soon as we have more information, we will pass it along… See you soon.
Can we call this a Christmas miricle
From the South Bay Cinemas facebook page @robboehm Hi Everyone. It has been a long time since you have seen a post from this page. The short of the story is that the principal partner of the company passed away in 2020 after a long battle with cancer and it set the project back greatly. Many of you have started seeing construction going on again. I can confirm now that we have re-grouped and are moving along. The hope is to be ready before Easter. It will still be 5 screens with all luxury recliner seating. As a matter of fact, the seats were purchased today. The interior will be all-new. The plan is to have some food items as well as beer and wine and an all-new party rental program. And no, we will not nearly as expensive as Farmingdale or Deer Park. We don’t have anything else right now to share but again, if everything moves along, we shall see you by Easter. – The South Bay Cinemas Team
They finally boarded up the broken windows! But they also boarded up the entrance lobby?????? In addition to the machine and the porta potty I mentioned previously there is also a back hoe within the fenced area.
They gave it a fresh coat of paint and refurbished the marquee and the signage so it looks far better. They also installed new heating/AC units on the roof of the five auditoriums. There has been sporadic work on the interior over the years. What’s such a big deal about replacing broken windows? The building is behind a high chain link fence.
The town should give them a date, finish or demolish the eyesore.
Windows are still broken. Appears to be a work light inside. There are several sheet rock panels leaning against the entrance windows. There is also some sort of machine and a porta potty inside the fenced in area.
Please update, became a Triplex on May 21, 1975, quad on November 30, 1990 and five on November 15, 1991
Belated July 4th report. No change from June 20th. Next report mid-August.
Windows still broken. However, the recessed lights on the marquee were lit today and a few floodlights have been installed at the roof line since I was last there. Next report July 4th.
Reopen at Trio on May 21, 1975 another ad posted
What are the chances of this opening post Covid when they couldn’t open before. I’ll drive by in a couple of weeks to see if anything has changed in the past 6 months. Same broken windows? Same dumpster?
Reopened as South Bay Trio on May 23rd, 1975. Another ad posted.
Dumpster and backhoe gone. Windows still broken. Such progress.