Islip Theater to be demolished! :(
Yet another testament to Islip Town corruption.
In the July 12, 2007 edition of the Islip Bulletin (islipbulletin.net) there is an editorial that says the property was bought by a construction firm: J.J. Nazzaro Associates. No more info is given except that it will probably be yet another “mixed use” residential on top, commercial below building.
Media info. since the closing has been limited, other than a few articles over the past year by locals wanting to keep the theater standing.
I looked up the construction firm and found that it has contributed to local Democrats and recently was a member of a panel created this past February by new Democrat Town Supervisor Phil Nolan aimed at making it easier for developers to build in the town. (BTW: Islip has been a Republican stronghold for over 40 years until a special election last year that split the vote between 2 competing Republicans and ended up electing a Democrat for the first time. So far we’ve been in a stale-mate here, with the exception of a local florist whose shop burned down being prevented from rebuilding because he has campaigned for Nolan’s Republican rival in the past. Nolan supports allowing developers to run amok, while the actual locals who live here are constantly complaining about the over-development and loss of our Main Street’s charm.)
I used to work at the Islip Theater when it was owned by Loews ~1999-2002. It was owned by Cineplex Odeon who was bought out by Loews who then went bankrupt (I think) after building way too many multiplexes. They sold the theater dirt-cheap to some company in Mass. for $150,000 or something. That company also owned Sayville and started a new theater in Seaford. I worked for Loews multiplex in Stony Brook for a few months (that sucked) and then transferred over to Seaford Cinemas with my old manager. At some point Islip was sold to someone else and as far as I know it began to fail. The guy we worked for at Seaford gave me bad vibes and I quit; 2 weeks later my manager was transferred to another theater so the boss could give his loser son-in-law his job. About a year later they were fired after the company realized that they were stealing money. I think that company still owns Sayville and Seaford.
Islip was a nice theater, except that it was out-dated in the sense that there was no air-conditioning (only an old cooling system). The new company had replaced some of the seats, but under Loews it pretty much was left to disrepair. It could never compete with the multiplexes, but it was great for local parents who could just drop their kids off and not have to worry. The 2 theaters downstairs were nothing memorable, but the upstairs theater was cool because it retained the original balcony lay-out with a new floor and extra seating below, and the original staircase was still there. The bathrooms were original (except the sinks and stalls in the girl’s room; the men’s room had cool old urinals), so that was cool.
I remember seeing The Dark Crystal there when I was a little kid before it was converted to a triplex.
Sadly, there really was no way that someone could have afforded to keep it as a theater: it just needed too much work and the profit margins are just not there in movies anymore.
I was hoping that it could be converted to a combination small theater upstairs for art films and a community art center downstairs. That’s what the people in the community keep saying they want, both after the sale of the old roller skating rink and now the theater. Sadly, the town ignores the people and allows corporations and developers to come in and demolish historic buildings to build even more stores. Trust me, we do not need any more box stores!
Unfortunately, $825,000 is the value of the land (actually, it’s worth more empty), not the building, which pretty much guarantees a demo. Personally, I think the town should prevent it’s demolition. The building appears small from the outside because of how the front was designed to not tower over Main Street by a 1-story foyer with marquee and balustrade above. But in actuality the building is huge – there was a huge storage area behind the screens. Housing here is so limited and so expensive that they could easily convert it into 9-10 luxury condos with the original entrance and public bathrooms and staircase as a focal point. That’s what they did with the historic 1920’s Vitagraph film studios in Bay Shore.
Tearing the building down is sacrilege. At this point I would accept turing it into anything as long as the building is not torn down.
Islip Theater to be demolished! :(
Yet another testament to Islip Town corruption.
In the July 12, 2007 edition of the Islip Bulletin (islipbulletin.net) there is an editorial that says the property was bought by a construction firm: J.J. Nazzaro Associates. No more info is given except that it will probably be yet another “mixed use” residential on top, commercial below building.
Media info. since the closing has been limited, other than a few articles over the past year by locals wanting to keep the theater standing.
I looked up the construction firm and found that it has contributed to local Democrats and recently was a member of a panel created this past February by new Democrat Town Supervisor Phil Nolan aimed at making it easier for developers to build in the town. (BTW: Islip has been a Republican stronghold for over 40 years until a special election last year that split the vote between 2 competing Republicans and ended up electing a Democrat for the first time. So far we’ve been in a stale-mate here, with the exception of a local florist whose shop burned down being prevented from rebuilding because he has campaigned for Nolan’s Republican rival in the past. Nolan supports allowing developers to run amok, while the actual locals who live here are constantly complaining about the over-development and loss of our Main Street’s charm.)
I used to work at the Islip Theater when it was owned by Loews ~1999-2002. It was owned by Cineplex Odeon who was bought out by Loews who then went bankrupt (I think) after building way too many multiplexes. They sold the theater dirt-cheap to some company in Mass. for $150,000 or something. That company also owned Sayville and started a new theater in Seaford. I worked for Loews multiplex in Stony Brook for a few months (that sucked) and then transferred over to Seaford Cinemas with my old manager. At some point Islip was sold to someone else and as far as I know it began to fail. The guy we worked for at Seaford gave me bad vibes and I quit; 2 weeks later my manager was transferred to another theater so the boss could give his loser son-in-law his job. About a year later they were fired after the company realized that they were stealing money. I think that company still owns Sayville and Seaford.
Islip was a nice theater, except that it was out-dated in the sense that there was no air-conditioning (only an old cooling system). The new company had replaced some of the seats, but under Loews it pretty much was left to disrepair. It could never compete with the multiplexes, but it was great for local parents who could just drop their kids off and not have to worry. The 2 theaters downstairs were nothing memorable, but the upstairs theater was cool because it retained the original balcony lay-out with a new floor and extra seating below, and the original staircase was still there. The bathrooms were original (except the sinks and stalls in the girl’s room; the men’s room had cool old urinals), so that was cool.
I remember seeing The Dark Crystal there when I was a little kid before it was converted to a triplex.
Sadly, there really was no way that someone could have afforded to keep it as a theater: it just needed too much work and the profit margins are just not there in movies anymore.
I was hoping that it could be converted to a combination small theater upstairs for art films and a community art center downstairs. That’s what the people in the community keep saying they want, both after the sale of the old roller skating rink and now the theater. Sadly, the town ignores the people and allows corporations and developers to come in and demolish historic buildings to build even more stores. Trust me, we do not need any more box stores!
Unfortunately, $825,000 is the value of the land (actually, it’s worth more empty), not the building, which pretty much guarantees a demo. Personally, I think the town should prevent it’s demolition. The building appears small from the outside because of how the front was designed to not tower over Main Street by a 1-story foyer with marquee and balustrade above. But in actuality the building is huge – there was a huge storage area behind the screens. Housing here is so limited and so expensive that they could easily convert it into 9-10 luxury condos with the original entrance and public bathrooms and staircase as a focal point. That’s what they did with the historic 1920’s Vitagraph film studios in Bay Shore.
Tearing the building down is sacrilege. At this point I would accept turing it into anything as long as the building is not torn down.