Billy Crystal commercial to air this weekend

City of Long Beach TV Commercial with Billy Crystal (3) from Visit Long Beach New York on Vimeo.

City officials announced the premiere date on Thursday for its new summer visitors ad campaign featuring Long Beach native Billy Crystal. The campaign, “Long Beach is Open for Business,” is aimed at informing the public about the progress the city has made in its recovery from Hurricane Sandy. The campaign’s first television commercial will begin airing this weekend. “The City of Long Beach, its residents and merchants have worked countless long hours preparing for the summer beach season,” said City Council President Scott Mandel. “Our new visitors television commercial is a fantastic visual representation of all that our city has to offer and shows off just how far we have come in our rapid redevelopment.” The city's summer campaign to attract visitors back to Long Beach will include television, radio, print, web and billboard advertising. The project cost approximately $700,000, with $500,000 in funding from New York state. Bethpage Federal Credit Union and Citigroup both contributed $50,000 each towards the effort. The city and local business owners are also working in conjunction with the Long Island Rail Road to bring discounts to visitors who trail to Long beach by railroad. Last month, Crystal joined city officials at Long Beach Boulevard beach to announce a $1 million donation to the city's hurricane relief fund. The actor said that he and his famous friends, including Muhammad Ali, Robert De Niro, Robin Williams, Steve Martin and others raised $888,000, while Crystral and his wife, Janice, personally donated $112,000. Crystal also filmed the commercial that will air this Friday — and he asked the crowd to be a part of it as extras.