By: Karenlyn Barone
Village officials and key people from Regal Entertainment Group, the owners of the Lynbrook movie theater, met to discuss redevelopment plans for the building last Tuesday. "Regal is exploring the investment, and I feel confident that they will go forward with it," said Mayor Gene Scarpato.
More than two dozen calls made to Regal Entertainment during the past four months were not returned.
According to Scarpato, representatives from Regal flew in for the April 22 meeting from their headquarters in Tennessee on the company's private jet and brought along two architects from a New York City firm. Years after initial speculation that Regal would make significant changes to the building -- and after very limited communication with the village -- Regal finally appears to be ready to take some action on the property.
"We talked at a certain level and questions were asked that showed that Regal is beyond just the planning stages," said Lou Bello, Lynbrook's building superintendent. "They are deciding how to invest in the village so that it is profitable for them and good for the village. The impression I got was that they will go ahead with either refurbishing or the rebuilding of the theater. It was a very positive meeting."
Regal acquired the theater sometime in 2001, according to Scarpato, when the previous tenant, United Artist Theaters, declared bankruptcy. The old brick building, erected in 1921, sits at the intersection of Atlantic and Merrick avenues and currently operates as a busy six-screen theater.
According to Scarpato, among the options Regal spoke of at the meeting was demolishing the old building and building a new one- or two-story structure. Another was whether to keep the old cinema open during construction if the company decides on a new building.
Adequate parking was also raised during the discussion. Bello provided all the necessary information to Regal executives, including a map of the immediate area detailing all available parking and a breakdown of village code. Village code requires the theater to provide four parking spaces for every 100 seats. The present theater has 1,400 seats, while the proposed theater would have 2,200 stadium-style seats, making 88 parking spaces mandatory. Astoria Federal Savings Bank, across from the theater, currently offers its parking lot to evening moviegoers.
"We are more than happy to give support to the community of Lynbrook and the movie theater, which generates business and revenue for the village," said Karen Pennachio, Astoria Federal's branch manager.
Village officials expect Regal to make its intentions known in the next few weeks. An e-mail Scarpato received on Monday from Regal thanked the village for its hospitality and said the company looks forward to working with the village. "Things are coming together," said Scarpato.
Scarpato and Bello both estimate that a new building would take anywhere from eight to 10 months to complete.
