Southampton Town Board Looks At Spending $4 Million In CPF Money To Preserve Sag Harbor Cinema

Southampton Town officials are looking to spend nearly $4 million of Community Preservation Fund money to obtain the development rights of the Sag Harbor Cinema Arts Center property to aid in the building’s reconstruction, and which, in turn, would prevent the property from becoming something other than a movie theater in the future.

Along with the development rights, Town Supervisor Jay Schneiderman said CPF money would be used to preserve the art deco-style facade of the theater.

By purchasing the development rights, the town would be able to regulate what can and can't be built on the property. The move would provide protection to the historic landmark to ensure its continued operation as a theater and aesthetic appeal to Sag Harbor and the Town of Southampton.

Calls to Southampton Town CPF Attorney Mary Wilson seeking specifics about what would be allowed under the deal were not returned.

As a condition of the sale, the supervisor noted that the town would put restrictions in place that would require that ticket prices remain affordable for everyone in the community—although he did not elaborate on what is considered affordable other than to say it would be comparable to area movie theaters.

The deal is also intended to prevent retail stores from ever being constructed at the site of the theater, and place restrictions on any retail sales there, possibly permitting only a souvenir shop related to the cinema.

“I personally think it is money well spent,” Mr. Schneiderman said. “There is a bundle of commercial development rights.”

The announcement, which was made at a Town Board meeting on September 25, comes almost two years after a fire ravished the historic building in December 2016.

Since the fire, the property has been purchased from former owner Gerald Mallow with $8 million in donations by the Sag Harbor Partnership, which has been raising money since the cinema burned down to fund its reconstruction.

The partnership’s goal is to bring back the movie theater, which in its new incarnation would serve as a community arts center with three screening rooms.

In a prepared statement, the partnership said, “Should the Town of Southampton approve the acquisition of the use and historic facade easements, then these easements, our Empire State Development reimbursement grant, and the funds we hope to continue to raise from our generous community for projection equipment, staffing, and programming for our first annual operating budget, will allow us to achieve our goals.

“Our wish has always been to purchase the property, rebuild and restore the facility, and be able to open the doors to a new cinema arts center free of debt for the community to enjoy for many years to come,” the statement concluded.

April Gornik, the partnership's vice president, said the organization needs more funding to accomplish its goals.

“We’re glad that our interests are aligned with the town since it recognizes the importance of the preservation and use of the building for Sag Harbor,” Ms. Gornik said in an email on Monday.

Since purchasing the property in 2017, the partnership has raised approximately $2 million, according to Ms. Gornik, though she could not say how much the $4 million from the town would advance the group’s efforts.

In fact, she added that the group is still in the process of working on a final assessment of salaries, programming, equipment and maintenance costs that would be needed to open and run the cinema.

A public hearing regarding the spending of the $4 million of CPF money for the development rights of the cinema will take place at 6 p.m. on October 23 at Southampton Town Hall.