Regal UA Lynbrook 6
321 Merrick Road,
Lynbrook,
NY
11563
321 Merrick Road,
Lynbrook,
NY
11563
13 people
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Showing 76 - 100 of 213 comments
Two photos added — Lynbrook current and Lynbrook proposed.
New article from Lynbrook Herald:
Construction of Lynbrook’s long-awaited new movie theater will begin as soon as the project gets approval from the Nassau County Industrial Development Agency, and the work will keep the local cinema closed for more than a year, according to officials with the project’s contracting firm.
The IDA will review the project’s impact on businesses in the area and approve any county tax exemptions. A decision to proceed with the work is expected by the end of the month. If approved, it would begin within three months, starting with the demolition of the existing theater.
As reported in the Herald in April, the Lynbrook village board approved the demolition of the United Artists Lynbrook 6 theater on Merrick Road, owned and operated by Regal Cinemas, and its replacement with a state-of-the-art theater, at a cost of over $25 million. Mayor Bill Hendrick said that the new theater, which is expected to include 13 screens and 1,660 seats — seven more screens and nearly 700 more seats than the current theater — would be good news for residents and local businesses.
“Lynbrook is very lucky to get this movie theater,” Hendrick said. “I’m very happy with the plans … I think the new facility is going to be absolutely beautiful. … This is a giant leap forward in the right direction.”
According to Village Clerk John Giordano, the village’s engineering consultant and the county fire marshal are also reviewing the plans. The current structure, which opened nearly a century ago, will be torn down after the project receives IDA approval. A demolition permit is expected to be approved this fall, Giordano said.
Jerry Grewe, vice president of Regal Cinemas, said the renovation planning began over a decade ago — but didn’t include demolition of the building. “We initially planned to just renovate the current structure, but that didn’t turn out to be feasible,” he explained. “Instead, we’ll be building a new structure at the same site as the existing one.”
Regal tapped Blumenfeld Development Group for the planning and construction of the 77-foot tall building, which will feature new leather recliners and significantly enhanced lobby and concession areas. Upgrades will also be made to the small nearby Patrick Henry Park, including a new flagpole, a brick plaza and a seating area. The park is used by the village for the Christmas tree and menorah lightings, and other events.
Lynbrook will be without a movie theater for roughly 18 months, according to Seth Silver, a spokesman for Blumenfeld, and the project will be minimally invasive and will not have a large impact on traffic, according to an environmental impact survey done by VHB Engineering. Additionally, Chris Robinson, vice president of Blumenfeld, promised that the construction would not disrupt use of the park.
“The construction will not occupy any space currently occupied by the park,” Robinson said. “Instead we’ll just be renovating certain areas of the park to give it a facelift.”
Comments about this story? or share it online at www.liherald.com/lynbrook.
Newsday, 7/18/15, page A8. Multiplex to replace theater. Lynbrook’s vintage movie theater will be demolished to make way for a multimillion dollar multiplex. The orbs in the photo above most likely indicate the old theater is haunted.
The local paper Lynbrook/East Rockaway Herald says the theater will double in size in 2015. i’ll link the article when i can get to it.
This got even worse, Regal is no better then UA.
Now that the Fantasy has been renovated its going to be another nail for the Lynbrooks coffin.
Mike(Saps) One reason for a theatre being ‘updated’ is the change of the main photo on the page. Photos change due to the number of ‘hits’ each one receives.
This theater is on the “updated” page but I don’t see hide nor hair of any difference in the listing.
How do theaters get on the updated list when they don’t seem to be actually updated?
Truth, Mike. Only new seats in the building are those in the two newest rooms – the stage area auditorium, and the tiny auditorium up front in the former retail space. In the 4 main rooms, are the same creaky red seats I remember sitting in for films like “1941,” “Rocky II,” “The Muppet Movie,” and “Dawn of the Dead” back in 1979!
Meanwhile, the seats that were installed by Mr. Calderone himself haven’t been changed since, and the floors are extra sticky because there are still no cup holders. In 2013. At a first run Regal theater.
Yet they continue to charge full price, plus extra for 3D.
Way back when when UA owned the theater the intention was to demolish it and start over. The problem was long tern tenants who could not be displaced. The saga of the Lynbrook is like the LIRR going to Grand Central Terminal and the completion of the Second Avenue Subway. At least they’re working on the latter two but the dates keep getting pushed away. Those two are 50 years in the making. The Lynbrook is only 20.
Here is a direct link to a page on the Lynbrook Village website, where one can open minutes from previous Board meetings. If one were to click on the link for the 8/12/2013 meeting (the latest meeting at this time), a PDF document will open. At the bottom of page 5, are the following minutes:
“Special Village Counsel Jack Libert introduced Regal Theatre/Bluenfled Development Group (RTBDG) to discuss their intended redevelopment of the Lynbrook Movie Theater at 325 Merrick Road. David Blumenfeld and Jerry Grewe, representing Regal Cinemas, discussed the existing condition of the Theatre. Mr Grewe indicated that the proposed project would encompass all parcels owned by Regal, and provide 15 screens with modern theatre amenities. Chris Robinson of RMS Engineering, representing RTBDG, advised that the existing structure would be demolished, and a new structure would be constructed having a front entrance facing east on Hempstead Avenue, a drop off traffic lane in Patrick Henry Park, and parking provided off site utilizing available spaces on streets and in municipal parking lots.”
After listing those who commented (with no details as to what those comments may have expressed), the minutes go on to read:
“Mr Grewe added that the existing theater has 1700 seats, and the porposed theatre would have 3150 seats, take 12 months to construct, have staggered movie times to minimize traffic congestion, and possible reprogramming of pedestrian crosswalk times on Merrick Road by Nassau County. The Mayor thanked all for their comments and requested that the applicants advise Jack Libert regularly on the status of filing of a formal application.”
So, we now know that the intention is to demolish and construct an entirely new structure. We also know that this is still pretty early in the process, although, it would appear that Regal has a finalized vision for the redevelopment. I wonder how the discussion went, between all those who commented. It might not have even been a discussion, merely various points of view from various Chamber of Commerce representatives and, perhaps, a few local business owners and/or citizens. I can’t imagine they would have been too happy with the projects proposal to utilize only off-site parking.
There really isn’t much by way of convenient street parking in the immediate vicinity. The municipal lot on Forrest Avenue, which serves the storefronts on Atlantic Avenue, would probably bear the brunt of the load – thus necessitating the reprogramming of pedestrian crosswalk lights. Crossing Merrick Avenue at that intersection has always been a tricky proposition.
Point of note: On the Regal website ,there’s no metion of the explansion and RPX under “grand openings”
We’ve heard this before. Any link to the article?
Since Green Acres closes, this has become my new movie destination. I saw “The Pink Panther 2”, “Winnie the Pooh”, “Wreck-It Ralph”, “Monsters, Inc. 3D” and “The Croods” there.
Movieman… bring some clorox wipes along with you.
I have been up to the left balcony auditorium twice in the last 6 months or so, most recently for “Django Unchained,” and I noticed that there is some sort of housing in front of the screen that noticeably cuts a small notch a few inches deep and several feet wide along the bottom edge of the image – dead center, too! Wonder what this is and why it was so poorly placed with respect to the audiences sight lines towards the screen?!
I wonder when thir currnt lease will expire. I don’t think there will be a renewal.
right now the theater is different because they have metal platforms for handicapped people.
Deadline.com is reporting that Regal is spending $191M to acquire the Hollywood Theaters chain. Link to article. This is the comment I posted in Deadline’s comments section:
Since Regal has so much money to spend, I hope they can throw a couple of dollars at their Lynbrook sixplex, which has plenty of broken seats and doesn’t even have cup holders. They’ve been “planning” to rebuild for over a decade and so have spent very little on repairs and maintenance. Since their new purchase is expected to be “accretive to cash flows” I hope some of that cash flows this way.
I wonder if the Woodbay Construction Co. is still in business. The did so many theater conversions, I’d love to see their files.
All theatres are Sony 4K Digital except the upstairs theatres don’t have suround sound. Don’t pay to see 3D in theatre 4 and pay extra with no surround sound. The surround sound works very well in Theatre 1 and Theatre 2. YES, I think they are the same seats from 1982 when I saw the “The Wiz” when I was 12 years old. Also, If you go when it’s sold out, the head in front will block the view of the screen.
RichD… posted some info that might interest you over on the Rivoli Theatre page.
Just remembered that I also saw “Nighthawks” with Sylvester Stallone at the Rivoli (also the 2nd time seeing that movie) and the theater was still a single at the time – which was in the Spring of 1981 (imdb.com lists a premiere date of April 4th). I’ll try and do some research, Rich, and will report back on the Rivoli’s CT page.