The Space at Westbury

Trouble with Westbury is location. Too near the former Westbury Music Fair which has a long successful history. Long Island is overburdened with performance spaces.

With all the dollars that went into the reno this venue is only utilized for a handful of events each month.

Only one booking for the entire month of August on the 1st…the rest of the month is empty!

Posting an update. Unfortunately not many shows going on, actually this past whole week absolutely nothing. It is another summer of drunk guys hanging around with no activity. We were promised “something going on 365 days a year” to quote it’s management’s Facebook post. Not even the lounge is open every night! 10 events going on for the rest of this month is better than it was, but that’s still 10 days out of just over 20. And most events do not sell out, I was surprised that Billy Idol didn’t sell out, because they do have quite a few big names performing at The Space. I’m sharing a link to a recent article. http://thewestburytimes.com/2014/06/bid-talks-revitilization/ It’s more of a pitch to the Westbury BID than anything else. I live here and don’t see much of a difference due to the lack of shows. The Village will not do anything more to curb the loitering. My bet is people are turned off from coming here because of what they see on Post Ave with loitering & bodegas all over the place. It’s such a shame really.

Anyone who has ever walked out onto a bare stage with only the ‘ghost light’ on for illumination knows what the developer of the Westbury Theater forgot: an empty theater is only a shell, until the moment a show is in it. The occasional one-day event booking may be nice, but one can’t keep a building alive, much less an entire community, with a policy like that. He needs a resident producer/director to fill the space with ongoing entertainment, offering runs of at least one week as the old Westbury Music Fair and Mineola Playhouses did in their heyday. Oh, and while I am at it, let me throw out a few other observations: [1] from their web site, the new interior looks tacky, and glitzy in a cheap sort of way, but that may be a matter of taste. What is not a matter of taste is the fact that the photographs are all too dark and are shot using the wrong lens. One gets no sense of the feeling the space can have and the relationship between the house and the stage. Loose the lobby photos that look like the place is still under construction and lighten the others up using basic Photoshop functions and/or take new and better pictures if you really want to attract business/rentals. [2] Further along those lines of thought, the owner/managers should add some basic technical information about the stage’s equipment package and capabilities for potential renters (they can look at the site for the arts center in Raleigh, NC for a good example of what I am talking about. And [3] ‘The Space at Westbury’ is a LOUSY name for a theater. Better to call it the Westbury Theater and Event Center. At least that conveys something…some identity and purpose! When it comes to theaters, I am VERY DUBIOUS about villages and property owners taking advice from ‘marketing’ and other MBA type hucksters, who come up with concepts/names like ‘The Space.’ They’d be much better off talking to theater people, with a measure of horse sense, instead. :>)

Lots of work going on with the lounge area today, hopefully a good sign.

I have taken photos of the theater to show you what’s going on. It appears all work has stopped on the lounge as no progress has been made. Even the lobby looks rather bleak. First photo is of the outside, second is the lobby through the doors, and the third is what was supposed to be The Lounge which was supposed to open this fall, which obviously isn’t happening. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v88/Btraindash/Snapshot-1060_zpsdf85e246.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v88/Btraindash/Snapshot-1062_zps7c0244c6.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v88/Btraindash/Snapshot-1065_zps69461e6b.jpg

I think Huntington stands apart from the other locations you mention. That strip of New York Avenue, where the Paramount is located, is such a hot spot on weekends, I don’t think it even needs the theater to remain vibrant. Though, I’m sure it helps. I met some friends for dinner and drinks at a local restaurant, just a block and a half from the Paramount last weekend, and the street was hopping. Lots were packed, and local pubs and restaurants all seemed to have good patronage. A significant portion of the crowd at the bar were waiting to go in to the ZZ Top concert at the Paramount, and someone there told me that a few solitary seats were still available for the show. I can recall being on this same strip a few years ago, before the Paramount opened, and when the former IMAC was still shuttered, and the crowds did not seem noticeably smaller, nor the bars and restaurants any less crowded, than they were on my recent visit.

Anyway, point being, you can’t really compare Westbury to Huntington. There really is nothing else going on along Post Ave. In that regard, it probably has more kinship with Riverhead, Patchogue, and Bay Shore – all sleepy little business districts, compared to Huntington.

NYCB Theater, as the Music Fair is now known, is in a fairly desolate (at night, anyway) stretch of office parks and light commercial strips, but it still seems to draw its usual roster of nostalgia acts and comics throughout the summer (and even during other seasons, though not quite as abundantly). I have a feeling, it gets the business it does, because promotors know it, and are used to booking it. It’s like a reliable fixture on the circuit.

I signed up just to post my observations since I’m a Westbury resident. The theater outside looks very nice, and I’m sure the inside is too. But there’s hardly anything going on. I read that NY Times article, the owner said that there would be stuff going on almost every day with a new bar and lounge by the fall, well, it’s almost the end of November and there’s still nothing going on. There’s hardly any shows, I would say one show a week would be pushing it, in fact it’s been over two since the last one. The next show isn’t until next Wed the 27th. There was to be a sushi bar and bar opening right across the street, haven’t seen any progress on that either, and the store that the sushi bar was to move into has “for rent” signs on it again. The news stories and elected officials will say how the town has been revitalized, but as a resident I can tell you not much has changed. Still shady people hanging around at night, especially in summer when they get drunk, and too many bodegas and money wiring stores. I dont even feel safe walking through town at night and get a ride back from the LIRR instead. There’s no one around, its desolate, and thats the problem. I dont think people are coming because of these issues. The first show at the theater had alot of ppl but the others have been quieter. In order for this to succeed the Village of Westbury has to agressively fight these Quality of Live issues and then the people will come. So far I have to say I’ve just been very dissapointed. From the photos I’ve seen it’s a beautiful venue, but with hardly any shows and the big “Westbury” sign in front dark most of the time, it’s discouraging.

The nutty Staehles should be invited to opening night

Long awaited opening of The Space at Westbury is being touted for August. Still nothing on the official web page.

Looks like a catering hall.

Rolled past yesterday and the crew was working on some additional outside lighting. The marquee is up and lights are in. I asked when the opening was projected and he man said about one month.