Billy Joel Steps Up To Help Save Sag Harbor Cinema

SAG HARBOR, NY — Billy Joel has opened his heart and joined others in a mission to save the beloved Sag Harbor Cinema after a devastating fire ripped through the village in December.

Piano man Billy Joel, a part-time Sag Harbor resident, has joined the campaign to save and rebuild the Sag Harbor Cinema with the Sag Harbor Partnership, the group said this week.

April Jornik, vice president of the Sag Harbor Partnership, confirmed that Billy Joel will get the "naming rights" to the popcorn stand.

"In a sense, everybody thinks Sag Harbor is their home, and Billy Joel is the most famous hometown boy we have. The fact that he has stepped up in such a remarkable, generous way has just given us all such a sense of empowerment and hope — and we know he did it for love. He knows the value of the Cinema to Sag Harbor and Main Street. We're just honored to have him be a part of our efforts," Jornik said.

When Joel was asked, she said, he didn't hesitate for a beat. "He just said 'yes' instantly," Jornik said.

Others A-list supporters of the campaign have signed on, too, including Martin Scorsese and Harvey Weinstein.

"The Sag Harbor Partnership has also confirmed that the Cinema Popcorn Stand will be named after Mr. Joel in honor of his generous gift and as a welcome reminder of his ongoing support for the community," a release said.

Nick Gazzolo, president of the Sag Harbor Partnership, reflected on the Piano Man's generous donation:

“Billy (Mr. Joel) has spent a lot of time in Sag Harbor. He knows exactly how much the sign and the cinema mean to all of Main Street. It's so encouraging that he answered the call to help restore this landmark with such a generous gift. So many of his songs show his understanding of how much specific places mean to people, and we are so grateful that he agrees the Sag Harbor Cinema is a special place worth fighting for.”

Some of the major improvements planned for the new Cinema, which will keep all its Art-Deco architectural charm, is the addition of state-of-the-art equipment planned with Digital Media Systems advisors working with the Cinema’s architects.

The Cinema will have a completely new sound system, and feature projection ratios and equipment that will allow film to be shown as it was intended, and give the house the ability to show digital, 35mm, and even 16mm with "astonishing resolution, so that the viewer experience will be as the filmmakers’ had intended. This will be a plus that few other art houses anywhere offer, and will make the emphasis on offering film history as well as contemporary movie-making a reality," the SHP said.

Martin Scorsese described why saving the Cinema meant so much to him. “I believe in the power of film not only to entertain, but to bring unsung heroes to life, and to change the world around us. For as long as I can remember, the Sag Harbor Cinema has stood as a beacon of culture on Long Island. On the evening it was destroyed, the cinema was showing two European films, neither of which were considered blockbuster hits, but that wasn’t the point."

He added, "This theatre was about art, and the ability for film to inspire people to persevere in the face of adversity. I hope people from all over the East End will join in this fight to save Sag Harbor’s center of culture.”

A fundraising campaign to give new life to the Sag Harbor Cinema, destroyed by a raging December fire, kicked off in earnest in April.

The Sag Harbor Partnership, a group community residents dedicated to saving the iconic structure and rebuilding it as an arts center, commenced an "urgent" capital fundraising campaign.

To ensure that the deal is complete, the SHP needs to raise $6 million by July 1, 2017 to secure the contract, with an additional $2 million needed by December 31, 2017 to take ownership, the SHP said in a release.

"If the community falls even a dollar short of the $8 million needed by the end of the year, the agreement will be voided," the release said.

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The SHP had secured nearly $1.5 million since the property was placed in escrow on April 6, before Joel's donation.

While the exact amount of his donation was not divulged, it was extremely generous, all agreed.

The mission of the SHP is to ensure that the community remains a place of culture and discovery; the restoration of the cinema as a not-for-profit cultural resource is a vital part of that purpose, the SHP said.

"Exciting new developments are happening daily. Emma Walton Hamilton and Steve Hamilton, founders of Bay Street Theater, have joined our executive committee," the group said. "A dynamic and resourceful advisory board for the new Sag Harbor Cinema Arts Center has been formed. Susan Lacy, creator of the American Masters series on PBS, has agreed to be its director, and we have been joined by stage, screen and theater legend Dame Julie Andrews. Chris Hegedus and D.A. Pennebaker, renowned documentary filmmakers (The War Room, Monterey Pop, Don’t Look Back) have joined us, as well as character actor great Harris Yulin. From Hollywood, we have PR dynamo Shawn Sachs of Sunshine Sachs, as well as celebrity chef Katie Lee (The Kitchen) of both the Food Network and the Cooking Channel," SHP said.

All contributions to the purchase and rebuilding of the Cinema are tax-deductible, and the Sag Harbor Partnership, a 501(c)3, is looking for "hero-donors" to step up for community, culture and education on the East End, the SHP said.

The SHP announced recently that, after months of negotiations, the group has entered into a contract to purchase the Sag Harbor Cinema from its longtime owner, Gerald Mallow, for $8 million.

According to a release on its website, the Partnership hopes to raise funds from private donors for the "continuation of the Cinema’s long tradition of exceptional programming, preserved for the last 38 years by Mr. Mallow, and to expand it to include the formation of a new not-for-profit, the Sag Harbor Cinema Arts Center."

The entity, the release said, "would be committed to education, outreach, and programming for all the people of the East End year-round. And of course the rebuilding of the Cinema would save Main Street and preserve this cultural pillar after the terrible devastation suffered in the fire that destroyed the entire front of the Cinema and adjoining buildings on December 16, 2016."

When the fire first swept through the village, the fear was that the Cinema was gone completely.

But then, in what seemed like the biggest Christmas miracle of all, the interior auditorium-seating section of the Sag Harbor Cinema survived.

Although the facade of the building, and the large, long lobby, which included the ticket window and concession stand, was destroyed in the blaze and later demolished for safety reasons, the seats of the theater and auditorium portion, which were located behind the large lobby, are still intact.

For those mourning the loss of the iconic theater, the news inspired hope.

The iconic neon Sag Harbor sign, which graced the facade of the beloved theater, was also saved.

A theater reborn

Looking ahead, the goal is that the façade of the Cinema will be rebuilt, replicating renowned architect John Eberson’s original, with the iconic “Sag Harbor” sign, which has been kept at Twin Forks Storage, repaired and replaced.

The group hopes to have a temporary façade installed as soon as possible, those involved with the Partnership said.

"The village board hopes to work closely with the Cinema Group in expediting this project,” Sag Harbor Deputy Mayor Rob Stein said.

And, added, Mayor Sandra Schroeder, "The effort of a group of citizens to take action and turn the loss of the iconic building and landmarked sign damaged in the fire into a community arts center for the residents and citizens of the Village is both appreciated and lauded by the board.”

Gornik said that a group had met as far back as 2009 to save the Cinema, when it was first up for sale, for a significantly higher price.

"We were concerned that we’d lose it to some big business, and Main Street would be irrevocably changed. We reassembled again last July, with new input and members, when Gerry [Mallow] approached us about wanting to sell the Cinema to someone who’d preserve it,” she said.

“We were set to be in contract by the end of December when the fire threw everything into disarray, but we didn’t lose hope. We’ve been working with experts for eight months to ascertain how best to rebuild the Cinema, make it profitable, and serve the community, and we’re grateful that Gerry stuck with us," she said.

Looking ahead, film writer and curator Giulia D’Agnolo Vallan of the Venice Film Festival and producer Andrew Fierberg, a member of Film Forum’s finance committee and both part of the 2009 cinema group, have set forth a vision for what will become a year-round, fully functioning Cinema Arts Center.

The hope is that programs will be built on the art house tradition established by Mallow, integrated with "a rich variety of retrospective programs of international cinema, as well as educational initiatives tailored to local schools and the local community, and designed to take full advantage of the wealth of artists and filmmakers" on the East End, the release said.

"The Cinema Arts Center will provide an opportunity to draw on the talents and experiences of an ever-expanding year-round community on the East End” said Lacy.

Plans include the preservation of the large, historic “curved scope” screen in in the main theater, which has approximately 250 seats; a second with 150 seats on the same floor, and a smaller 30 seat screening room, doubling as a classroom, on the second floor.

Award-winning architect Allen Kopelson of NK Architects has created the design pro bono.

A locally-owned and sourced cafe will be featured, as well.

This year, the Partnership’s will host a Big Tent party to honor Mallow and raise funds for the purchase and rebuilding of the Cinema.

The event will take place in the big tent on Long Wharf on July 16.

“We expect this year’s Big Tent party for the cinema to be a blockbuster,” said Gazzolo, “Main Street won’t feel whole until that famous sign is shining again. Everyone wants to see this come back.”

Speaking with Patch, Gornik credited Mallow for his dedication to preserving an iconic piece of the fabric of Sag Harbor.

"I'm very grateful that he stuck it out. He could have gone with someone else, but he held out for us. That's because I really think he did want to make this happen. He is very sincere about wanting to preserve the Cinema."

When asked why the Sag Harbor Cinema is such a touchstone for the Sag Harbor community and entire East End, Gornik reflected. "Everybody who says, 'I love Sag Harbor,' or says, 'Let's save Sag Harbor,' we all know that means. It's integrity, it's diversity, it's quirkiness, and all of those characteristics are something that the Cinema stands for. Whether you were going there every night or hadn't been there for years, we all knew. It's just one of those indelible things."

She added, "I think everyone understands it needs to be preserved — and we're going to try and make that happen."

Photo: Scott Roth/Invision/Associated Press