Sag Harbor Cinema Joyfully Rises From Ashes With Groundbreaking

SAG HARBOR, NY — Sometimes, it takes a village to make dreams come true.

And on Saturday, an iconic theater will rise from the ashes, literally, as the Sag Harbor Partnership hosts a groundbreaking ceremony for the Sag Harbor Cinema Arts Center.

The ceremony takes place at 2 p.m., with elected officials including Suffolk County Legislator Bridget Fleming, New York State Assemblyman Fred Thiele, Sag Harbor Mayor Sandra Schroeder, and others expected to attend.

After 16 months of dedicated fundraising, "the revival of this historic cinema is now becoming a concrete reality for Main Street," a release said.

Construction will begin with foundation work to replace the front of the building that was destroyed in a devastating fire that ravaged the structure on December 16, 2016.

In December, just days before the one-year anniversary of a the fire, an $8 million fundraising goal was been met that means the iconic institution would live again. The goal was reached with the award of a $1.4 million state grant and an anonymous $500,000 donation, representatives said.

Sag Harbor Partnership Vice President and Cinema Campaign Chair April Gornik expressed joy at the groundbreaking: “It’s so thrilling to actually start the building process. We love the metaphor that a new foundation represents."

The property at 90 Main St. was purchased by the Sag Harbor Partnership in early January for $8 million, and the renovation is currently estimated at $6 million, according to the Sag Harbor Partnership.

In addition, the Partnership has set a goal to raise $3 million before July 1, but work is slated to begin immediately, with the $1.5 million raised so far; the decision was made to respect Main Street stores by avoiding disturbance to businesses during the busiest part of the summer season, the Partnership said.

After foundation work is completed by July 1, work will continue from the back of the building, using the still-extant theater for staging and storage, a release said.

"With the groundbreaking for the Sag Harbor Cinema Arts Center, another milestone has been reached in the community effort to restore and revitalize our village's beloved movie theater," Thiele said. "The Partnership is raising our cinema from the ashes to new heights by restoring the best of the old, while providing us with a future filled with new cultural opportunities for Sag Harbor and residents across the East End."

The project represents not just an enrichment of the arts and culture that are a cornerstone of the Sag Harbor community, but also a vital part of an economic development and job creation strategy that depends on a vibrant downtown, Thiele added. "Every Sag Harbor business will benefit from the project," he said.

Award-winning architect Allen Kopelson of NK Architects was chosen for the project, according to the release.

“We are reviving the spirit of the old cinema and making it into a state of the art cinematheque," Kopelson said. "There is tremendous passion from everyone involved with the project.”

Contractor Racanelli Construction was also selected for the project.

Partnership President Nick Gazzolo reflected: "Many a director has said that casting is 90 percent of a successful project. We have got that right with the talent these A-list principals represent."

The Sag Harbor Partnership and the Sag Harbor Cinema Arts Center boards will continue fundraising with upcoming events including "Big Tent: Party for the Cinema 2" on July 8, while also continuing to reach out to individuals and foundations for grants.

The goal is have the new Sag Harbor Cinema Arts Center finished by the summer of 2019.

"This was truly the work of an incredible community of people with a common goal," Gornik has said.

The new Cinema will feature state-of-the-art equipment, a new sound system, and 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' meant it to be experienced, organizers of the effort said.

Patch file photo.