July 4, 2009
imac feedback
There are so many differing opinions and thoughts about the closing of the IMAC Theater in Huntington Village. My recent involvement helping with PR for their last gala fundraiser has prompted e-mails sharing some of those thoughts with me. The following e-mail was sent to me by Michael Meehan, owner of Meehan’s Restaurant which is located directly across the street from the now empty theater. I share this with Michael’s permission…
Hey Jeanne, thanks for the mention. To be honest, re: the closing of the IMAC, not enough is being made of it. Our town “leaders” really dropped the ball on this one. Pat and I spent a couple of hours w/ Mike and Kathy Rothbard a few days before they closed up. It’s really a sad story. These two people really busted their ass to make that place work. Every business owner in town owes them a debt of gratitude. No other entity in town brought in as many people as did the IMAC. If you were to try and calculate the sales tax alone that the IMAC generated, it would be astounding! Think about it, customers purchase the tickets, anywhere from $30 to $50. Dinners before the show in any one of the many restaurants $35 to $100 depending on the restaurant. Drinks/refreshments in the theatre. And after the show drinks/ice cream/pizza/whatever…. The exposure of the record store, photo gallery, furniture stores, dress shops etc. etc. Mike and Kathy were a God send for Huntington. When Mike went to town hall for help, he was actually asked by Petrone, “what are you going to do for the town if we help you!” You’ve got to be kidding me! This guy was the heart of Huntington’s reputation as the cultural center of Long Island. We cannot make that claim anymore! If they can find $1 million to buy the “Coltrane House” and spend $7 million on an ice rink in Dix Hills, I’d bet there’s money available that would have been much better spent in the village. It’s a disgrace. Petrone has assembled a “task force” to try and find a new tenant. Good luck. The horse has already left the barn. – Mike
June 22, 2009
behind the headlines
The recent closing of Huntington’s IMAC Theater is what prompted me to start this blog. Not the closing exactly, but one of the behind-the-scenes stories leading up to the closing that most people would never hear about. To most people who first read the story on Newsday’s website on June 16, or who picked up a copy of the paper the next day, it was just another sad news story about the impact of the lack of funding for the arts in our current economy. It’s not like everyone on Long Island even knew what the IMAC Theater was. On more than one occasion I’ve heard people confuse it with the IMAX, especially in the under-30 age group. But apparently there was a large enough group of fans that the theater had been voted “Best Concert Venue on Long Island” for two consecutive years in the Long Island Press “Best of Long Island” readers poll.
The impact close to home was pretty sad. I had the experience of getting on board to help promote a fundraiser which took place at the end of March. Minutes after hitting SEND on an e-mail press release, I started getting replies. From raffle donations to press coverage, people wanted to help – even when some of their own businesses were being negatively impacted by similar circumstances.
One story in particular that stands out involved Meehan’s restaurant, located directly across the street from the theater. I had mailed a promotional brochure with an announcement about the fundraiser and the fact that so many local restaurants were going to be on hand serving donated food. Meehan’s was not one of the restaurants that was involved, so when I heard a voicemail from Pat Meehan asking me to call back with details about the event, I have to admit that I was honestly expecting a problem. I assumed that they were going to be upset that they hadn’t been contacted or included and maybe complain about this gala event taking place across the street with food from all of these other restaurants…..Well, I am embarrassed to say that I could not have been more wrong. Pat Meehan was calling to offer one of his catering rooms for the night of the event, helping the IMAC manage the overflow crowd that had purchased tickets.
Chris Vlahos of La Bonne Quiche, who seems to be at every fundraiser in Huntington Village, took over when all of the loose ends of planning the event seemed to be out of control. Nobody would have known that he was dealing with stress in his own business at the same time as he was donating his time and money to try to save another. In the end it was a sell out crowd, but sadly it wasn’t enough to save the IMAC from closing.
There are so many more stories like this that I see every day in Huntington Village. Business owners who are there time after time at every event and every fundraiser to support local charities and other businesses as well. I am lucky enough to know many of these local business owners and I hope to use this space to share some of their “behind the headlines” stories.
IMAC Theater, New York Avenue, Huntington
