Peekskill to reveal Paramount proposal groups Tuesday

Wednesday January 30, 2013 12:50 PM By Chris Serico

Photo credit: Xavier Mascarenas | The Board of the Paramount Center for the Arts announced Oct. 3 that the nonprofit was temporarily suspending operations for the popular Paramount. (Oct. 4, 2012)

The names of the groups behind three proposals to lease, operate and manage Peekskill's Paramount Center for the Arts, which has been shuttered since Oct. 4, are expected to be announced Tuesday.

After a committee of city officials, business leaders and other community members held a Jan. 14 information-gathering meeting behind closed doors, it held an additional executive session last night to conclude the initial review of the three proposals.

To this point, Peekskill officials have declined to announce the names of the groups, because "much of the proposers' information is proprietary and ... it is a real estate discussion," according to city spokesman Bob Knight.

That's expected to change next week. The city's seven-member Common Council, which includes Mayor Mary F. Foster, is expected to discuss the matter Monday night in executive session, Knight said. The next morning, the city intends to announce the names of the groups behind the Paramont proposals, he added.

Foster has said nonprofit and for-profit suitors demonstrated interest in operating and managing the venue.

Last year was tumultuous for the 960-seat theater, which opened in 1930 as a movie complex. Less than three weeks after it hosted a Sept. 15 red-carpet gala to try to raise $300,000 for programming, the Paramount suspended operations indefinitely, citing economic difficulties, a dearth of donations and grants, and increased expenses. The Paramount's board of trustees filed plans to dissolve the nonprofit organization in November.

Which group would you want to take over the Paramount Center for the Arts? And when do you think the Paramount will reopen, if at all? Vote in the poll below and let us know what you miss most about the Paramount in the comments section.

Tags: Peekskill , Paramount Center for the Arts , music , Westchester